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.