The Battle Fatigue of God of War: Ascension | 1UP

1UP: "Impeccable presentation can't shake the overwhelming feeling of familiarity."

[Walker]

This game is going to be highest rated hack and slash game in this year and probably this generation. strong goty contender for sure . can't wait for another sony santa monica success !

[Dwalls1171]

Im sorry but I completely disagree with the author. If they can make one hundred and sixty three mario games , six halo games , and going on four gears game dont tell me now all of a sudden ...

Ohhh this is too familiar -_-

[Donnieboi]

How does oversaturation of another franchise justify it happening with this one? You don't make any sense. 2 wrongs don't make it right.

Anyway: I don't see anything wrong with releasing a new GOW, but it has to change up the formula too sometimes. Oh well, at least the multiplayer was awesome. But lets hope that the campaign adds something fresh.

[AznGaara]

Don't forget 6 Call of Duty games and 5 Assassins Creed games all within this generation. All of which rarely changes the formula. Atleast this is the second GoW game on the Ps3 and they are changing the combat a LITTLE. Sure it's not a whole new genre but does it need to be?

[Megaton]

Agreed. GoW is as stale as all of those franchises.

[pain777pas]

1up is irrelevant this is all they can resort to. I don't even think that their editors are paid anymore. They are a shell of what they were. Garnett, Shane, Davidson and J Milkman were the reason the site was worth coming to and the fighting game awesome guy(forgot his name works for Capcom. Parish should retire or just youtube it. This is what they resort to for hits. When David who is now where he wanted to be at 343 he reduced the site to so pro MS and anti-Japanese save for J Parish that the site fell from the amazing dialogue about games and discussion in Podcast and the 1up phenomenal show. Sutner was just like David only for Sony and guess what he works for Sony. The stars have left and only one remains in Jeremy Parish and it is time to move on or go to Gamespot at least. 1up is DEAD. Rip to once upon a time was such a go to spot for excellent discussion even debate on gaming.

[MmaFan-Qc]

1UP stopped to be revelant a long time ago(probably when they cancelled the 1UpShow)

their final article should be named:
"1UP and their shitty articles fatigue"

[miyamoto]

If it ain't broke don't fix it, 1Up I mean 1Down.

[firelogic]

1up also disliked Ni no Kuni. They seem to hate fun games these days.

[bryam1982]

you forgot the call of duties lol

[smashcrashbash]

Yeah reviewers can only sense familiarity when it comes to games like this. Gears, COD, Mario Pokemon and Halo don't set off their senses at all. Everyone noticed Ratchet and Clank had basically the same formula each time and ignored any new weapons, characters or gameplay mechanics to give it the same or a lower score then the last one. But as soon as you even breathe that Mario or Halo is getting stale people are ready to cut your throat. It is only okay for them to keep up their franchises.Sony and friends MUST stop at three. What was the wonderful mechanic that the last Mario had that made it so great? Collecting coins? Wow it gives me chills /s

[MaxXAttaxX]

Out of all the other positive previews, 1UP had to be the a-holes.
And when others were praising Ni No Kuni, aside from reviewing and scoring it a 'C', they also had to write a whole article just to say why they think it's not so special.

They're playing "familiarity" as a negative point exclusively for GOW and not for New Super Mario Bros 4, Pokemon, Halo or COD.
But sure, let's ignore all the additions and improvements /s

[violents]

Sounds like this guy wants an open world God of war where kratos smiles and cries alot. How can you downplay kratos's rage, thats like 3/4 of what makes it great. And any other game thats changes dramaticaly from the original formula too much just begs for a huge backlash from the community. The same ol GOW with better mechanics/graphics sounds great to me. Why screw up a formula that works so good?

[pr0t0typeknuckles]

i agree, its good to change things but you have to keep the core gameplay familiar or you better expect backlash, cough...DmC..Cough, cough.

[HammadTheBeast]

And he forgets the part that this whole game is about Kratos' other side, hasn't even played it.

[d_dogg2007]

can't shake the overwhelming feeling of familiarity, they say this about god of war and yet call of duty gets a free pass? Come on! God of war games are of the highest quality, so let it go!

[Baka-akaB]

Sure 1up (and even the author) let's pretend you usually and constantly seek novelty and spice within the games you review and preview

[KING85]

This is why you can't win with everyone. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Not saying this is the same, but when Ninja Theory changed some things about DMC all hell broke loose. Now because the gameplay mechanics are pretty much tried and true with GOW, with a hint of enhancements some are going to cry formulaic.
It's impossible to please everyone. As a developer you just have to remind yourself that all of your customers won't be pleased. If you can please the majority then that's great. Yet sometimes it'll be a hit or miss and you just have to take those lumps, learn from then and move on.

[Gohadouken]

I hear what you but not a convincing example imo . There is change and there is doing the same thing simplified for better or worse in a new setting .

Kamiya and Platinum games took the dmc1 formula and what did they do with it ?Not just the characters and settings , two games that while retaining the spirit and core concepts of DMC1 , changed their gameplay in a profond enough way .

NT took the same stuff changed the focus of the difficulty and the setting . Let's not pretend it was a radical change with a brand new gameplay mechanic . The biggest change was the color code for fighting some foes and feeble platforming .

That's a radical change for my taste and the quality of the game imo , sure , but it didnt revolutionize and got burned and misunderstood doing so . It remained formulaic and didnt even do 1% of othe new stuff it claimed it would

On the other hand here is a Gow game with a brand new mp system , revamping some of its qte to be less stale and formulaic , and actully improving its tech and animation .

Again just not convinced by the use of DmC as an example . It's true that not every changes especially radical ones will be always appreciated however .

[TKCMuzzer]

Devs only need to decide weather they want to please fans of the series or try to please everyone. God Of War has sold millions to gamers who like the formula. These are the people who should review the game as these are the people who want more.
I like the God Of War series for what the author is complaining about, bring me more hack and slash that's what I want (It's not like its over saturated with GOW like games). I mean this is only the second God Of War in 6 years of the PS3. I wish so called journalists would actually focus on the franchises that are cheating gamers, COD.
Even Mario, which lets face it has not changed it's formula from the beginning, carries on making millions happy even though they know what to expect.
Franchises have fans and this is who the devs need, games like COD don't have fans they have sheep (many journalists) and therefore are not privy to the same high standards when being criticized.

I say "Kratos, for one last time on this Gen, lets hack and slash once more..."

[Williamson]

From what Ive seen the combat looks like its going to be way better in this game. People jump to point GOW getting stale but never point it out for other franchises that don't add anything new.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

It's because its on a Sony platform. This is only the 2nd GOW for ps3. Other franchises got a lot more yet they dont get the hate.

[pr0t0typeknuckles]

mario

[frostedjuly]

can't we say the same about every fucking mario,zelda,pokemon, cod,geow,ac ,... game?

[Ippiki Okami]

Down voted this site. What a stupid article. You can literally make the same argument for Halo, GEOW, mario, etc. 1UP is gaming news for hipsters and casuals. GTFO of gaming.

[HeavenlySnipes]

So they should completely change the game after so many successful games? The game is popular not only for the combat, but the visuals, the story and the characters. There is a reason for all the hype. The fact that this has multiplayer (and one that is surprisingly deep and fun) is a big enough change. Can't wait for March

[firelogic]

GoW:A has added a bunch of new combat mechanics, increased the scale, increased the spectacle, improved the animations even further, using a new artstyle, and the game actually looks better than GoW3 which is astounding.

Not to mention the addition of a full-fledged MP mode.

What's not to like?

[chukamachine]

First assassins creed was the best. Rest was ok at best.

On topic, as long as the game is smooth and combat feels good i'll be happy.

I've been playing a lot of DMC and it's awesome. Anyone knocking it is silly. It's better then the other dmc's imo. Combat is fluid and enemies feel good to battle against.

[InTheLab]

And here we are setting the stage for a C from 1Up.com....

[BigBoss1964]

Why of all the franchise's that do this does God of War get singled out? If the author feels the formula is getting stale here's an idea 'don't play it' you know I bet guys like this don't even say these things to the developers themselves

[jetlian]

truth is GOW fighting system is pretty weak and is long over due for a make over. When it comes to H/S gow still based on sq sq tri.

GOW is fun tho but its story is the only hook. Take away its story and the game would barly get 70 out 100. It has room to grow which is why I can see them saying its to familiar

Also theres been 3 collections on ps3 so its more than 2 games.

[dafegamer]

lol

[jetlian]

only thing funny is its true lol. Gow is like MK gore masks the gameplay and only the west trys to consider it equal. DMC,bayo,MGR, and NG have way better combat!

[r21]

Sorry jetlian but the collection is an hd remaster, not a new game SO technically there have been only 1 and soon to be 2 God Of War games on the PS3.

[The Great Melon]

Though I am looking forward to God of War Ascension, I do agree that they should rest the franchise after this game a little bit. Kratos' epic has been completed, so unless there truly is more story that needs to be known more games will begin to feel stale without major gameplay advancements.

Besides wouldn't everyone like Sony Santa Monica to create another franchise as captivating as God of War.

[Kennytaur]

Don't change it = complaints.
Change it = complaints.

[shivvy24]

so its okay for cod to get away with it but when theres a game other than cod or the mainstream bs it gets bashed

[StrawberryDiesel420]

1UP: "Impeccable presentation can't shake the overwhelming feeling of familiarity." What a troll statement,God of War 3 was an amazingly well made game and this will be just as good if not better. Some people are so full of shit and are never happy no matter what they are given.