Seems this game is gettin no love and Sony is pushing it pretty hard with the trailers and God of War collection/God of War Ascension PS3 bundle. Live action trailer is kinda cool. The guy looks the part at least.

It looks like more God of War... for sure. But I'm still impressed with how it looks when Kratos is getting smashed through walls and what-not. I had a lot of fun with 3 up until the first person crap at the end. The only downside I see is how much they are pushing the multiplayer which I didn't find the beta very appealing. Hopefully that doesn't dilute the quality of the singleplayer. I do wish maybe they changed it up a bit though. Maybe something as simple as being able to control the camera would of been nice (which I guess is not quite so simple when you are doing the stuff they do with the boss battles).

30 minutes of gameplay over at IGN: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/01/god-of-war-single-player-predictably-awesome

Oh Jesus. OK God of War, I'm back on board.

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Only a few minutes into that 30 min video but... ''Early Last of Us access''?? Will that be a multiplayer beta I wonder? It would seem a little late considering that The Last of Us is released only a couple of months after.

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

That would be the only way for me to give this game a chance. I had my fill of God of War at the end of 3. This looks like more of that with more pissed off Kratos. No thanks.

Anyone else think that Ascension and Judgement (Gears of War) are being sent to die? Something about off-shoots just screams B-grade and not worth my time.

@project343: It's called last cash grab before new consoles. These games are barely offering anything new.

I haven't watched this yet but:

That's a pretty funny expression on his face. It looks like he's a smiling psychopath. Did Kratos ever smile?

I'll just leave this here.

Just finished watching that (mostly skimmed). That's probably one of the few most technically impressive games that somehow managed to impress while simultaneously bore the hell out of me. I'll just go play 3 again if I want more of that nonsense.

Damn , that's a good trailer !

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Man, there's a completely unsurprising slew of hyperbolic muck in the actual article itself. Greg Miller's even praising the game for the whole ''Kratos cinematically sliding down the wall by using his sword'' like that's unique (CINEMATIC EVOLUTION!!!!!...), when it's already been done in Ghost of Sparta before it -- at least.

Anywhoo I've watched through like 18 minutes of it, and it looks... serviceable. Really great sound effects and the video alone is able convey the might behind Kratos' attacks. Still, it's more God of War, and the multiplayer doesn't interest me one iota. While I'm actually really excited for the 360's own GOW initialised platform-exclusive prequel, that's because I really enjoy Gears, much more so than I do God of War. I do still like the GoW series, it's just that I've already played five of these and they barely ever make much in the way of advancements between one another. The same could be said for Gears, but I'd argue they've consistently grown between each iteration. Not by a huge margin, but enough that there's plenty new to be found in each one -- which looks to carry over into Judgment, with its AI director iterative for the campaign, a new story that isn't lead by Marcus, the OverRun mode, and all of the other multiplayer tweaks and alterations they're making.

I think Judgment justifies its existence more so than Ascension in any case.

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

Yeah, it was almost like he was a classical tragic hero or something...

@Spoonman671 said:

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

Yeah, it was almost like he was a classical tragic hero or something...

There's a tragic hero, and then there's someone like Kratos who does nothing but whine whine whine about his damn vengeance fetish. And there was that whole ''Kratos is the personification of hope'' bullshit. Man, now that was something else.

@Spoonman671 said:

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

Yeah, it was almost like he was a classical tragic hero or something...

If you're saying that he was kind of like Achilles or Odysseus or something, I can see where you're coming from. The Greeks would probably have loved Kratos.

Still, I didn't always understand the rhyme and reason behind Kratos's actions through most of God of War 2, and for me that's where I stopped feeling any sort of sympathy for him. The appeal of mashing square-square-triangle and rolling away had also lost much of its appeal by that point, so I got two thirds of the way through the second game and then didn't finish.

God of War 2 is the best character action game ever produced and has the best variety of bosses, the best first level, one of the best last bosses, all sorts of things going for it. I don't think the higher difficulties are as tightly tuned as something like Bayonetta, but as far as going through once on normal goes it's as good as it gets. The original God of War was novel and interesting; the second is just bigger and better in pretty much every way; also half the game isn't a slog through a puzzle temple. That first level is probably the best one in any game ever.

By God of War III, Kratos had already fallen into Bourne Ultimatum territory, where the hero's goal is to avenge something, but that initial grievance is so far removed that it's hard to sympathize with him. But I guess this game is like a prequel or something?

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

@Colourful_Hippie said:

@project343: It's called last cash grab before new consoles. These games are barely offering anything new.

Adding multiplayer is pretty significant.

god war is just plain fun n with great presentation this series has quietly become one of the most consistent franchises today. I know what im getting with this game n i have no problem doing it, Kratos my friend ur just a fucking badass n im with u. Can't wait GOW FTW.

That trailer made me want a God Of War movie..

Looks alright, but I don't think I will be picking this up. I still haven't finished God of War III and frankly I think I'm done with the series.

That looked incredible.

@EVO said:

@Colourful_Hippie said:

@project343: It's called last cash grab before new consoles. These games are barely offering anything new.

Adding multiplayer is pretty significant.

Sure but it feels like it's shoe horned in for the sole purpose of checking off the "has multiplayer" check box. Doesn't really mean much.

@handlas: Thanks for posting this

Having been rather uninterested in the inclusion of multiplayer in God of War Ascension, this is the first time I've really sat and looked at some of the single player game. Honestly - just wow. The game looks incredible. Sure there might not be huge leaps in innovation in terms of combat and gameplay - but there is no denying that this game looks stunning from a graphical stand point. It's actually made me very interested in picking the game up, where as before I was quite against it. I think in part, Kratos has had ALOT of adventures - all of which I've been on so fatigue was setting in. But this looks so good I might have to pick it up day one. I resisted the urge to watch all the 30 minutes of playthrough, after less then half I'd already seen enough to decide.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

It's completely in line with Greek mythology - the heroes were called "heroes" because they performed heroic feats, not because they were the good guys. And the increasing dickishness of Kratos is deliberate - the devs outright stated that they upped the ante in because there were a lot of fans idolizing the character and not getting the memo that he is basically a murderer so broken by betrayal that he does most things out of pure spite. Besides, Ascension seems to make him a bit less of an asshole, since there's footage of him actually pushing civilians out of harm's way.

Besides, don't skip the rest. Ghost of Sparta for the PSP/HD collection is way too fucking good to pass on that. And 2 is clearly the best in the series, while also having the least dumb plot out of all of them.

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

I don't know, God of War II may have been my least favorite (I have only played the first third of the first PSP game and skipped the second PSP game altogether, but I played all three console games). I would say that God of War III was the best from a combat perspective, God of War II had the best puzzles in the series, and God of War told the best story. If I had to choose my favorite, it would probably be III (although it had the simplest, and, by extension, the worst puzzles in the series), but I really did enjoy all them.

As far as Kratos's overbearing anger is concerned, I completely see where you guys are coming from, but it never bothered me for whatever reason. I think it would be weird to not hear him viscously grunt while ripping out somebody's eye.

Holy fuck is that game beautiful. It most definitely seems to play like god of war and have all it'd tropes, whether it be good or bad. But my god is that an impressive looking game.

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

I don't know, God of War II may have been my least favorite (I have only played the first third of the first PSP game and skipped the second PSP game altogether, but I played all three console games). I would say that God of War III was the best from a combat perspective, God of War II had the best puzzles in the series, and God of War told the best story. If I had to choose my favorite, it would probably be III (although it had the simplest, and, by extension, the worst puzzles in the series), but I really did enjoy all them.

As far as Kratos's overbearing anger is concerned, I completely see where you guys are coming from, but it never bothered me for whatever reason. I think it would be weird to not hear him viscously grunt while ripping out somebody's eye.

Thing is, I don't even get why people would need to relate to Kratos. He murders everything he sees since 2005, and this probably won't ever change. Just like Mario likes to stomp on mushrooms and turtles. Kratos isn't there so that players can feel embodied in his decisions; he's there to portray a reckless, rage-driven man who takes bad decisions and DEALS with it. That's it.

I'm just bored with Kratos, and the fact that there is literally nothing new in this title, as far as gameplay goes, leaves me completely uninterested. I just don't understand how people can be blown away by such an iterative game.

Loving the musical choice for the live action trailer, Ellie Goulding's my favorite female singer
 
Also trailer itself was cool, reminded me of both Gladiator and 300, which is a good thing

I was thinking about skipping over this before but after watching the hands on Sessler did at Revision 3 and watching this I am 100% back on board with GoW. They are just really fun to play through and this is just incredible to look at and who knows maybe the multiplayer will be fun to play.

Eh, i'll be brutally honest watching that 30 min gameplay got me bored and idly daydreaming about other things. (like story and stuff in LoS or beautiful action of DmC)

It looks like more God of War, which is nice, but the prequel setting does absolutely nothing for me except make me even less interested in the story.

It's also kinda weird but Krato's chain blades were sorta irritating in the gameplay, the full on glow at all times just made it look like he was swinging ropes of light around and the constant swishing sound got on my nerves (it was overbearing for some reason). If they toned down the glowy to only special or powered up attacks and made swishing not so constant but more chain noises I think i would have enjoyed watching that game play more.

@Fredchuckdave said:

God of War 2 is the best character action game ever produced and has the best variety of bosses, the best first level, one of the best last bosses, all sorts of things going for it. I don't think the higher difficulties are as tightly tuned as something like Bayonetta, but as far as going through once on normal goes it's as good as it gets. The original God of War was novel and interesting; the second is just bigger and better in pretty much every way; also half the game isn't a slog through a puzzle temple. That first level is probably the best one in any game ever.

God of War 2 ends in quicktime events. Like the final test of skill in the game is if you can press the buttons it tells you to fast enough. I don't remember how much you have to redo when you fail but I remember failing it quite a bit and getting really turned off of the game. That pretty much disqualifies it from being anything better than "ehh" for me.

@RollingZeppelin said:

I'm just bored with Kratos, and the fact that there is literally nothing new in this title, as far as gameplay goes, leaves me completely uninterested. I just don't understand how people can be blown away by such an iterative game.

cuz graphics

@Klei said:

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

I don't know, God of War II may have been my least favorite (I have only played the first third of the first PSP game and skipped the second PSP game altogether, but I played all three console games). I would say that God of War III was the best from a combat perspective, God of War II had the best puzzles in the series, and God of War told the best story. If I had to choose my favorite, it would probably be III (although it had the simplest, and, by extension, the worst puzzles in the series), but I really did enjoy all them.

As far as Kratos's overbearing anger is concerned, I completely see where you guys are coming from, but it never bothered me for whatever reason. I think it would be weird to not hear him viscously grunt while ripping out somebody's eye.

Thing is, I don't even get why people would need to relate to Kratos. He murders everything he sees since 2005, and this probably won't ever change. Just like Mario likes to stomp on mushrooms and turtles. Kratos isn't there so that players can feel embodied in his decisions; he's there to portray a reckless, rage-driven man who takes bad decisions and DEALS with it. That's it.

But Mario isn't a character. He's a mascot who's there purely as brand material more than anything, and Mario games often tend to have virtually no story. While God of War games aren't necessarily epics, when the narrative is concerned, you're still following Kratos as a character and the game is filled with cutscenes and motivations and so forth. Mario games are often more akin to a minigame collection, whereas, regardless of how anyone feels about the stories, God of War does still feature a narrative. And so when you're forced to ostensibly go through that same narrative with the same character doing quite literally the exact same thing, it's understandable why some would be tired of the prospect. At least the gameplay in Mario games (minus the constant rehashing of the 'New' SMB games) is usually diverse whereas the only advancements God of War games make are in the graphical department.

The idea of successfully attempting to humanise Kratos a little does sound a bit intriguing, though. They've always tried this in previous games by throwing the occasional moment where Kratos routinely remembers his family and gets all mopy and oh he's actually just a tragic character because he was forced to kill his family but then he just keeps killing more and more shit so it is consecutively flushed down the shitter but then oh hey here we are again going through the exact same motions. I'd love for a God of War game to actually make me feel for the character, though, and since this is set around the time before Kratos kills his family (I think..), and we'd be faced with the moment itself, they could possibly pull of some drama that might make me give a shit about Kratos again. Forcing you the player to kill Kratos' family could be an incredibly effective scene to say the least.

@Colourful_Hippie said:

@RollingZeppelin said:

I'm just bored with Kratos, and the fact that there is literally nothing new in this title, as far as gameplay goes, leaves me completely uninterested. I just don't understand how people can be blown away by such an iterative game.

cuz graphics

And because a lot of people simply like the God of War gameplay. For as iterative as they are, they always manage to deliver on what they intended. There's no denying that GoW games always play well and look great, and for some people that's all they'll need. It's high-quality spectacle in all the key areas. It's no different than how you get the same droves who buy the latest CoD game every year. Nothing wrong with sticking to something traditional, playing that something familiar. It's always a safe bet with God of War and I can understand why a lot of people may still find that appealing.

Yes, that's right. I am both criticising and defending the iterative nature of the God of War franchise. Playing both sides against one another, fucking empathy'ing it up in dis bitch.

@Yummylee said:

@Klei said:

@Godlyawesomeguy said:

@Yummylee said:

@believer258 said:

@Kidavenger said:

I've never played a God of War game before, I think it's time I dove in.

Play the first one. Skip the rest.

Not because the rest are bad games, but because they go out of their way to make Kratos (and, by extension, the player) a bigger asshole than the people he's trying to kill. When you've written a story where I want to kill the protagonist for being such an insufferable angsty douchebag, then you've done something wrong. The first one doesn't have this problem quite as badly.

Eh, it was only in God of War 3 where Kratos really started to get on my nerves. Plus God of War 2 is goddamn fantastic and perhaps the best of the lot. I think if only one should be played, it's that one.

I don't know, God of War II may have been my least favorite (I have only played the first third of the first PSP game and skipped the second PSP game altogether, but I played all three console games). I would say that God of War III was the best from a combat perspective, God of War II had the best puzzles in the series, and God of War told the best story. If I had to choose my favorite, it would probably be III (although it had the simplest, and, by extension, the worst puzzles in the series), but I really did enjoy all them.

As far as Kratos's overbearing anger is concerned, I completely see where you guys are coming from, but it never bothered me for whatever reason. I think it would be weird to not hear him viscously grunt while ripping out somebody's eye.

Thing is, I don't even get why people would need to relate to Kratos. He murders everything he sees since 2005, and this probably won't ever change. Just like Mario likes to stomp on mushrooms and turtles. Kratos isn't there so that players can feel embodied in his decisions; he's there to portray a reckless, rage-driven man who takes bad decisions and DEALS with it. That's it.

But Mario isn't a character. He's a mascot who's there purely as brand material more than anything, and Mario games often tend to have virtually no story. While God of War games aren't necessarily epics, when the narrative is concerned, you're still following Kratos as a character and the game is filled with cutscenes and motivations and so forth. Mario games are often more akin to a minigame collection, whereas, regardless of how anyone feels about the stories, God of War does still feature a narrative. And so when you're forced to ostensibly go through that same narrative with the same character doing quite literally the exact same thing, it's understandable why some would be tired of the prospect. At least the gameplay in Mario games (minus the constant rehashing of the 'New' SMB games) is usually diverse whereas the only advancements God of War games make are in the graphical department.

The idea of successfully attempting to humanise Kratos a little does sound a bit intriguing, though. They've always tried this in previous games by throwing the occasional moment where Kratos routinely remembers his family and gets all mopy and oh he's actually just a tragic character because he was forced to kill his family but then he just keeps killing more and more shit so it is consecutively flushed down the shitter but then oh hey here we are again going through the exact same motions. I'd love for a God of War game to actually make me feel for the character, though, and since this is set around the time before Kratos kills his family (I think..), and we'd be faced with the moment itself, they could possibly pull of some drama that might make me give a shit about Kratos again. Forcing you the player to kill Kratos' family could be an incredibly effective scene to say the least.

@Colourful_Hippie said:

@RollingZeppelin said:

I'm just bored with Kratos, and the fact that there is literally nothing new in this title, as far as gameplay goes, leaves me completely uninterested. I just don't understand how people can be blown away by such an iterative game.

cuz graphics

And because a lot of people simply like the God of War gameplay. For as iterative as they are, they always manage to deliver on what they intended. There's no denying that GoW games always play well and look great, and for some people that's all they'll need. It's high-quality spectacle in all the key areas. It's no different than how you get the same droves who buy the latest CoD game every year. Nothing wrong with sticking to something traditional, playing that something familiar. It's always a safe bet with God of War and I can understand why a lot of people may still find that appealing.

Yes, that's right. I am both criticising and defending the iterative nature of the God of War franchise. Playing both sides against one another, fucking empathy'ing it up in dis bitch.

So what are they going to do when they run out of Greek heroes to kill? Move on to Mesopotamian ones? Vikings? Kratos vs. the combined might of Gilgamesh and Odin? You can do a bunch of stuff with Mario and there are still plenty of ways to make-up conflicts in CoD games, but there are only so many Greek epic heroes and villains to slice and dice. Maybe they'll chuck in motherfuckin' Oedipus for good measure.

@Yummylee: GAH, you can't agree AND disagree with me! All kidding aside, I can see how someone who likes the series to be like "yay another one, cool" but everyone is like "wow this game is gonna be AMAZING!!" and I'm just like...does not compute. Also just reading the wiki, the game takes place just after Kratos kills his family so still dealing with douchebag Kratos, but maybe they will have flashbacks to before the event, either way it just doesn't interest me, just taking the very best elements from GoW it still makes for a pretty mediocre story.

Edit: man, I say "just" a lot in this post.

@believer258: Well since this is just a cash grab (a very well made cash grab) that's capitalising on the number of PS3's out there, we should theoretically get a different sort of God of War game come the next generation. A lot of people have mentioned the idea of changing the setting and time period completely, which could be pretty awesome. Once this is over, though, and we're given (yet another) in-look into Kratos' past life, this'll finally be the moment where we can move on from Kratos and his never-ceasing sand-in-his-vagina syndrome. They couldn't possibly do another prequel after this starring Kratos, and while the fucker was inferred to still be alive despite killing himself in GoW3, like you said, given the state of Greece in GoW3, I can't imagine there's a lot more they could do with the setting now.

Or maybe there is, I dunno. A lot of the big hitters of Greek mythology are dead, so they'd really hafta scrape the barrel to continue on from here.

@believer258: Well since this is just a cash grab (a very well made cash grab) that's capitalising on the number of PS3's out there, we should theoretically get a different sort of God of War game come the next generation. A lot of people have mentioned the idea of changing the setting and time period completely, which could be pretty awesome. Once this is over, though, and we're given (yet another) in-look into Kratos' past life, this'll finally be the moment where we can move on from Kratos and his never-ceasing sand-in-his-vagina syndrome. They couldn't possibly do another prequel after this starring Kratos, and while the fucker was inferred to still be alive despite killing himself in GoW3, like you said, given the state of Greece in GoW3, I can't imagine there's a lot more they could do with the setting now.

Or maybe there is, I dunno. A lot of the big hitters of Greek mythology are dead, so they'd really hafta scrape the barrel to continue on from here.