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God of War Ascension |OT| Gods up, Foes down

J

JB1981

Member
HueyFreeman said:
Just finished it.

Final impressions:

This might end up being my favorite God of War game. Like someone above said, it probably comes out of what you want out of the series. To me, despite being able beat them on their highest difficulties, they're not technical combat games. As well, the stories are fun, but they're ultimately a vaudevillian take on Greek characters, and I've never been overly attached to the actual sequence of events. These game are ultimately, for me about adventure, environments, scope and moments.This game, I felt, delivered that in spades in a way I'm not sure any game in the series has. God of War II would come the closest, but played back to back, I'm not sure it stands up to this. God of War III, while amazing and epic, was pretty constrained in terms of it's environments, which I think held it back. God of War I has always been my last place in the series - there have only been improvements since then.

The story... while I understand the complaints about the story, I feel like people are just reacting to unfamiliarity with the characters. I think these characters are just as wacky and awesome as any in the series, I just think you're not gratified by the "Hey, I know that name from high school!" response. I really appreciated what the story was trying to do as well, but I think (a) SSM's storytelling abilities just aren't that great and (b) it's inherently smaller in scope, which people are reacting negatively to. The
final moment with your daughter and wife though
is actually very touching, and i liked
Kratos' relationship with Orkos, another lost son.
I think i'll need to digest it with subsequent playthroughs.

And that final battle. What. The. Fuck. I think it's safe to say it's the greatest finale I've ever seen in this medium. Open to suggestions to the contrary, but it's absolutely the best finale of the series, without much contest.

But above all else: SSM, you have the most talented environmental artists in the industry. Bar none. This shit is absolutely magical, so please - Tank, Pappy - if you guys are reading this, please pass this message along to the environmental art/design team. Absolutely breathtaking and incredible, and the most consistently so in the whole series.

The asinine critical response to this title is completely beyond me, and kind of a fucking travesty if it stops people from playing. If you're reading this and a God of War fan, the game has been criminally underrated. And I haven't even tried the MP.

9/10
Click to expand...

Damn I think you just sold me the game
 
S

Sidzed2

Member
So I'm almost done, and the game is basically good - but wow is it a step back from the previous 3 games in every way, from story to combat to art direction - I just don't understand why this game exists, and neither does SSM. This is literally a game without purpose. It's still good, but sheesh, where is the passion and excitement?
 
T

The One and Done™

Member
HueyFreeman said:
Just finished it.

Final impressions:

This might end up being my favorite God of War game. Like someone above said, it probably comes out of what you want out of the series. To me, despite being able beat them on their highest difficulties, they're not technical combat games. As well, the stories are fun, but they're ultimately a vaudevillian take on Greek characters, and I've never been overly attached to the actual sequence of events. These game are ultimately, for me about adventure, environments, scope and moments.This game, I felt, delivered that in spades in a way I'm not sure any game in the series has. God of War II would come the closest, but played back to back, I'm not sure it stands up to this. God of War III, while amazing and epic, was pretty constrained in terms of it's environments, which I think held it back. God of War I has always been my last place in the series - there have only been improvements since then.

The story... while I understand the complaints about the story, I feel like people are just reacting to unfamiliarity with the characters. I think these characters are just as wacky and awesome as any in the series, I just think you're not gratified by the "Hey, I know that name from high school!" response. I really appreciated what the story was trying to do as well, but I think (a) SSM's storytelling abilities just aren't that great and (b) it's inherently smaller in scope, which people are reacting negatively to. The
final moment with your daughter and wife though
is actually very touching, and i liked
Kratos' relationship with Orkos, another lost son.
I think i'll need to digest it with subsequent playthroughs.

And that final battle. What. The. Fuck. I think it's safe to say it's the greatest finale I've ever seen in this medium. Open to suggestions to the contrary, but it's absolutely the best finale of the series, without much contest.

But above all else: SSM, you have the most talented environmental artists in the industry. Bar none. This shit is absolutely magical, so please - Tank, Pappy - if you guys are reading this, please pass this message along to the environmental art/design team. Absolutely breathtaking and incredible, and the most consistently so in the whole series.

The asinine critical response to this title is completely beyond me, and kind of a fucking travesty if it stops people from playing. If you're reading this and a God of War fan, the game has been criminally underrated. And I haven't even tried the MP.

9/10
Click to expand...


Agreed with mostly everything you've said. I do wish they would have dug deeper into Kratos' story. I would have loved
to play as Kratos at some point in the game before he killed his family, while he was general to the Spartan army. And I would have certainly loved to play the whole section leading up to and through where he killed his family. I feel like those moments would have made the hallucinations and ending much more impactful.
 
Jinjo

Jinjo

Member
So at times my swords just randomly switch elements. Am I pressing some button combo (unknown to me) that triggers an immediate attack with the next element (kinda like in gow 3 with the different weapons) or is this some glitch? Don't think I am accidently pressing the d-pad. Had a few times were my normal attacks had a different element from the special (L1) attacks. I hope it's not a glitch, cause it kinda makes the combat flow better lol.
 
R

redhot_

Member
Any one getting mp errors after the game ends and not getting exp? Just happened twice in a row.

Edit nvm looks like psn is being fucky..
 
M

Mik_Pad

Banned
Jinjo said:
So at times my swords just randomly switch elements. Am I pressing some button combo (unknown to me) that triggers an immediate attack with the next element (kinda like in gow 3 with the different weapons) or is this some glitch? Don't think I am accidently pressing the d-pad. Had a few times were my normal attacks had a different element from the special (L1) attacks. I hope it's not a glitch, cause it kinda makes the combat flow better lol.
Click to expand...
L1+X changed weapons in GoW 3 maybe is the same in Ascension?
 
L

Lion Heart

Banned
I love the moments where you catch yourself not moving, just inhaling the scenes with your eyes. Definitely a Greek world come to life. I do that a lot in this game, especially after a cutscene or checkpoint finishes and the camera is strategically placed, giving off an artistic flare so rare in gaming.

I can honestly say I wasn't this impressed with graphics on last gen consoles at the end of their lifecycle, and those were much shorter too. The thought of a GOW on PS4 blows my mind. I was hoping SSM does a new IP for PS4 but now I want GOW4, fuck it.
 
S

Skidd

Member
Just beat the game on Hard. First playthrough, 85% of the trophies earned, lawl.

Sweet mother of Christ do I wanna smack the one responsible for the trials in the face. There's challenge, and then there's just unfair bs. I imagine I didn't spend as much time on it as some of the others here may have but even then I think I got lucky as hell. Finished it with health at 50%.
 
T

TDSpartan

Neo Member
Did Adam Sessler and all those other reviewers play on hard or are they just terrible at games? 6 hours on the trials? Seriously?

I rolled up in that bitch with everything maxed and did it first try (normal).

What a colossal overreaction.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
TDSpartan said:
Did Adam Sessler and all those other reviewers play on hard or are they just terrible at games? 6 hours on the trials? Seriously?

I rolled up in that bitch with everything maxed and did it first try (normal).

What a colossal overreaction.
Click to expand...
It's not just them. Me and several other gaffers are having a lot of trouble on that section. I've never had an issue with a combat scenario in any other GoW, I think the cerberus/satyr fight in GoW3 is really easy, but this trial is a complete pain in the ass. It's not thatthe fights themselves are hard, it's just too much of a battle of attrition to survive the whole thing without being able to heal except for two enemies that don't give much.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
RoboPlato said:
It's not just them. Me and several other gaffers are having a lot of trouble on that section. I've never had an issue with a combat scenario in any other GoW, I think the cerberus/satyr fight in GoW3 is really easy, but this trial is a complete pain in the ass. It's not thatthe fights themselves are hard, it's just too much of a battle of attrition to survive the whole thing without being able to heal except for two enemies that don't give much.
Click to expand...

Which difficulty? I'm curious because it took me about an hour on Hard, but I don't even really play action games except for God of War. I think it would almost be a cakewalk on Normal. The only real trick is to spam magic since every wave 1 enemy gives blue orbs upon execution.

That being said, SSM fucked up by not letting players change the difficulty through either the pause menu or chapter select.
 
S

StuBurns

Banned
Played a few hours, and I'm really not finding it fun at all, I thought GoW3 was weak coming off GoW2, but it was still good to great, I'm really not getting anything out of this one so far. I don't find the combat as satisfying as last time, and the encounter designs are really bland. Also, and I guess this is kind of mocked on GAF often, I have enjoyed the stories in the other games, this one I just don't care about at all. It's been a range from indifferent to actively bad so far. But apparently it's short, so hopefully I can get done with it tomorrow.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
The Xtortionist said:
Which difficulty? I'm curious because it took me about an hour on Hard, but I don't even really play action games except for God of War. I think it would almost be a cakewalk on Normal. The only real trick is to spam magic since every wave 1 enemy gives blue orbs upon execution.

That being said, SSM fucked up by not letting players change the difficulty through either the pause menu or chapter select.
Click to expand...
I'm on normal. It may partially be because I'm kind of sick and was also pretty tired when I was attempting it but it's still a poorly designed section.
 
S

SlasherJPC

Banned
Well after playing about half way. Fit me in the camp of loving this game. I find it challenging, beautiful, epic, and so satisfying to come out of battles alive. The story is somewhat simplistic, but it's about the journey, and Ascension does a fantastic job with the locals and progression. For the record I've enjoyed all the games even the psp titles. Where this will rank when done, not sure yet. I don't want to say just yet. As for preference before this its GOW 2> GOW GoS> GOW3> GOW> GOW COO
 
F

Freezasaurus

Member
So. Fucking. Angry.

I was playing the SP game and was up to the
Foot of Apollo
. Then the game decides to freeze AS IT'S SAVING. When I reboot the PS3 and it goes through the bullshit about the console not shutting down correctly, then start the game up, my profile is gone. I don't even know if I want to fucking play anymore.
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
RoboPlato said:
I'm on normal. It may partially be because I'm kind of sick and was also pretty tired when I was attempting it but it's still a poorly designed section.
Click to expand...

A few tips that should make it pretty easy:

1. Spam magic (I like Ares' Rage) on wave 1 and beginning of wave 2
2. Keep the shadow clone active. Make sure to upgrade it too. This ability is MVP. You can literally throw it out and sit in a corner blocking while it goes to town.
3. Do the same with the Uroborous stone. Upgrade it and spam it. Not as potent as the shadow clone but it helps and is free to use.
 
BadAss2961

BadAss2961

Member
Just had my first session. Loved it.

Though not quite as jaw-dropping as GoW3's was for its time, Ascension's intro is every bit as impressive, and better mechanically. Both are very similar, so I don't understand those arguing that Ascension's is somehow weak.

I like the new combat. I always rolled around alot, so these more aggressive enemies haven't thrown me off too much. Ascension seems to favor evading and using your range in the bigger battles... So far the different elements for the blades seem very useful and flashy. The weapon pickups also help to mix things up so that the lack of alternatives to the blades aren't really missed.

Locale variety is very impressive, reminiscent of GoW2. A return to form after GoW3 being in mostly dark environments because of the story. I ended my session after acquiring
Poseidon's Ice element and riding that huge serpent
, which revealed beautiful scenery and teased even more variety to come... This is the main reason why i'm liking this even better than GoW3 so far. Still a long way to go, but I really look forward to it.

People knocking this release are crazy.
 
P

Plumpman

Member
This game is really fun, definitely god of war, although it's pretty punishing at times (sometimes unfairly so I think with all the knockbacks and hit immunity).

But my biggest gripe of all, it has to SLOWLY pan to show you upcoming areas or unlocked areas. Problem is this happens WAY to much for my liking and breaks the flow for me.

I don't always have to be spoon fed where to go next with an irritating camera pan! :p
 
Carnby

Carnby

Member
I'm starting to think the initial negative reaction of this game was from people who only played it for a few hours. This game is great. Once you level up your weapons, the combat really improves. I just did a 250+ combo with a variety of moves, magics, and weapons. This is something I could never do in other GOWs.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
The Xtortionist said:
A few tips that should make it pretty easy:

1. Spam magic (I like Ares' Rage) on wave 1 and beginning of wave 2
2. Keep the shadow clone active. Make sure to upgrade it too. This ability is MVP. You can literally throw it out and sit in a corner blocking while it goes to town.
3. Do the same with the Uroborous stone. Upgrade it and spam it. Not as potent as the shadow clone but it helps and is free to use.
Click to expand...
I was doing exactly that.
 
S

spannicus

Member
Anyone think GoW 3 was visually more appealing in terms of clarity? Is ther a way to put the game in 1080i since the back of the cart says 720 and 1080i?
 
P

phierce

Member
TDSpartan said:
Did Adam Sessler and all those other reviewers play on hard or are they just terrible at games? 6 hours on the trials? Seriously?

I rolled up in that bitch with everything maxed and did it first try (normal).

What a colossal overreaction.
Click to expand...
You know...I really have to agree. I played my playthrough on Hard and did the trial in 1 attempt. I'm not posting this to brag or anything, but I really don't understand how some people are spending hours upon hours on this section. Failing several (maybe even many) times I can understand, but 6 hours?!

Hell, I think I was 10 beers deep when I did this, as well...
 
E

Epix

Member
Is something wrong? Is the fire spell the only thing that works with R2? Can't get the other elements to do anything...
 
P

phierce

Member
Epix said:
Is something wrong? Is the fire spell the only thing that works with R2? Can't get the other elements to do anything...
Click to expand...
You have to upgrade them in order to use magic. Fire starts with the magic ability. The others have to be upgraded to the fifth tier in order to use the magic.
 
gioGAF

gioGAF

Member
Will SSM release paid DLC for this game? I'm trying to decide whether I should buy this now or not.

There will be paid DLC down the line = no buy
No DLC = buy

I'm especially fearful of the addition of DLC that adds multiplayer trophies.
 
M

Mik_Pad

Banned
gioGAF said:
Will SSM release paid DLC for this game? I'm trying to decide whether I should buy this now or not.

There will be paid DLC down the line = no buy
No DLC = buy

I'm especially fearful of the addition of DLC that adds multiplayer trophies.
Click to expand...

Why would that bother you??

And yes they will have DLC, all maps will be free but armor and weapons will be paid but free for CE owners.
 
D

Drencrom

Member
gioGAF said:
Will SSM release paid DLC for this game? I'm trying to decide whether I should buy this now or not.

There will be paid DLC down the line = no buy
No DLC = buy

I'm especially fearful of the addition of DLC that adds multiplayer trophies.
Click to expand...

edit: beaten
 
C

Chamber

love on your sleeve
Freezasaurus said:
So. Fucking. Angry.

I was playing the SP game and was up to the
Foot of Apollo
. Then the game decides to freeze AS IT'S SAVING. When I reboot the PS3 and it goes through the bullshit about the console not shutting down correctly, then start the game up, my profile is gone. I don't even know if I want to fucking play anymore.
Click to expand...

This game has hard locked my PS3 twice now. I've not seen a Santa Monica game with this many technical issues.
 
T

TEH-CJ

Banned
LeBrick James said:
Just had my first session. Loved it.

Though not quite as jaw-dropping as GoW3's was for its time, Ascension's intro is every bit as impressive, and better mechanically. Both are very similar, so I don't understand those arguing that Ascension's is somehow weak.

I like the new combat. I always rolled around alot, so these more aggressive enemies haven't thrown me off too much. Ascension seems to favor evading and using your range in the bigger battles... So far the different elements for the blades seem very useful and flashy. The weapon pickups also help to mix things up so that the lack of alternatives to the blades aren't really missed.

Locale variety is very impressive, reminiscent of GoW2. A return to form after GoW3 being in mostly dark environments because of the story. I ended my session after acquiring
Poseidon's Ice element and riding that huge serpent
, which revealed beautiful scenery and teased even more variety to come... This is the main reason why i'm liking this even better than GoW3 so far. Still a long way to go, but I really look forward to it.

People knocking this release are crazy.
Click to expand...

Yup I actually feel the same way. It reminds a lot of god of war 2.

and I absolutely love the platforming in this. More of this in god of war 4 ssm :)
 
njean777

njean777

Member
This is the buggiest game I have ever played, more so the AC3. I literally have died at least 7 times during boss qte's after killing them and winning, but just fall through the world right after the fight is over. I have now hit a game breaking bug where I cannot move and I may have to restart the chapter. WTF is this garbage. I really like the game but fuck this is ridiculous.
 
S

SteeloDMZ

Banned
The visuals during the furnace level were amaaaaaazing. Although no part in the game matches the Gaia/Poseidon and Chronos level, Ascension is definitely better looking and more consistent than 3.
 
T

TEH-CJ

Banned
Slurmer said:
I find the muted music/sound really distracting. Does it get better or should I wait for the patch?
Click to expand...

Yea it really is distracting.

Im sure the game had a great soundtrack but I cannt hear it at all. Its mixed way too low and it really dampens the experience.
 
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