God of War: Ascension Collector's Edition

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List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $70.45
Today's Bonus: 12% Off

I was very excited once I saw not only a new God of War game, but a collector's edition as well. Before I get to the game itself, I'll discuss the items in the collector's edition. For only $20 extra, you're getting the season pass for all future God of War: Ascension DLC which alone pays for the extra $20. You also get the game's soundtrack, a PS3 dynamic theme, and first access to The Last of Us demo released in May. The statue of Kratos is what catches the attention of many. While it is cool, it's not the best. Multiple reviewers have complained about it being cheap. To that, I say, what did you really expect? Seriously, you're paying $20 more for a ton of DLC and you're expecting a perfectly crafted statue? Get real. The base is extremely cheap feeling, but the statue of Kratos himself is fine. The arms do come unattached, but I had no problem putting them on Kratos. Overall, the statue is fine for the price you pay and looks good on the shelf surrounded by other statues from collector editions.

If you're a gamer who really loves a good story, God of War: Ascension will not deliver. The story feels very weak and bland. The gameplay is a whole different story though. This is the best looking and best playing God of War game. The graphics and the settings are absolutely beautiful and the combat system is truly one of the best I have used in a game. The Blades of Chaos is the main weapon you use, as in previous God of War games, and can be upgraded throughout the game. The combat is fun and the special abilities you obtain while playing are easy to use. One minor complaint about the visuals though is there are points in the game where you'll be in combat and the camera will pan out really far away from the combat. This is done so you can get a full view of the beautiful setting, but it can be hard to see what you're actually doing combat wise. The ending to God of War: Ascension is the best ending I've ever played through. The final boss battle is beyond epic. I won't give away any spoilers, but you'll be blown away by it.

Overall, God of War: Ascension delivers in the visuals and gameplay department but lacks severely in the story. This isn't the greatest God of War game ever, but you will still enjoy this addition to the series. You can't go wrong with this collector's edition since it's only $20 extra and includes a pass for all future God of War: Ascension DLC. While the statue isn't the greatest ever, it's still fine for the price you're paying.

This is my first ever game review and I'm planning on doing more. Hope this answers some questions about the game to whoever may be reading this!

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What you will get in this collector's edition:

1. The game disc.

2. A steelbook case, which contains the game disc and two promotional codes: one for the bonus digital content of God of War: Ascension and the other is the character dlc for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

3. A Kratos statue.

The steelbook case has a smooth and shiny cover and two character artworks inside the case.

The statue is cheap. A top quality statue will cost much much more. Considering you pay 20 more dollars on this collector's edition for the statue and many other features, the quality of it is totally acceptable. It takes a little bit of effort to assemble the statue since the design of the base is pretty bad. The statue holds well and the arms won't come loose. It doesn't have a bad smell. If you place it on your shelf and look at it from a distance I would say it is a pretty decent piece.

But if you have a very high demand of the statue and expect it to be great, you shouldn't get this collector's edition.

What the digital content includes:

1. Online pass activation code

Which enables you to play online.

2. Official game soundtrack

A total of 27 tracks, 128MB. And you don't have to launch the game to enjoy the music since it will be downloaded on your PS3 system and you can copy the file to your PC.

3. 48 hours MP XP booster

Boosts your multiplayer experience points at a faster rate than normal for 48 hours.

4. PS3 dynamic theme

A dynamic theme for your PS3, featuring 7 original artworks of God of War: Ascension.

5. PSN avatar pack

A total of 5 avatars included: Perseus, Orion, Achilles, Odysseus and Kratos.

6. Pass for future DLC releases

Allows you to download future DLC for free.

In my opinion this is a pretty good deal. My favorites are the steelbook case and the PSN avatar pack. It also saves you maybe a few dollars on future DLC. My guess is that they will add an addition god for you to allege which expands your multiplayer experience.

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It's been nearly 3 years since we saw the conclusion of Kratos's quest for revenge in GoW 3; and now we have the opportunity to see the very beginning of it.

In this game we discover how Kratos attempts to break the oath with Ares and why by doing so he is imprisoned and tortured by the Furies, we also see the face of a more thoughtful and sometimes sorrowful Kratos as well, but rest assured the moments when you see this "father and husband tortured side" is well told, so you don't have to worry about having to deal with a heavily depressed Kratos during the game, as a matter of fact, the violent and gruesome executions of enemies is as good as any GoW game; just wait until you finish your first Juggernaut fight ;)

Many core mechanics remain unchanged, of course we continue using the chaos blades, we collect magic and items and we upgrade these with red orbs; however, there are some variants now, example of this, once you get a magical power, you need to upgrade it to be able to use its corresponding rage attack and to be able to actually use your magic... So, what do you get in the meantime? Chaos Blades elementally charged!

You collect magic from Ares (fire), Poseidon (ice), Zeus (lighting) and Hades (souls) and by using attacks like the Plume of Prometheus but you will see this elemental charge in action! But for more practical uses for this new feature, once the new Rage Gauge is filled (by attacking continuously and avoid being hit) the elemental attack becomes stronger making a good crowd control especially for tight rooms another characteristic of the elemental blades is that by slaying enemies with certain power will give either: gold, red, green or blue orbs, so plan carefully to use this in your advantage.

This touch might be necessary because the enemy fights are quite frenetic, at least from my experience in Hard mode more than a few retries are needed to win some battles, but pretty much any GoW will throw waves of enemies at you with no mercy, this one is by no means different in that aspect, trust me :P

Another addition are the world weapons, 5 total, that can be used or thrown at enemies making combat more dynamic and varied as well; another addition to Kratos moveset is the tether grab, once an enemy is weaken you can grab it using R1 to keep control of it and if need it you can toss him at others or use him as a shield and batter whatever comes in your way.

Like previous games you collect items, for this game these grant you abilities like repair or decay structures and also to be in 2 places at the same time, and yes, these can be used in combat as well and yes these are quite useful, just wait and see!

As per the multiplayer component of this game, well, I haven't played it yet, but I will do so, to customize my warrior and discover what is all about Hades and Poseidon, as soon as I have played a few matches I will update this review; but as far as I can remember from my beta game with Ares and Zeus abilities, you can use traps to kill others, capture altars and even use special weapons to defeat special enemies.

Graphically, this game looks as good as GoW 3, so far no glitches in this dept, the camera also works great, but sometimes, it will zoom out to show you the greatness of the landscape while 5 enemies are hammering you :/ the good thing is that this doesn't happen that often, other than that no complaints at all and level of detail is just awesome!

The sound is also really great and the touches like like the swinging of the blades, the stabbing and the blood dripping to the floor are quite detailed and the music inspires this sense of epicness too! But it has happened to me a couple of times where the game gets mute for a split second and up to 2 seconds, it doesn't hurt the game because it seems to happen rarely, but it happens...

As per the CE, everything comes as described in the Amazon site, the metal case, the Kratos statue, the DLC codes for the experience bonus; but one thing that is included but is not mentioned, is a code to download for free 2 extra characters in the Playstation Battle Royale game: Zeus (as seeing in GoW 3) and Isaac Clarke (Dead Space) which is a nice add on and wanted to share with you.

Finally, the game gives you the option to install a digital version of the manual; yes, no printed manual... but I think this is something that is becoming more and more common; and also you will have a varied selection of demos too, like Flower, Sounds and Shapes, Thieves in Time, among others!

So, is this game worth the initial price? I say, yes! because if you're interested in this game and you have played other GoW before you know what you're getting here in terms of character, combat and technical game aspect and as nice touch we have the chance to continue explore the GoW a little more.

But enough reading here! Go and play this awesome game that definitely deserves its spot in the Pantheon of the Gods! Enjoy it!

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The game is fine and all, but it seems they resorted to throwing wave after wave of the same enemy AI to make it challenging rather than previous GoW games where there were giant enemies and Titans to fight. Instead we're given another Great story, without the epic God versus Titan battles. Really, I just mean boss fights in general though. There are a few boss fights, but none are quite as fun as the previous games'. Everything else is very satisfying and fun.

However, this is the EASIEST God of War game to date. My little sister actually enjoys this game, too. And she's a fan of Fable and Lolipop Chainsaw. So, you know it's not too difficult.

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Best Multiplayer experience but the servers are a bit lagging but what the hell!!

GOW is the best game period!!