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

Just started playing, already experienced the audio dropout.. But here is my bigger isue... Does anyone else feel like the game is more zoomed in during normal combat/ running around? Maybe it's me
 
Disappointed to hear the audio didn't get fixed. Can we get a time-frame, SSM (assuming Tank or Todd are reading the thread)?

Damn shame, again I think this a major factor dampening enthusiasm for the game, and the critical release window is slowly slipping away. It's sad to see such a big franchise have it's impact neutered by such a minor thing. Hopefully we can get some kind of story as to how this slipped by QC. More out of interest in the process, I'm not super upset as a consumer (I played with headphones though).
 

Loudninja

Member
Disappointed to hear the audio didn't get fixed. Can we get a time-frame, SSM (assuming Tank or Todd are reading the thread)?

Damn shame, again I think this a major factor dampening enthusiasm for the game, and the critical release window is slowly slipping away. It's sad to see such a big franchise have it's impact neutered by such a minor thing. Hopefully we can get some kind of story as to how this slipped by QC. More out of interest in the process, I'm not super upset as a consumer (I played with headphones though).
No time frame but:
@Kyokushin_way targeting next one, we are already deep in production on it
https://twitter.com/SonySantaMonica/status/315517219645820929
 

bigace33

Member
This is a really underrated game. I beat it already but I really want to go back and play it on hard now. LOL I never play games on hard. I think I'm up for the challenge though.
 

SpokkX

Member
Just finished it

I must say that this game was a great disappointment.
Worst GoW I have played, by FAR (play all except GoS)

Things it does worse that GoW 1-3
- Way more QTE
- Damage sponge enemies. Enemy hp is 3 times as large maybe
- Story is garbage, the mainline stories are somewhat enjoyable imo but this was just bad
- Unpolished and buggy
- Abilites boring/meaningless. Makes no difference in fights if you use elec or fire for example
- Climing is QTE events now instead of actual control more or less
- Few and not very good boss battles
- Less enemy variety. Also mostly reskinned old enemies

Things it does better than old GoW games
- Some puzzles are actually a bit clever
- Uh.. graphics are probably the best?

Oh and worst last boss battle in a GoW by far.
Sure it looks cool but it is just one really long QTE :(

Still it is not a bad game, it is just an above average action game.
Just not nearly in the class as its predecessors

7/10 seems like a fair score
 
So glad I redboxed this. Been playing for about 2 hrs and I can't play anymore. Game is such a bore fest. I loved God of War 1-3 but this game is just bleh. Oh well, only costed 2 dollars to find this out lol.
 

thabiz

Member
at the hourglass in the temple, i have zero sound. nothing.

fantastic product ssm.

edit: using the gas brings the sound back.
 

EGM92

Member
Anyone else getting constant system lockups at the Trial of Archimedes? I can battle sometimes get to the third level then the screen freezes the vibration on the controller goes crazy for 5-10sec then stopped.
 
So glad I redboxed this. Been playing for about 2 hrs and I can't play anymore. Game is such a bore fest. I loved God of War 1-3 but this game is just bleh. Oh well, only costed 2 dollars to find this out lol.

First area is the most boring by far I think. Try to get past there first.
 
So since this game has been bloody hard on hard... heh... im switching to normal by restarting lol.

ALSO.

I have switched to using Zeus full time in multiplayer. WOW. What a difference. Broseidon has got nothing on the big lightning guy. I can virtually one-shot people with my magic (which I SOMETIMES can use TWICE IN A ROW!), and my elemental powers even with a level 9 sword kick ass sorts of ass. His invincibility item is great (aegis) for blocking nearly all big attacks. Zeus is much more my playstyle.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
Finished it today and I think this is one of the better GoW games. Great variation in locales, fun combat and the best puzzles in the series. I really liked the
statue of Apollo part. Seeing all the parts come together again was pretty awesome

I played the Trial post patch and beat it on my first try. Didn't even come close to dying, I would've liked a shot at the first version :)

The clone and time medal are great tools for the longer and harder fights. Abuse the heck out of them. As for elements, I switched between Ares and Zeus, then Hades last. Hades' magic is pretty powerful. Never used Poseidon, only upgraded it in the very end.
Tackling hard next, tips are always welcome.

Complaints? Sound is indeed fucked up. It was said that the headphone setting fixed stuff, but I still ran into a bug where the background music was suddenly gone.
Game lacked interesting and fun bosses. It felt like they were really running low on ideas here. Final battle was jaw-dropping, but didn't offer much in terms of gameplay.

Where I'd rank it : II > GoS > Ascension > III > I >> CoO
 

BadAss2961

Member
Can someone explain this story for me? I've just entered the
temple of delphie?
, why am I here. Why did the guy at the start say the furies were after me if I haven't broken my oath yet? I am having a difficult time getting invested into this game since I can't figure out my motive for going anywhere at the moment.
Kratos is running from his oath to Ares, hence the Furies being after him.

You are at the temple to meet the Oracle.

Remember that shadowy guy with the purple tint? His name is Orkos. He told you to go there to meet the Oracle to find a way to stop the Furies.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
*Venting time*

Trials of Archimedes is one of the most frustrating thing i've played in my whole life, seriously. I'm litterally getting angry. Not only because of the frustration, but because i really want to proceed in the game. I've beaten all of the other God of War games on hard difficulty level, and nothing comes close to this. The only thing that comes close is one of the last areas in Ghost of Sparta on Titan difficulty. I never managed to pass that.

There is no way to lower the difficulty level either and i have to restart the whole game just to play on normal or easy. Knowing that makes me angry.

The biggest problem i have is to fight two Gorgons and two Sirens at the same time in the first wave. This is what they should have changed in the patch instead, in my opinion. Remove one of the Gorgons or Sirens.

It is so annoying when the Gorgons tackle you. No problem the first few times, but when it sometimes happen 3-4 times in a row, having to keep pressing L1 and R1 so many times gets tiring. Sometimes it is impossible to roll away, and parry block that attack doesnt seem to work either. The parry block doesnt always work in general eventhough i feel i time it just right. And sometimes the Gorgons manages to move back when i do a successful parry block.

At the last part with two Gorgons and two Sirens, it is also up to luck if you manage to push the Sirens out of the arena. I feel that i have no control over that at least, i just use magic and hope for the best.

I would ask for tips, but i guess there is nothing that can be said, that is also what makes it frustrating. I already know how to parry block, i know about pushing the Sirens out of the arena, and i know how to use magic. I guess there isnt anything more to it than that.

*Vent rant end*

EDIT: After trying the Uroburos and Orkos Stone combo, i made it on my 2nd try :) And boy was i wrong that there wasnt any tips that could be said hehe.


On a positive note, the co-op multiplayer is really fun i think. I've managed to beat Forum of Hercules and Desert Of Lost Souls. I got to the final wave on other level (dont remember the name, its the one on top of Mount Olymus or something).


I played the Trial post patch and beat it on my first try. Didn't even come close to dying, I would've liked a shot at the first version :)
Did you beat it on hard difficulty?
 
I would ask for tips, but i guess there is nothing that can be said, that is also what makes it frustrating. I already know how to parry block, i know about pushing the Sirens out of the arena, and i know how to use magic. I guess there isnt anything more too it than that.

Spam Uroboros/Oath Stone
 

Figboy79

Aftershock LA
Just beat the game. My final playtime was about 9 and a half hours.

My thoughts:

Graphics: I don't think the game looked as good as God of War 3, but I did think the visuals and art design were more consistent and cohesive. Don't get me wrong, there were some amazing looking sequences in the game, but I feel sections like the battle with Poseidon and the battle with Cronos in God of War 3 still hold the crown as far as some of the best visuals I've ever seen this generation.

tl;dr: Graphics are amazing, but still not as good as GoW3.

Controls/Gameplay: My biggest gripe is the adjustment they made to the counter/parrying system from previous installments. I loved being able to just press the L1 button at the right time to initiate a counter. Having to press L1+X to parry in Ascension felt extremely cumbersome and imprecise. As a result, combat felt more difficult and frustrating than it needed to be. In previous GoW games, I just felt like a boss, ripping through fools left and right. In this one, getting mobbed by hordes of enemies at once was mind-numbingly frustrating. I eventually got used to the combat, but it didn't feel as intuitive as previous entries. I did like the elemental based Blades, but I was unclear on if they actually had any affect on enemies of opposite elements. They never explained if it did or not. I understand that they altered things to make the multiplayer component more feasible, but the thing is, I'm not a multi-player gamer, and as fun as the MP beta was, I prefer single player GoW. I won't put nearly as much time into MP as SSM would like me to, and as a result, the shoehorning in of multi-player actually negatively impacted my single player experience. It's unfortunate. If the game played like previous entries, it could easily be one of my favorites in the series.

The puzzles were actually really well done, and I got momentarily stumped on a few of them, but never to the point of not being able to figure them out.

tl;dr: Overall, the game play is solid, but I still prefer God of War 3 and Ghost of Sparta as far as an exceptional God of War experience is concerned.


Story: Like Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, the story is just filling in the gaps in the narrative between the mainline God of War games. I really enjoy these in between/prequel stories, and Ascension is no different. I didn't think it was the complete "humanization of Kratos" like Santa Monica claimed, but it was solid. It also had a nice adventure feel that God of War 3 lacked (what with being in one location for the duration of the game). The story wasn't overbearing, and was kind of light, but what was there was fun.

tl;dr: The story is solid and interesting, and a nice addition to the "life of Kratos filler" set of games.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game, besides the frustrating combat changes.

My personal ranking of the series:

1) God of War: Ghost of Sparta
2) God of War 3
3) God of War 2
4) God of War
5) God of War: Ascension
6) God of War: Chains of Olympus

With this game, I think I'm ready to retire Kratos for a little bit, and have a God of War game set in a different era (ideally mythical China, or ancient Egypt), with a new protagonist. I'm one of the few people that actually loves Kratos as a character, but I think we've explored him thoroughly at this point.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Spam Uroboros/Oath Stone
This is actually one tactic that i havnt tried much. I've tried a few times, but i felt that they usage is too slow and i end up getting hit before i get to use them. But i will try a few times tomorrow. Thanks :)


No, normal, but I do intend on starting hard mode next. Seems like spamming clone/slowdown is a pretty good idea on hard as well. I hope you upgraded them
Ah ok. It is a nightmare on hard hehe :( At least in my opinion. I cant imagine how hard it is on Titan difficulty level. I will try using the stones more next time i play, thanks :) I actually havnt upgraded them, but i have about 38000 red orbs, so no problem =) Only pity is that i have to keep upgrading them every time i die because i wont reach a checkpoint before i'm done with Trials of Archimedes.
 
This is actually one tactic that i havnt tried much. I've tried a few times, but i felt that they usage is too slow and i end up getting hit before i get to use them. But i will try a few times tomorrow. Thanks :)

Yup this advice is peppered through the thread, and is the advice of the game director himself.

This isn't directed at you per se, so don't take it the wrong way, but I think trials of Archimedes is exemplary that despite all the calls for a revamped combat system, people went into this and played it exactly like every other god of war game. It's entirely doable on hard - I did it on my second try - if you use the systems they designed, and most important among those is the two new powers, uroburos and orkos. I kind of feel for Santa Monica, man - they did their best at reinventing the GOW combat systems, without fundamentally altering the feel, and then in the one scenario in the game that actually challenges you to weave it together, people call them out on it and they need to eat that bowl of shit and change it. Would suck being a dev on days like those.
 

Chamber

love on your sleeve
No, normal, but I do intend on starting hard mode next. Seems like spamming clone/slowdown is a pretty good idea on hard as well. I hope you upgraded them

I'm wondering if the common factor among those having such trouble with the Trials is having ignored the Oath Stone/Uroborus. I think the best upgrade path in this game is Blades --> Oath Stone/Uroborus --> Fire/Lightning --> Soul --> Ice. Kratos feels insanely weak in combat without a full Rage meter and the Level 5 Blades make it easy to maintain. Oath Stone/Uroborus allow you to play Waves 2 and 3 on auto pilot. Without them, it can definitely be tough if you got worn down by the Gorgons and Sirens.
 

The Future

Neo Member
Just finished this. Great game overall.

My only complain, apart from the couple of freezes I got, is the new parry, I just couldn't get a handle on it throughout the game, maybe I'm just so used to the way it is in previous games.

Other than that, great game, combat is great, puzzles are probably the best in the series. In my opinion, overall this is second only to GOW 3.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Yup this advice is peppered through the thread, and is the advice of the game director himself.

This isn't directed at you per se, so don't take it the wrong way, but I think trials of Archimedes is exemplary that despite all the calls for a revamped combat system, people went into this and played it exactly like every other god of war game. It's entirely doable on hard - I did it on my second try - if you use the systems they designed, and most important among those is the two new powers, uroburos and orkos. I kind of feel for Santa Monica, man - they did their best at reinventing the GOW combat systems, without fundamentally altering the feel, and then in the one scenario in the game that actually challenges you to weave it together, people call them out on it and they need to eat that bowl of shit and change it. Would suck being a dev on days like those.
I'm not asking for a revamped combat system at all just to say my opinion. I think that the combat system is great and i dont feel that anything needs to be changed really. God of War is one of my favorite gaming serie, and the combat system is one of the reasons for that. I wanted to remove one or two enemies from the last part of wave 1, i didnt want to change the combat system.

What i wrote earlier was only venting from trying maybe around 100 times and not making it. Only venting, not really complaining about the game itself, nor complaining to the developers. Sorry if it came across like that. I know that it takes a lot of work to make these games, so i have much respect for the developers. It would take quite much before i start complaining about a game (in this case i tried about 100 times before i wanted to vent). And if i had to adress the developers, i would have asked in a respectful way.


Did you make it on your second try with Uroburos and Orkos Stone? What is "funny" is that i tried this strategy now and i also made it on my 2nd try lol :) I might have made it on my first try as well, but my controller battery died on the 2nd wave and i had to plug in the USB cable. I lost maybe 15-20% of my life because of this. After this i died because of a stupid mistake i did and i died of the flames. I would most likely have made it if i didnt lose that life when my controller went out.

I would actually say that it was fairly easy using those two powerups. I'm pretty sure that i would have made it before patch 1.03 as well if i knew this. You do afterall get extra health from the Amazons and the Centaur. It is the first wave that is the hardest in my opinion. So by using the wrong strategy, it can become incredible difficult, but by using the right strategy it suddently became much easier. So it wasnt really anything about the game, only the user (me) :)


I'm wondering if the common factor among those having such trouble with the Trials is having ignored the Oath Stone/Uroborus. I think the best upgrade path in this game is Blades --> Oath Stone/Uroborus --> Fire/Lightning --> Soul --> Ice. Kratos feels insanely weak in combat without a full Rage meter and the Level 5 Blades make it easy to maintain. Oath Stone/Uroborus allow you to play Waves 2 and 3 on auto pilot. Without them, it can definitely be tough if you got worn down by the Gorgons and Sirens.
Going from trying about 100 times and ending up with anger and frustration, to making it on my 2nd try and call it fairly easy, this makes me think that this is a very common factor indeed.
 

BadAss2961

Member
*Venting time*

Be patient, particularly in the 2nd round. Use Orkos every time he's available. Use the amulet on enemies you have the most trouble with. Use Kratos' air combos. It's really not that difficult.

I thought Zeus was a pain the ass on hard in GoW3. Much harder than the trial.
 

prophecy0

Member
Eh, I decided to continue despite the audio issues.

And wtf, I'm at the place where you get the
ice blade upgrade
and I'm struggling... the fact that enemies can hit you despite that you're hitting them is bs. I never liked this in any game, obviously if you're hitting something they couldn't just act like you aren't doing anything to them? I don't remember previous GOW games being this bad in that aspect.

Here is what someone told me much earlier in this thread when I was stuck here:

R1 + Triangle is your friend. You are invincible for a few seconds during this throw, and it can be used on any of the weaker enemy types that can always be grappled. It feels cheap, but it saved my ass multiple times on Hard difficulty.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
I beat the game now. Man, the last level, this is what makes God of War, God of War. It really stands out from other games, such crazy scale and amazing stuff going on :) I really enjoyed the whole game. Definitelly a full worthy God of War game.


Be patient, particularly in the 2nd round. Use Orkos every time he's available. Use the amulet on enemies you have the most trouble with. Use Kratos' air combos. It's really not that difficult.

I thought Zeus was a pain the ass on hard in GoW3. Much harder than the trial.
Yeah, i used both Uroburos and Orkos Stone and it made it so much easier. I made it on my 2nd try then :) Thanks =)

Yep, after discovering the Uroburos and Orkos Stone technique, i'd agree that Zeus in God of War 3 was harder.
 
I'm not asking for a revamped combat system at all just to say my opinion. I think that the combat system is great and i dont feel that anything needs to be changed really. God of War is one of my favorite gaming serie, and the combat system is one of the reasons for that. I wanted to remove one or two enemies from the last part of wave 1, i didnt want to change the combat system.

What i wrote earlier was only venting from trying maybe around 100 times and not making it. Only venting, not really complaining about the game itself, nor complaining to the developers. Sorry if it came across like that. I know that it takes a lot of work to make these games, so i have much respect for the developers. It would take quite much before i start complaining about a game (in this case i tried about 100 times before i wanted to vent). And if i had to adress the developers, i would have asked in a respectful way.


Did you make it on your second try with Uroburos and Orkos Stone? What is "funny" is that i tried this strategy now and i also made it on my 2nd try lol :) I might have made it on my first try as well, but my controller battery died on the 2nd wave and i had to plug in the USB cable. I lost maybe 15-20% of my life because of this. After this i died because of a stupid mistake i did and i died of the flames. I would most likely have made it if i didnt lose that life when my controller went out.

I would actually say that it was fairly easy using those two powerups. I'm pretty sure that i would have made it before patch 1.03 as well if i knew this. You do afterall get extra health from the Amazons and the Centaur. It is the first wave that is the hardest in my opinion. So by using the wrong strategy, it can become incredible difficult, but by using the right strategy it suddently became much easier. So it wasnt really anything about the game, only the user (me) :)



Going from trying about 100 times and ending up with anger and frustration, to making it on my 2nd try and call it fairly easy, this makes me think that this is a very common factor indeed.

And again, the post wasn't directed at you. It's a problem for the dev when they introduce fundamental changes into their system. Given how widespread the issue with the trials is, you could make a strong argument that SSM may have included the tools to beat it, but they didn't do a great job of communicating how important it was to use them. As GOW fans, I think we're all used to the non chains combat devices being relatively extraneous and bypassable. I'm not sure SSM untrained us out of that bad habit well enough in ascension

Regardless, the combat system here is some of the best it's been once it clicks. I still don't know if the changes the parry system were the right way to go and for all the visual loveliness of the elements, they sure don't seem to have a major impact on combat, but all in all some great choices: world weapons, the tether system, and the new rage meter I think all work really well. It's a great game, and as usual, a better game on hard.
 

Patapwn

Member
I'm really getting sick of playing a match and getting kicked right before EXP upgrades... it just happened 3 times in a row. Fucking bullshit
 

Oneself

Member
So, I am definitely enjoying the single player waaay more than I originally thought I would...

BUT...

what a buggy mess! There are some major bugs (yup, bugs, no pun intended) everywhere!
Surprisingly often, the screen gets stuck in that "decay/heal" greenish view, sometimes it even loads the last checkpoint that way
(in the present day sequence following the boat cutscene, when you get an entire arm back in place before the swinging)
! Also, the camera sometimes gets stuck in some unplayable view forcing you to restart
(right in the 1st area after you gain the power to restore/break objects)
. Also, I'm pretty sure this is the 1st game ever in which you can die during a non-interactive story sequence
(double jump right when entering the boat at the harbor of Kirra, you'll die right after the movie is played when it goes back to the game's engine story sequence)
!! WOW, congrats SSM, that's top tier quality control!!
 
So since this game has been bloody hard on hard... heh... im switching to normal by restarting lol.

ALSO.

I have switched to using Zeus full time in multiplayer. WOW. What a difference. Broseidon has got nothing on the big lightning guy. I can virtually one-shot people with my magic (which I SOMETIMES can use TWICE IN A ROW!), and my elemental powers even with a level 9 sword kick ass sorts of ass. His invincibility item is great (aegis) for blocking nearly all big attacks. Zeus is much more my playstyle.

I'm at ten hours and at chapter 26. Playing hard first go. It hard on hard (as it should be) but so satisfying. Its a lot easier now with the
clone+stop
attacks

I gotta say, I didn't realise the fire weapon was a category. I just thought the flame blade was the default blades that kratos had and focused only on upgraded the blades. I've maxxed it now and then I realised, oh, you can upgrade the fire attack. this at 10 hours in.
 

Sorral

Member
I'm at ten hours and at chapter 26. Playing hard first go. It hard on hard (as it should be) but so satisfying. Its a lot easier now with the
clone+stop
attacks

I gotta say, I didn't realise the fire weapon was a category. I just thought the flame blade was the default blades that kratos had and focused only on upgraded the blades. I've maxxed it now and then I realised, oh, you can upgrade the fire attack. this at 10 hours in.

You did good getting the second half of the rage meter. It makes it a lot easier to keep it up later on. Upgrade
the amulet, oathstone
and your favorite element, so the trial becomes easier. (Assuming your game isn't patched. I don't know how easy it is with the patch anyway. Also, should be able to get all the upgrades in if you manage to find all the red boxes and maybe farm the last mobs to finish upgrading everything in one play through.)

Be patient, particularly in the 2nd round. Use Orkos every time he's available. Use the amulet on enemies you have the most trouble with. Use Kratos' air combos. It's really not that difficult.

I thought Zeus was a pain the ass on hard in GoW3. Much harder than the trial.

I thought I was the only one. Playing on Titan, Zeus was more annoying in GoW3 than the trials for me. Cerberus wasn't hard either.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
And again, the post wasn't directed at you. It's a problem for the dev when they introduce fundamental changes into their system. Given how widespread the issue with the trials is, you could make a strong argument that SSM may have included the tools to beat it, but they didn't do a great job of communicating how important it was to use them. As GOW fans, I think we're all used to the non chains combat devices being relatively extraneous and bypassable. I'm not sure SSM untrained us out of that bad habit well enough in ascension

Regardless, the combat system here is some of the best it's been once it clicks. I still don't know if the changes the parry system were the right way to go and for all the visual loveliness of the elements, they sure don't seem to have a major impact on combat, but all in all some great choices: world weapons, the tether system, and the new rage meter I think all work really well. It's a great game, and as usual, a better game on hard.
Sure, i know that you were talking more in general with what you said earlier, but i just wanted to point out that i was not complaining about the combat system etc. in my venting earlier :) It could maybe look like i was indirectly saying "this game is shit!", and i just wanted to point out that i dont think this is the case at all.

I'm not really sure why i didnt try to use those items more often. I think it is because i messed up a few times when i first tried it, and i wasnt sure how much damage the Orbos Stone actually did. I wish i tried it earlier, it would have saved me from some frustration hehe. It didnt sour my experience with the game though. It actually made the game more memorable i think.
 
I really have a problem with this game, especially with the biggest enemies and especially when there are a lot of them (the fight after we find
the eyes of truth
is a big rage inducing offender...). There's a moment when so much shit comes from the enemy I just can't hit something anymore and it's just a frustrating ride to "0 health you're dead". The rest of the game is fair but these pikes in difficulty (I only play in normal, yeah, I'm not a king of the paddle) just fight the enjoyment I get from the game. The grunts and their most evloved versions are fun to fight although, toward the end the game throws a little bit too many of them to you in a single fight. Chimeras and sirens are definitely plain BS.

Another thing that bugs me with this game. Graphics are some kind of a "tour de force", I'll admit it but I do think they make the fights "unreadable". There are some fights I genuinely don't know where the fuck is Kratos. I loose track of him very easily which makes fights somehow hard to handle. Sometimes, I think the "god of tech" approach at Santa Monica really stands against my appreciation of the game, especially gameplay wise.

All in one, it's not the best entry in the licence so far. The most pretty it is, sure, but the most interesting and fun to play it is not, far from it sometimes. God of War 2 remains king, Ascension looks to me as a pretty weak entry so far.
 

koene

Member
Finished it a couple of days ago.

I must say I'm pretty impressed they changed so much combat wise. It's definitely a love it or hate it case. At first I couldn't get the hang of it, because it plays so different from previous GoWs. Enemies block a lot, they have much more HP and the rage meter never filled up so I felt quite weak. But about midway it just clicked and using all your powers nearing the end of the game was awesome.

Visually, it's just incredible. So much more color in everything. Take the
Medusa
for example. So different from GoW 3, and finishing her off is so satisfying.

For me, the best part was from
the Foot of Apollo
till the end. It had such a GoW 2 vibe. Great puzzles and sense of scale and visually insane.
Rebuilding the whole statue
feels awesome. The only thing that I didn't like, was that the fact that we didn't get the
Kraken bossfight
until the end of the game. I didn't expect it to be the final boss really. It looked great though, but waaaaay to many QTE. Overall, the game lacked great bossfights, and that's a shame.

Oh yes, the
Trials of Archimedes
. Maybe not for me to say, since I've played a ton of GoW games, but imo it wasn't all that bad. It took me a total of 2 tries. Really, you should play this. Now that was long and hard (that's what she said).

I have yet to play the multiplayer, if I find the time.

I think overall the game was a bit too short and felt less polished than we're used to from SSM. But it's nowhere near as bad as some say. I would dare to put it above GoW 3. GoW 3 just has the bossfights going for it, but Ascension feels more like an adventure, which to me is still more important.
 

Radec

Member
So a week ago i stopped playing after i talked to the dying Oracle. Then i quit the game, and it saved fine. Then yesterday i played it again im stuck in this bridge where you will heal or decay it. Kratos is not even visible. Wtf.

Then i restart chapter 13 again and talked to the oracle again and it went smooth.

I stopped playing when i saw the blue phoenix of the 2nd Fury. Then today i popped it again andnguess what, it loaded in the fucking bridge! I cant see kratos again and it looks like i will have to play it again all the way through. Wtf.

Is my save game fucked? Im 4 hours into the game when this happened.
 
getting absolutely creamed at trials
of archemedies.
. Fuckkkkk

I'm got as far as the wights after the centaur but I couldn't play the game of keep away long enough to survive. Really struggling with it atm. What is up with the snakes + lighting bitches at the start - the first couple of times I played, there was 4 snakes and 2 of the women but now it keeps giving me 4 of the women to fight.

Can't survive the medusa + lighting women fight.

I also struggle against the
amazonian
women in blue. How do you fight them? I can't seem to block!

I mistakenly unspoilered koene's post and before I knew it read about the final boss. :(
 

Jacob4815

Member
The only thing that I didn't like, was that the fact that we didn't get the
Kraken bossfight
until the end of the game. I didn't expect it to be the final boss really.

I agree, it was a terrible idea.
I think that they changed their original plan... months ago they said that

the monster was Charibydis from the Odyssey, and we had to fight it at 60% of the game. And the E3 demo hinted this.
But in the final build Charybydis is a random giant mutation of Alecto (WTF Papy and Santa Monica??????), and the awesome sea environment is only Tysiphone's illusion in the Alecto's chamber.
It was totally out of place and context.

Really, really lame and disappointing.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
getting absolutely creamed at trials
of archemedies.
. Fuckkkkk

I'm got as far as the wights after the centaur but I couldn't play the game of keep away long enough to survive. Really struggling with it atm. What is up with the snakes + lighting bitches at the start - the first couple of times I played, there was 4 snakes and 2 of the women but now it keeps giving me 4 of the women to fight.

Can't survive the medusa + lighting women fight.

I also struggle against the
amazonian
women in blue. How do you fight them? I can't seem to block!

I mistakenly unspoilered koene's post and before I knew it read about the final boss. :(
Use fully upgraded Uroburos and Orkos Stone. If you cant upgrade them fully, use them anyway :) and when those are done, i used lightning magic. This takes a short while, so both Uroburos and Orkos Stone gets to cool down meanwhile the magic is in effect.

For the 2nd and 3rd wave, the same tactic works just as fine. For the amazons in specific, it is possible to block their attack. Just hold down L1 and wait for them to attack, then quickly hit the square button one or two times. The go back to blocking, and repeat the process. I'd recommend taking out the birds first with R1.
 
I agree, it was a terrible idea.
I think that they changed their original plan... months ago they said that

the monster was Charibydis from the Odyssey, and we had to fight it at 60% of the game. And the E3 demo hinted this.
But in the final build Charybydis is a random giant mutation of Alecto (WTF Papy and Santa Monica??????), and the awesome sea environment is only Tysiphone's illusion in the Alecto's chamber.
It was totally out of place and context.

Really, really lame and disappointing.

JESUS CHRIST IS THAT TRUE? No wonder the game felt very padded.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
I agree, it was a terrible idea.
I think that they changed their original plan... months ago they said that

the monster was Charibydis from the Odyssey, and we had to fight it at 60% of the game. And the E3 demo hinted this.
But in the final build Charybydis is a random giant mutation of Alecto (WTF Papy and Santa Monica??????), and the awesome sea environment is only Tysiphone's illusion in the Alecto's chamber.
It was totally out of place and context.

Really, really lame and disappointing.
I'm not sure that they changed their original plan. At least i assume that the story was set in stone when they unveiled it. Ending spoiler:
If the story was set in stone when they revealed the game, they couldnt really say that Charybydis was the final boss and that it was one of the Furies.

Personally i dont think that it was really that out of place and context, because throughout the game there were several of places that were just an illusion (the bordello, in the streets of Sparta (or something), when getting praised by the king or general. This would mean that the last sea battle could also be an illusion. I agree that i was a bit surprised how it suddently changed to the sea enviorment, but at least it could be seen as context based on the previous places in the games that were also just an illusion.

:)


JESUS CHRIST IS THAT TRUE? No wonder the game felt very padded.
What is true and what do you mean with felt "very padded"?
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Papy himself confirmed that the monster was Charybidis.
http://www.g4tv.com/videos/58901/god-of-war-ascension-e3-gameplay-demo/

That was official.
What he says is true though, that monster is Charybidis.
They just had their own twist on it. There is actually a hint of this as well in the intro sequence of the game. There is a big whirpool and the Furies come up from there. I didnt think about this before after i beat the game. I also say that it is accurate what he said about seeing Charybidis for the first time about 60% into the game.
 
Finished the game on Hard. Really good game but not as good as 3. I noticed the audio bugs but it didn't affect my enjoyment too much. Not really too sure if the new combat mechanics is an improvement on the old simpler one. Still very good, fun and challenging. I did play on hard. That last act was insane but quite easy

the 3 things that I did note about this latest god of war that I didn't notice as much in the prior ones because it didn't have it as much?

side swimming bit was terribly pointless. I think 3 at least had treasure chests underwater? It played like frogger or something, the way he swam. There was 1 thing to pick up so I wonder why they bothered
all the climbing in the game is terrible. All of it. TERRIBLE.
statue of appollo (I gotta say, this whole thing in itself was fine but you go through portions of his body and the next time you go to the next area, the camera does the whole "LOOK AT THE SCALE" sweep and it does it in every new room and it just seemed like an overkill. GOW3 will do it occassionally but they do it a lot in GOW:A

additional comments
they didn't do much with the last tool (eyes)

really like that the the QTE button presses are fast and you really gotta nail them.
fatalities are great.
didn't notice the bros before "xyz" trophy.
last boss was great.

visuals in 3 might possibly be better but both games look great. I was never one of those that thought GOW3 is the best on the console (that's uncharted2) and this was more of the same,.Some parts of the game, I feel like they could have spent more polygons + texturing work on - eg
kratos' daughter easily could have had a better texture map for the face+ body and not that ps2 level texture map -when he leaned in to kiss/touch her, you just notice how low rent it looked.

about 12 hours on it. very satisfied. Huge game. There was a lot of it (hours). some great puzzles in this one.

add

they could have let you QTE the final kill of the fury who helped you. Make it like MGS when snake killed the woman in 3 (big boss?) and add some impact
 
Is there any power I should focus on fully upgrading before going onto hard? Or will I most likely have upgraded everything by the end of my first play through?

Just got my Bros Before Hos Foes trophy and right after I got the Eyes Have It when I opened a chest and I have 22,495 orbs.
 
Is there any power I should focus on fully upgrading before going onto hard? Or will I most likely have upgraded everything by the end of my first play through?

Just got my Bros Before Hos Foes trophy and right after I got the Eyes Have It when I opened a chest and I have 22,495 orbs.
You will have everything fully upgraded if you didn't missed too many chests. But if you want the trophy for completing the game on Hard, you can't play it on New Game Plus which disables all trophies. You'll want to upgrade the amulet and the stone as soon as you get them, they're lifesavers in Hard Mode. Other than that, I stuck with Ares and Zeus mainly in my Hard playthough, Ares fills up your rage meter quicker, and the electricity attack stuns your enemies, giving you some breathing room.
 
But if you want the trophy for completing the game on Hard, you can't play it on New Game Plus which disables all trophies.

tumblr_m3qi05XNdY1ruoy68o1_500.gif


Damn, I had no idea. That sucks!
 

mshlive

Member
I really just feel the need to vent some frustration here.

God of War Ascension is incredible, those that are unsure so far, the second half of the game is phenomenal whilst the first half is a bit if a slow burner. I really recommend sticking with it though. The visuals, the range of locales, the improved combat and gameplay through better use of puzzles and exploration. Absolutely fantastic.

That being said, through SSM's incompetence that is the most horrendous end game experience I've ever had. As many people have said, without spoiling it, the final section is breathtaking. However, the end cutscene for me has no sound, the characters disappear and now I'm sat here looking at a black screen with the only option being to quit out. For an end if generation game this isn't acceptable and had ruined what in my opinion could have been a fantastic game.

I have just had to watch the ending on YouTube.

Bravo, Sony Santa Monica.
 
the more I play this game, the more I like it. The combat is pretty awesome!! And the puzzles are interesting :O

the story is making more sense too!
 
I'm enjoying the game, but in the first three hours I've had two hard lockups and one spot where I had to reload a chapter because the game got stuck. So I'm not real impressed by the amount of bugs.
 
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