'God Of War: Ascension (2013)' is a prequel to its main series, the only console game in the franchise to be so. It feels like filler, ostensibly, because it is. However, its still a decently entertaining hack 'n' slash adventure. It adds some new elements to its gameplay, changing up its magic and weaponry while also introducing a ranged grapple. Sadly, the title has a fair few glitches and generally doesn't feel too refined. At its best, it's visceral and engaging; at its worst, it's frustrating. The story focuses on Kratos' time in a type of living jail, shortly before he sets out on the quest for vengeance seen in in the series' main entries. It's relatively pacy and it has all the brutality you'd expect. In fact, it's perhaps the most brutal in its franchise. While that does make for some painful combat, it doesn't really add anything to the story. The game is relatively straightforward, really. It's fun filler but it doesn't live up to the rest of the series (at least, those on consoles). 7/10.
8 Reviews
Same old, same old. Gore ,nudity and even more gore.
DustinRahksi23 March 2013
Thoughts: Ahhh! God of War, the prime example of grand button mashing goodness, none will ever compare. The game is easily the second most graphic in the series, it wasn't shocking like GoW 3, but it is more detailed than the other four games. This game is really pointless, I don't care about whats happening or whats gonna happen, since I know how it all ends. This really is a game only die hard fans will thoroughly enjoy, everyone else could care less. But I'm not complaining, the more GoW, the more better.
The Game: The story is made up of present day situations and flashbacks, throughout the game I started to forget which was which. The opening level pits you in a prison built on top of a titan, that was a pretty cool idea, but you don't get to fight the titan, but instead another monster that offers little to no excitement. Lets just say none of the boss's I have played so far are worth any thought. Nothing will ever beat those awe inspiring boss's in GoW 3. Here's a little content advisory: The brunt of the nudity is in the first stage when you walk into a room with at least 5 nude women with over-sized you know whats, but it is just an illusion. Kills include slicing an enemies head vertically in great detail and tearing open a Cyclops's abdomen exposing organs and the rib cage. The rest is nothing you haven't seen before for experienced players. And then there is the over abundant force of bare cheated female enemies, even more so that previous games. I thought I'd put this here since no one has updated the actual content advisory.
The game play: GoW 3's combat was easy peazy, it is pretty much an offensive style game. Thats no longer the case, defence is more important than ever. The game is defiantly much harder that the game prior to this. A fight with Cerberus or anyone, will end with you losing all of your health and magic, but don't worry there is always a health chest after the fight. Pressing L1 and triangle will solve pretty much any problem, I tend to over use it. Then there is other fights that are too easy, there is no medium, it's either hard or easy. I am playing on normal difficulty and it gives a good challenge, if you consider trial and error a challenge. You will die more from pit falls than you will in combat. I recommend easy, just so you know where everything is and how to defeat enemies for a second play through. There are some glitches here and there, most of them require you to restart the game, there are at least two times I have had to do this in order to continue. The graphics are nothing new, just that the gore looks better. They put more effort into making the nudity look realistic, well good for them, job accomplished. Overall it's a sort of step back from GoW3's presentation, it really offers nothing to people who aren't fans.
GoW Ascension offers nothing new, but that doesn't effect my opinion of this game is awesome. Some parts are boring, but hey it's a prequel, nothing big has happened yet. I enjoy it and have some fun playing it, and thats really what counts at the end of the day.
Warning to everyone. Please wait to buy this game you will save yourself a lot of pain and suffering. I have just received a game breaking glitch, prior to this one I have had three that required me to restart the game. But the one I just got is unfix-able. I was about halfway past the 20 chapter mark, but when I loaded the game today I died a little inside. I am now back on chapter thirteen where I got the first glitch. I have lost 2 or so hours of work. Oh well, playing through it a second time has allowed me to learn a few new tactics for certain enemies. Now that I have played through the lost progress again, I see that the game is actually pretty easy, you can block anything, the hardest enemies are the gorgons and those dragon/bat things, the rest is a piece of cake. The trial of Archimedes is the hardest part of the game so far, just because of those Gorgons.
I have just completed the game, it was pointless, but I enjoyed it. The end boss reminds me of the ending of Pirates of the Caribean at worlds end. This was the grandest fight in the game. The song "Warrior's truth" is my favourite in the series, they rest of the soundtrack is good also.
Recommended to fans, if your not a fan, start with the earlier games.
The Game: The story is made up of present day situations and flashbacks, throughout the game I started to forget which was which. The opening level pits you in a prison built on top of a titan, that was a pretty cool idea, but you don't get to fight the titan, but instead another monster that offers little to no excitement. Lets just say none of the boss's I have played so far are worth any thought. Nothing will ever beat those awe inspiring boss's in GoW 3. Here's a little content advisory: The brunt of the nudity is in the first stage when you walk into a room with at least 5 nude women with over-sized you know whats, but it is just an illusion. Kills include slicing an enemies head vertically in great detail and tearing open a Cyclops's abdomen exposing organs and the rib cage. The rest is nothing you haven't seen before for experienced players. And then there is the over abundant force of bare cheated female enemies, even more so that previous games. I thought I'd put this here since no one has updated the actual content advisory.
The game play: GoW 3's combat was easy peazy, it is pretty much an offensive style game. Thats no longer the case, defence is more important than ever. The game is defiantly much harder that the game prior to this. A fight with Cerberus or anyone, will end with you losing all of your health and magic, but don't worry there is always a health chest after the fight. Pressing L1 and triangle will solve pretty much any problem, I tend to over use it. Then there is other fights that are too easy, there is no medium, it's either hard or easy. I am playing on normal difficulty and it gives a good challenge, if you consider trial and error a challenge. You will die more from pit falls than you will in combat. I recommend easy, just so you know where everything is and how to defeat enemies for a second play through. There are some glitches here and there, most of them require you to restart the game, there are at least two times I have had to do this in order to continue. The graphics are nothing new, just that the gore looks better. They put more effort into making the nudity look realistic, well good for them, job accomplished. Overall it's a sort of step back from GoW3's presentation, it really offers nothing to people who aren't fans.
GoW Ascension offers nothing new, but that doesn't effect my opinion of this game is awesome. Some parts are boring, but hey it's a prequel, nothing big has happened yet. I enjoy it and have some fun playing it, and thats really what counts at the end of the day.
Warning to everyone. Please wait to buy this game you will save yourself a lot of pain and suffering. I have just received a game breaking glitch, prior to this one I have had three that required me to restart the game. But the one I just got is unfix-able. I was about halfway past the 20 chapter mark, but when I loaded the game today I died a little inside. I am now back on chapter thirteen where I got the first glitch. I have lost 2 or so hours of work. Oh well, playing through it a second time has allowed me to learn a few new tactics for certain enemies. Now that I have played through the lost progress again, I see that the game is actually pretty easy, you can block anything, the hardest enemies are the gorgons and those dragon/bat things, the rest is a piece of cake. The trial of Archimedes is the hardest part of the game so far, just because of those Gorgons.
I have just completed the game, it was pointless, but I enjoyed it. The end boss reminds me of the ending of Pirates of the Caribean at worlds end. This was the grandest fight in the game. The song "Warrior's truth" is my favourite in the series, they rest of the soundtrack is good also.
Recommended to fans, if your not a fan, start with the earlier games.
God of War: Ascension Review
bgood44422 June 2014
For all you Kratos fans out there, the big man is back and yes, he is still in need of some anger management therapy. The game creators at Santa Monica Studios have spun the wheel of time and have taken us as far back as we have yet been in Kratos' journey. Chronologically speaking, Ascension takes place before all the other existing titles in the series. Before the game was released, I was excited when I heard that the next God of War installment was going to be a prequel and that it was to be called Ascension. I immediately assumed that this was going to be the playable origin story of Kratos that we have been introduced to time and time again in the previous games. Unfortunately not long after getting into the story, I realized that the unfolding tale was not so much the origin of Kratos that I had hoped for.
Yes, throughout the game there are glimpses of Kratos' origin and reference to what happened to his family, but no more than what we've been shown in the previous games. Instead we are given a story about a blood oath that Kratos has broken with Ares, the god of war. Ares then sends the three Furies after him to uphold his oath and punish him for what he's done. The Furies are three immortal sisters who each possess a unique power to help them with their task of enforcing honour.
Being a long-time fan of the franchise, I couldn't wait to get back into the fast, fun, and fluid combat that each God of War title has brought forth thus far. I was extremely pleased to see that this has not changed in Ascension. With the ability to string painstakingly long combos together to completely obliterate the enemy, I spent hours enjoying the process of trying button sequence after button sequence to figure out which of Kratos' moves I liked best. Of course, battling an opposing boss the size of a sky scraper wouldn't be complete without the signature QTE that encapsulates the player and helps to show the scale of the ginormous creatures Kratos goes up against. The QTE in Ascension are perfectly planted and provided me with enough challenge to have to retry them every once in a while but at the same time never feeling unfair or unresponsive.
Even though the precision of the combat was equally as impressive as its predecessors, Ascensions fails in a couple areas that the other titles did not. The adventure that we are sent out on in this game feels really unnecessary in the scope of the series as a whole. It feels as though the outcome of the story has no real bearing on what happens in Kratos' future. Most of the cut scenes are presented in a silhouette style and we don't get the same visually appealing experience as we are used to. These two mistakes caused me to really show a lack of interest in the story itself and only continuing on because of the satisfying combat. In regards to the combat, I felt that the lack of physical unlockable weapons in the game (such as Hercules' Nemean Cestus) which are replaced by magical abilities of the god's, is rather unsatisfying compared to the other games. The introductions of world weapons (a club, spear, sword, etc.) tries to make up for this but these generic weapons do not successfully replace the imaginative weapons that we are used to unlocking and upgrading. It felt somewhat lazy on the developers' part to use the god's of Olympus magical abilities that we have already seen and used so often, as the upgradable abilities for Kratos. It would have been nice to see a little bit more creativity from Santa Monica both in the storytelling and with the unlockable abilities they give to us.
If you are like me, a well versed God of War veteran having played through all previous titles in the series, then God of War Ascension is a must play. Even though a lack of creativity exists in comparison to what we are used to, you will no doubt been pulled in by the same entertaining, and precise combat that God of War fans have come to love and expect. For those who have not yet taken the plunge into Kratos' universe, my recommendation is to start with the original God of War title and play through the rest in the order that they were released. This will give you a better understanding of the story of Kratos and will captivate you in a way that only the best video games can. I know the story of God of War isn't finished yet and Ascension, although did not fully satisfy, has left me hungry for more.
Yes, throughout the game there are glimpses of Kratos' origin and reference to what happened to his family, but no more than what we've been shown in the previous games. Instead we are given a story about a blood oath that Kratos has broken with Ares, the god of war. Ares then sends the three Furies after him to uphold his oath and punish him for what he's done. The Furies are three immortal sisters who each possess a unique power to help them with their task of enforcing honour.
Being a long-time fan of the franchise, I couldn't wait to get back into the fast, fun, and fluid combat that each God of War title has brought forth thus far. I was extremely pleased to see that this has not changed in Ascension. With the ability to string painstakingly long combos together to completely obliterate the enemy, I spent hours enjoying the process of trying button sequence after button sequence to figure out which of Kratos' moves I liked best. Of course, battling an opposing boss the size of a sky scraper wouldn't be complete without the signature QTE that encapsulates the player and helps to show the scale of the ginormous creatures Kratos goes up against. The QTE in Ascension are perfectly planted and provided me with enough challenge to have to retry them every once in a while but at the same time never feeling unfair or unresponsive.
Even though the precision of the combat was equally as impressive as its predecessors, Ascensions fails in a couple areas that the other titles did not. The adventure that we are sent out on in this game feels really unnecessary in the scope of the series as a whole. It feels as though the outcome of the story has no real bearing on what happens in Kratos' future. Most of the cut scenes are presented in a silhouette style and we don't get the same visually appealing experience as we are used to. These two mistakes caused me to really show a lack of interest in the story itself and only continuing on because of the satisfying combat. In regards to the combat, I felt that the lack of physical unlockable weapons in the game (such as Hercules' Nemean Cestus) which are replaced by magical abilities of the god's, is rather unsatisfying compared to the other games. The introductions of world weapons (a club, spear, sword, etc.) tries to make up for this but these generic weapons do not successfully replace the imaginative weapons that we are used to unlocking and upgrading. It felt somewhat lazy on the developers' part to use the god's of Olympus magical abilities that we have already seen and used so often, as the upgradable abilities for Kratos. It would have been nice to see a little bit more creativity from Santa Monica both in the storytelling and with the unlockable abilities they give to us.
If you are like me, a well versed God of War veteran having played through all previous titles in the series, then God of War Ascension is a must play. Even though a lack of creativity exists in comparison to what we are used to, you will no doubt been pulled in by the same entertaining, and precise combat that God of War fans have come to love and expect. For those who have not yet taken the plunge into Kratos' universe, my recommendation is to start with the original God of War title and play through the rest in the order that they were released. This will give you a better understanding of the story of Kratos and will captivate you in a way that only the best video games can. I know the story of God of War isn't finished yet and Ascension, although did not fully satisfy, has left me hungry for more.
God of War at its most underwhelming is still better than most games..
KillerK199127 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Setting. - Some fun locales to be visited here, standouts being the statue of Apollo and the oracle of Delphi's snake themed temple.
Story. - Almost bare-bones, yet well told. Mostly done in a flashback style. You will have a kind of "that's it?" feel once the game reaches its conclusion rather quickly. That said, it is nice to see a simpler time in Kratos's life.
Characters. - Kratos yells less and seems more confused than usual; still the warrior we know and love. - The furies...play out like a watered down version of the sisters of fate; their machinations in this game pale in comparison to the time jumping exploits of the sisters in the second game. They still serve their purpose as mustache twirling villains you want to stab in the teat by game's end, though their motivations are a little perplexing seeing as they're supposed to be the ones who wrote the book on justice, and since they can't use the Pandora's box corruption excuse...I'll stop there. - The wimpy son of the furies and ares provides a decent narration to the story, but is underdeveloped as all hell and not too interesting beyond accomplishing the amazing feat of actually befriending Kratos. - How could I forget the conjoined twins who stand in Kratos's way about halfway through the game? The trophy you get for ending them is as priceless as the way you dispatch them.
Graphics. - On par with God of War 3, however I noticed some moments where things would go rather awry, like the mess that is the final pan out of the final scene.
Sound. - No problems here, sinking your blade into a beast's flesh is as satisfying as ever.
Gameplay. - More fun, forgiving, and accessible than ever. The chains associated with each god is cool, the mega-power associated with each one are even better. The usable weapons are nice, but they can't touch the weapons from #2 or the awesome nemean cestus from #3. The puzzles are simple as can be; didn't stop one of them from stumping me for a little while. The boss fights are all pretty fun, the final boss being something out of the climactic ship battle at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean 3...in a good way. The platforming/quick-time events are amusing in this go around as well, with a downhill slide-style mini-game being a new addition here that adds a roller coaster-like exhilaration to the proceedings more often than not.
Multiplayer. - The timed coop is not too much fun. I'll leave it at that.
God of War Ascension doesn't do much to change the series, it feels like more of an expansion, but what's here is still an entertaining action romp.
Story. - Almost bare-bones, yet well told. Mostly done in a flashback style. You will have a kind of "that's it?" feel once the game reaches its conclusion rather quickly. That said, it is nice to see a simpler time in Kratos's life.
Characters. - Kratos yells less and seems more confused than usual; still the warrior we know and love. - The furies...play out like a watered down version of the sisters of fate; their machinations in this game pale in comparison to the time jumping exploits of the sisters in the second game. They still serve their purpose as mustache twirling villains you want to stab in the teat by game's end, though their motivations are a little perplexing seeing as they're supposed to be the ones who wrote the book on justice, and since they can't use the Pandora's box corruption excuse...I'll stop there. - The wimpy son of the furies and ares provides a decent narration to the story, but is underdeveloped as all hell and not too interesting beyond accomplishing the amazing feat of actually befriending Kratos. - How could I forget the conjoined twins who stand in Kratos's way about halfway through the game? The trophy you get for ending them is as priceless as the way you dispatch them.
Graphics. - On par with God of War 3, however I noticed some moments where things would go rather awry, like the mess that is the final pan out of the final scene.
Sound. - No problems here, sinking your blade into a beast's flesh is as satisfying as ever.
Gameplay. - More fun, forgiving, and accessible than ever. The chains associated with each god is cool, the mega-power associated with each one are even better. The usable weapons are nice, but they can't touch the weapons from #2 or the awesome nemean cestus from #3. The puzzles are simple as can be; didn't stop one of them from stumping me for a little while. The boss fights are all pretty fun, the final boss being something out of the climactic ship battle at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean 3...in a good way. The platforming/quick-time events are amusing in this go around as well, with a downhill slide-style mini-game being a new addition here that adds a roller coaster-like exhilaration to the proceedings more often than not.
Multiplayer. - The timed coop is not too much fun. I'll leave it at that.
God of War Ascension doesn't do much to change the series, it feels like more of an expansion, but what's here is still an entertaining action romp.
A decent entry.
Analog_Devotee3 August 2021
A little of the same old, same old but still a worthy entry. I acquired this for free during a month when I had PS+ and I certainly don't regret playing it. It's pretty far from being the best in the franchise, though, and dare I say it's a little disappointing in some areas. Still worth the time of any God of War fan, though.
not as buried in the ground
BatuhanEnizToprakman28 October 2018
Incredible action and scale, not as impressive story
ioanstefansl16 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So, I'll try to keep it as short as possible. The game is considered by many to be the worst god of war game and yeah I stand by that, but it doesn't mean it's a bad game.
Firstly, the story is a bit short and weird. It isn't really something important and can be summarized in just a few words: "Kratos is captured by the furies and tries to escape and break his bond to Ares", but I do like the way it is told, jumping from past to present. Some find it confusing but I say it's pretty interesting.
Overall, story 7/10
Now the gameplay, I found it to be extremely fun, personally. The elements sure aren't as interesting as a new weapon, but I enjoyed a lot some of them, especially lightning and it's magic attack. The combat is so full of option, either using normal attacks, special attacks, magic, air attatck, grappling. Sometimes I let loose and unleash hell on enemies and it's so fun.
Gameplay 9.5/10
Music, excellent as always. Some boss fight music really brought an epic feeling.
Music 9/10
Now when it comes to graphics, they are a noticeable step up from gow 3, looking pretty damn crisp and nice, but coming at the cost of performance problems. On average I think the game ran at around 40 fps, rarely hitting 60, sometimes as low as 20-30. As for the action presented, the only thing that reminded me this game came out on ps3 was the resolution because the scale of some of the **** going on is simply incredible. It did however give me huuuuge uncharted vibes, making me almost forget what I was playing during parkour.
Graphics and action, 9.5/10
Overall, the average of my scores comes down to 8.75, but I would round it down to an 8. The problems mainly being the story, with some dialogue being kinda cringy, and the performance. Also, the multiplayer trophy which requires you to have a network pass. Having bought the game second hand means the code is used and I can't get the platinum.
Still a great time!
Firstly, the story is a bit short and weird. It isn't really something important and can be summarized in just a few words: "Kratos is captured by the furies and tries to escape and break his bond to Ares", but I do like the way it is told, jumping from past to present. Some find it confusing but I say it's pretty interesting.
Overall, story 7/10
Now the gameplay, I found it to be extremely fun, personally. The elements sure aren't as interesting as a new weapon, but I enjoyed a lot some of them, especially lightning and it's magic attack. The combat is so full of option, either using normal attacks, special attacks, magic, air attatck, grappling. Sometimes I let loose and unleash hell on enemies and it's so fun.
Gameplay 9.5/10
Music, excellent as always. Some boss fight music really brought an epic feeling.
Music 9/10
Now when it comes to graphics, they are a noticeable step up from gow 3, looking pretty damn crisp and nice, but coming at the cost of performance problems. On average I think the game ran at around 40 fps, rarely hitting 60, sometimes as low as 20-30. As for the action presented, the only thing that reminded me this game came out on ps3 was the resolution because the scale of some of the **** going on is simply incredible. It did however give me huuuuge uncharted vibes, making me almost forget what I was playing during parkour.
Graphics and action, 9.5/10
Overall, the average of my scores comes down to 8.75, but I would round it down to an 8. The problems mainly being the story, with some dialogue being kinda cringy, and the performance. Also, the multiplayer trophy which requires you to have a network pass. Having bought the game second hand means the code is used and I can't get the platinum.
Still a great time!
THE KING GAME
amacalperen18 December 2022
Thoughts: Ahhh! God of War, the prime example of grand button mashing goodness, none will ever compare. The game is easily the second most graphic in the series, it wasn't shocking like GoW 3, but it is more detailed than the other four games. This game is really pointless, I don't care about whats happening or whats gonna happen, since I know how it all ends. This really is a game only die hard fans will thoroughly enjoy, everyone else could care less. But I'm not complaining, the more GoW, the more better.
The Game: The story is made up of present day situations and flashbacks, throughout the game I started to forget which was which. The opening level pits you in a prison built on top of a titan, that was a pretty cool idea, but you don't get to fight the titan, but instead another monster that offers little to no excitement. Lets just say none of the boss's I have played so far are worth any thought. Nothing will ever beat those awe inspiring boss's in GoW 3. Here's a little content advisory: The brunt of the nudity is in the first stage when you walk into a room with at least 5 nude women with over-sized you know whats, but it is just an illusion. Kills include slicing an enemies head vertically in great detail and tearing open a Cyclops's abdomen exposing organs and the rib cage. The rest is nothing you haven't seen before for experienced players. And then there is the over abundant force of bare cheated female enemies, even more so that previous games. I thought I'd put this here since no one has updated the actual content advisory.
The Game: The story is made up of present day situations and flashbacks, throughout the game I started to forget which was which. The opening level pits you in a prison built on top of a titan, that was a pretty cool idea, but you don't get to fight the titan, but instead another monster that offers little to no excitement. Lets just say none of the boss's I have played so far are worth any thought. Nothing will ever beat those awe inspiring boss's in GoW 3. Here's a little content advisory: The brunt of the nudity is in the first stage when you walk into a room with at least 5 nude women with over-sized you know whats, but it is just an illusion. Kills include slicing an enemies head vertically in great detail and tearing open a Cyclops's abdomen exposing organs and the rib cage. The rest is nothing you haven't seen before for experienced players. And then there is the over abundant force of bare cheated female enemies, even more so that previous games. I thought I'd put this here since no one has updated the actual content advisory.
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