God of War: Ascension multiplayer- Surprise Four on four competitive God of War battles

The beginning of the God of War: Ascension gameplay we saw last week was a joke – literally. A trick. It began with a Kratos-looking soldier in the typical God of War opening pose, staring at the player, full of rage. When the camera pulled back he was decidedly not Kratos, at least not how we've ever seen him before. He put on a helmet, turned around, and began battling a Cyclops. A few seconds later another soldier, donning the same armor and red body paint, joined the battle, hacking and slashing apart the raging beast.

[Nitrowolf2]

Those graphics 0_0
they look insane on the cyclops

[redDevil87]

Dude, i was looking forward to the game, but i wasn't hyped.

But now, i must see more...must see more... the hype is coming...

[Gazondaily]

Same here.

That looks impressive and it's only the MP portion of the game! This looks like great fun and MP is definitely going to add to the longevity of the game.

Can't wait :D

[WillGuitarGuy]

Need moar...moar! ...MOAR!
I'm actually surprised on how well the multiplayer looks and works, even though we haven't had a go at it ourselves just yet.

[lastdual]

I'm definitely intrigued, but now I have a ton of questions (about game types, customization, will the camera angles stay fixed?...). It will be interesting to see if this is able to gain traction.

And while this raises my hype somewhat, I'll still be 1000% more excited when I see some single player footage.

I'm really hoping they make the solo game not just "bigger and more brutal", but actually add some new elements gameplay-wise. Maybe take a cue from Darksiders and incorporate open-world hubs and a nonlinear progression of levels, etc.

[gaffyh]

I hope they have a co-op horde mode type-of-thing as well. But it looks pretty interesting for objective based multiplayer, kinda hopefully they have multiple objectives like Killzone 3 multiplayer.

[sikbeta]

Damn! Just when I though SSM reached the peak with GOWIII, Ascension goes to a whole new level of Awesome! O_O

[mafiahajeri]

Sony is bringing the big guns havent seen this from them this gen. Cant wait for e3!!!!

I always wanted MP in GOW and this exceeds my expectations looks amazing!!!

[MaxXAttaxX]

....that looks amazing!!!

Sony Santa Monica just....
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Can't wait to see how the Single-player looks!!!

[Spydiggity]

the MP looks exactly how you'd expect it to look. what else could they really do?

hate to be the only person grounded in reality here, but this is not the type of game that will have mass MP player appeal. in fact, i'll go as far as to predict that less than 1k ppl will play this per day within the first two weeks of launch.

not that i'm saying it looks bad...just something ppl won't actually play. the sony-supporters are notorious for building up massive hype that the game can never live up to. and you're all doin it again. can't you just say "looks good, looking forward to it?" do you really have to say "best game ever!" "omg, game looks amazing even in MP! (which is based on a single average-rez video - and lets not forget that most MP games have a lot going on in them which is why they have to scale back the graphics...this game does not)"

[Crazyglues]

Yeah those graphics are amazing, and that's multi-player.. -So if multi-player looks that good what's single player going to look like... Wow Can't wait..

I mean normally you have to tone down multi-player graphics in-order to work it - Naughty Dog talked about this and so did Call of Duty -Treyarch- Black -Ops the first one, when they explained why the single player looked so good but was toned down for multi-player...

-(as they explained it's just something you have to do because so much is going on at the same time..)

So I'm pumped because God Of War III Looked insane at times... So this is going to be an Amazing title.

-And who said they couldn't do a multi-player this is looking Amazing.

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[Nitrowolf2]

EXACTLY
almost all games Multiplayer is dumbed down in terms of graphics.
Single Player, though I don't expect a huge leap, will look better.

[torchic]

"at times"

God of War III is one of those console games where the graphics just blow you away, from start to finish.

[Muerte2494]

have said it better myself Torchic.

[Crazyglues]

@ torchic

yeah I agree with you, I just meant that by -at times- it exceeds even amazing..

I can think of two scenes right off the top of my head, the one where Kratos confronts his brother right before they fight.. OMG!! I remeber playing and saying wow, how is it looking this good.. - http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and when the Gods are Getting ready to jump down and attack kratos, I remember watching that scene thinking if that's in-game engine graphics then OMG!! (because they said they used the in-game engine for all cut-scents) how is this even possible because that just looks so good.. -fast forward to about 5:12 - http://www.youtube.com/watc...

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[Awesome_Gamer]

I really hope this game is not focused on multiplayer..

[GamingPerson]

imo the cyclops looked awsome everything else is not mind blowing.

[mt]

ahhh santa monica so did what I was thinking exactly...

here is my old comment I talked about the 4 gods, and fighting a titan ( almost right) he is giant as titans

http://n4g.com/user/useract...

[basilezz3030]

OMG!! and this is only the MP
the SP will have better GFX ofcourse
DAMN!! my EYES ..MY EYES

[NastyLeftHook0]

wow! amazing!

[showtimefolks]

this is great there is still a lot of time for adjustments and polish so expect to see a lot more at E3 than SM will go quite till about 2 months before launching

[ritsuka666]

this looks...ok but a game like GOW doesn't need Multiplayer I think this sorta cash on the Game to appeal to a broader audience for sell more..

[Nimblest-Assassin]

looks like santa monica is going head on against naughty dog for best ps3 graphics...

if this is mp... imagine sp 0_0

I understand why people are worried, but they said that if they were not confident they could do it, they wouldn't

[StraightPath]

looks interesting at most, nothing to get overjoyed and hyped about it yet. Small gameplay footage and fanboys just act like they seen somthing that literally blown them away and has never been done before and they act in disbelief and in amazement.

One of my favourite exclusive games on the PS3 was GOW3 btw. Just incase they call me a "Xbox Fanboy" for a odd reason.

But looking forward to seeing more of this new GOW game. This will greatly increase the longivity as after getting the platinum trophy on GOW3 never played it again.

[Veneno]

Are you dumb? there was actually something in that footage that's never been done before. It's called multiplayer in God of War. That's something to get excited about.And the graphics were amazing.

who stole your Midol this morning?

[TruthSeeker]

That was brutal! His jaw split! Love GOW!

[princejb134]

amazing
I've noticed in the end you might have to complete puzzles together
i really hope no 12 year old buys this game it might get frustrating

[nemrawy]

When the cyclops eyes was popping out ... my eyes were popping out from the Awesomeness !!!!!!!! :)

[50Terabytespersec]

INSANE the level of detail the quality it looks like an Epic CGI movie come to life I can't wait !! my fingers are itching and so is my PS3!

[VINNIEPAZ]

I'm not to keen on the multiplayer aspect (unless a horde mode is involved

But DAMN the graphics on the cyclops are CRAZY. It takes quite a bit for me to say that, and I'm truly blown away by how good it looks. I pray the rest of the game looks that good.

[NYC_Gamer]

Soon there won't be any single player only games left

[hulk_bash1987]

true, but I think thats just the world we live in. It seems like you can't pick up a game these days without it having some kind of online functionality. And to be honest I dont see anything wrong with it as long as it doesn't affect what makes the experience fun.

[SnotyTheRocket]

Bubbles to you

[Muerte2494]

extending the longevity of the game rather than have it end up at some Gamestop under used games. Also what most people look for especially if you're asking them to fork up $65. All developers want to do it but it also take alot of creativity. Not all developers are willing to step up to the plate in this department. You ultimately want your game to remain as long as it can in someone's library.

[GhostofHorizon]

If the single player portion is god, it really make no difference if MP is included.
If people weren't renting so much and buying used they wouldn't have to resort to MP.

[Kaos_Vll]

I disagree. I don't care how good a game is you can only play it so many times before you've explored EVERY aspect of the single player portion.

At that point the game becomes a paper weight that you MIGHT play again many many moons later.

There are still gamers playing GTA4's MP to this day as well as RDR. Few people continue to play the same game years later strickly for it's campaign, imo.

[ABizzel1]

I disagree as well. God of War 3 is in my top5 games of this generation. But after beating the single player twice and challenge of Olympus there's really no need to go back and play it besides showing it off to others, or the rare feat of being in the mood to revisit a certain section.

Multiplayer isn't for everyone, but it does give a game longevity.

Call of Duty is a perfect example. You have a 6 - 8 hour campaign, but people spend 1 - 2 years playing the same game, because of the multiplayer.

Multiplayer keeps fans satisfied longer until the next installment of the franchise comes out.

I love my single player, but a good multiplayer, especially co-op is every bit as enjoyable as single player.

[MrMister]

So? What the hell does the multiplayer have to do with the single player? Stop acting like some old geezer. Games are moving forward, WHILE still retaining some old staples (like single player).

I have over 60 friends on psn, and all of the one's that never play the MP portions of their games tend to suck at them HORRIBLY (I mean, I see them in the leaderboards, and they have horrible KDR's--as bad as an average of 0.35 for every Multiplayer game they have in common with me). So most people who cry about MP hate it because they suck at it.

On a side note though, I dont care if EVERY game came with multiplayer (it extends replay value FOREVER), however--I cant quite see why they thought God of War fans would particularly care for mp. But hey, It doesnt hurt the SP, so why cry about it?

[Christopher]

***What the hell does the multiplayer have to do with the single player?***

Overall, but not in every case, games with both single and multiplayer portions tend to focus more on the multiplayer than the singleplayer and tend to have much shorter single player experiences with less replayability because the multiplayer _is_ the replayability. This is especially true in games that don't have extensive RPG leveling system or multiple classes of varying type. Now, GoW already is a game that typically doesn't do post-release DLC, it's a focus on a specific story and that's it. Now, multiplayer could be a way of extending that, but if the singleplayer game ends up being 4-6 hours in length and a lot of DLC comes down for the multiplayer, you can bet the singleplayer community is going to see this as a moved focus from a better and longer singleplayer experience.

****I have over 60 friends on psn, and all of the one's that never play the MP portions of their games tend to suck at them HORRIBLY (I mean, I see them in the leaderboards, and they have horrible KDR's--as bad as an average of 0.35 for every Multiplayer game they have in common with me). So most people who cry about MP hate it because they suck at it. ****

First, how can they have never played MP portions and be on the leaderboards?

Second, you do know they may suck because they don't play often enough to get good at them, right? Telling them they suck at MP is one of the key reasons people don't want to play MP, among other crap heard while playing MP. Because of judgement people like you who think that everyone has to be good at something rather than making the game itself enjoyable. I am in this group. I just don't like MP or what it brings out in people. Everyone plays their own way, not as a group, and when you try to get things organized by joining in over VoIP, it's crap that makes my ears want to permanently close out the whole world.

Third, yeah, some people do suck at multiplayer games in general. Does that somehow make their opinion of it worthless? No. It doesn't. That's like saying everyone should play chess, even though people don't like it or are bad at it. It's a ridiculous comment. Do we criticize people because they also don't waste the time to get platinum on all their games as well? Should we smash their consoles and tell them to never game again? I'm sure that would be the bestest way ever increase the gaming community who want to play hardcore games!

[papashango]

Multiplayer = short single player + massive singleplayer DLC

You console guys are really shooting yourselves in the foot with the multiplayer must be in every game mindset.

[1nsomniac]

I think it's definitely lost some of its sparkle over GOW3 especially since it's such a small arena. Im guessing because it's such early days though.

[hulk_bash1987]

Not completely sold on multiplayer but I wont damn it just yet. Ill wait till they show off more of it later on down the line. As long as they don't short change what I love about God of War.....the amazingly epic single player campaign.

[slutface]

Omg dat graphics!!!

[EliteDave93]

Holy cow! that looks amazing!

[Dark11]

OMG can't wait
GOTY!!!11111

[garos82]

more gruesome deaths of huge mythical beasts? count me in!
im hoping the fighting system is tight and responsive as ever and the multiplayer is not too tacked on. regardless ill be picking this up for what will hopefully be a great single player experience like its predeccesors

[thehusbo]

Looks amazing! Wasn't really sure how multiplayer would work in god of war, but it looks pretty dam good.

[StrongMan]

Another graphics King!

[NastyLeftHook0]

yep, best graphics ever this gen on consoles.

[masa2009]

Problem is that every battle is gonna play out the same, with the same canned animations for kills and objectives.
How many times is taking the same steps to kill that cyclop, and gouging his eye the same way, going to be fun?

The GoW template consists of a pretty rigid structure with scripted events, I don't see how making a competitive arena-based mode out of it is going to cope with the needs of a multiplayer game in terms of replayability.

Also, I'm not sold on competitive multiplayer with a predetermined camera.

Besides, how many maps are they going to have? Probably not many given the complex design. I'd say 8 or less, maybe as few as 5 or 6. Not including the obligatory DLC, of course.

On top of that, is this mode even going to be available for local? If not, it'd be a shame given the pick up and play, chaotic, almost Smash Bros. vibe of what we saw.

Should be an amusing diversion for a couple hours, but they better have story coop on top of that.

[BitbyDeath]

Problem is your making assumptions that only SSM know the answer too. You have no idea how it will play out, how many levels there are, or whatever other game modes they have up their sleeve.

All we do know for sure is that it is being made by Sony Santa Monica, the guys who are also behind Warhawk & Starhawk which are two of the best online games this gen (IMO).

People are praising the graphics because that is all there is at the moment, a small snippet of footage is not much to go on.

In short it looks like you are just trying to find issues which may or may not exist, maybe you should hold your negativity until more information has been divulged.

[Dragunov]

God of War never needed multiplayer. All that time and money could go to make some unlockable content or a more replayable campaign.

I never touched the multiplayer of Uncharted 3 besides the beta, and i replayed the campaign like 3 times because is that good, this will probably have the same fate.

[Muerte2494]

people get annoyed by this? It's appealing more than to a certain audience. Sure there are people like you who don't touch MP but there are also people who don't touch SP. Santa Monica isn't taking anything away from the title okay. They are only adding more to it. I don't see how gamers can say more free content is a bad thing. Just like the ps3 itself, it didn't need 3d but it is a nice feature to have? Of course it is.

[GhostofHorizon]

I'm not a huge MP fan, but Uncharted is an exception for me.

[Gazondaily]

I disagree.

The multiplayer content will add to the replayability far more than some unlockable content. There are only so many times you can play the same campaign over and over again.

Experiencing GOW with others > Playing the same campaign over and over again.

In fact, the inclusion of MP might even give players an incentive to actually play the single player campaign again to unlock items for MP (e.g costumes) That way, the unlockable content will actually have some 'value' other than only appealing to 'completionists'.

[Christopher]

***Experiencing GOW with others > Playing the same campaign over and over again. ***

Opinions differ. I personally never enjoy multiplayer aspects of games the way I do singleplayer aspects. Never. That's my history of gaming.

Now, what I question is happening and hope happens is that the team is increased in size to maintain the same level of focus on singleplayer from the past while adding multiplayer.

[Holeran]

Uncharted 3 single player is great but I will probably never get to finish it because I'm having way to much fun in the multiplayer to dedicate any time to it. The multiplayer is absolutely addicting. If Ascension multiplayer has anywhere near the fun level of Uncharted 3 multiplayer it is going to be fantastic. And from the looks of that video it looks like a lot of fun.

[r21]

wow, even in crap resolution, the game looks great! lets see some HD gameplay please :D

[ChunkyLover53]

Is it me or do a lot of these games not need multiplayer modes? I guess its an attempt to draw in a certain demographic that might only buy games with multiplayer so that they feel like they got their money's worth.

I thought God Of War, Mass Effect, Assassins Creed and a ton of other games were perfectly fine as they were. I'll be buying the game because I have the others and I like them, but I just wish companies would stick to what works. Sometimes spending time and money on something takes away from other aspects of a game.

Looks solid though.

[shadowwizard]

Well, Uncharted, Mass Effect and AC show that you can still have amazing campaing and good and refreshing Multiplayer, so I don't really see the fuss.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

ME3s ending speaks wonders to the fact that multiplayer was stupidly included. And the fact that you use AC as an example further dilutes the validity. AC is ubisofts cash cow annual release the story has suffered since. And uncharted never needed it.

[DeletedAcc]

WTF I WANT IT NOOOW. !!!!!

[Cajun Chicken]

Awesome, this could actually work!

[mr_badhand]

Multiplayer for GoW!?

No, no, no! This time would have been spent crafting the single player experience. Am I right? Isn't that what everyone said about ME3? Everyone complained about tacked multiplayer for that. The same should be applied here.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

Spoiler alert I've already got the ending for ascension. You make three pointless decisions that affect the color of which Kratos evaporates. GOTY?

[Christopher]

I still say that, mr_badhand. My single-player/co-op roots have been pretty much relegated to multiplayer modes over the last 10 years.

But, having said that, just because you see people liking multiplayer here doesn't mean there aren't people who don't like it. Nor does it mean all Sony fans who previously didn't like it suddenly do. Did you line up comments of each user here with their former statements? Or, is perception clouding your judgement?

[mr_badhand]

I would like to see the same range of comments that flooded the ME3 posts about how multiplayer will kill the single player experience. I want these comments to be posted before anyone has a chance to play the game to make a sound judgment.

And I expect this despite it being sony, ms or Nintendo related. I don't discriminate.

[b_one]

Sony delivers.

[Ninver]

Gameplay seems pretty solid. Still i'll wait and give a better opinion when i see more gameplay

[blackstrr411]

Faster combat, more moves, new moves, new weapons, more weapons(NG2) more QTE/Grab death scenes animation, each weapon should hav its grab kill animation (NG2) and please oh please no dual swords. We all know u r too lazy to add new animations. Finally make it such that the other weapons aren't a waste of red orbs. Alternative weapons in GOW have sucked ass so far only the Chains r relevant! Let's see the sun this time around...

[DaReapa]

Lol I agree with what you've said. But I gotta admit - the Cestus were pretty badass in GOW3.

[Christopher]

***Alternative weapons in GOW have sucked ass so far only the Chains r relevant! Let's see the sun this time around...***

I found myself using almost all of the alternative weapons but the chains in GoW 3. Not one moreso than the others, but switched between them as the game was pretty much designed with the idea that those alternative weapons would be tailored to take out specific enemies.

[european_cannon]

IF the focus is MP, this will be the worst rated God of War game on metacritic ever, and put a nasty dent in the otherwise perfect armor of this loved series.

[jdfoster]

Looks amazing! Could be really fun! Can't wait for the sp and mp

[KaBaW]

That poor cyclops; why would they do such a thing.. =/
All chained up, he just wants to run the wilderness and be freeeee!

[NeloAnjelo]

Wow... impressed already. Multiplayer GOW style. Santa Monica will deliver again!

[Sizzon]

Looks great, but I don't know if the God of War franchise needs MP...

[SuperBeast811]

agreed...same thing with uncharted I believe yes the MP is good but I would trade it for a longer SP anyday not every game needs MP

[PR_FROM_OHIO]

Wait if that's MP?? Just imagine what the single player will look like!!!!! OMG MIND BLOWN!!!!!!!!!!!

[peeps]

actually looks pretty good and even if it's not for everyone this is a bonus remember, the main course will still be the single player. Take Uncharted 3, loads of people say it didn't need multiplayer and loads just played single player and loved it, but equally there are plenty of people who are fans of what UC3's mp has to offer.

As far as I'm concerned this does add value for me. I played and enjoyed GOW3 but after like 1 and a half playthroughs I was done with the game tbh

[rmw2hot]

GOW Ascension looks like its going 2 be the graphics king till KZ4 and UC4 comes out. Cant wait 2 play it.

[basilezz3030]

the last of us is coming as well
so who know??

[SuperStrokey1123]

This looks better than i had expected

[SuperBeast811]

what did he ever do to you? you know I'd be mad too if I was chained up like that but it doesnt mean I should have my jaw split and then get stabbed in my eyeball!!......lol JK that was cool! but MP really???

[Z3R0_2KX]

HELL YEAAAAAAA it's been a while since I killed a Cyclops before.

[WetN00dle69]

Please do tell how you managed to kill a Cyclops.
This looks to be an interesting story.

[JAMurida]

I personally would of rather had co-op but this looks good.

[Silly gameAr]

Will be sick, and a fresh take on GOW. As a true GOW fan, I have zero problems with an MP mode and I doubt it will have much effect on the single player campaign.

Just waiting to hear more.

[Der_Kommandant]

I felt bad for the cyclops :/

[WetN00dle69]

They should unchain the Cyclops so he can have a fighting chance.

[aDDicteD]

lol, cyclops are doomed to be slaughtered in this games, though i agree they should had given some quick time events for the cyclops scene

[Ocean]

Mmmmmm not so sure God of War needed MP but i admit the video looks very promising indeed

[WetN00dle69]

HOLY POOP!!!
This looks beautifully amazing!

[jaymart2k]

These graphics make God Of War 3 look like shit.

Even tho that game has great graphics compared to alot of games.

This, just wow.

[Sevir]

And this is multiplayer! It looks totally on Par with GOW 3! I cant imagine what GOW: Ascension's single player campaign will look like!!!! Holy crap that looks intense

[NastyLeftHook0]

watch it with surround sound!!!!! JAW...DROPPED.

[FATAL1TY]

CGI quality (multi). only on PS3

http://media1.gameinformer....

[GamingTruth]

ive been saying this forever, but the pc superiority comments still exist

[BitbyDeath]

Amazing :O

[kungfuian]

'Ayyyy papy' and other 'whos ur papy' puns for the win, thank god 'of war' for Sony exclusives :-)

[TheLastGuardian]

Wow, I'm blown away by those graphics. I trust Sony Santa Monica to bring multiplayer to the God of War series in a truly epic way.

[madara0sama]

I really want a co-op mode with my created warrior. You know a mode where you can kill titans, gods, etc to level up. And possibly a survival mode, kinda like the arena.

[tubers]

The graphics **ore in me just gazmd!

[Sikct9a]

Insane! I'm really pumped from what I've seen.

[Amaterasu5]

Sounds like another chains of olyumpus, I expected half of the story to take place before the slaying with kratos as a spartan leader, we get to be in the barbarian war, and then the second half with the Blades of Chaos. I hope these news are false since they were so high as fuck, claiming this cyclops is as big as cronos and shit.

[ATi_Elite]

GOT DAM! I'm impressed!

Guerrilla Games, Santa Monica, Naughty Dogg

hats off to you guys!

[Lilioups]

OMG the mp looks EPIC

[OooHJohnny]

This GOW3 engine is a beast.

[FarCryLover182]

Multiplayer??? Please don't detract from the single.

[aDDicteD]

looking so good already!

[Knushwood Butt]

wow

[chobit_A5HL3Y]

if this game has a 4-player co-op arena mode, i will buy it for that alone :o this looks amazing right now D: i'm not a huge fan of competitive, so i hopes they put in co-op arena ^^

[jalen247]

GOW is my favorite franchise. Looks great

[jalen247]

Graphics look unbelievable!

[Arcanine]

yea GOW

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

The graphics, especially on the cyclops, look incredible...

[rbluetank]

i like what i am seeing with this game... it looks very good! i love the one eye cyclops in the back ground. The PS3 is starting to show how good games can be if you invest wisely. i can not wait for E3!!

[The real Colombian]

Not bad hope it doesn't get repeditive fast just like the single player in previous games. I hope they bring something new to the campaign as well because after beating god of war 3 once and playing the arena a few times i traded it in. Hopefully the multi player will add replay value.

[Dualshockers_Carlos]

who ever is bitching about it having multiplayer i bet you would have also bitched it it didn't have multiplayer.

[sly-Famous]

One of the many reasons this year, so far, that we dont need the PS4 just yet if they can still do this with the PS3.

[sly-Famous]

No-one tell the PC gamers about this, you know how they get when they see 6 year old tech being capable of this. ;)

[RedSoakedSponge]

when i first heard it was having multiplayer i thought "oh shit. its gonna be just like the lame ninja gaiden multiplayer.." but now iv seen it, it looks very impressive!

THIS is how you do it ninja gaiden ;)

[Shane Kim]

I had to change pants 4 times.

[MilkMan]

Question:
Why does everything need multiplayer?
This is a series renowned for its SUPER TIGHT single player focus.
I suspected this was a cash grab, now I know for sure.
I can wait until this thing hits the bins.

[nolifeking]

I'm still all kinds of apprehensive. This small taste seems nice, but can it keep me interested? I'll keep an open mind, but won't get too excited.

Did I use the proper to, too, two grammar cunts?