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[Domcorleone]

I just completed the game.

Overall I would say I am slightly disappointed although the games final boss battle was a high point for me. There are a lot of issues I had with the game such as, the terrible story telling, the average music, lack of memorable boss fights, terrible parry system, annoying camera angles for cinematic flair, lack of new combos and some others. All in all though its still a GOW game for better or worse, and there are some great parts in the game and the graphics are more consistent than 3 and that last battle... STUNNING.

GOW 3's combat is better, GOW 1 and GOS's story is better, GOW 2 spectacle and epicness and boss battles are better, so you are then left with a game that is just... there. I think Papy and co had great ideas (elemental weapons, storyline potential, special items like the life stream) but it didnt come together as well as the previous entries had before. I felt GOW 3's combat was a step in the right direction and just feel that they went backwards with the combat. I dont care for continuity, you just cant remove elements of the combat and gameplay that just worked.

I look forward to seeing how SSM respond to the criticism this game has been getting and see if they finally freshen up the series. As a GOW fanboy, im disappointed but still enjoyed it nonetheless.

It took me 11 hours to beat on Hard.

GOW 2>> GOW GoS> GOW 3,>> GOW Ascension,> GOW COO

Now on to the multiplayer!

* Sidenote: Papy if you are reading this thank you for the pro tip for that chapter and EXCELLENT job on the last boss battle!

 

[TEH-CJ]

I just completed the game.

Overall I would say I am slightly disappointed although the games final boss battle was a high point for me. There are a lot of issues I had with the game such as, the terrible story telling, the average music, lack of memorable boss fights, terrible parry system, annoying camera angles for cinematic flair, lack of new combos and some others. All in all though its still a GOW game for better or worse, and there are some great parts in the game and the graphics are more consistent than 3 and that last battle... STUNNING.

GOW 3's combat is better, GOW 1 and GOS's story is better, GOW 2 spectacle and epicness and boss battles are better, so you are then left with a game that is just... there. I think Papy and co had great ideas (elemental weapons, storyline potential, special items like the life stream) but it didnt come together as well as the previous entries had before. I felt GOW 3's combat was a step in the right direction and just feel that they went backwards with the combat. I dont care for continuity, you just cant remove elements of the combat and gameplay that just worked.

I look forward to seeing how SSM respond to the criticism this game has been getting and see if they finally freshen up the series. As a GOW fanboy, im disappointed but still enjoyed it nonetheless.

It took me 11 hours to beat on Hard.

GOW 2>> GOW GoS> GOW 3,>> GOW Ascension,> GOW COO

Now on to the multiplayer!

* Sidenote: Papy if you are reading this thank you for the pro tip for that chapter and EXCELLENT job on the last boss battle!

does Ascension do anything better than the other god of war games?

better animations? gore? level design? nothing at all?

edit: Damn typos!

 

[Domcorleone]

does Ascension does anything better than the other god of war games?

better animations? gore? level design? nothing at all?

ummm... graphics are better? There are a few puzzles in the game that are good as well because of what you have to use. There is an item you get in the game that you can use for combat as well as for puzzles and it is pretty cool.

But to answer your question honestly, no.

The boss battles for the most part are brain dead as well, which is disappointing considering GOW 2 and 3 has some boss battles that forced you to use certain items/powers. Only the last boss of Ascension makes you use the items you collected.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

ummm... graphics are better? There are a few puzzles in the game that are good as well because of what you have to use. There is an item you get in the game that you can use for combat as well as for puzzles and it is pretty cool.

But to answer your question honestly, no.

The boss battles for the most part are brain dead as well, which is disappointing considering GOW 2 and 3 has some boss battles that forced you to use certain items/powers. Only the last boss of Ascension makes you use the items you collected.

Man thats dissapointing to hear. Might be the first GOW and GEARS OF WAR I dont get at launch

 

[Jean Valjean]

I think this game is the hardest of the series.

 

[Domcorleone]

I think this game is the hardest of the series.

I'd agree, but it is for the wrong reasons.

 

[Meatvillain]

Our Day 1 patch is 100MB, a far cry from some that make you hit the coffee machine before you hit the Start button.

On my plain ol' ADSL and with the Playstation network it probably will.

Personally I don't consider a day 1 patch an inherently bad thing beyond the inconvenience, I certainly don't read into it. You can have the attitude of missing the days when a console game would ship polished and finished, but it's easy to forget that those days also included a bunch of games that would ship broken that would never be fixed.

Disappointed to hear rumblings that the patch doesn't cover the sound issues, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by the patch notes.

 

[TEH-CJ]

ummm... graphics are better? There are a few puzzles in the game that are good as well because of what you have to use. There is an item you get in the game that you can use for combat as well as for puzzles and it is pretty cool.

But to answer your question honestly, no.

The boss battles for the most part are brain dead as well, which is disappointing considering GOW 2 and 3 has some boss battles that forced you to use certain items/powers. Only the last boss of Ascension makes you use the items you collected.

Damn man

all the impressions I hear are not very good.

 

[meta4]

I just completed the game.

Overall I would say I am slightly disappointed although the games final boss battle was a high point for me. There are a lot of issues I had with the game such as, the terrible story telling, the average music, lack of memorable boss fights, terrible parry system, annoying camera angles for cinematic flair, lack of new combos and some others. All in all though its still a GOW game for better or worse, and there are some great parts in the game and the graphics are more consistent than 3 and that last battle... STUNNING.

GOW 3's combat is better, GOW 1 and GOS's story is better, GOW 2 spectacle and epicness and boss battles are better, so you are then left with a game that is just... there. I think Papy and co had great ideas (elemental weapons, storyline potential, special items like the life stream) but it didnt come together as well as the previous entries had before. I felt GOW 3's combat was a step in the right direction and just feel that they went backwards with the combat. I dont care for continuity, you just cant remove elements of the combat and gameplay that just worked.

I look forward to seeing how SSM respond to the criticism this game has been getting and see if they finally freshen up the series. As a GOW fanboy, im disappointed but still enjoyed it nonetheless.

It took me 11 hours to beat on Hard.

GOW 2>> GOW GoS> GOW 3,>> GOW Ascension,> GOW COO

Now on to the multiplayer!

* Sidenote: Papy if you are reading this thank you for the pro tip for that chapter and EXCELLENT job on the last boss battle!

Pretty much what I thought of as well but I am really surprised you say even the combat is worse. I thought based on the e3 demo that I played as well as the gameplay that I had seen it was more deep than 3. The tethering and weapons alone I thought made it better. Also disagree with you on the last boss battle. I thought it was not as good as any of the stuff in GOW3. Thanks for the info and where is GOW1 in your ranking? Its not included.

 

[MrCookiepants]

there are about

Spoiler

4 boss fights

Wow, really? Jeez. :/ Disappointing to hear about the sound in the final version too. I couldn't believe they released the demo in that state and now...

 

[Domcorleone]

Pretty much what I thought of as well but I am really surprised you say even the combat is worse. I thought based on the e3 demo that I played as well as the gameplay that I had seen it was more deep than 3. The tethering and weapons alone I thought made it better. Also disagree with you on the last boss battle. I thought it was not as good as any of the stuff in GOW3. Thanks for the info and where is GOW1 in your ranking? Its not included.

Oops I forgot GOW 1, I would put GOW 1 right before GOW Ascension. I think 2, 3 and GoS are better than 1.

Im surprised you think the combat is better, the parry system alone brings it down and the elemental weapons have the same damn attacks, the magic in this one is better though. I do like the tether system in this game however I think GOW 3 had a better implementation simply because you could drag yourself towards the enemy or drag them towards you.

 

[Sid]

Despite it's flaws GoW III is my favorite game of the series,it absolutely had the best bosses of the series and going by the impressions for Ascension,GoW III is head and shoulders above it.I guess SSM couldn't make this as or more epic since it's a prequel and the new parry system is a downgrade just like the platforming in this game.

 

[MrCookiepants]

Despite it's flaws GoW III is my favorite game of the series,it absolutely had the best bosses of the series and going by the impressions for Ascension,GoW III is head and shoulders above it.I guess SSM couldn't make this as or more epic since it's a prequel and the new parry system is a downgrade just like the platforming in this game.

How is the platforming a downgrade? Semed like a huge improvement in the demo. Climbing was so slow and clunky in the previous games (including GoWIII).

 

[meta4]

Oops I forgot GOW 1, I would put GOW 1 right before GOW Ascension. I think 2, 3 and GoS are better than 1.

Im surprised you think the combat is better, the parry system alone brings it down and the elemental weapons have the same damn attacks, the magic in this one is better though. I do like the tether system in this game however I think GOW 3 had a better implementation simply because you could drag yourself towards the enemy or drag them towards you.

I just went of the videos and the E3 demo. Disappointing to hear that it is not as deep as I thought it was.

Despite it's flaws GoW III is my favorite game of the series,it absolutely had the best bosses of the series and going by the impressions for Ascension,GoW III is head and shoulders above it.I guess SSM couldn't make this as or more epic since it's a prequel and the new parry system is a downgrade just like the platforming in this game.

Agreed. Also a lot of people are saying that because GOW3 involved titans it was natural that GOW : A would not top it. GOW3 being epic was not only because of scale. Hell the Hades and Hercules boss fights were the best fights in my opinion and they were not massive compared to some of the other big boss fights. They were just superbly designed bosses and it is disappointing that SSM completely missed the bus when it comes to Ascension.

 

[RoboPlato]

Just got my shipping confirmation on the CE! So pumped.

 

[BadAss2961]

So how exactly does new game plus work in Ascension? If at all.

 

[Sevket-Erhat]

Just got my shipping confirmation on the CE! So pumped.

Great news. My CE is in limbo at the moment. We'll see

 

[Sid]

How is the platforming a downgrade? Semed like a huge improvement in the demo. Climbing was so slow and clunky in the previous games (including GoWIII).

It's a downgrade because it feels clunky now,previously it had a certain rhythm and responsiveness to it but now it's just 'push left stick in any direction'.I'll need to see how well it's implemented in the full game though,maybe I'm just not used to it.

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

There's been some nice locations so far and the pacing is surprisingly decent despite the non-existent story telling.

 

[SSReborn]

Oops I forgot GOW 1, I would put GOW 1 right before GOW Ascension. I think 2, 3 and GoS are better than 1.

Im surprised you think the combat is better, the parry system alone brings it down and the elemental weapons have the same damn attacks, the magic in this one is better though. I do like the tether system in this game however I think GOW 3 had a better implementation simply because you could drag yourself towards the enemy or drag them towards you.

But I swear you can do this in the E3 Demo if you tether into an enemy and press X? Did they take it out?

 

[fionel]

there are about

Spoiler

4 boss fights

What, the, fucking, hell

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[meta4]

But I swear you can do this in the E3 Demo if you tether into an enemy and press X? Did they take it out?

You only do it to enemies that cannot be tethered I think. So for the fodder enemies that can be tethered you cannot do this. At least that's how I remember it.

 

[Autofokus]

Is the awful sound mix from the demo a bug? Anything we can do about it, change the sound output or something? I'm even willing to play it in stereo over my tv-speakers.

I'm honestly thinking about canceling my pre-order, if I'm stuck with this weird sound like in the demo - I just don't want to play a GoW game like this.

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

Is the awful sound mix from the demo a bug? Anything we can do about it, change the sound output or something? I'm even willing to play it in stereo over my tv-speakers.

I'm honestly thinking about canceling my pre-order, if I'm stuck with this weird sound like in the demo - I just don't want to play a GoW game like this.

The sound mix seems to be awful on my end and I've been playing the full game since Saturday. Playing it on a 7.1 Onkyo set and I'm disappointed, tbqh.

 

[Robot Pants]

Wow this puzzle I'm on is just the worst. This game is so disappointing

 

[Chuck Norris]

What happened with this game? Did SSM take the A team over to Stigs new IP?

 

[Sid]

What happened with this game? Did SSM take the A team over to Stigs new IP?

So you've finished the game? or going by the impressions?

 

[leng jai]

Didn't they say they were going to fix the audio? Perhaps we'll get a launch day patch.

 

[TEH-CJ]

Wow this puzzle I'm on is just the worst. This game is so disappointing

So I keep hearing

oh well at least this game has co op. Should be really fun...

 

[Sid]

So I keep hearing

oh well at least this game has co op. Should be really fun...

Screw the co op,SP is what I play it for and co op is just a nice distraction,if the SP is bad by GoW standards SSM deserve all the criticism they're getting.

 

[TEH-CJ]

So you've finished the game? or going by the impressions?

Bro we have to hit up co op

 

[Sid]

Bro we have to hit up co op

Sure,as soon as I complete 2-3 playthroughs I'll let you know.

 

[TEH-CJ]

Screw the co op,SP is what I play it for and co op is just a nice distraction,if the SP is bad by GoW standards SSM deserve all the criticism they're getting.

Same man, although the co op actually looks fun.

but yes, I agree. Not sure what happened during development.

 

[UrSuLeTZuL]

Why is this not a DAY 1 digital? Can't be about the size, Ni no Kuni was over 20GB...

 

[Sid]

Why is this not a DAY 1 digital? Can't be about the size, Ni no Kuni was over 20GB...

For GoW 3 that was the case since it was 42 GB,it could be the same here.

 

[UrSuLeTZuL]

For GoW 3 that was the case since it was 42 GB,it could be the same here.

Or maybe it's just about sales, actually that seems more likely.

 

[Sid]

Or maybe it's just about sales, actually that seems more likely.

What 40 GB+ game do you have on PSN? IDK how big this game is though.

 

[Sidzed2]

Oh wow, I youtubed the final boss. Simply incredible visuals! But argh, I'm so spoiled.

 

[Endo Punk]

I guess Im gonna skip on this game having played the trilogy last week. Don't get me wrong I love each of the main games but so far the prequels have not captured my attention the same way, they just seem like throwaway ideas. I'm actually dissapointed the story doesn't take place before all the God meddling in Ascension. In GOWI it was clearly shown Kratos had bloodlust and ignored his family as a Spartan General, now that would have been a more human story than anything in Ascension.

After the trilogy SSM really should have shaken things up, it may be unfare but I want a GOW game that evolves the gameplay like RE4 and MGS4 did for their franchises. But I don't think its asking much from arguably Sony's premier developer considering they have a hand in co-developing many amazing games.

The chains have served me well in the past games but they are played out and I don't see enough innovation with them here to pick them up again, though elemental blades do sound cool. So yeah I'll pass on Ascension and look forward to SSM going up a gear(a few gears actually) on the PS4. 6-7 years into the PS3 Im looking for something a little more (farm)fresh now.

 

[Dragon1893]

I'm honestly having second thoughts about this but I'll keep my pre-order. At least the final boss seems to be blowing people away.

I really have to wonder what happened here.
I was expecting a GoW1-GoW2 jump here. I'm not talking about graphics, god only knows they already did the impossible with 3, I mean content. More weapons, more bosses, more enemy variety, more chapters, etc.
GoW3 was developed in parallel with the tech it's running on, how did it end up having a meatier campaign? This time they had 3 years to just focus on the game itself, I feel it's fair to expect more than what we seem to have gotten with this.

Another thing: for a game that was supposed to have the story as one of its strong points hearing all these comments is really disappointing. So much for properly exploring Krato's humanity.

 

[Cobano]

Just played through Ghost of Sparta in preparation for this. Gotta say I'm disappointed, I've maybe come to expect too much from it going by all the praise it gets on GAF.

The awkward controls for magic attacks irked me (I mean is that such a hard thing to fix for the ps3 version? L2 and R2 were not used at all). And while I know the golden fleece isn't acquired until GoW2 it would have been nice to have some kind of parry -> counterattack move. Some of the enemies they introduced in this game are just pure annoying as well (Keres wraiths), not fun at all to fight. And honestly after 3 games the fighting enemies while climbing a wall or a rope is just a chore (I hope they're not doing this again in GoW:A). But the worst part of the game is definitely the bosses, easy and boring. But maybe I am being way too harsh on a psp game.

The positives were the story, it was quite interesting and nicely implemented. And the graphics were also gorgeous in 1080p. Overall it was a fun game but the worst in the series no doubt (haven't played Chains of olympus yet).

Impressions for Ascension haven't been amazing, I'm still buying it though because I've loved every console game in the series so far.

 

[Jacob4815]

I just completed the game.

Overall I would say I am slightly disappointed although the games final boss battle was a high point for me. There are a lot of issues I had with the game such as, the terrible story telling, the average music, lack of memorable boss fights, terrible parry system, annoying camera angles for cinematic flair, lack of new combos and some others. All in all though its still a GOW game for better or worse, and there are some great parts in the game and the graphics are more consistent than 3 and that last battle... STUNNING.

GOW 3's combat is better, GOW 1 and GOS's story is better, GOW 2 spectacle and epicness and boss battles are better, so you are then left with a game that is just... there. I think Papy and co had great ideas (elemental weapons, storyline potential, special items like the life stream) but it didnt come together as well as the previous entries had before. I felt GOW 3's combat was a step in the right direction and just feel that they went backwards with the combat. I dont care for continuity, you just cant remove elements of the combat and gameplay that just worked.

I look forward to seeing how SSM respond to the criticism this game has been getting and see if they finally freshen up the series. As a GOW fanboy, im disappointed but still enjoyed it nonetheless.

It took me 11 hours to beat on Hard.

GOW 2>> GOW GoS> GOW 3,>> GOW Ascension,> GOW COO

Now on to the multiplayer!

* Sidenote: Papy if you are reading this thank you for the pro tip for that chapter and EXCELLENT job on the last boss battle!

Thanks for the impressions...
I wonder what happened to SSM..

Maybe they could "fix" the game by adding some great and epic single player DLC next weeks and months...

 

[Jinjo]

Well, canceled my pre-order. Was supposed to get a free month of PSN+ with it for pre-ordering, but apparently they have been out of codes for a while now. Don't fucking advertise with it anymore then, bastards. Good thing I e-mailed about them. I'll probably just pick it up then, usually it's cheaper in the local store anyway so it works out. Maybe even somewhere down the line, wasn't gonna play it immediately anyway, still got some games to go through. Might as well wait for the apparent sound issues to be fixed (and some more impressions).

 

[meta4]

I'm honestly having second thoughts about this but I'll keep my pre-order. At least the final boss seems to be blowing people away.

I really have to wonder what happened here.
I was expecting a GoW1-GoW2 jump here. I'm not talking about graphics, god only knows they already did the impossible with 3, I mean content. More weapons, more bosses, more enemy variety, more chapters, etc.
GoW3 was developed in parallel with the tech it's running on, how did it end up having a meatier campaign? This time they had 3 years to just focus on the game itself, I feel it's fair to expect more than what we seem to have gotten with this.

Another thing: for a game that was supposed to have the story as one of its strong points hearing all these comments is really disappointing. So much for properly exploring Krato's humanity.

What I was expecting as well.

 

[Sidzed2]

What I was expecting as well.

3 years on from GoW3, I think everyone expected a worthy upgrade. Not sure what happened here... Could it have been the multiplayer focus? The lack of the "A-Team"? The fact that this game was not borne out of any artistic need to finish a story, but rather a corporate mandate? Who knows, but the bottom line is that I feel like releasing such a lukewarm entry may have the effect of hurting the series.

 

[Sid]

What I was expecting as well.

What we got is exactly the opposite->less bosses,less weapons,probably less enemy variety,shorter SP,worse intro,a MP mode which no one asked for except Sony.Going by the impressions this entry is worse than the first one on the same console,a first for the series,just look at how much GoS improved over CoO or GoW 2 over GoW 1.

 

[Jacob4815]

3 years on from GoW3, I thin everyone expected a worthy upgrade. Not sure what happened here... Could it have been the multiplayer focus? The lack of the "A-Team"? The fact that this game was not borne out of any artistic need to finish a story, but rather a corporate mandate? Who knows, but the bottom line is that I feel like releasing such a lukewarm entry may have the effect of hurting the series.

I think a mix of both..

 

[Endo Punk]

I am beginning to believe that MP did have a hand in preventing the type of of evolution we saw from GOWI to II. GOWIII was great but the latter half was quite underwhelming, of course first game on a new system and new engine I sort of understood why but with Ascension it's really a mystery why its not such a leap forward if as SSM claims MP didn't take anything away from SP.

I doubt the MP is going to be played for months, I was in the beta and it was fun for a while but it just made me want to play the SP more. I guess the MP was the main thing going for it which is a damn shame, the game just looks uninspired now.

 

[darkwing]

in the MP are you stuck with your choice with your god? or can you change it later?

 

[velociraptor]

Despite it's flaws GoW III is my favorite game of the series,it absolutely had the best bosses of the series and going by the impressions for Ascension,GoW III is head and shoulders above it.I guess SSM couldn't make this as or more epic since it's a prequel and the new parry system is a downgrade just like the platforming in this game.

God Of War 3 has no flaws. It is simply one of the best games to be played this generation.