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[Seventy_X_Seven]

And finally beat the game. I do not understand the general opinion that this is the worst GOW title. The combat is miles ahead of the combat in previous entries. The pacing is fantastic. Switching QTE's to the corresponding side of the screen allowed me to focus more on the action. The puzzles weren't too hard but not excessively easy. The elemental weapons and magics are much preferred over past methods. The setting was well varied. The final boss was amazing

Spoiler

and I like how it was more flare and reward for completing the Trials, which was the real final boss challenge wise.

Only complaint I can see are some sound issues (which will be fixed) and the story. If we're judging off story, then it would rank last (only played 1,2, and 3). That's not to say it was a bad story, it was enough to keep me going, but not nearly as epic (in the traditional sense) as the others.

Also

Spoiler

I really hope they add a multiplayer map inspired after the final boss scene, as a small arena. Start you off in a boat going in circles around the whirlpool in the storm, then about mid way through have it switch to the platform with the fury in monster-form occasionally attacking. Shit could be epic!

 

[Sorral]

1.04 patch tomorrow

https://twitter.com/SonySantaMonica/status/319568435690500097

I didn't see this posted, so here it is. Sound fix, Multiplayer level increased, etc.
Link to the blog post with details.

Audio Issues
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.

 

[Loudninja]

I didn't see this posted, so here it is. Sound fix, Multiplayer level increased, etc.
Link to the blog post with details.

Sounds good!

 

[darkwing]

I didn't see this posted, so here it is. Sound fix, Multiplayer level increased, etc.
Link to the blog post with details.

finally matchmaking optimizations/level increase/sound fix!

 

[Just_Tank]

Hey fellas!

Man how much I have missed you. Thanks for keeping this thread alive and well, can't wait to see it pass 1-million views sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Patch 1.04 will be out this month, exact date TBD, but it's coming soon.

You know where to follow us @SonySantaMonica or www.godofwar.com for the latest.

I'll be here...
-Tank

 

[Square Triangle]

Sounds great Tank!

 

[Toppot]

Thanks Tank =] And if you're handling the Twitter, thanks for answering my questions =]

Plus side: Looks like if you have already opened a large number of chests, or have Fortuitous maxed out or something, you shouldn't have to collect more Treasure Chests to get the Barbarian Hammer or Spear of Destiny.

Negative side: If you are already level 30, additional xp will not carry over when the cap is increased. Which sucks for me as all my gods are level 30 xD No point me wasting XP and Labour's XP bonuses on just levelling up armour and weapons =/

So no Multiplayer for me till 1.04, which will also be an opportune time to put in my Rise of the War code =D

Spoiler

The 48 hours Double XP I got with my collectors edition was enough for me to fully level up 3 gods (My Ares was already level 30 before I put in the code)

 

[MyAbsolution]

In reference to weapon L1+Square/Triangle moves:

One thing I have started to notice in terms of balance (my opinion) is how broken some AOE (area of effect) attacks can be.

Some weapon attacks require actual aim + skill to use/timing... and are devastating. That im ok with.

AOE attacks should NEVER EVER take off more or equal amount of damage that an aimed attack does. It defeats the entire purpose/balance. AOE attacks are spammable, easy to use, and require no aim; they should be low damage to help counter that. A player should not be rewarded with a fuck ton of damage as highly as someone who aims.

Most of these AOE attacks that are rigged are from hammers (where smash the ground and a giant blast radius of damage is made).

In other games I have played over the years... Ill use Twisted Metal Black Online and TM2 for example ;P typically the most devastating vehicles are ones who can do AOE attack specials (and these specials did WAAAAY TOO MUCH DAMAGE). Axel, Shadow, Junkyard Dog. All had specials that could hit more than one person at a time, had too large of blast radius, and did way too much damage; all while cars with specials that required precise aiming are on the lower tier end (brimstone, mr grimm, yellowjacket, sweet tooth). Much like this game, those AOE specials don't really require aiming.

TL;DR: Nerf some AOE damage PLZ.

 

[Just_Tank]

I do manage our @SonySantaMonica twitter feed, that's my voice (on behalf of our studio), glad to be of service!

-Tank

 

[TriniTrin]

Played the first level, damn that slowdown was bad.... Does it get better through the game or is it pretty sluggish?

 

[OSHAN]

http://www.brokenjoysticks.net/review/god-of-war-ascension-review/

Here's my review for people interested in reading reviews for games they already own.

 

[Just_Tank]

Played the first level, damn that slowdown was bad.... Does it get better through the game or is it pretty sluggish?

It doesn't usually slow down, but for what it's worth, if it does, yes, that should not happen in the game, if ever

 

[Just_Tank]

http://www.brokenjoysticks.net/review/god-of-war-ascension-review/

Here's my review for people interested in reading reviews for games they already own.

"If you’re interested in cleaving a gorgon’s face in two, it may also be up your alley."

Nice one, great write-up, well thought out and shows you really put your time into it.

Thank you from us here at Sony Santa Monica

-Tank

 

[Jigolo]

Played the first level, damn that slowdown was bad.... Does it get better through the game or is it pretty sluggish?

Game only gets better from the start. Ending is WAY better.

AND YES! Sound patched, now time for hard mode and another Platinum

 

[Mario007]

Does this game explain or hint at any things that were left unresolved by Gow3's ending (by which I mainly reference Athena) or is the story more along the lines of Chain of Olympus (i.e. just one of Kratos' adventures during those 10 years serving the gods)?

 

[TriniTrin]

It doesn't usually slow down, but for what it's worth, if it does, yes, that should not happen in the game, if ever

Oh snap!
Yeah, it was only in the first section of the game so far. Maybe my PS3 is dying...

 

[Just_Tank]

Oh snap!
Yeah, it was only in the first section of the game so far. Maybe my PS3 is dying...

I hope your PS3 is not dying!

 

[OSHAN]

"If you’re interested in cleaving a gorgon’s face in two, it may also be up your alley."

Nice one, great write-up, well thought out and shows you really put your time into it.

Thank you from us here at Sony Santa Monica

-Tank

Thanks, Tank. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I'll be starting my Titan run as soon as I'm done with NG3:RE.

 

[Toppot]

Does this game explain or hint at any things that were left unresolved by Gow3's ending (by which I mainly reference Athena) or is the story more along the lines of Chain of Olympus (i.e. just one of Kratos' adventures during those 10 years serving the gods)?

It's set before all the games. It stands on its own really, I can't remember anything in it explaining anything in the other games. It's just supposed to show you why Kratos is so pissed off in the future, for like the 3rd time... . Maybe a Vita GoW game would tie into this game somehow.

Still, the multiplayer is awesome and the best thing about the game.

 

[Mario007]

It's set before all the games. It stands on its own really, I can't remember anything in it explaining anything in the other games. It's just supposed to show you why Kratos is so pissed off in the future, for like the 3rd time... . Maybe a Vita GoW game would tie into this game somehow.

Still, the multiplayer is awesome and the best thing about the game.

Coolio, so more in line with CoO and GoS in that case? I remember GoS showed you why kratos was pissed at the start of GoW2. Is there any foreshadowing done at all?

 

[Toppot]

Coolio, so more in line with CoO and GoS in that case? I remember GoS showed you why kratos was pissed at the start of GoW2. Thanks for the info.

It is more in line with those games yes =] It's on par with CoO on how good it is story wise.

 

[Muitnorts]

I'm really enjoying the game so far but it seems quite a bit glitchier than any of the past games. I've had to restart the game on three different occasions, twice because the camera position didn't change when it was supposed to. Really frustrating, especially because it looks fairly common in this thread.

 

[Mario007]

It is more in line with those games yes =] It's on par with CoO on how good it is story wise.

Oh right...that's a bit disappointing. I did enjoy CoO but not as much to pay 60 euro for it, but then again I suppose if I wait too long before the price comes down there will be no one playing online. Ah the decisions...

 

[njean777]

Finally I can finish the game, been waiting for the audio fix since launch.

 

[Toppot]

Oh right...that's a bit disappointing. I did enjoy CoO but not as much to pay 60 euro for it, but then again I suppose if I wait too long before the price comes down there will be no one playing online. Ah the decisions...

If you are just getting the game for single player, no I wouldn't say it was worth 60 euros. As I said previously, the online is a ton of fun, and is worth 60 euros in my opinion just for the multiplayer. I think the price has already dropped in a couple of places.

 

[Mario007]

If you are just getting the game for single player, no I wouldn't say it was worth 60 euros. As I said previously, the online is a ton of fun, and is worth 60 euros in my opinion just for the multiplayer. I think the price has already dropped in a couple of places.

Glad to hear the multi is fun. I guess I'll think about it. Obviously I've never had exprience with GoW multi, so I don't know what exactly to expect. Is there a milti demo on the store?

 

[Toppot]

Glad to hear the multi is fun. I guess I'll think about it. Obviously I've never had exprience with GoW multi, so I don't know what exactly to expect. Is there a milti demo on the store?

Conversely, some people hate the multiplayer =P It's all opinions, I thnk once people have levelled up a bit and got hold of some of the better armour, weapons and 'magics' it's a more enjoyable experience.

There is no multiplayer demo atm, I'd imagine the game is going to go the UC3 route eventually and be a limited F2P experience. There was a Beta a few months ago for PS+ members and people that did Rise of the Warrior.

If you wait to get the game I think you will be fine, the multiplayer will get constant updates and DLC for months to come so there should still be plenty of people on till some massive game comes out like the next CoD.

 

[Mario007]

Conversely, some people hate the multiplayer =P It's all opinions, I thnk once people have levelled up a bit and got hold of some of the better armour, weapons and 'magics' it's a more enjoyable experience.

There is no multiplayer demo atm, I'd imagine the game is going to go the UC3 route eventually and be a limited F2P experience. There was a Beta a few months ago for PS+ members and people that did Rise of the Warrior.

If you wait to get the game I think you will be fine, the multiplayer will get constant updates and DLC for months to come so there should still be plenty of people on till some massive game comes out like the next CoD.

Thanks for your thoughts. I just finished up all the games till Ascension and have been playing GoW non-stop since February so I might do a highest difficulty run to satisfy my GoW craving and wait around for a bigger price-drop as gaming budget is tight after I pretty much bought all the games of the franchise.

Also, are there any other character action games that play similar to GoW? I know Asura's wrath did this but with more emphasis on the cinematics but that seems about it?

 

[Toppot]

Also, are there any other character action games that play similar to GoW? I know Asura's wrath did this but with more emphasis on the cinematics but that seems about it?

I'm no expert but similar games might be; DMC series (HD Collection, 4 and DmC), Bayonetta, Heavenly Sword (Very good game IMO and very cheap preowned), El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Dante's Inferno (Bad game IMO). Check out a gameplay video of them and see if any take your fancy.

 

[BadAss2961]

A couple of minutes is absurd. I hope people understand this. 60 seconds is pushing it -- and that's not including the match countdown. And your experience is not the norm. I live in California. 3 v 3 Favor is more common than 4 v 4 Favor. And those aren't always grievers -- that's the match-making on occasion. When there is a lobby of 7 and it begins to countdown -- it'll count down to 0 and kick a non-party player at the last second so the game is balanced. So one person gets fucked and wastes their time. And if you're in a party of four -- one of your buddies is going to steam-rolled by your entire squad if the lobby is less than full. What the fuck is point of a party system if you are going to split us up.

Are you saying you don't believe me? Or that 60 seconds between games is still too long?

3v3 happens a lot, but 4v4 is more common in my experience. Again, I have no trouble at all getting into a game, especially after the first game where I find a rotation. I was partied up with Seventy the other day, and this was our experience.

Party of four does take longer, but i've never hosted one myself.

 

[Mario007]

I'm no expert but similar games might be; DMC series (HD Collection, 4 and DmC), Bayonetta, Heavenly Sword (Very good game IMO and very cheap preowned), El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Dante's Inferno (Bad game IMO). Check out a gameplay video of them and see if any take your fancy.

Awesome, thanks a lot dude!

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Did they say whether our experience gained past level 30 will count towards level 31-40, or will it start as if you gained nothing past 30?

 

[Toppot]

Did they say whether our experience gained past level 30 will count towards level 31-40, or will it start as if you gained nothing past 30?

It will start as if you gained nothing past 30.

 

[Drencrom]

I didn't see this posted, so here it is. Sound fix, Multiplayer level increased, etc.
Link to the blog post with details.

Yes, finally!

 

[TEH-CJ]

Needing new maps guys. Preferably more maps like desert of lost souls.

but excited for the new patch, Hopefully it comes out this week.

 

[rdrr gnr]

After a certain level you should never be able to use the chains.

Holy fuck, SSM.

 

[TDSpartan]

In reference to weapon L1+Square/Triangle moves:

One thing I have started to notice in terms of balance (my opinion) is how broken some AOE (area of effect) attacks can be.

Some weapon attacks require actual aim + skill to use/timing... and are devastating. That im ok with.

AOE attacks should NEVER EVER take off more or equal amount of damage that an aimed attack does. It defeats the entire purpose/balance. AOE attacks are spammable, easy to use, and require no aim; they should be low damage to help counter that. A player should not be rewarded with a fuck ton of damage as highly as someone who aims.

Most of these AOE attacks that are rigged are from hammers (where smash the ground and a giant blast radius of damage is made).

In other games I have played over the years... Ill use Twisted Metal Black Online and TM2 for example ;P typically the most devastating vehicles are ones who can do AOE attack specials (and these specials did WAAAAY TOO MUCH DAMAGE). Axel, Shadow, Junkyard Dog. All had specials that could hit more than one person at a time, had too large of blast radius, and did way too much damage; all while cars with specials that required precise aiming are on the lower tier end (brimstone, mr grimm, yellowjacket, sweet tooth). Much like this game, those AOE specials don't really require aiming.

TL;DR: Nerf some AOE damage PLZ.

AOE are good in crowds where you can hit unsuspecting people but pretty useless in small encounters (1v1). They have pretty long telegraphed startups so when paying attention aren't that hard to avoid/stop.

Thinking of Gladiator/Champion Hammer and that Zeus hammer here. Usually if you time the evade right before the ground slam you'll take no damage and be in prime position for counter.

 

[Toppot]

After a certain level you should never be able to use the chains.

Holy fuck, SSM.

Nobody should ever be able to use the chains, it's a cop-out. 'Hey, you have died so much we are going to give you a pretty unstoppable weapon to kill people'. Yes you can use magic and L2 moves to avoid them or kill them, but I'm already using those to kill people, I wont necessarily have those saved up when some guy charges into a crowd of us and goes all berserk.

I played a 4 player Match of the Champions once. Some guy almost won because he would die 3 times then get the chains and kill the other 3 people playing, rinse and repeat. We would get 1-2 kills each to his 3. If he wasn't so crap and we didn't get things like the chalice and Cerberus kill that cheap bugger would have won, not through skill, but through over powered nonsense.

I would also highly question how much damaged thrown weapons like the mace, sword, spear and shield do. I'm a little under top health after a fight, guy runs up to me, throws sword, I'm instantly on my knees and he gets a brutal kill on me. Real skilled there.

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

Started using the Lance of Poseidon more. Used it when I unlocked it because I try every weapon, but didn't like it much then. Now I absolutely love it, don't think I want to use another weapon ever again. Good for 1v1, crowd control, and healing.

 

[JAYSIMPLE]

have this sat on my shelf. cant wait to play it. just holding out on the sound fix....now i have bioshock out the way, i suppose i should try multiplayer?

 

[Seventy_X_Seven]

have this sat on my shelf. cant wait to play it. just holding out on the sound fix....now i have bioshock out the way, i suppose i should try multiplayer?

Yes, it's not tacked on in any sense. Probably could of sold by itself.

 

[gdt]

Are they joking with the non checkpoints during the Trials part towards the end of the game? Not even a life chest?

 

[rvy]

1.04 patch tomorrow

https://twitter.com/SonySantaMonica/status/319568435690500097

Oh, goody. Too bad I bought Infinite today and am gonna start that before Ascension.

 

[Creamium]

Are they joking with the non checkpoints during the Trials part towards the end of the game? Not even a life chest?

They've already patched it... After each wave you get a bit of health back. Before that you didn't even have that luxury. What difficulty are you playing on? Normal should be pretty easy. On hard I had to retry a few times.

First wave is the hardest, so spam magic there. General tip is to spam clone/slowdown. Everything after the first wave is considerably easier.

 

[krae_man]

Just finished the game.

Some general thoughts

-Holy crap the story is non existant. Especially the beginning couple hours which were basically, kill some grunts, get a powerup just because.

-the removal of QTE's for the death kills of the larger enemies was a good choice. they do lose their luster after you do them a couple times since it's always the same stab 4 times then dodge but it's better then push the giant button

-Some of the other QTE's being part QTE and part real time was annoying a fuck. If I see a giant X button on my screen, I'm waiting for the next button prompt, not looking for grapple points. Why the hell were all those QTE's in the first place when all you do most of the time is jump? I had so many pointless deaths during the slide parts because of that nonsense.

-The games sound design was broken. I had multiple cut scenes with no sound effects whatsoever. It was really annoying to see Kratos stab someone, use a magic power or whatever in the cutscene and have it make no sound whatsoever.

-The End game QTE's and cutscenes showing Kratos using the magic ablilities you get in the game made it even more clear that stuff should have been playable.

-Also did I miss something or

Spoiler

Did I not kill one of the Furies? The one you rip the arm off early. Did I totally space out when I killed her or is she still alive? Am I forgetting that she is in another God of War game and thus couldn't die? What am I missing?

 

[DerZuhälter]

Is it just me, or did SSM change something about the block timings. It's obvious that parry is complete shit, but I had the first time the feeling that I couldn't interrupt mid-combo (non special attack) to block anymore.
It feels like the game wants me to do only attack, block for an eternity and then do another 2 attacks. It's completely frustrating.
I was mostly using evade which is also in some situation quite useless since you can't transition fast enough from evade into block.

I have never been as frustrated with the GoW fighting system as in Ascension.

 

[gdt]

Finished it. Useless story that doesn't do and show or reveal anything.

Lame first half, pretty good second half. Horrible sound issues. Clone attack is cool.

A weaker GOW that you are already used to.

7 is a solid number for this, might climb to an 8 depending on how much you like the second half.

 

[Xander51]

Is it just me, or did SSM change something about the block timings. It's obvious that parry is complete shit, but I had the first time the feeling that I couldn't interrupt mid-combo (non special attack) to block anymore.
It feels like the game wants me to do only attack, block for an eternity and then do another 2 attacks. It's completely frustrating.
I was mostly using evade which is also in some situation quite useless since you can't transition fast enough from evade into block.

I have never been as frustrated with the GoW fighting system as in Ascension.

It's not just you, it felt weird to me also. The parry being two buttons really threw me off for the first couple of hours. I prefer the feeling of the fighting system in 3.

 

[The perfect Dark]

Wow this game is boring...
Story
Enemies
Finisher
Boss fights
Weapons
Multiplayer

Everything is just meh

I'll sell this as soon as possible.

btw: I liked GOW 3

 

[BadAss2961]

Just finished the game.

Some general thoughts

-Holy crap the story is non existant. Especially the beginning couple hours which were basically, kill some grunts, get a powerup just because.

Ascension explains its story all the way through, but it does rush you along pretty quickly, so I could see how it would fly over peoples heads on the first playthrough. The beginning of the game (after the intro) has Orkos telling Kratos to go meet the Oracle of Delphi. All his travels up to that point are just to meet the oracle and find out how to defeat the Furies.

-Also did I miss something or

Spoiler

Did I not kill one of the Furies? The one you rip the arm off early. Did I totally space out when I killed her or is she still alive? Am I forgetting that she is in another God of War game and thus couldn't die? What am I missing?

Spoiler

Kratos actually kills Megaera in the game's intro. Remember, the game moves back and forth through time. Killing Megaera, getting into Alecto's Chamber, and killing the other two sisters is all that takes place in present day.