God Of War Ascension

[Ay Ay Ron]

Video dosen't really give too much away, no game play either but it appears to be a prequel as apposed to GOW 4

Hopefully it will be decent, I quite liked the previous 2, never played the first one though.

Sony today has confirmed that the new God of War game, titled God of War: Ascension, and will release more details on April 30 on the Facebook page.God of War: Ascension will be a prequel that shows the origins of Kratos. The game will feature “the origins of Krotos as he takes his first steps on a now legendary quest for freedom and vengeance” says the official PlayStation YouTube.
The game is currently slated for a Spring 2013 release.

The cat is finally out of the bag.

In what has become one of the worst kept secrets by Sony, they finally announced an all new entry in the God of War franchise. After all the numerous leaks and not-so-subtle hints revealed this past month, it sure is nice to have some confirmation that Kratos and his ever growing rage will continue on.
Or maybe not. Sony confirmed on its Playstation blog that this won’t be God of War IV as most people had speculated but rather a prequel called God of War: Ascension and is set before the events of the original game back on Playstation 2.
A new God of War title is always a good reason to get excited but some may fear that God of War: Ascension may already be set up for failure, especially when compared to the five game saga. During his quest for revenge, Kratos defeated the countless Olympian Gods so what could possibly be more important and interesting than that by stepping back into the past?
Quite a bit actually. It’s still way too early to tell as the game has nothing to show but a vague teaser trailer but here are a few reasons why God of War: Ascension has the most potential to reinvigorate the series and become something special.
Wait. Another prequel?
God of War has already gone through the prequel train. Twice in fact. Chains of Olympus showed Kratos during his 10 year service to the Gods and helped us understand his relationship with his dead daughter, Calliope. (Spoiler: He loves her) Ghost of Sparta provided a more personal struggle for Kratos as he searched for his missing brother, Deimos, sometime between GoW1 and 2. While both equally excellent games in their own right, they never could quite match the larger-than-life scope of their console counterparts. This is mostly attributed to the limitations of the PSP hardware and that both games were developed by a different studio. Ready At Dawn, as it were, were more than capable to handle the franchise and no one can deny that both games are two of the very best on the PSP.
This time around, the original Sony Santa Monica Studios behind the first GoW games are leading the project and bringing it back to PS3. Ascension may not be God of War IV, but it feels like a main entry nonetheless. The PSP games felt like side stories that weren’t entirely necessary to play through to understand the main story. They were the deleted scenes if you will. With the old team back in the driving seat and with the PS3 still proving it’s got some legs in the technology department, Ascension is looking to be in the right hands. Forget Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, the real prequel is coming and it’s the one that we should care about.
A New Kratos
Kratos may just be one of the most polarized characters ever. There isn’t really anything interesting about the guy; You either like him or hate him. Truthfully, his constant shouting and bloodlust grew a little tiresome by the time the third game hit stores. Even after five games, Kratos still remains a mystery and any attempt to humanize him in the PSP games and to a lesser extent–the last act in GoW3–simply weren’t enough to overshadow the obvious destruction this man was bestowing upon the world.
Ascension is a clean slate for Santa Monica Studios when it comes to their main anti-hero. Ascension is an opportunity to explore Kratos before his most pivotal moment in his life. Before he went mad and was tricked into killing his family by Ares and before he was cursed to wear the Blades of Chaos and became the Ghost of Sparta. By setting a new game in the past, we could see Kratos as the leader of the Spartan army and delve deeper into his time with his wife and daughter. Kratos doesn’t have to be a flat character anymore if a proper back story can bring a different perspective on him.
The teaser trailer does mention his devotion to an “unjust” God and isn’t bound by blood. Who could this be and why is it important? How does this all lead up to his transformation into the man he became? What color was his hair?! Ascension could tell a detailed and more personal story for Kratos with a ton of possibilities in addition to these burning questions. Let the speculation begin!
Bringing the Fight!
Combat in God of War is fundamentally the most important part in the franchise and has been since its debut in 2005. The Blades of Chaos bound to Kratos allowed for some intense combat sequences whether I was ripping apart a helpless Legionnaire or plucking the lonely eye from a towering Cyclops in gooey and gruesome fashion. Gory moments aside, the combat system in GoW is in need of an overhaul and Ascension may just be the game to shake things up.
It sounds like Kratos will be portrayed as a mortal man in Ascension, as he should. There are no blades chained to his forearms, therefore stripping away most of his combo moves. Now, Santa Monica could have a weapon bearing similarities to the Blades of Chaos but frankly, that would be a bit of a cheat. Could we possibly be seeing something truly different from all the past games? Imagine Kratos battling it out ala Batman: Arkham City but with spears, shield and even magic. This is just a raving fan thinking aloud but Ascension could break away from the conventions of its own beginnings.
Pushing the Hardware
The GoW series has always been known to push the hardware the games resided on. God of War III has some of the most jaw dropping visual spectacles I’ve seen and is arguably the best looking on the PS3. On the lower scale, both PSP games were technical feats on their own and at times looked better than the PS2 titles. Santa Monica Studios have most certainly learned a few things since the release of their last game and it’s a sure thing that Ascension will most likely make our eyeballs bleed…in a good way, of course.
The art style and the amount of detail in the God of War games should be noted as well. A testament to the amazing talent behind these games shouldn’t be taken lightly and every game has a handful of epic and unreal moments that make you go “WOW!” Ascension will surely keep the trend running because deep down, the God of War series is a fairy tale, which means the developer are limited only by their imagination.
It seems like we won’t have to wait too long to see and hear more information on God of War: Ascension. A live stream will be up next week on Playstation’s Blog and lets not forget about E3 which is 7 weeks away. I can’t wait to see what Kratos will be up against this time.

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

Some screen shots and a bit more info. Not too sure if the multiplayer will work but I do like the G.O.W series so will probably give this a go.

Video - Cant seem to get this to embed though http://www.gamesradar.com/god-war-ascension-multiplayer-preview/

Gamesradar

God of War: Ascension multiplayer preview - Surprise! Four on four competitive God of War battles


The beginning of the God of War: Ascension gameplay we saw last week was a joke – literally. A trick. It began with a Kratos-looking soldier in the typical God of War opening pose, staring at the player, full of rage. When the camera pulled back he was decidedly not Kratos, at least not how we've ever seen him before. He put on a helmet, turned around, and began battling a Cyclops. A few seconds later another soldier, donning the same armor and red body paint, joined the battle, hacking and slashing apart the raging beast.



Soon, the first fighter threw a chain into the chest of the monster, pulling its balance to the side, while the second jumped onto his back. Once there, he pulled the Cyclops back, revealing his ripe, squishy belly for the disemboweling. And disemboweled he was. A blade ripped through his stomach and his organs spilled out, splashing on the floor in bloody detail. At this point the developers pointed out that the second character was, indeed, a second player. He hopped up and down to prove it, but we weren’t seeing co-op.
No, we were seeing four on four multiplayer (something we referenced in our article listing the things we wanted to see from the next God of War), a new feature in God of War: Ascension. The two players dove into the arena and joined two others in a large, open area filled with multiple levels to fight through. Red-painted Spartan combatants crossed blades (or hammers) with blue-painted Greeks, fighting in battles that… well, looked exactly like typical God of War battles. Except with other people.
Shadowing the battlefield was a cyclopean Titan, chained down and thrashing with all of his might. The objective of this multiplayer arena, we were told, was to capture a specific point on the map before the enemy team does, an act that tightens the Titan’s chains and slams him into the world.

Eventually, one team did just that, and was rewarded the Javelin of Olympus. This gift from the gods hurdled towards earth, smashing into the ground for anyone to take. One player did, and proceeded to launch glowing, white deus ex javelins at his opponent as he worked his way towards the now vulnerable Titan. On his way he kicked an enemy onto a spike trap and pulled a level, impaling his foe for a moment before finishing him off. It was all very God of War, even if the battles went on for slightly longer than Kratos’s traditional fights.
After working their way to the Titan all four players converged and began to fight him together, throwing chains at his head and pulling him in close. Quickly, the player with the javelin leapt up to the face of the beast and slashed at his face. After a pause the creature’s chin split in half, flopping around so horrifically that we actually flinched at the gore. This Titan’s character model was phenomenal – easily one of the best this generation – and watching his face ripped apart was painful to watch.

The Spartans threw chains at the Cyclops’ eyes (another scene that was difficult to watch) and pulled him in close. The Javelin of Olympus-carrying warrior took a step back before charging forward, leaping up and plunging the spear into its eye.
This, apparently, was one of seven (or so) multiplayer maps in God of War: Ascension. The first half – where players captured different points – was a domination mode, and the second half – killing the Titan – was an attack and defend. Other modes will match game type to content, though no one was talking about exactly what they might be. One writer suggested a mode where players have to “Kill Kratos to become Kratos,” which piqued the developer’s interest, but we’re not sure if that was a ruse or not.

Other elements were discussed briefly, including customization, light RPG elements, and the ability to choose between four patron deities (Hades, Ares, Zeus, and Poseidon), and though they weren’t detailed all that much, they served their purpose of proving that the multiplayer isn’t some tacked-on experiment. In fact, it sort of sounds as though multiplayer might me a major focus of God of War: Ascension.
Sony is taking the competitive side of God of War very, very seriously, and from what we saw they’re doing a good job at bringing something new to the franchise. Time will tell if it’ll fall into the ranks of Assassin’s Creed’s AAA multiplayer or Ninja Gaiden 3’s boring, button-mashing mess, but from what we saw God of War fans have no reason to be worried.