User Review : God of War: Ascension

Ups

• graphics
• gameplay

Downs

• few cut scenes
• lack of music in some areas

God of war or game thats poor?

God of war Ascension has been a highly anticipated game by the GOW community ever since we finished GOW 3 but does ascension live up to the standard? That's hard to say, this games graphics are amazing! The first time you see Kratos in a cut scene the first thing you notice is how you can see every spec of ash that's on him crystal clear.I remember the first time I played God of war, it was just before GOW3 came out and I bought the HD collection to play through before 3 came out and I remember thinking how good it looked in HD and how ehhhh it must have looked originally on PS1. That's how i feel about the difference Graphically between GOW3 and Ascension,just a major step up.The Detail they put into Kratos and all the HUGE set pieces is amazing.

The game play is fun fast and furies(pun intended).From beginning to end its non stop action or mind bending puzzles. Action wise you have the same things you've come to know and love about GOW which is good and bad.The kill animations seem to be reused from previous games. When you kill a Harpy and rip its head or wings off its great until the 100th time you've seen it and realize its the same thing Kratos has done in all of his games.A larger variety of kills would be great. They did however add in a neat mini game during battle.Instead of quick time events(QTE's)when killing some enemies you get a infinity blade style mini game where you dodge attacks by moving left or right while attacking who or whatever it is you fighting.Its not hard but is kinda rewarding to know YOU dodged that attack then disemboweled that snake thing instead of feeling like you just pushed a button real fast.

The music for this game is as usual great... when its playing.I noticed allot of moments where there was nothing but background sound,even during at least 1 boss fight.I don't understand that decision at all. They put so much work into making these great scores for this game then leave you with background sound during epic moments of game play. Normally this sorta thing wouldn't even register with me on a different game but for GOW to kill the music at any time just seems wrong.

My biggest gripe with the game tho is a lack of cut scenes. I remember every other turn or hallway in GOW 1,2, or 3 there was a cut scenes. It might not have been long or intricate but it was there giving you a feeling that you were on the right path and knew what you were doing and why. GOW ascension does just the opposite. There are very few cut scenes and while all the cut scenes serve there purpose to push you forward in the story they leave you wanting more that you just wont get.It disconnects you from the game. After an hour of running through halls, climbing walls and killing all sorts of creatures you start to forget where your going or why your even doing it.I would have rather had 20 small short story driven cut scenes then the 10 still short cut scenes that only pop up at the begging or end of the game.(seriously like 3 scenes after the intro and before the end.)its a little disappointing.

Overall this game is a fine addition to the god of war saga even given its few flaws.If your mostly interested in just killing things in the most vicious way possible(even if you saw it in GOW3)then you will love this game.If your a long time fan of the series you will love this game just for the fact that you get to see a slightly different side of Kratos and a bit more of his epic story. If you've never heard of God Of War(not likely)this is a great place to start before getting into the HD collection and GOW3.

For those of you that already have the game and cant get past the "hard part"(you know what I mean) there's a patch coming to make it a bit easier. personally i don't think it needs to be made easier. I got through it and while it did take some time it also made you invest in a strategy and feel like you really accomplished something.I for one take pride that i beat this level the way it was designed and didn't have to play the watered down version of this hard battle.

Update: Audio Issues (taken from Playstation blog)
"We are very aware of the audio drop issues many have been experiencing. This was a critical fix for this update, as a powerful and immersive audio mix is a tremendous part of the God of War experience. We apologize again for those impacted — now you’ll be able to better enjoy our sound team’s painstaking efforts."

Score

9.5

Graphics

8.5

Sound

The sound glitch's will be fixed in firmware update 1.04 the new score reflects the update.

9.5

Gameplay

9.0

Fun Factor

Overall

8.5

[imahustla19]

this is my first review iv done for ...anything.if i get it approved expect more for most new games.hope you found the review helpful.

[dachiefsman]

"lack of music"

Lol, I thought that was a glitch.

[imahustla19]

I thought it was to but iv talked to a few people who had the same problom.it could still be a glitch but i guess we wont know until they patch it again.

[ZoyosJD]

The lack of music is just an audio problem. I can tell as it has dropped in and out throughout my game even mid orchestra and certain sounds are delayed.

I'm currently at the trials. I've almost pulled it off although I'm playing on hard. I really don't get all the complaints the difficulty feels spot on.

My only other complaint is the camera occasionally pulling too far out.

I really don't get your cut scene point.

The multi-player is awesome, by the way.

[imahustla19]

yea i dont think it needs to be toned down. as long as you have a good strategy and know what you get from each type of enemy any 1 should be able to beat it in an hour or so even on hard.

if you go back and play GOW3 every few min. kratos runs into someone weather its an important character or just some regular guy pointing you somewhere who gets killed almost instantly but either way the had more cut scenes to keep you invested in the story and point you forward.

[ZoyosJD]

I was hearing things like 12-16 hrs. on normal difficultly. Got in just over 12 on hard with my first play-through being like 90% completed. People are just complaining too much.

I still honestly don't get the cut-scene argument. In either game you always know where your going generally from the story, and specifically the camera pans to show you the way. Every time you clear or enter an area it shows you where to go. All the climbing ledges are hinted at just like in the Uncharted series (that is the only major difference between the two).

[IcyEyes]

I like your review and to be honest I had some problem with the audio too. Anyway, nice review I enjoy to read it and (imho) I will score this game with a better final vote, because this game really deserve at least a 9.

Ps Better review like this than others I've read in some "important" web site. Good job.

[imahustla19]

Hey thanks allot for the support. i just started doing this in my free time at work so hearing things like that's whats gonna keep me doing these.hope you like the Tomb Raider review i just put up.

[IcyEyes]

Yw and Im sure you will improve your skills.

I havent read your Tomb Raider review, but looks like you enjoy the game and I think this game is a very, very nice reboot (I love the old Tomb Raider, but Im not a fan of Lara ... the "old" Lara!).
The only note that I dont agree is about the Graphics. The games looks awesome, but its not a 10 (and GoWA a 9.5).
Ps Its Better dont talk about TR here and I will leave a comment soon on your review :)

[imahustla19]

@ZoyosJD : sorry wouldent let me reply for some reason.when i say it can be beat in an hour i mean the trials not the whole game.the whole game took me 10.5 hrs on normal.im not trying to say that the game dosent tell you where to go its more like the lack of cut scenes makes the story feel hollow i guess.like after you get past the part with all the naked ladys and your told to go see the Oracle i think it was you dont get any other scene till you get there its just an hour of puzzels and fighting.then you get there and your told you need to go to the the eyes of apollo and until your there its just more fighting and puzzels.in GOW3 in between getting from point A to point B there were small scenes of whatever(people being killed,Kratos talking to someone he runs into) to keep you sorta in the story and not just feeling like the whole game is fighting and puzzels. i hope that explains what im tryin to say a lil better.

[ZoyosJD]

Yeah the system is stupid where you can't reply to a third post in a chain. It's best to just reply to my first post again.

I only mentioned my playtime on hard for the full game to point out how much of a joke it is that people were wasting 2-6 hours on that part alone on normal. That part took me maybe 1 hr on hard...not even fully leveled.

I kinda see your point of view, but the situations portrayed call for different amounts of interaction.

What you are saying is that there were more characters involved in GOW3.

I understand that, but I don't believe it negatively impacted the story. This was a prequel.

You have to realize GOW3 was the clash of the gods, titans, and Kratos; an ultimate balle. While GOW:A was about Kratos tracking down the 3 furies and escaping his memories; it was supposed to be a more personal journey.

In GOW3 the characters were pulled directly out of greek mythology and placed in kratos path, while in GOW:A they tried to build a story around kratos and his interactions with other characters, particularly the shade, furies, and his own illusions of the past.

[Wintersun616]

I made through the "hard part" on my 2nd try, on Hard difficulty. No need to patch it any easier IMO.

This was a very good review for a first review. Though I would suggest you invest more time to spell check your review before posting it. It would make the review seem more professional and IMO would be more comfortable to read.

[thedizzle23]

incredible game but obviously not one of the core Gow numbered titles. hopefully a return to grace for GOW 4 on the ps4. Santa Monica is working harder and putting all its eggs into that basket right now trust me.

[merdoc]

Really like your reviews hope to see more soon.