Video Review
Intro
God of War Ascension is actually the first one in the series I have finished, having only played bits and pieces of some of the others in passing. I assume it's a good place to start seeing as this one acts as a prequel to all the rest. I only rented this game and was unable to obtain an online pass, so I will not be including the multiplayer in this review. From what I've heard it isn't that great anyway so no huge loss there.
Story/Presentation
On the graphics front I really can't complain, 97% of the time I was overly impressed. The game truly is gorgeous. It's really hard not to be impressed, the environments and enemies have a very stylish look to them, and their smooth as butter animations really bring them to life. The stunning lighting effects this game has mixed in with its vibrant colors definitely help too. The 3% of the time I wasn't impressed was during the few small glitches I encountered (nothing major just your typical enemy freezes and collision issues), along with a few character models that appeared a little rough around the edges.
The distantly spaced cut-scenes in this game are an absolute treat to the eye, and their transition between the gameplay and the scenes are virtually unnoticeable. Which, works to the games favors considering majority of the games scenes require the player to participate either through Quick-Time-Events (QTE's) or the newly introduced button-less prompts. By button-less prompts I mean exactly that, the game just sort of assumes that you'll catch on that you need to interacting with Kratos still despite appearing to be in a cutscene. Basically they're QTE's without the buttons shown for you. I found this feature to be quite unique, and it finally manages to create a purely seamless experience for the player. One that allows the player to control the character who appears to be a puppet to a cut-scene, without just having to tap the random buttons on the screen while the character does the moves for you. Personally I wish that they actually would've included more of these instances, and less of the QTE's. The times you do get to experience this new feature consist of dodging and attacking an enemy based on their moves during an execution, along with simple things such as walking toward and pummeling bosses to death.
If you hadn't caught on yet this game unsurprisingly puts the player in control of the war-torn, blood soaked Kratos on his seemingly endless quest for vengeance. Kratos this time around is attempting to sever ties to Ares by killing the three furies. Only complaint I can really think of is that the game starts off a little slow in the cinematic department, but it picks up the further you get into it. From a story perspective there's nothing mind-blowing going on here. It's rather restricted which causes it to be predictable, but the constant action and gore keep it interesting.
Now I know everyone viewing this review is curious whether or not this game includes the traditional sex mini-game. Disappointingly no it does not, although it does have a little seduction scene towards the beginning of the game which has a considerable amount of perfectly formed nude women.
Gameplay/Structure/Longevity
From the little I've played of previously God of War games this one remains fairly similar in terms of gameplay. It has a plethora of complex, fun, and rewarding puzzles. Actually I was very impressed with this games puzzles. I actually got stuck on a couple and they required me to do some thinking. Something that didn't happen when I played the new Tomb Raider Reboot.
Along with puzzles this game has some intuitive platforming segments which occasionally offer a little challenge. Majority of the time you'll be wall climbing which is far too automatic to offer much of a challenge, but the sliding segments which blend jumping, swinging, and dodging are quite enjoyable along with being intense. Overall I was very impressed with how well this game blended puzzles, platforming, and combat. It added diversity and had just the right amount of each gameplay element to stop the game from ever becoming boring.
The combat is actually where I found the most issues with this game. Kratos is limited to his Blades of Chaos, along with whatever world weapon he has picked up to slice, stab, gouge, behead, dismember, and disembowel his enemies. The only variety offered with the Blades of Chaos comes in the form of the different elements that can be attached to it. During his Journey Kratos will be granted with different elements such as the Souls of Hades, or the Lightning of Zeus. Sadly these elements really only offered a visual change and not much beyond that. By that I mean the move set remained almost identical regardless of having a different element activated. The only change offered in form of moves is the special attacks unlocked through upgrading, sadly these special moves really aren't that well special. Along with that the different elements didn't seem to have any advantages/disadvantages on different enemies which seemed like a waste.
There are a few different world weapons that can be picked up, which enable some slight variation to the combat. Sadly, these world weapons don't offer much beyond one attack.
The issues I had with the combat aside from the limited offense is the frustrating, and challenging defense. Perhaps this is because I am new to the series and am not used to the clunky inconsistent dodging and parrying mechanic this game possesses Dodging is done through Kratos being able to roll from enemy attacks via the Right Joy Stick. The roll itself is a fine animation with a decent amount of distance to it. What bothered me is that Kratos is a bit sluggish in his rolling. It takes him a second to recoup in-between rolls which can cause for the player to get hit by another attack after dodging the first attack. The blocking while functioning well, and being dictated by a press of the L1 button works against a majority of enemies attacks. What isn't quite as smooth is parrying which is done by tapping X while blocking. The timing on the parrying is not very forgiving along with being unable to parry an enemies second or third attack when they're in the middle of a combo. Basically if you miss your opportunity on their initial attack, but block it you are unable to do anything except block until their combo string is complete. This defense works well when there aren't many enemies to combat at a time. There were quite a few segments in this game where you are battling too many enemies to keep track of, and you'll be too busy getting frustrated with Kratos's sluggish defensive moves to find much opportunity to attack which will cause for some annoying deaths. When things begin to get too hectic I found myself spamming my magic ability which is activated with the Right Trigger. After 2 or 3 Magic attacks most enemies are opened up to be grabbed and finished with the R1 button. Luckily finishing enemies in this manner grant the player with more magic or health which can be vital in certain battles.
Another intriguing feature this game has is 3 special items that are given to the player during the plot. The first item enables the ability to freeze an object, and either Heal or Decay that object. The ability also can be used during combat to stop an enemy in his tracks for a few seconds. It has to be recharged after each usage shown by a meter next to the players health. The second special item creates a decoy that takes over what Kratos was doing at that specific time whether it be standing on a platform or pulling a lever, allowing Kratos to advance. In combat this decoy jumps around the map flinging enemies into the air. The third ability simply breaks illusions that the Furies are ever so fond of making. These abilities compliment the combat nicely, along with being cleverly utilized for puzzles.
The player is slowly given all these extra abilities, elements, and powers throughout the course of the game. Which is fine because it allows the very limited combat to grow into something a bit more acceptable over time. I just wish that the elements changed the Blades of Chaos move set more than it actually does.
Boss fights in this game are both abundant, epic, satisfying, and most of the time fun to battle. Even on the more lackluster fights the bosses gorey death scene at the end make it all worthwhile.
My biggest complaint about this game is how they handled the camera angles. This game has fixed camera positions and movements that the player has absolutely no control of. Which if done properly isn't much of an issue because you wouldn't ever notice it. This game is a completely different story. The camera will zoom out far away from you despite you being in the midst of combat, I'm assuming to create a spectacle by showing all the pretty environments, and set pieces the battle is taking place on. Which for the person watching, and not playing might enjoy because it does look pretty damn good. Although this can become a hindrance for the person trying to see their speck of a character amongst all the other specks trying to kill him. Parrying and dodging becomes virtually impossible, because you're simply too far away from the actual combat to attempt to time much of anything. Luckily the funky camera angles only happen during the more dramatic portions of the game. Something for the developers to look into in the future, that wouldn't hurt are some closer camera angles.
Audio/Longevity/Rewarding
The game sounds great, with some gut wrenching dying noises accompanied by some orchestrated background music. There really isn't much dialogue in this game, the dialogue that does happen is more than acceptable for the game. Obviously no one really expects a guy like Kratos to have many ground-breaking emotional moments. No he's a hardened, mostly silent protagonist filled with a regretful past. The times during the plot where Kratos was supposed to display some emotion came across as a little corny, but come on it's a little hard to take a guy who looks like he's covered in white and red body paint seriously (yes I know it's not actually body paint). All jokes aside though, I was pleasantly surprised by the length of the campaign I clocked in at just under 13 hours game time on my normal difficulty playthrough. Although this may be a little high seeing as I stepped away from my Playstation multiple times. Plus I had some trouble with a couple of some puzzles and one particularly nasty segment in the game known as the Trial of Archimedes. This segment seemed very out of place to me, because the difficulty spike for this one segment of the game is about 10 times as hard compared to the rest of the game. Also the rest of the game is very generous about checkpoints and health/magic chests yet for some reason these trials force the player to face three lengthy battles with absolutely no checkpoints or health/magic chests. I have heard rumors of a patch incoming that is supposed to make this part a little less stressful, because I'll be perfectly honest this so called trial made me yell at my TV quite a bit. After taking all of that into account I think its safe to say that this game offers more along the lines of a 10 hour campaign which in terms of games nowadays is quite long.
There is a fairly simplistic upgrade system along with a new game+ mode to keep players coming back. New Game + is playable after completing the game on any difficulty. Strangely New Game + disables the ability to unlock trophies, and only allows the player to choose a difficulty matching or lower than the one they've already beaten. So, really the only purpose of New Game + is to give the player a fun stress free play through. Along with being able to wear the different outfits and use the artifacts collected which when activated either aide or hinder the player. If your looking to use New Game + to make your Hard or Titan play through easy then I believe that you are out of luck. I messed around a bit on Titan difficulty and it definitely is hard, but I think it's fairly doable for God of War or hack 'n slash veterans.
Conclusion
God of War Ascension boasts a lengthy campaign, satisfying puzzles, and platforming. The game looks gorgeous, and has some awesome yet brutal interactive cut-scenes. For the most part the combat is fun, but is held back by a clunky defense mechanic, and restricted attack options. Personally I am not a huge fan of how they handled the Blades of Chaos offering more visual flair than move-sets. This is my first God of War game, so maybe I just need more time with the series for it to grow on me although out of curiosity I downloaded the demo for God of War III and the combat seemed considerably different. God of War Ascension is a visual masterpiece that creates a decent back story to the franchise even if the plot isn't as grand as I would've liked. Poor camera choices that favor spectacle over play ability is in my personal opinion unforgiving, although looking at the larger scope is more of a minor frustration. Ascension is an obvious purchase for any God of War or hack' n slash fan. Even if you're neither of those it's a good entry point into the series, so why not give it a go.
 |
| Must be that time of the month again |
Story/Presentation
On the graphics front I really can't complain, 97% of the time I was overly impressed. The game truly is gorgeous. It's really hard not to be impressed, the environments and enemies have a very stylish look to them, and their smooth as butter animations really bring them to life. The stunning lighting effects this game has mixed in with its vibrant colors definitely help too. The 3% of the time I wasn't impressed was during the few small glitches I encountered (nothing major just your typical enemy freezes and collision issues), along with a few character models that appeared a little rough around the edges.
The distantly spaced cut-scenes in this game are an absolute treat to the eye, and their transition between the gameplay and the scenes are virtually unnoticeable. Which, works to the games favors considering majority of the games scenes require the player to participate either through Quick-Time-Events (QTE's) or the newly introduced button-less prompts. By button-less prompts I mean exactly that, the game just sort of assumes that you'll catch on that you need to interacting with Kratos still despite appearing to be in a cutscene. Basically they're QTE's without the buttons shown for you. I found this feature to be quite unique, and it finally manages to create a purely seamless experience for the player. One that allows the player to control the character who appears to be a puppet to a cut-scene, without just having to tap the random buttons on the screen while the character does the moves for you. Personally I wish that they actually would've included more of these instances, and less of the QTE's. The times you do get to experience this new feature consist of dodging and attacking an enemy based on their moves during an execution, along with simple things such as walking toward and pummeling bosses to death.
 |
| Well it beats Liposuction |
If you hadn't caught on yet this game unsurprisingly puts the player in control of the war-torn, blood soaked Kratos on his seemingly endless quest for vengeance. Kratos this time around is attempting to sever ties to Ares by killing the three furies. Only complaint I can really think of is that the game starts off a little slow in the cinematic department, but it picks up the further you get into it. From a story perspective there's nothing mind-blowing going on here. It's rather restricted which causes it to be predictable, but the constant action and gore keep it interesting.
 |
| Fury |
Gameplay/Structure/Longevity
From the little I've played of previously God of War games this one remains fairly similar in terms of gameplay. It has a plethora of complex, fun, and rewarding puzzles. Actually I was very impressed with this games puzzles. I actually got stuck on a couple and they required me to do some thinking. Something that didn't happen when I played the new Tomb Raider Reboot.
Along with puzzles this game has some intuitive platforming segments which occasionally offer a little challenge. Majority of the time you'll be wall climbing which is far too automatic to offer much of a challenge, but the sliding segments which blend jumping, swinging, and dodging are quite enjoyable along with being intense. Overall I was very impressed with how well this game blended puzzles, platforming, and combat. It added diversity and had just the right amount of each gameplay element to stop the game from ever becoming boring.
 |
| Weeeee! |
The combat is actually where I found the most issues with this game. Kratos is limited to his Blades of Chaos, along with whatever world weapon he has picked up to slice, stab, gouge, behead, dismember, and disembowel his enemies. The only variety offered with the Blades of Chaos comes in the form of the different elements that can be attached to it. During his Journey Kratos will be granted with different elements such as the Souls of Hades, or the Lightning of Zeus. Sadly these elements really only offered a visual change and not much beyond that. By that I mean the move set remained almost identical regardless of having a different element activated. The only change offered in form of moves is the special attacks unlocked through upgrading, sadly these special moves really aren't that well special. Along with that the different elements didn't seem to have any advantages/disadvantages on different enemies which seemed like a waste.
There are a few different world weapons that can be picked up, which enable some slight variation to the combat. Sadly, these world weapons don't offer much beyond one attack.
The issues I had with the combat aside from the limited offense is the frustrating, and challenging defense. Perhaps this is because I am new to the series and am not used to the clunky inconsistent dodging and parrying mechanic this game possesses Dodging is done through Kratos being able to roll from enemy attacks via the Right Joy Stick. The roll itself is a fine animation with a decent amount of distance to it. What bothered me is that Kratos is a bit sluggish in his rolling. It takes him a second to recoup in-between rolls which can cause for the player to get hit by another attack after dodging the first attack. The blocking while functioning well, and being dictated by a press of the L1 button works against a majority of enemies attacks. What isn't quite as smooth is parrying which is done by tapping X while blocking. The timing on the parrying is not very forgiving along with being unable to parry an enemies second or third attack when they're in the middle of a combo. Basically if you miss your opportunity on their initial attack, but block it you are unable to do anything except block until their combo string is complete. This defense works well when there aren't many enemies to combat at a time. There were quite a few segments in this game where you are battling too many enemies to keep track of, and you'll be too busy getting frustrated with Kratos's sluggish defensive moves to find much opportunity to attack which will cause for some annoying deaths. When things begin to get too hectic I found myself spamming my magic ability which is activated with the Right Trigger. After 2 or 3 Magic attacks most enemies are opened up to be grabbed and finished with the R1 button. Luckily finishing enemies in this manner grant the player with more magic or health which can be vital in certain battles.
Another intriguing feature this game has is 3 special items that are given to the player during the plot. The first item enables the ability to freeze an object, and either Heal or Decay that object. The ability also can be used during combat to stop an enemy in his tracks for a few seconds. It has to be recharged after each usage shown by a meter next to the players health. The second special item creates a decoy that takes over what Kratos was doing at that specific time whether it be standing on a platform or pulling a lever, allowing Kratos to advance. In combat this decoy jumps around the map flinging enemies into the air. The third ability simply breaks illusions that the Furies are ever so fond of making. These abilities compliment the combat nicely, along with being cleverly utilized for puzzles.
 |
| Handyman |
The player is slowly given all these extra abilities, elements, and powers throughout the course of the game. Which is fine because it allows the very limited combat to grow into something a bit more acceptable over time. I just wish that the elements changed the Blades of Chaos move set more than it actually does.
Boss fights in this game are both abundant, epic, satisfying, and most of the time fun to battle. Even on the more lackluster fights the bosses gorey death scene at the end make it all worthwhile.
My biggest complaint about this game is how they handled the camera angles. This game has fixed camera positions and movements that the player has absolutely no control of. Which if done properly isn't much of an issue because you wouldn't ever notice it. This game is a completely different story. The camera will zoom out far away from you despite you being in the midst of combat, I'm assuming to create a spectacle by showing all the pretty environments, and set pieces the battle is taking place on. Which for the person watching, and not playing might enjoy because it does look pretty damn good. Although this can become a hindrance for the person trying to see their speck of a character amongst all the other specks trying to kill him. Parrying and dodging becomes virtually impossible, because you're simply too far away from the actual combat to attempt to time much of anything. Luckily the funky camera angles only happen during the more dramatic portions of the game. Something for the developers to look into in the future, that wouldn't hurt are some closer camera angles.
 |
| So uhhh where's my character at? |
Audio/Longevity/Rewarding
The game sounds great, with some gut wrenching dying noises accompanied by some orchestrated background music. There really isn't much dialogue in this game, the dialogue that does happen is more than acceptable for the game. Obviously no one really expects a guy like Kratos to have many ground-breaking emotional moments. No he's a hardened, mostly silent protagonist filled with a regretful past. The times during the plot where Kratos was supposed to display some emotion came across as a little corny, but come on it's a little hard to take a guy who looks like he's covered in white and red body paint seriously (yes I know it's not actually body paint). All jokes aside though, I was pleasantly surprised by the length of the campaign I clocked in at just under 13 hours game time on my normal difficulty playthrough. Although this may be a little high seeing as I stepped away from my Playstation multiple times. Plus I had some trouble with a couple of some puzzles and one particularly nasty segment in the game known as the Trial of Archimedes. This segment seemed very out of place to me, because the difficulty spike for this one segment of the game is about 10 times as hard compared to the rest of the game. Also the rest of the game is very generous about checkpoints and health/magic chests yet for some reason these trials force the player to face three lengthy battles with absolutely no checkpoints or health/magic chests. I have heard rumors of a patch incoming that is supposed to make this part a little less stressful, because I'll be perfectly honest this so called trial made me yell at my TV quite a bit. After taking all of that into account I think its safe to say that this game offers more along the lines of a 10 hour campaign which in terms of games nowadays is quite long.
 |
| What a big softie |
There is a fairly simplistic upgrade system along with a new game+ mode to keep players coming back. New Game + is playable after completing the game on any difficulty. Strangely New Game + disables the ability to unlock trophies, and only allows the player to choose a difficulty matching or lower than the one they've already beaten. So, really the only purpose of New Game + is to give the player a fun stress free play through. Along with being able to wear the different outfits and use the artifacts collected which when activated either aide or hinder the player. If your looking to use New Game + to make your Hard or Titan play through easy then I believe that you are out of luck. I messed around a bit on Titan difficulty and it definitely is hard, but I think it's fairly doable for God of War or hack 'n slash veterans.
Conclusion
God of War Ascension boasts a lengthy campaign, satisfying puzzles, and platforming. The game looks gorgeous, and has some awesome yet brutal interactive cut-scenes. For the most part the combat is fun, but is held back by a clunky defense mechanic, and restricted attack options. Personally I am not a huge fan of how they handled the Blades of Chaos offering more visual flair than move-sets. This is my first God of War game, so maybe I just need more time with the series for it to grow on me although out of curiosity I downloaded the demo for God of War III and the combat seemed considerably different. God of War Ascension is a visual masterpiece that creates a decent back story to the franchise even if the plot isn't as grand as I would've liked. Poor camera choices that favor spectacle over play ability is in my personal opinion unforgiving, although looking at the larger scope is more of a minor frustration. Ascension is an obvious purchase for any God of War or hack' n slash fan. Even if you're neither of those it's a good entry point into the series, so why not give it a go.
Pro's
+Breathtaking environment
+Detailed enemies with life-like animations
+Gorgeous, Satisifying, and Gorey Cut-scenes
+QTE's and new Buttonless Prompts are brilliantly handled
+Awesome Puzzle and Platforming segments
Con's
-Plot lacks scope
-Blades of Chaos elements are a tease and more for visual pleasure instead of offering varying move sets
-Clunky dodging, parrying needs to be fine tuned
-Bad camera design choice that focuses on spectacle rather than playability
+Breathtaking environment
+Detailed enemies with life-like animations
+Gorgeous, Satisifying, and Gorey Cut-scenes
+QTE's and new Buttonless Prompts are brilliantly handled
+Awesome Puzzle and Platforming segments
Con's
-Plot lacks scope
-Blades of Chaos elements are a tease and more for visual pleasure instead of offering varying move sets
-Clunky dodging, parrying needs to be fine tuned
-Bad camera design choice that focuses on spectacle rather than playability
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