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I want to start off by saying that I am a huge God of War fan. I've played almost all the installments (didn't play the PSP releases) of the series on all the difficulties and had a lot of fun. So when this game came out I knew I had to buy it (after it dropped in price)...but I have to say that this game was kind of a let down. It isn't a bad game but there are some changes that were made that ended up hindering the game. I'll do a quick rundown:
STORY: A fairly interesting prequel about how Kratos begins his quest for revenge but still kinda forgettable. I also felt that some of the characters in the game were just added for the sake of it or to add in a boss fight. These characters are never really fleshed out or anything, they're just....there.
PRESENTATION: This game looks fantastic, but for some reason I feel that GOW III looked better. While running there was never any dip in framerate, even when there were a large number of enemies on screen. The environments look great and many areas are grand in presentation. Musical score is epic, as expected for any game in the God of War series.
GAMEPLAY: This is where my rating for the game took a big hit and where I will write the most in this review. I don't think I suck at the GOW games, I've played the other games in the series on the hardest difficulties and while I have had trouble, I've managed to beat the most difficult parts in those games. On the other hand, when I'm playing Ascension I'm kicking everyone's ass 90% of the time and then the other 10% consists of me having my own ass handed to me. Seriously, there are some severely weird difficulty spikes in the game (Trial of Archimedes anyone?). While the combat still feels like God of War, they changed certain mechanics in the combat that just didn't make any sense to me:
-Dodging no longer has that short window of where you are invincible. If an enemy hits you midroll, you will stop and be stunned and then continue to be bitc*slapped by other enemies who will continue to stun you. This happened numerous times and was one of the most frustrating aspects of combat. Maybe because it was a prequel they wanted Kratos to feel more vulnerable so he doesn't emit as much badassery to make himself invincible when hes rolling, I dunno.
-Parrying has been changed so that instead of pressing one button at the last second before being hit, you now need to press two. Kinda weird that when I DO manage to press both buttons, it sometimes just doesn't work. Oh, and when I can manage to actually parry, my counter completely misses my target or doesn't register as a hit at all. So wtf was the point of that? I ended up rolling or blocking for almost the entire game since it seemed to be more effective unless I was fighting an enemy 1-on-1, and even then I ran and blocked. Maybe a bug? I think they changed it to a two button mechanic due to the inclusion of multiplayer.
-Hit-and-run seems to be the main focus for many of the battles, especially when you're fighting a large number of enemies, which happens a lot. Seriously, no other GOW game has had this many swarm battles. Sometimes I will actually lose sight of Kratos for a few seconds because there are so many enemies crowding around me and it gets confusing. And after a while, I began feeling like an absolute bitc* because I was rolling so much and then slapping an enemy occasionally.
-The Rage meter now empties outside of combat and begins to deplete itself when you are in combat and don't manage to land an hit on an enemy within a certain time frame (~5 seconds or so after you land the first blow). They also designed it so that if you're grabbed by an enemy and it requires a QTE to get out of the grab, by the time you get out of it, your Rage meter is now fully depleted and you are now back to square one. Might not have been as problematic were it also not for the fact that certain moves cannot be used unless the meter if full... the same moves which were usable as long as you upgraded the weapons to the right levels in the previous games.
-They included a multipayer mode now, which I am not going to really cover. I played a few matches but lost interest pretty quick. It just didn't really capture my attention.
Final verdict: The game itself isn't bad but it has its flaws. I know I spent a lot of time basically complaining and most people will probably not agree with me but I still think these changes should be noted. Pick it up if you're a big God of War fan or just wait until its really cheap and then buy it. Not a bad game but probably the weakest game in the series.
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God of War has always been one of my all time favorite gaming experiences for two generations, and we have one more huge adventure upon us before the 7th generation closes. God of War 3 was one of the best games on PS3, with a scale unprecedented and a well realized sense of epic (hopefully you know I mean that in the dignified sense) storytelling. Not to mention one of the all time best game play models in the action genre. Ascension follow in the first PS3 entree's footsteps, and it's a fitting coda for Kratos on the PS3. At the end of the day, Ascension is simply another great game that sheds even more light on Kratos and his long journey throughout the series. That's pretty much what I wanted from this release. If you are a God of War fan, you'll want to pick up the next chapter in Krato's saga.
Story wise, Ascension is the first game chronology. What's new this time around is Ascension's attempt to give Kratos a much more human side, instead of the downright off-putting, and downright scary at times, Kratos of the later series that most certainly polarizes people (and one that certainly causes debate amongst gamers, but I'll refrain from ranting regarding that notion. Indeed, Ascension is pretty much marked by Kratos as he was during the early days of service to Ares and the others, and Kratos is certainly more of a mortal than a man; you can just tell he is at this particular state. This time around, The Furies are to blame for his troubles, and, as you might expect, Kratos is on another journey to track them down. I won't spoil the story, but what follows is what you would expect from a God of War game, with a more human Kratos being the point of the story. He suffers, suffers, and suffers some more. It's a really interesting thing to see, and it's easily the most well rounded and sympathetic portrayal of Kratos, one we haven't seen since the first game.
Despite all of this new chance for character development, God of War, for better or for worse, follows the same classic story formula. The ultra-violence, the Mount Everest sense of scale, the overblown, larger than life dramatic tone, the appropriately bombastic score; it's all here. The performances in God of War are A-grade World of Ham, and dialogue is as over the top as usual, but God of War simply wouldn't be God of War without that. It takes a certain sort of taste to enjoy God of War's brand of storytelling, and if you hate the series, Ascension probably won't change your mind. Personally, I've always felt that the series benefits from never holding anything back. It's because of this reason why the God of War series is such an entertaining ride, why the series is arguably, in the end, so memorable. Once again, if you don't like God of War, this probably won't change your mind, but fans of the series will be utterly pleased with the single player this time around.
There have been a few people out there who think Ascension's story doesn't have some of the memorability of the previous main games, and its pacing to be rather spotty. While these people are no doubt entitled to their own personal views, I have to disagree. I found the pacing of the campaign for me to be excellent, and there were plenty of awesome moments from start to finish. Aside from a couple of difficulty spikes, I really didn't find myself pressing myself to go on due to pacing issues. I rather enjoyed the somewhat subdued sections in the beginning, as it definitely had a much more relaxing pace that I rather enjoyed. Besides, I never found myself bored, whether it was traversing an Ice mountain, roaming my way through ancient Greek Cities, and plenty more. So I personally had no problem with the campaign at all.
Game play wise, Ascension keeps the same basic formula that defines the series. As someone who's been playing the series since the beginning, I had absolutely no problem jumping in. Using an arsenal of weapons and powers, Kratos will, as always, battle through hordes of soldiers, the undead, mythical beasts, and just about everything else that happens to get in his way. The same God of War game play interventions remain as well, including puzzles (including some that revolve around time manipulation) and platform sections. As usual, you collect orbs to replenish your character, as well as items that improve your overall character maximums. Combat is fluid as ever, and as rooted in the God of War series as you would expect. If you're into the series and understand the core combat concepts, there is little to nothing else that can be said here. Once you get your hands on the controller and start playing as Kratos, you'll be slinging combos together in no time.
Much like the other games in the series, there are some new things the games do that are different from previous games before it. Tweaked moves such as the new chain tethering move make for some welcome additions to the combat. One thing that particularly stood out was the inclusion of a new game plus, which lets you start the game over with the weapons and magic you unlocked in a previous game. However, the best addition for m was the implementation of new power and weapons. Once again, you get the chance to develop and unlock new moves, but there are also enemy weapons strewn out amongst the adventure. You can pick them up after they are dropped from enemies, and you have the chance to use weapons such as Spears, Javelins, and Swords. It makes combat all the more exciting, knowing that they're might just be another interesting weapon to use right around the corner.
You still have the Blades of Chaos at all times, along with supplementary weapons, dropped from certain characters. I particularly found the Blades of Chaos system to be the best it has ever been in the series. You still certainly will be using them with the same familiarity that you do in every other game, being able to use them to perform devastating . In this game, however, the Blades of Chaos now house elemental magic. The magic at hand can be used in various ways to enhance combat, and they all feel useful; being able to an addition of magic in the heat of battle works wonders for you as a player. Each of the elements contain awesome powers, such as The Fires of Ares (which let's you stun enemies with fire) and The Lighting Of Zeus (which let's you electrify enemies with electricity). Finally, while minor, I found it to be useful to use one of the acquirable items (Oath Stone of Orkos) in battle, although I wouldn't use it all the time.
Despite all of the satisfaction the single player game has given me, there are some slight misgivings with the game. For one, sound occasionally drops out in strange and unusual ways. Apparently I wasn't the only one who ran into this, either. Granted, they don't really detract from the game, but they are still sort of annoying. I also ended up having the camera get in the way, which was strange because the fixed camera angles usually work well for the series. Be aware of how to beat the sometimes awkward camera angles. Also, and while this last one is more subjective, some of the puzzles in the campaign are sort of cheap (remember that conveyor belt block puzzle from the first game? Yeah, there's a couple of equivalents), and there are a few points in the game where they're are some atrocious difficulty spikes. Other than that, I can't really think of any shortcomings that were noticeable.
Now, the newest feature is obviously the MP. I played a lot of Beta, and I've given the final MP mode plenty of time, and I have to say that I found what I played to be quite fun, if a bit decent instead of mind blowing. (in other words, don't expect the MP component to lead to a Tf2 style boom of popularity and staying power), I also can't help but think it's a tad wonky when it comes to longetivity (I'll get to that later). The game certainly follows many MP standards, including experience points, teams, leveling up, and so forth. Much like a standard MP, you will be able to participate in a variety of modes, such as death match and capture the flag. With God of War's stellar combat being the crux of the ways to battle against one another, Ascension's MP ends up being pretty interesting, to say the least.
Basically, all you really need to know is that combat is very fluid, with an excellent mix of the various modes of attack you would expect (light, grappling, heavy, etc.). You'll need to fight with tact though, or else matches probably won't end up being fun for you. You basically select one of four distinct character classes (each with their own unique statistics, strengths, weaknesses, etc), and once you do so, you can start racking up experience points. In addition, be sure to be aware of Labors, which are essentially specific challenges that will give you extra XP upon completion. You can use those experience points in order to level up, as usual, and once you do, you'll end up getting new weapons and perks. The perk system, as you might expect, gives you passive abilities, so use them wisely. The use of weapons, the extremely fast and fluid combat system; it all works. Finally, here is a quick rundown the modes available. Their most basic overall design are familiar, but they suit the game play and lay the ground work for some MP fun.
Favour of the Gods: Basically, a simple free-for all death match. Whoever gets the most kills wins the match.
Team Favour of the Gods: Two teams of four are basically given objectives throughout the mode (I won't spoil them, but they are all challenging and fun to accomplish). The team that hits 8000 points first hits the match.
Team Capture the Flag: Basically, much like you would expect, each time must work with one another to capture a group's flag and bring it to their own empty base. The group that collects the most flags wins the match.
Trial of the Gods: While this can also be played solo, this mode is also a free for all mode. Together with a group of people, everyone must fight against waves and waves of enemies until both cannot go on. This is the only mode where you don't fight against one another.
However, despite all of this, I do want to address my concern on the longetivity of the MP mode. As of writing this review, I really have to wonder: will the MP of this game last? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but given how so many games sadly end up losing much of the MP audience, I have to wonder if this will happen to Ascension as well. I immensely enjoy the MP, personally, but I think the consumer should have ever right to be concerned. I find it a tad hard to predict, given how many MP modes from various games have been shut down because nobody plays them not long after the launch of the MP servers. If you were thinking about buying this game strictly for MP, I'd probably think twice if I were you, due to this.
Regardless, anybody who's a fan of the franchise will want to pick up Ascension. I know that there were sneaks around the gaming community about GoW's supposed series fatigue, and some gamers think Ascension is not worth buying because its the 7th game in the series. I am not one of those people. Yes, Ascension may not appeal to a casual God of War player, but as someone who's played every single game in the franchise and hasn't been let down yet, the streak continues with Ascension for me. It's another exciting adventure into the world of Kratos and Greek Mythology, and an excellent send up for Kratos as the 7th generation comes to an end. Even if the MP may not last (though it is very enjoyable, so I hope it does last for a while), the campaign is long enough to be a single player along the same line as the other games in the series. Regardless, if your a fan of the series, I highly recommend Ascension
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This game is awesome, no it is not as good as GOW3 in relation to its storytelling. However some of the game mechanics have been tweaked making the actual game as good as 3 if not better in some regards. It's definitely not as challenging as 3 but play it on hard and you will have your moments for sure.I base my experience with this game on how much fun I have playing it. In that regard Ascension is awesome, the story is engrossing the puzzles challenging and the action addicting. My only complaint would be that there are battles where the screen zooms out so far and coupled with the amount of action and visuals on screen you can lose sight of your character which has costed me to lose combos. The game is a challenge but if you pay attention and learn, it is very rewarding. Bottom-line, if your a fan of GOW you gotta get this and please keep the GOW games coming.
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First off, I played the first three games in the series and absolutely loved them. I was a bit skeptical about this one, but preordered this a few days before its release. I think this game is clearly the weakest of the four in the playstation series. I also think that if this game were the first of the series it would have better reviews (which is why I gave it 4 stars as opposed to 3). The first few games set the bar so high and this game didn't meet that standard.
Pros:
(1) The fighting and puzzles are still fun
(2) Final battle
(3) Sound/Music is great like in the previous games and keeps you in the mood of the game
(4) Cool killing cinematics
Cons:
(1) The entire game is based around killing the Furys, which clearly is not as epic as fighting Ares or Zeus
(2) Story is weak compared to the prior games
(3) Weapon upgrades are a nice change, but I really only used one of them frequently other than the blades of chaos
(4) I beat the game about 3 weeks ago and really the only part that I remember being pretty exciting/cool was final battle
I can't comment on the multiplayer because I traded in the game before I tried it (I got more money by trading it with the multiplayer passcode in tact). If you're a huge fan and played the previous games, you should get it just to play through the story. If you're hesitant on this game, I would wait for the price to drop to $20-$30 to give it a try.
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This game was so entertaining from beginning to end. I loved the puzzles the most for some reason. A lot of the puzzles were challenging and so interesting and had you thinking for quite a bit. My favorite being the puzzles involving decaying or healing things( restoring a broken bridge or something broken to its original state or leaving it in pieces) .The story is kind of slow to develop though. 2 hours into the game and I still couldn't exactly figure out what was going. Your main enemies here are the furies of course. And the queen of the furies is fun to fight but it wasn't really a memorable boss battle which was kind of disappointing (for me anyways)The other bosses are fun too but not as epic as in GOW3. Other than that, the game is so much fun and the gore does not let up! The combat is satisfying as hell. You level up your element based blades and you kick butt with them by doing some flashy combos. I personally love the Hades blades
