God of War: Ascension
8.5
10
141
141
For Fans of God of War
Is it God of War...Yes. Does it provide the same stunning graphics and tight gameplay that is well deserved of the God of War franchise? Yes...and yet there is something missing. The story was simply not fleshed out, period. It's more of a side story fit to be alongside the likes of PSP's chains of Olympus rather than to stand among the epic re-imaginings of Greek mythology in God of War 1, 2 & 3. Those stories were so good, so well thought out, that they could have truly been part of the Greek Classics that so heavily influenced David Jaffe in 2005. The story in Ascension however, while it provides a reason to keep on slashing your way through hordes of dead Spartans and mythological beings, just did not provide what I hoped to be a more comprehensive telling of Kratos' past, as not only the Ghost of Sparta but as a General and more interestingly a father in Sparta.
But I digress, some smooth and brutal combat as well as interesting puzzles make this more than an average hack n' slash, this much is true. But it is the commitment to sheer excellence in the genre that has made God of War one of THE games to beat in a fading category that I and so many others so love. Adding multiplayer to the mix was an admirable attempt to make the franchise more mainstream for a growing fan base of social gamers. But I can't help but feel that while developing this, they missed the point of what made God of War great, and the single player campaign seemed to suffer for it. Repetitive insect enemy encounters and sliding sequences as well as some somewhat lackluster sub-weapons made it feel a bit a bit stale by the end of the 7-8 hour campaign. As well as some glitches in the sound design that took me out of experience more than a few times. With that said the last half hour of the game was excellent! Providing those adrenaline fueled moments of sheer visceral excitment rarely found in modern day titles but so often found in the in the other games in this series.
In summary, there is no denying that hard work was put in to Ascension. Fantastic production values, spot-on combo and platforming gameplay, a new twist on some puzzles, and of course multiplayer. I just can't help but feel that perhaps Todd Pappy and the crew worked a little too hard and when it was all said and done, the passion and creativity to make Kratos a more fleshed out character was lost. It is an unfortunate turn that Kratos' last adventure on the PS3 felt more like a cliff note than a new chapter, but it is one that fans of action/adventure and more importantly fans of God of War should give a chance.
6/4/13
Loved it
I just beat it and I loved it! I thought it played a lot like Uncharted, which was pretty awesome. The climbing mechanics are the same compared to Uncharted. I thought it was great. It was different, but not too terribly long. I will definitely go back and clean up the trophies in a couple of days.
5/23/13
Still Amazing as always
I really liked the game but I was really excited to play multiplayer but it required a online pass so that really sucked. But the campaign was still fun and i enjoyed it. If you are a fan then you should get the new copy for the full experience. i rated the gameplay a 5 out of 10 just because I played all of the other god of wars and the gameplay is all the same not saying it is bad but I would enjoy a bit more.
5/6/13
God of War = Repetitive
I have always loved hack and slash games, and with each new release I get excited about the new God of War game. Yet every time I end up selling it back to GameStop later on. Although this game is great for the first hour or two it quickly becomes repetitive and you find yourself hating the next few days as you finish it. Simply because doing and seeing the same things over and over and over again gets pretty agitating.
4/30/13
Amazing Game!
As a hardcore fan of God of War, I was absolutely amazed with this game. The only thing keeping Ascension from being the best installment to the franchis is its location on the timeline. While i love that they went back to this part of Kratos's story, it puts certain limitations on the storyline of the game (you can't fight any gods, etc.). That is the only negative of this game in my opinion. The story does have its ups; Kratos is much more emotionally engaged, and there are awesome characters that we meet for the first time. While every game in the franchise has had a good amount of replay value, this game tops them all with the addition of multiplayer. I beat the single player, played online for days, then went back to beat the single player story again. and then it was back to the multiplayer for god knows how long. Everything is great about this game, from graphics to gameplay to lasting appeal, God of War: Ascension has it all.
4/28/13
Disappointed!!!!!
the campaighn is short and explains nothing and the multiplayer is broken and unfair zeus the king of gods is the weekest one to alline with...makes no sense but its still a gow game so its worth a play thru
4/26/13
Let down! :(
So I finished God of War: Ascension and it started out to be a great game but did not carry the bang it had for the early part of the campaign. The ending was a huge disappointment! I just don't feel the campaigns of games should be over shadowed by the new craze of multiplayer gaming. I don't see that as being everyone's cup of tea and if that is what's to come for gaming I think that will be a bad change. At best a game should be able to offer an equal giving for both styles. The campaign story started out solid but ultimately failed in the end. It did not in any way offer the wow we all felt from GOW 3. This was supposed to be a prequel but I felt little to no connection that I know and experienced with all the GOW titles before it. I would give this game a D+.
4/23/13
best game ever made on ps3
this games made me leave xbox for god of war cuz they have good storyline!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! da game even help brother his history class
4/17/13
Surprised Me Within the First 30 Minutes.
When I first played the game I immediatley noticed the graphics. They are completely realistic and amazing. You sadly don't get to enjoy them as much because you're almost always zoomed out, but they are still amazing in cutscenes. The gameplay feels pretty smooth but I always feel like I never took damage. I played on all modes and never really died or felt the pressure of low health. It should be noted though, that within the first 30 minutes there is a very dirty scene. It shows a room full of women all without shirts on kissing each other and posing. I thought this would be a 25-45 second cutscene but the game makes sure to zoom in on all the women. This surprised me by how early on it was, where in games like Far Cry 3 scenes like this are much further in. The soundtrack is pretty good, but the sound effects are nothing too amazing. The multiplayer was pretty good but it depends if you like the gameplay. In the end, I think this game is a rental, at very minimum. God of War:Ascension is a great game.
4/17/13
just amazing
Although every god of war game has the same main idea this one is a little different. While every other game in the series has to do with killing the gods this one mostly has to do with escaping the prison of the living damned. Also while every game in the series has kratos as the main character like this one it still feels fresh and new.
I would recommend this to anyone who has a ps3
4/12/13