God of War IV Is God of War: Ascension

joshuaboy

Kratos is back for what certainly sounds like a prequel.


Kratos is coming back to the PlayStation 3 in God of War: Ascension. Rumblings of God of War IV have been floating around for months, but a PlayStation Facebook post last week kicked thing into overdrive. Today, Amazon posted the game's box art and a teaser trailer.

Although the trailer shows no gameplay, it features the familiar narration of the Titan Gaia as she sets up what certainly sounds like a prequel to the five God of War games that are already out. In the teaser, Gaia states that there was a time before Kratos became the Ghost of Sparta and before rage consumed him.



"A time when in spite of the madness that plagued him, Kratos would break his blood oath to an unjust God," Gaia says. "A time when he will no longer be bound in blood."

The God of War story millions have already played picks up after Kratos has pledged allegiance to Ares, had the Blades of Chaos burned into his flesh, and killed his wife and daughter after an Ares trick. Gaia's words make it sound as if God of War: Ascension chronicles Kratos' time before all that -- when he was leading the Spartan army and perhaps "ascending" to his legendary status.

Amazon describes the game as: "Join Kratos as he seeks freedom, redemption, and the clarity to avenge his family in the most ambitious God of War adventure in the series so far."

What do you think of the God of War: Ascension trailer? What do you think the story will be about? Let us know in the comments below and look for more God of War: Ascension news soon on IGN.

stoneface

vagrant-718

I'm burnt out on God of War so I'm not too excited for this.

tru_m.a.c

lol my line name

bout damn time

SnowBunnySmanger

They really need to add some new stuff to this to make it interesting
the series hasen't been too innovative

CitySojourner

Geeked about this game coming out, GOW 3 was not only one of the most enjoyable games I've played on PS3, but also one of the best looking. And the fact that they take their time with each game gives me faith that it'll be a good game.

earth two superman

werent the PSP games already origin stories? at least the 1st one.

bankrupt baller

i wish they didnt ruin ninja gaiden 3.....i like that series better

focus

Why does Sony always ruin E3 for its users? This announcement couldn't wait a month? They do this every year.

Anyway, another God of War game. Ok.

PimpMVP

Another Marionette game..ok
Another Zelda game.. ok

focus

PimpMVP wrote: »

Another Marionette game..ok
Another Zelda game.. ok

LOL. Which is fine. All 3 do it, but it only seems to be a problem when Nintendo does it? Even though overall the frequency is still less, and the gameplay or concept has more variety with Nintendo.

Alkindus

oke I'm hyped

but WTF we're gonna do now? the teaser says shit about Kratos before the rage, before he fucked with Ares, but hints about shit after Ares(the killing of his fam etc), is this sisters of fate/time travelling shit comin?

So who's expectin Kratos to be in somekind of limbo envirment (after the events of part 3) where he gets flashbacks and shit and.....lol I don't even know where I'm heading, but the story is gonna be quite a challenge.

intalect

it will be interesting to see what they do.... I'm really curious I mean looking at the trailer he is Chaos mode so I'm thinking if the ps3 is gonna go out with a bang might as well be God Of War hell the did it with the ps2 is 2007 with GOW 2 PS3 is going out on a high note !

ocelot

Im ready to take down the Egyptian gods and Jesus...

KNiGHTS

Dunno, I was gonna shit on prequels until I looked at Ocelot's sig and realized the greatest game in the Metal Gear franchise is a prequel. They should've just picked up at another pantheon and started the killing anew. We already know Kratos can fuck up gods, so the idea of him mowing through human legions is a bit less than awesome.

ocelot

KNiGHTS wrote: »

Dunno, I was gonna shit on prequels until I looked at Ocelot's sig and realized the greatest game in the Metal Gear franchise is a prequel. They should've just picked up at another pantheon and started the killing anew. We already know Kratos can fuck up gods, so the idea of him mowing through human legions is a bit less than awesome.

You just got a GOAT, friend...

darkone360

I shall be getting this of course. Umm, who all is Kratos gonna kill tho? This nigga done killed ALL the damn gods! So it would be pointless to feature them in the sequel.

xChaseMoney

I need to see more of this before I get excited.

intalect

There will be more details on the game come monday morning 8am PST

CitySojourner

really?! where'd you hear that? kinda quick.

ocelot

3 more hours to go...

joshuaboy

The Multiplayer Madness of God of War: Ascension

You read that right. Multiplayer.


God of War has always been known for its strong single-player foundation and has never accommodated more than one player. But Sony Santa Monica wants to change all of that with God of War: Ascension. The hints and tidbits that have leaked about the game were correct -- the game's director Todd Papy jokingly quipped that Ascension is "one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry" -- and God of War fans, for better or for worse, should steel themselves for what Santa Monica Studio has planned.

God of War: Ascension will juggle multiplayer modes designed to be heavily replayable and a single-player mode that will tackle Kratos' storied past. That's right: multiplayer is making its way to God of War, but it won't outright replace God of War's famous single-player campaigns. As such, Papy told his audience that Ascension is the "most ambitious" entry into the series yet, one that will strive to maintain the "industry-defining" franchise's "ground-breaking gameplay." Of course, it also represents a gigantic risk. He acknowledged that "single player is our bread and butter; there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. It's what we're known for, but we wanted to try something different."

And God of War: Ascension is most decidedly different. At first glance of a closed demo, everything seemed to be very God of War-like, with not one but two sword-wielding, armor-clad warriors fighting a Cyclops. Both characters did a fair deal of grisly damage to their foe, ultimately bringing it to its knees. However, Papy later admitted that this demonstration, one that insinuated the inclusion of some sort of cooperative campaign gameplay, was a bit of a red herring. That's because the cooperation shown between the two warriors was just the tip of the iceberg as the audience subsequently viewed a busy four-on-four arena match unfold.


This isn't Kratos. It's... someone else.


Here's the basic rub. God of War: Ascension's multiplayer modes won't feature Kratos, but rather nameless characters that players will opt to customize as they see fit. Combatants can pledge allegiance to one of four gods -- Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Ares -- and will receive special powers, bonuses, strengths and weaknesses as a result. Armor and weapons can be customized, equipped and strengthened, and there will be full experience, upgrading and leveling systems, too, though Papy and his team didn't explain how all of that would work.

Combat itself was feverish, violent and outright brutal. It appeared both familiar and foreign, both like God of War and something else entirely. Seeing someone other than Kratos fighting certainly lessened the experience -- Kratos is God of War and it remains to be seen how successful multiplayer will be without him -- but combat looked fluid and fun. Unfortunately, no one outside of Sony was allowed to get hands-on time with the game, so all we can really comment on is how the combat looked as a viewer and not how it felt as a player.

The general idea in the particular mode shown is to not only engage in combat with the other team, but to fend off AI-controlled enemies. The ultimate goal, however, is to down the gigantic enemy stalking the area, destroying everything around him and squashing humans around you like they're ants. Teamwork is therefore paramount. Players will have a harder time surviving if they don't cooperate with those around them, bringing a strategic slant to a series that has always been about the raw power of a godlike individual.

Strangely, much of the chatter during the post-demo Q&A session made it clear that God of War: Ascension is a long way from being completed. The team still hasn't settled on the total number of multiplayer modes the game will have, though Papy noted that they're focusing on "quality, not quantity." They also haven't narrowed-down the number of maps that will be available in modes like the one shown, though right now they're hovering around seven maps (five large, two small).

What we do know is that Santa Monica has wisely walked away from the game's stringent lore in its multiplayer modes. Single-player will be heavily focused on story, but to make multiplayer replayable and continuously enjoyable, the team decided to stray from plot and focus more on the gameplay experience itself. However, there will be no playable female characters, no local split-screen support and no drop-in/drop-out mechanics, so multiplayer won't exactly be rife with options. In other words, online play via the PlayStation Network seems to have taken precedence over couch co-op


Teamwork is key.


That Sony Santa Monica outright refused to address Ascension's single-player offering beyond noting that it exists and that it features Kratos in a prequel story will undoubtedly frustrate the series' biggest fans. The fact that Kratos will appear in a single-player campaign in the game should allow ardent God of War fanatics to breathe a sigh of relief -- Ascension isn't only multiplayer -- but what the already established God of War consumer base really wants to know about is Kratos, what kind of story the prequel will tell and what kind of surprises are in store for them on that front.

Then again, the demonstration of one of the multiplayer modes proved that even if Ascension is prepared to deviate from the formula that's made the God of War franchise one of Sony's biggest critical and commercial successes, there may indeed be a method to Santa Monica's perceived madness. God of War has always prided itself on its amazing, arcadey gameplay, and from all Sony showed, that appears to be very much intact.

With the multiplayer details out of the way, it's time to eagerly wait for more of the details we really want to know. Where's Kratos? What story will be told about him? Can we expect any multiplayer or cooperative functionality in the campaign itself? And perhaps most importantly, when specifically can we expect God of War: Ascension to hit store shelves? Hopefully, we'll get at least some of these answers at E3 in just over a month.

intalect

after watching the videos my mind is at ease this game is gonna be awesome .......

intalect

CitySojourner wrote: »

really?! where'd you hear that? kinda quick.

The things you see in the right corner of your PSN news feed ....

vageneral08

The multiplayer reminds of an older game with a similiar gameplay to it I cant think of the name right now

Mowgli3.0

Looks like Trash! This feature could be the end of this series. If a bunch of fanboys jump on this crap and demand it for GOW 4 we're going to get a single player even worse then GOW3. I hope they separate these ideas from their main franchise. This series does not need 2 *evolve* like this.