When ascension was first revealed, gamers around the world were confused as to why this game even exists. It wasn’t until the screenshots, trailers and artwork were shown did we start to get hyped for the next instalment in one of the most iconic franchises ever created. It was an exciting time for fans of the franchise because, the thought of a God of War game with a powerful and deep story was becoming a reality. Players could finally understand why this troubled hero has ruthlessly killed everything in his path for 5 games now.
What Sony Santa Monica have created is another epic entry into the franchise that we have all come to expect from this legendary studio but, they have missed the mark big time when it comes to what could have made Ascension stand out from the pack: The Story. The graphics and scale of the game are incredible and the inclusion of multiplayer for the first time in the series was a good choice. It is unfortunate though that the whole idea of the game was practically non existent throughout my 8 or so hours of the campaign.
For the uninitiated, you play as Kratos, the former servant of the God of War, Ares, who tricked Kratos into killing his wife and child. God of War: Ascension takes place before God of War 1 where Kratos renounced Ares, breaking his blood oath to the god. For this act, Kratos was imprisoned by the three Furies, the guardians of honour and enforcers of punishment. Helped by the oath keeper Orkos, and finding out that Ares and the Furies plan to overthrow Mount Olympus, Kratos sets out to kill the Furies and hopefully free himself from Ares’ bond. The first problem with this game are the furies themselves. They are not convincing enough as the main adversaries to Kratos. I never felt threatened by them in battle and their cliched one liners to Kratos became grating near the end of the campaign. Compared to the other God of War entries where you were killing gods and titans the Furies were disappointing. The last boss was incredible though and it was such a pity that it took the end game boss for me to be at the edge of my seat during the entire game.
The God of War games have been known throughout the industry as one of the most technically proficient series available. After the amazing spectacle that was God of War 3, Sony Santa Monica had big boots to fill this time round. Thankfully, from a technical point of view the game holds its own against God of War 3 but it lacks the impact and wow factor that the 3rd game had in abundance. Huge enemies the size of a level are present but the problem is we have seen these enemy types before so they lack the impact they had in the 3rd game. The games locales are stunning and they are the most varied in the series without a doubt. From a graphics stand point, Ascension is the best looking game in the series without a doubt. How the wizards at Sony Santa Monica studios created a better looking game then God of War 3 is mind blowing. The details in Kratos himself are incredible. Every cut, drop of blood, wrinkle and muscle are modeled to perfection on Kratos. It is clear that the designers spent most of the time designing Kratos because the furies look average in comparison.
The gameplay of Ascension is also excellent. They have taken the combat from the previous God of War games and improved upon it greatly. Kratos can now grapple enemies with one sword and attack another one at the same time. Kratos now has secondary weapons which he can take off enemies such as a sword, a club, a javelin, a sling, and a shield. I found this new addition to be great and used the secondary weapons a lot to create combos with the blades of chaos. The magical abilities were given a shake up for this game but I think they took a back seat due to a very odd implementation. Kratos can learn to use up to four magical abilities, including the Fire of Ares, the Ice of Poseidon, the Lightning of Zeus, and the Soul of Hades, which, depending on the magic equipped, also imbues the Blades of Chaos with that elemental property. I found myself only using the magical abilities near the end of the game because they took too long to unlock. In previous games, once you acquire the magic you can use it from the onset, in Ascension I barely used it. Thankfully, the Rage ability is included in Ascension, called Rage of the Gods. This provides increased attack damage and different attack combinations.
Unlike the previous games, the Rage meter is filled by attacking enemies and once full, the ability is automatically activated and remains activated until Kratos is attacked. The most notable change in the gameplay department is the interactive death scenes. Instead of pressing a sequence of buttons to kill every enemy, the death scenes of the big enemies are done in real time. Kratos will attach his blades of chaos to the enemy and you can either use a light or heavy attack to hit the enemy. The player will have to avoid the enemies attack by using the left analogue stick and once the you avoid the enemies attacks and attack it enough times, you are presented with a satisfyingly gruesome end kill. This is probably the most important gameplay change in the series. The sequence kills were starting to become stale after 5 games so I was very happy when designers announced a change. The puzzles are excellent this time around and they challenge the player to use every tool in their arsenal to solve them.
For the first time in the God of War series, multiplayer has been included. The game offers a multiplayer feature for up to eight players, with a small story element. Players are either on two teams of two or four, or alone, and try to take control of a map in order to earn rewards from the gods. You pick a warrior and then align with one of the four deities: Ares, Hades, Zeus or Poseidon. Each god offers a unique combat play-style and abilities in battle. Players unlock special magic abilities, new and upgraded armors and weapons, relics, and other treasures as players earn experience points (XP) to level up their warrior. The four multiplayer modes included are Team Favor of the Gods, Match of Champions, Trial of the Gods, and Capture the Flag. Team favor of the gods is an excellent game mode where, two teams of two or four players—Spartans versus Trojans—try to accumulate a target amount of points in order to claim victory. Points, known as Favor, are earned by kills and other methods. There is also an excellent co-op mode where two players team up and try to kill a certain amount of enemies in a given time limit. The multiplayer component is surprisingly good. I will put my hand up and say I was one of naysayers of multiplayer inclusion in a God of War game but Sony Santa Monica have done a great job. I just hope players will stick with the multiplayer for months to come.
For an origin game, God of War: Ascension lacks the origin story God of War fans will expect. As I was playing the game I felt like I didn’t know or care why Kratos was at a certain location. This is a major problem because I really wanted a God of War game that made me feel for Kratos and understand why he is on this crazy god killing rampage. In Ascension we get none of this, not a single sliver of emotion is presented in this game and it is such a shame because even the PSP games had better storylines than Ascension. The game is incredible looking and probably the best looking game this generation but unfortunately that doesn’t cut it for me. The inclusion of multiplayer is great and I will keep playing it for months to come but, the single player is where God of War games got their fame and it is a crying shame to see that Kratos is a hollow man with zero personality this time round.