Review: God of War: Ascension-Measured FuryMarch 22, 2013 by

The first God of War title to arrive on home consoles and not be numbered, Ascension returns Kratos to the very beginning of the story, predating even the PSP offerings.

While much of the adventure is what we've come to know, love and rend asunder, Ascension marks God of War's initial foray into adding multiplayer to its bloody arsenal. A puzzling addition that ultimately works surprisingly well, but serves as a side-note to the rewarding, but disjointed single player adventure. Rest assured, no one does epic moment-to-moment action like this franchise continues to deliver, but has Ascension finally worn out the subject matters welcome?

This is...GRAPHICS!

Since the inception of God of War, these games have pushed the envelope visually with each release. Ascension is no different, delivering likely the most beautiful game to be released on home consoles yet. Midst shaders, lighting and textures, I'll spare you the technical hubbub and just put it plainly; Ascension out does 2010's God of War 3 in every way, but it's impact is lessened somewhat when compared to 3's visual uppercut of the time. Using both games as measuring sticks in the graphics department is a testament to the continued brilliance of developer Sony Santa Monica studios. Just when you think we've reached the ceiling, they wow our cerebral cortex's yet again by pushing every ounce of power out of the nearly seven year old PlayStation 3 and while graphics are certainly not everything, it's difficult to put into words just how impressive Ascension is from a visual standpoint. Bravo.

The titan Hecatonchires serves as the stage for Ascensions stellar opening

Stage design yet again astounds and God of War returns to steal the crown in terms of presentation from any would be usurpers. Whether it's the camera being pulled back to reveal a castle atop a snowy peak or many other scenes just like it, the work that goes into making the world explode with detail is incredible. God of War is a visual work of art.

Always known for having the most hard hitting introductions, we begin captured in chains by a one armed woman coined Magaera of the Furies. She is one of the three sisters who play the roles of main baddies in the story and the battle that ensues atop Hecatonchires; a titan turned massive construct by the Furies; is spectacular and easily lives up to the franchises lofty reputation. The premise briefly put is that the Furies work to enforce the pacts made with the gods and serve to deal out retribution when these are reneged upon. In ignoring his oath to Ares, Kratos becomes the subject of the ladies wrath. Needless to say there is more afoot than meets the eye, but death, blood and destruction ensue on expectantly grand scales.

While the intro is all God of War, it also sets in motion a disturbing precedent for the story, which has us constantly time skipping back and forth throughout. Upon finishing the game, it can only be summed up as unnecessary and serves to confuse the narrative put forth, especially when the tale would have been better as one cohesive time frame, introduction notwithstanding. While the story is still enjoyable and doesn't exactly detract from the experience, it was the first time I found myself utterly disjointed from what was going in a God of War game at times and thus, results in the weakest of the franchises stories, portable offerings included.

Combat Devolved

Visceral and bloody, the combat system in God of War has always centered on the chain blades Kratos so deftly wields. Each game has added their own variations on magic, alternative weapons and tools that add to the nuances in battle, something Ascension does to a lesser extent. Gone are the secondary weapons acquired from bosses in games past and in their place are elemental attributes you can apply to your default blades. Each of the elder gods of Olympus bestow upon you these gifts relatively early on in the game, but are surprisingly absent of any reasoning for doing so. Kratos is being hunted due to a breaking a blood oath with them, why then are the gods awarding you their elemental affinities? While not integral to the story, this is another reminder that aspects of Ascension are less fleshed out compared to previous entries in the series and while the elemental abilities all add different attacks, none seemed to effect enemies much differently than the default weapons did. Shouldn't a monster who wields flame take extra damage from my blades of ice Poseidon gave me? Thankfully, the two secondary items that you acquire as the story progresses offer some interesting changes to the combat and are something you will come to rely on as the game reaches its final and more difficult stages.

There will be blood

The familiar system of acquiring orbs to replenish health and magic are in place, as well as the return of red orbs to power up your abilities, which also introduces another puzzling choice. You'll find that you won't deviate much from the initial fire attacks Ares gave you early on because it will be the only one allowing you to use magic for quite awhile. The other elements all have their magic attacks locked behind a five tier power up that requires a bit of grinding to even get to, something the fire ones do not have. Designing it this way makes the combat seem much more limited than I'm sure it was intended to be and while I found the other weapons satisfying to use--Hades in particular was a favorite--you'll need to grind and scour quite a bit for all the secret chests to maximize each weapons potency before the end of the game.

Once you pick up the controller, it becomes apparent how the changes made to the combat began out of necessity for the multiplayer and have carried over to the detriment of the single player campaign

Kratos has always been a knock down, drag out warrior whose tactics intentionally lacked the subtleties of combat that other games in the genre afford. Gone is your ability to parry attack by timing them and instead, you press a button in combination with blocking to go into a canned counter animation. In premise it seems appropriate, but the execution leaves something to be desired and the risks of implementing it are never worth the payoff. One mistimed counter attempt and you are taking a ton of damage that Kratos won't be able to escape from, as enemies continually use their superior range to push you into a corner. More on that in a second.

Likewise, Kratos's trusty roll that players have relied on for years to bail them out of ill timed attack strings and telegraphed attack patterns has been lessened in its effectiveness. Attacks aren't immediately interrupted when you flick your right analog stick like past games and you'll find yourself in for a steep learning curve if you begin Ascension on the higher difficulties.

Wait, there's more. Enemies are much more aggressive this time around and even entry level fodder posses a challenge if allowed to group up and use numbers. If range was the only thing to deal with that would be fine, but the problems are further compounded by the fact that lesser targets attacks seem to be immune to anything other than the strongest of Kratos's onslaught, while theirs can interrupt almost anything you try and dish out.

You'll often find yourself forgoing long animation attacks for quick hitting ones and then either getting out of the way quickly, or returning to holding the block button. Combat from the air is almost a non option now as the con's of getting hit, vastly outweigh the pro's in this risk versus reward combat system.

What all this means is that Kratos is now limited to being a less aggressive battler, which seems to go against everything past games have given us to work with. It makes the combat plod along at times and rarely affords you the opportunity to put your arsenal of attacks on full display. Without being able to go all out, cracks begin to show and the weaknesses of the combat system past games hid behind their showmanship, come to the for.

Does this make for a more difficult game? Yes and no, but in order to succeed you must change your approach and be prepared to defend, or later challenges like the vaunted Trial of Archimedes will chew you up and spit you out. For what it's worth, I overcame the challenge on hard in my second attempt so it's very doable and as a gamer, I'm a little disappointed with the upcoming patch to reduce the difficulty.

Combat restricts Kratos more than past games have.

Luckily, combat excels in the myriad of one on one encounters you have with Ascensions bosses. From the introduction with Hecatonchires, the multi-tiered and entertaining Castor and Pollux battle that warps time and space, to the encounters with the Furies, God of War again steals the show for spectacle in the all important boss battles. They're violent, brutal and all presented in a way that makes each one feel unique and appropriate given the circumstances. This is ancient Greek mythology after all, gods and the like are malevolent and cruel, people wear little clothing and it goes without saying that these games are not made with a younger audience in mind.

Multiplayer Madness

Yes, the multiplayer bug that has been widespread in almost every triple A release lately has come to Ascension as well. Having very little to do with the single player game, online is entirely its own experience and serves to bring the quick paced action we know and love to an online forum. Once you pick up the controller and play for awhile, it will become apparent how the design changes made to the combat began out of necessity for the multiplayer and carried over to the detriment of the single player campaign.

Outfitting your avatar with various armor and weapons affords you different gamplay styles based on the attributes they enhance. You can choose to go light and have faster cooldowns on your magic and special attacks, or go the all defense route and be a walking tank. After deciding how to begin, you then choose to serve either Ares, Zeus, Poseidon or Hades, all of which imbue your warrior with specific strengths and weaknesses. As you progress through the various match types, all of which will be familiar to anyone who has previously played online multiplayer games, your equipment and god levels increase unlocking even more options.

There is quite a bit to sink your teeth into, but I don't expect Ascension's multiplayer to enthrall gamers for hundreds of hours, then again it likely wasn't designed for that either. Saying that, the bones are there to be expanded upon and who knows what the developer has in store in terms of downloadable content.

All in all, a welcome and rewarding experience should you decide you want to take your tried and true God of War single player skills to the online arena.

God of War: Ascension is more of the incredibly epic moments we expect and visual spectacle the series has become known for. Again, the sheer awesomeness of the presentation cannot be understated. Yet in terms of scope and impact, it feels more akin to one of the portable offerings brought home to the living room rather than a game that stands on equal footing to God of War 3.

Multiplayer is a nice addition that adds to the replay-ability alongside the franchise comparable single player campaign length, but its impact on the combat system has lessened the aggressive tone fans covet and unfortunately changed it for the poorer.

There is still life in Kratos as a character and God of War as a series, but this attempt to somehow humanize the man has been visited before, and done better previously. Taking the franchise in a different direction would be highly advisable as there are entirely different mythologies to explore and new pantheons of gods to destroy. Limiting Kratos to a time in history that he has obviously outgrown would be a shame. Let the character spread his wings of Icarus in search of new prey and fans will follow along for the ride.

What I liked

  • Unmatched visual spectacle and presentation
  • Innovative boss battles that keep you on your toes
  • Never a dull moment
  • The new multiplayer addition

What I didn't like

  • The revamped combat system only serves to slow Kratos's ferocity
  • Needless time skipping narrative
  • Feels like a portable game brought to home consoles

Score: 7.5/10

Submit Blog