God of War: Ascension
Reviewed By Stephen Pastic
As fans of the series are no doubt aware, the God of War franchise has come to be known as one of - if not THE - definitive titles for third person combat heavy games. Boasting a critical pedigree many other IP's can only dream of, the God of War series has yet to have a disappointing entry, let alone a total stinker. So then, is this pattern unchanged with GOW:A, or is this the first significant misstep thus far?
For the uninitiated, the God of War games are essentially a re-envisioning of classical Greek mythology. Practically bursting at the seems with characters and references from myth, God of War is also one of the big industry heavyweights when it comes to impressive set pieces that no doubt cause many gamer's mouths to stare agape at the action on screen.
Players once again assume the role of Kratos - a character who would surely be in the running for the most brutal bastard within gaming as a whole. Never taking a backward step from an opponent (even gods), this man is the very essence of anger personified. Ascension takes place prior to the events of God of War 1, and the story centers upon Kratos having broken his bond to the god of war Ares, as he is being punished by the oath keepers of legend "the Furies".
Gameplay for the most part remains unchanged from the basic formula established in the first game. Alternating light and heavy attacks in different combinations grant access to various combos, and these form the meat and potatoes of combat. Kratos also has access to particular magical attacks throughout the journey, and all the basic systems come together to result in vicious battles with have an almost balletic grace about them, despite the onscreen carnage.
Two new additions this time around is a basic time manipulation system, and the ability to spawn a ghostly doppelganger. Both of these abilities fall into the players lap as the story progresses, and are used primarily for environmental puzzles but can also be utilised in combat (often to great effect). Furthermore, I'm not entirely certain of this but it definitely seemed to me that the combat sections as a whole have slightly, albeit noticeably increased in difficulty from the prior games.
In keeping with its heritage, GOW:A is certainly no slouch in the audiovisual department. New players in particular are likely to be massively impressed with the sheer scale of certain environments, and quite often the camera will pull riiiiight back at particular moments to emphasise the sheer scale of the player's current surroundings. Weirdly enough though, I couldn't help but feel that Kratos' character model this time around didn't seem quite as impressive as it did in GOW3 - perhaps my memories betray me here, but I definitely perceived (an admittedly very slight) difference.
Another new addition this time around is online multiplayer. Players can run through a basic tutorial of all the relevant mechanics, and will then be asked to pledge allegiance to one of a handful of gods from the series, which basically determines their class of character. In keeping with current trends, there is also various customisation options available - most of which will only be granted via levelling up to a sufficient point.
Whilst I definitely did enjoy the multiplayer component, something about the combat mechanics utilised with other human players did seem a little clunkier than it does in single player. However, interested parties can rest assured that Ascension's multiplayer mode is not broken or boring by any stretch. Whilst I cannot see many people sticking with it over the long haul, it definitely adds a few more hours to an already impressive package.
As far as negatives go, the game is pretty damn solid. However - as weird as this will sound - I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. The biggest issue I had with the game was that it didn't quite tickle me as viciously and frequently as the prior games did. Granted, for Sony Santa Monica to reach the Olympian heights of GOW2 and 3 in particular would be a Herculean achievement. Experiencing this game in a vacuum leaves little to complain about, but compared to its forebears Ascension didn't quite cause me to exclaim "HOLY SHIT!" as often as my lofty expectations demanded.
Somewhat related to this, the game itself is a great addition to the pantheon of third person hack and slash titles, but as someone who has played every title in the series thus far God of War is in danger of beginning to feel very "samey" - and whilst God of War "samey" is still damn good, I am beginning to slightly feel some of that dreaded "series fatigue" setting in.
Admittedly I am nitpicking here, but I did run into a mega frustrating glitch where Kratos became stuck in an environment with seemingly no way to progress. After trying everything at my disposal in many points, I attempted to restart the chapter thinking I may have encountered a glitch only to get the same result. Upon looking online, it seems that many people had also gotten stuck in this part, and only after restarting a second time did the game progress as intended.
Whilst I understand that glitches can happen at the best of times, the fact that a single restart did not fix the issue led me to think (and waste a lot of time in doing so) that I was missing something in the environment. Another very minor point is that after going up against Gods and titans as the main antagonists of games past, the Furies (while completely serviceable) don't quite have the same punch.
After slaying Ares, Cronos, Gaia and Zeus (among other mythological heavyweights), the antagonists here definitely feel like a step down....and for that matter, it feels like they veer dangerously close to a replica of the Sisters of Fate from GOW2, who felt as though they had much more narrative gravitas behind them.n all is said and done though, Ascension will do little to sway critical opinion of the God of War series. Newcomers are likely to be very impressed (and as such should look into the prior titles), and old hands will likely find Ascension to be mostly on par with the franchise's overwhelmingly positive track record.
Game: God of War: Ascension
System: PS3
Developer/Co-Developer: Sony Santa Monica Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
