Young Star-G
Active Member
[SLIDE]http://i1.wp.com/gamerwg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/GoWAscension.jpg[/SLIDE]
It has been years since we had the last entrance in the God of War series. That game, was God of War 3. A long and titan-sized epic adventure that (seemingly so) brought an end to the God of War franchise. However, while the story did not continue after God of War 3, Santa Monica Studio’s did release a prequel to the very first God of War called God of War: Ascension.
Ascension follows in the footsteps of his older brothers and thus retains the same hack and slash adventure we have come to love. You’ll once again play as Kratos, the brutal bold Spartan soldier who became full of rage after he was fooled by the previous (well, in this game he still is) God of War, Ares. While you’ll definitely see an angry and enraged Kratos here, it’s still a whole much less anger then say, for example, God of War 3. While some might find this disappointing, I definitely didn’t. It’s unexplainably great to see the human side of the Spartan warrior I have spent countless hours with.
The story begins with a brief visual introduction to the three Furies. You never heard of them before, now did you? Don’t sweat it, I didn’t either. And that’s not so strange, as they are the newly introduced antagonists in Ascension. The story is at all times greatly told and shown, but I wouldn’t blame you for getting ever so slightly confused from time to time. Let me try to explain it for you without any spoilers.
Before Kratos was the God of War, he was a man. A man who was a reckless Spartan soldier in name of Ares. When Kratos got defied by Ares, he searched to destroy the blood oath he had with him. In doing so, he enraged the furies. They were leading the world before the likes of Zeus came around. When the Furies finally got to Kratos, they chained him to a cell, and that´s where the story further unfolds.
[SLIDE]http://gamingnextgen.com/wp-content/uploads/God-of-War-Ascension-Review-18-April-13-2.jpg[/SLIDE]
When starting the game, you´ll be immediately thrown into the action, albeit not as heavy as fans of the series may remember from God of War 3. Nevertheless, it once again feels amazing, and the game works flawlessly. The combat system is truly perfect, with new QTE´s (Quick Time Events), new types of elemental damage (magic) and moves to make your enemies suffer and this time around, only the Blades of Chaos to aid you in your long quest. Ripping out the eye of a troll, or tearing through the skull of a harpy are dark pleasures that few games can replicate. If you're a fan of the series, you’ll remember and love the action just as much, if not more, then you did before.
The game doesn’t only consist of action of course, and that’s a good thing too. Ascension breaks up the action with cleverly designed puzzles and does so while keeping the balance in the game. The result is that you’ll never get bored of either the action or the puzzling, which makes you want to continue for hours. And that, unfortunately, brings a downside. Ascension is definitely longer than the average First Person Shooter of the modern day, but is also isn’t like a big RPG. In my play through on the hardest difficulty, I managed to beat the game in more or less 10 hours. While this certainly isn’t short, it would be nice to have this amazing adventure continue some longer.
While the games story and combat are as satisfying as ever, that’s by far not the only thing to love about Ascension. It seems Santa Monica Studio´s went back to the drawing board as this game is amazingly beautiful and really pushes the PS3 to its limits. Blood spills over an amazingly detailed Kratos and your enemies and even better yet, bosses, have never been so realistic as you will see them in Ascension. Whether you're fighting a Fury who attacks you with great flare or a gigantic troll that tears other enemies apart, it’s always a beautiful sight to see.
[SLIDE]http://gamingnextgen.com/wp-content/uploads/God-of-War-Ascension-Review-18-April-13-3.jpg[/SLIDE]
While story, gameplay and graphics wise the game impresses, there is also this soundtrack. This totally epic soundtrack. The music in the God of War series has always been epic, and Ascension is no exception. The music once again fits nicely with the combat and the cuts scenes and really sets the tone for, well… the whole game.
So, everything above is for once side of the Ascension experience. Namely, the single player. However, for the first time ever in the God of War series, Santa Monica has included a multiplayer. The multiplayer was heavily teased and the studio has really put a lot of effort into it. Is the multiplayer just as good as the single player? Well, not quite just as good. But not bad either.
You start with a short introduction to the online combat system, which works differently from the combat system seen in the single player. Then you choose which god you wish to pledge your allegiance too. You can choose between Hades, Ares, Poseidon and the almighty Zeus. Each class has various specialties like stronger melee combat or overpowered magic. Having four different classes makes online playing varying enough to keep coming back. Combat works good, but most of the time, it’s more button mashing than actually focusing on the combo’s. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does take away from the tactics the online play could have had.
It is unlikely that you’ll find a more immersive adventure than Kratos in what is probably the last year for the PS3’s main life cycle. The story shows a human side of Kratos which is a welcome change, graphics push your system to it limits and combat wise the game is once again perfect. Multiplayer has two different sides. On one side, it’s a fun filled hack and slash fest but on the other side, it lacks any strategy or depth to it. All in all, this is once again a formidable entry in the long running God of War series, and you own it to your PS3 to play this gem.
For more reviews and all things gaming, check GamingNextGen!
It has been years since we had the last entrance in the God of War series. That game, was God of War 3. A long and titan-sized epic adventure that (seemingly so) brought an end to the God of War franchise. However, while the story did not continue after God of War 3, Santa Monica Studio’s did release a prequel to the very first God of War called God of War: Ascension.
Ascension follows in the footsteps of his older brothers and thus retains the same hack and slash adventure we have come to love. You’ll once again play as Kratos, the brutal bold Spartan soldier who became full of rage after he was fooled by the previous (well, in this game he still is) God of War, Ares. While you’ll definitely see an angry and enraged Kratos here, it’s still a whole much less anger then say, for example, God of War 3. While some might find this disappointing, I definitely didn’t. It’s unexplainably great to see the human side of the Spartan warrior I have spent countless hours with.
The story begins with a brief visual introduction to the three Furies. You never heard of them before, now did you? Don’t sweat it, I didn’t either. And that’s not so strange, as they are the newly introduced antagonists in Ascension. The story is at all times greatly told and shown, but I wouldn’t blame you for getting ever so slightly confused from time to time. Let me try to explain it for you without any spoilers.
Before Kratos was the God of War, he was a man. A man who was a reckless Spartan soldier in name of Ares. When Kratos got defied by Ares, he searched to destroy the blood oath he had with him. In doing so, he enraged the furies. They were leading the world before the likes of Zeus came around. When the Furies finally got to Kratos, they chained him to a cell, and that´s where the story further unfolds.
[SLIDE]http://gamingnextgen.com/wp-content/uploads/God-of-War-Ascension-Review-18-April-13-2.jpg[/SLIDE]
When starting the game, you´ll be immediately thrown into the action, albeit not as heavy as fans of the series may remember from God of War 3. Nevertheless, it once again feels amazing, and the game works flawlessly. The combat system is truly perfect, with new QTE´s (Quick Time Events), new types of elemental damage (magic) and moves to make your enemies suffer and this time around, only the Blades of Chaos to aid you in your long quest. Ripping out the eye of a troll, or tearing through the skull of a harpy are dark pleasures that few games can replicate. If you're a fan of the series, you’ll remember and love the action just as much, if not more, then you did before.
The game doesn’t only consist of action of course, and that’s a good thing too. Ascension breaks up the action with cleverly designed puzzles and does so while keeping the balance in the game. The result is that you’ll never get bored of either the action or the puzzling, which makes you want to continue for hours. And that, unfortunately, brings a downside. Ascension is definitely longer than the average First Person Shooter of the modern day, but is also isn’t like a big RPG. In my play through on the hardest difficulty, I managed to beat the game in more or less 10 hours. While this certainly isn’t short, it would be nice to have this amazing adventure continue some longer.
While the games story and combat are as satisfying as ever, that’s by far not the only thing to love about Ascension. It seems Santa Monica Studio´s went back to the drawing board as this game is amazingly beautiful and really pushes the PS3 to its limits. Blood spills over an amazingly detailed Kratos and your enemies and even better yet, bosses, have never been so realistic as you will see them in Ascension. Whether you're fighting a Fury who attacks you with great flare or a gigantic troll that tears other enemies apart, it’s always a beautiful sight to see.
[SLIDE]http://gamingnextgen.com/wp-content/uploads/God-of-War-Ascension-Review-18-April-13-3.jpg[/SLIDE]
While story, gameplay and graphics wise the game impresses, there is also this soundtrack. This totally epic soundtrack. The music in the God of War series has always been epic, and Ascension is no exception. The music once again fits nicely with the combat and the cuts scenes and really sets the tone for, well… the whole game.
So, everything above is for once side of the Ascension experience. Namely, the single player. However, for the first time ever in the God of War series, Santa Monica has included a multiplayer. The multiplayer was heavily teased and the studio has really put a lot of effort into it. Is the multiplayer just as good as the single player? Well, not quite just as good. But not bad either.
You start with a short introduction to the online combat system, which works differently from the combat system seen in the single player. Then you choose which god you wish to pledge your allegiance too. You can choose between Hades, Ares, Poseidon and the almighty Zeus. Each class has various specialties like stronger melee combat or overpowered magic. Having four different classes makes online playing varying enough to keep coming back. Combat works good, but most of the time, it’s more button mashing than actually focusing on the combo’s. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does take away from the tactics the online play could have had.
It is unlikely that you’ll find a more immersive adventure than Kratos in what is probably the last year for the PS3’s main life cycle. The story shows a human side of Kratos which is a welcome change, graphics push your system to it limits and combat wise the game is once again perfect. Multiplayer has two different sides. On one side, it’s a fun filled hack and slash fest but on the other side, it lacks any strategy or depth to it. All in all, this is once again a formidable entry in the long running God of War series, and you own it to your PS3 to play this gem.
For more reviews and all things gaming, check GamingNextGen!
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