The Hall of Atropos - Again

Cut Scene:
Kratos enters a room with a pool and the door closes behind him. A man who was in the water scolds Kratos because it was his only escape from this room. In his frustration, the man explains he is seeking the sisters too. Jeeze, who isn’t after these girls. This is turning into a wild goose chase a la It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Via monologue, the self-identified Perseus ponders that this may be another test. As he talks he does the punctuated stair walking and sweeping arm gesturing that is an unavoidable side-effect of reciting anything Shakespeare-esq. He concludes that even if this is not a test, he can “bathe (he jumps into the water at this word – very clever!) in the glory of being the one who brought down the mighty Kratos.” Perseus puts on a golden helmet and then disappears.

By the way, the voice of Perseus is played by none other than Harry Hamlin who you probably remember from such Lifetime Network fodder as Like Father, Like Santa , L.A. Law: The Movie and 1-800-Missing. Or, if you have ever turned on a television on a Saturday, Clash of the Titans. Harry Hamlin played Perseus in the film version and now he is reprising his role in the this game.

BOSS: Perseus

Part I:

• As I mentioned, Perseus is invisible so watch the surface of the water and attack anything that looks like a shadow moving across the pool.
• Save your Rage of the Titans until the end (I will let you know)
• Attack him frequently with the Cyclone of Chaos ( L1 + [] )
• After quite a few hits Perseus will briefly appear with a circle over his head. But, it is very briefly. If you hit him while he is in the open, he will disappear again. So, start counting how many hits it takes, usually around 8
• When you think you are nearing 8 hits, get real close to him because after that 8th hit he will only stay stunned for a moment
• When visible, grab him with O to stop these shenanigans and stomp his invisibility helmet

Part II

• Don’t use your Rage of the Titans yet
  - Now that he is visible, use Cronos’s Rage and regular attacks to really hurt him
• After enough hits he will get the “O” so grab him to impale him and then break his sword

Part III

• Be ready to jiggle the left stick when he throws out his flash bangs
• Now is a good time to use Rage of the Titans
• When he is “O” stunned, follow the on-screen cues to kick him through a wall and then onto the conveniently placed (for Kratos) meat hook.

Jump out the Perseus-sized doorway and jump to the chain. Slide down to
the bottom. If you press R1, you get a chance to see Perseus up close.
Real class SCEA.

PUZZLE: Eye Beams

Run back to the stone that you placed in front of the half-ladder and climb up. Continue to the right and jump over the shrubbery to a medusa like statue that is half-sitting in a chair. “The statue seems to be missing its shield” says R1. Attack it to destroy its base and bring it to eye level then press R1 again. Kratos places Perseus’s shield in the statue’s hands really hard. I mean Kratos, dude, there is no one watching, you don’t have to be an over-aggressive dickhead all the time. Grab the statue by its side and push it over the nearby broken edge of the balcony. Jump down after it and push it left to that small, yellow indentation. Go to the nearby lever and rotate around it to raise the platform. The newly installed statue blocks just the right green eye lasers. You will need to use the Golden Fleece to block the other one. However, the platform only stays in place for a limited period of time. So, pull the lever then quickly jump up to the ladder and get in front of the other eye laser and press L1 to reflect the beam right back at the statue. The face then exhibits video game rule #198 which states: “blocking any form of energy beam can have one and only one result, immediate explosion.”

Jump back down and continue through the newly opened pathway. In about 3000 years Marcus Fenix will fight through these same hallways to put an end to those damn Locusts. It looks the same now as will in 3000 years. You can tell that it is abandoned because in the distance there are crowing birds. Actually, I have to compliment the atmospherics here as it really is well done.

If you take the path that is straight ahead there is a grate that closes the moment you get in front of it. Behind that gate is one of the hidden urns, I will tell you how to get there in a moment.

Urn of Olympus

The Urn of Olympus is at the beginning of the area behind that
quick-shut gate. You will need the pause-time to make it past it.
However, because the gate is so far away you will need to get the
statue closer to the gate. Because you can’t push it through water, the
closest point is the edge of the first pool from the balcony. You will
also need to turn the statue so that she is facing across that pool. To
do this:

• go back to where the statue was in the corner.

• Pull
  her onto the turntable and rotate her so that when you drag her down to
  the pool, she will be facing across it (It will takes some mental
  gymnastics to figure out that orientation while she is still on the
  turn table)
• Drag her down the ramp, around the corner and to the pools edge
• Swim across the pool and press R1 + L1 to start slow time
• Swing across the other pool
• Head around the next corner, jump across the touch page and under the falling gate to reach the Urn.
• This urn entitles the bearer to unlimited magic (on the second playthrough)

But until that time, work your way through the hallway and across the to a balcony that’s over looking the Amazon rainforest? Climb the vines on the right wall and then pull the lever. Jump down to the open gate below.

Pull the spear of Destiny out of the gigantic blue bird and the weapon testing fodder comes in. Fight them off with the spear. I found the combat to be a bit slow and stiff. Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox implemented this same weapon with more speed and acrobatics. When the beasts are all taken care of continue on.

With the urn in hand, run back to the statue and drag her all the way back to the turntable portico. Rotate her around again so she is facing out to the valley below and then push her to the edge.

Run down the stairs and take two rights to that bridge with the teeter-totter segment. When you jump up and stand on one side, it tips to the level position. Hold R1 and L1 to activate statue time and run across the bridge.