S&S Review: God of War: Ascension
Format: PS3
Release Date: March 12, 2013
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Sony Santa Monica
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M
God of War: Ascension is the latest gory adventure featuring the troubled spartan, Kratos. Ascension is a prequel to the epic trilogy, and it tells the story of Kratos before the events in God of War 1. This is the first God of War game to include multiplayer, and although it doesn't enhance the game, it doesn't hurt it either.
Since this is a prequel to God of War 1, it details the events that lead up to Kratos overtaking Ares' throne. In Ascension, Kratos has just broken his blood oath with the Gods, and he's been targeted by three demonic sisters known as the Furies. The narrative throughout is pretty slow, but if you've been a fan of previous games, then you'll still find it enjoyable in the end. God of War's unique mix of greek mythology and originality has always made for a good story, and it continues in Ascension. The sheer scale of the game has been heightened even more, if you can believe that, there are a lot of moments where the camera will zoom out and you'll see just how beautiful the game really is. I didn't think that they could improve on God of War 3's visuals by much, but I was pleasantly surprised when I first turned the game on. This may rank as the best looking PS3 game to date, and it may remain on top, maybe until Beyond Two Souls or the Last of Us gets released that is. The music is just as heart pounding as before, if you have a pair of headphones on hand, I recommend you use them. The music, right along with the superb voice acting, really pulls you in from the get go, and it won't let go until the finale. The presentation is what we've come to expect from a God of War game, immaculate, inside and out.
The core gameplay hasn't received any massive overhauls, but the combat has been greatly refined. Since the Blades of Chaos is Kratos' only main weapon, the combat really focuses on the two blades, rather than a host of other weapons you would've come across in previous games. I've never been a huge fan of the secondary weapons anyhow, so the decision to remove them wasn't that upsetting. Instead of seperate weapons, you have the ability to combine different elemental powers into the Blades. The Fire of Ares, the Ice of Poseidon, and the Lighting of Zeus will provide different abilities than your standard Blades of Chaos moves. Learning each power seperatly adds a lot of depth into the combat, making it even more satisfying than before. There are secondary weapons you can pick up, but since you can use them for a limited time, they don't dramatically change the gameplay all that much. The magic system has been changed slightly, not giving you the more powerful abilities right off the bat will force you to spend XP points on the skill trees where want the most.
The single player really flows nicely throughout, while the beginning starts off a little slow, the tempo really ramps after and never slows down. There's one section of the single player that might slow you down, the Trial of Archimedes. It pits you against waves of enemies without really giving you a break, and that can be a little off-putting for some players. The new multiplayer component can add a lot more time on to your game, if you're interested that is. I never thought the game needed multiplayer in the first place, but the modes are still pretty cool to have. You start off with choosing your alignment with one of the four gods, like Ares or Zeus. Each alignment grants you different bonuses in battle, but nothing to drastic. The multiplayer matches are fun, and the combat really transfers well from the single player. Learning the block and parry system is the key to defeating another player. It has it's moments, but it never really becomes as epic as the single player, and that's kind of what I expected.
God of War: Ascension is another great game out of the series, and although it doesn't live up to the hype set by God of War 3, it's still a blast to cause chaos as the Ghost of Sparta. The campaign is a blast to play, and even with the tacked on multiplayer, there's no denying that the latest is still a load of fun.
S&S Review: 8.5/10
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