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.
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.
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.
God of War Ascension Kratos Model
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
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. However, 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.
Release Date: March 12, 2013
Credits: http://www.ign.com
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