So you might be wondering to yourself, why are we just now giving a God of War: Ascension a review. To better answer that, I’ll first give you a bit of a back story. Most websites tend to receive titles for review weeks before the game’s release date so they can spend proper time with the title and comply with any given embargoes out there. While our site wasn’t in line to get a review unit way in advance, we were still going to receive a unit for review a week prior to the game’s release. Long story short, due to a shipping mishap, we were not able to get our unit for review till 10 days after the game’s release. By then of course, every major and minor site had shared their take on the game. Soon, the game’s first week and second week sales, which are highly important and often based on the surrounding reviews, were to be announced as well. At this point, I had an important decision to make. Do I release our review and just follow the pack or hold off and find a more meaningful time to share our God of War: Ascension review?
As you can tell, I opted for the latter scenario. Despite a large part of a game’s sales taking place during the first month, a great many of gamers tend to not be able to play a given title till months down the line. Be it bad timing with their lives or the holdouts who want to get in on the action at a better price and that’s who I want to talk with. This means that while the hype for God of War: Ascension might be done by now, there are still thousands of holdouts who have not purchased and played the game. With the summer gaming lull soon to kick into full affect (minus The Last of Us), it’s time to answer the question. Should you buy God of War: Ascension for its single player campaign?
Without giving too much away, God of War: Ascension takes place before the events of the original God of War. With Kratos having broken his blood oath with the Gods, Zeus summons the Furies, three sisters who do the bidding of the Gods and punish those who dare defy those in Olympus. As expected from a GoW title, things quickly begin with a bang and help set the stage for battles that would to come. More so then any previous GoW title, Ascension tells a much more personal story of Kratos and his path towards bringing down Zeus. Don’t, however, take this as a sign that Ascension is any less brutal or grand than past titles. In fact, before you know it, you’ll be facing off against the multi-level Hecatonchires which will be sure to challenge GoW veterans and bring a smirk across your face due to its sheer size. Throughout the game, expect to have your skills tested with more challenging bosses and areas with legions of enemies who want nothing more then to see your demise.
To combat series fatigue and help you combat new enemies, GoW: A has an all new battle system. While everything you knew about the old fighting system, down to the button layout, is the same, gone are the different weapons. Instead, Kratos now gets access to Blades of Chaos with different weapon upgrades. Each upgrade acts as a different type of magic and gives your weapon a different effect with different magic attacks. Weapon breakdown goes like this:
- Fire of Ares torches foes alive
- Ice of Poseidon freezes enemies
- Lightning of Zeus delivers electric attack
- Soul of Hades calls upon the undead during battle
Like GoW 3 and other combat game, each weapon offers an advantage against particular enemies and mastering each can have its own rewarding outcome. In addition to weapon upgrades, certain enemies drop weapons throughout the game like swords, shields, and javelins. While crucial to beating certain enemies and bosses, these secondary weapons can also be a ton of fun when used in conjunction with your normal attacks and can be used to create deadly combos. The team at Santa Monica Studios also upgraded how chests are handled with new animation, once again enforcing the brutal nature of the game.
As a side note, the sheer amount of fun things you can do with “Oath Stone of Orkos” which I wont give as to what it is had me smiling ear to ear. Whomever came up with that design and implementation, thank you.
This brings us to the game’s brutality. GoW: A is more brutal, gory, and hardcore than any past GoW titles. Enemy eyes and guts are beautifully ripped out and torn apart with details gushing onto your screen. While that might sound off putting to some, that is to say that the team really took their time to create some fluid and fantastic looking animations. The world is more vivid then ever before and Kratos has never looked so detailed. The team has gone through every aspect of the game and improved textures and lightning. In fact, I’ve been in a GoW zone as of late, having played through GoW 1-3 in the past 6 months and beating the 3rd title only two weeks prior to GoW: A.
This proved to be a positive and a negative in the end. Having came off of GoW 3 only two weeks prior to GoW: A, it was easy to see all the hard work put into the game. The graphical increase alone is striking but the team did not stop there. As I said, the animation of Kratos and enemies is smoother than ever. Boss battles are bigger and more destructive than before with a game mechanic that is truly varied and tested. This, however, brings us to the negative side effect.
There are other games that have tried to be GoW but what makes this series a success, outside of the great combat system that it offers, is its world. Gamers have connected with Kratos and are fascinated by the world that he encompasses. In fact, for me, a big enjoyment from the series comes from the mythology and story that unfolds throughout – and that’s where GoW: A stumbles. I’m ultimately not sure if it was just me or the narrative but I never fully felt I knew what was going on. You know that Kratos is on a path, partially due to the course he’s chosen and partially due to the chase that is unfolding. Beyond that though, you seem to arrive at destinations with a hazy understanding of how and why you are there. This proved to be a bit of a let down though maybe another play through will better clear things up.
Verdict:
With the summer game drought quickly upon us, there is little doubt that you should purchase God of War: Ascension, if only for its single player mode. While lacking a bit in a cohesive narrative, fans of the franchise will find plenty to love in a highly refined single player campaign while newcomers will be introduced to a Kratos who has yet to be transformed to the God slayer that he becomes, allowing for an easier connection to his journey. GoW: A might pull you in with its fantastic visuals but ultimately, it will be the combat that will have you going back for more in order to unlock new trophies and experience different combos.
Part two of our review will focus on God of War: Ascension’s multiplayer campaign, a first for the series.
Purchase:
You can purchase God of War: Ascension by clicking our link. Ordering with Amazon links from our site helps pay for the site’s content and servers.
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