Now This Is Sparta! – GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION

Oh my god! The new God of War is finally here, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it last night. Let me say this right away—Ascension is a fantastic game, and easily one of the most visually stunning titles I’ve ever played. Of course, that might not come as a huge surprise, considering God of War III set the bar incredibly high and held the crown for best visuals up until now.

No, these screenshots aren’t from a QTE or cutscene—none of the images in this article are. Ascension looks so good that I often found myself deliberately dying just to admire the visuals. While the game does feature a fair number of QTEs, they’re far from intrusive or annoying. Oddly enough, some reviewers and journalists seem to think otherwise, but in my experience, the number of QTEs is far less than in the older God of War titles.

One of the big new features in Ascension is the addition of online multiplayer. It offers the usual battle modes like 1v1 and 2v2, but also includes a co-op option. The co-op mode is essentially a horde-style experience rather than a full campaign, but it works surprisingly well. What really impressed me is that the visuals remain just as stunning here—no compromises at all, which is an incredible achievement.

Here’s another look at the multiplayer—featuring decent-sized maps that are absolutely jaw-dropping in detail. Just looking at these screenshots gives me goosebumps, so you can only imagine how breathtaking it feels when you’re actually playing.

True to the spirit of the God of War series, Ascension delivers lush environments and a wide variety of breathtaking locations that keep the adventure feeling fresh. Even after journeying through the previous five games, I still found myself eager to see what stunning setting awaited me next.

This image serves as the poster child for Ascension—it’s the box art for the standard edition and even comes as a massive poster in the limited edition.

As for the enemies, they’re as grotesque as ever, making every kill a guilty pleasure. Some creatures almost make you feel bad because of the unsettling sounds they make—like the elephant-like beast, for example. Still, they’re brilliantly designed, and finishing them off in brutal detail (yes, even splitting skulls and exposing brains) is as disturbingly satisfying as you’d expect from God of War.

Shown above are two of the artbook-style postcards, along with the extremely limited artbook itself.

I wish I could share more screenshots, but my capture setup is currently out of commission. For now, these will have to do—but if you’re curious, the official God of War: Ascension website has plenty of screenshots to check out. Oh, and don’t forget, there’s also a demo available.

For now, I picked up the Special Edition, since the biggest version sadly got lost in the mail cough—more on that once (or if) it shows up.

What’s neat is that the Special Edition box looks completely different from both the standard and the third version. I’m guessing this was intentional, giving collectors a reason to hunt down every edition.

The Steelbook design comes with a transparent slipcover, a trend that has become pretty standard for most, if not all, recent Sony exclusive Special Editions.

As for the contents of the box… I have to admit it feels a bit “light” compared to other collector editions. Hopefully, the largest version will offer something more exciting for us collectors, cough.

That said, you should definitely grab the game—it’s fantastic. While reviews have been mixed, it’s still a must-play. Be prepared for a serious challenge toward the end, though; there’s a notable difficulty spike. Sony has already promised to address it with a patch if necessary.

Updated: I also reviewed the Collector’s Edition many years ago, link here: God Of War Collector’s Ascension Edition PS3

Follow Us... Inspire Us To Get Better... Keep The Amiga Flame Alive... PlayStation VR2 For The Future... AmigaGuru For The Future... Contact Us At Twitter For Content Creator Support...

• 
• 
•