GOD OF WAR ASCENSION NEW GAME PLUS SERIES
Still, that Ascension follows the same familiar ground as every other entry in the series is not a great criticism, as huge-scale, epic combat and bloody-minded vengeance are what you come to a God of War game expecting – but it would have been nice for Ascension to take a few more risks with the plot, and perhaps explore some truly fresh ground. On a scale beside the violence and ire that has characterised the series, it seems a relatively small thing but, perhaps because it finally shows Kratos as something other than a seething hate-machine, it arguably has more impact than it has a right to.
Without spoiling the story, there are moments – particularly towards the end of the narrative – that make you care about Kratos in a way that was previously unheard of, as he is literally forced to face the ghosts of his past and put them to ground. There are a few brief forays into Kratos’ past, including the much-publicised flashbacks of surprisingly tender moments with his family, a handful of which do bring out a different side of the raging Spartan. That being said, the script and voice-acting are characteristically ace, and the story itself is enjoyable and engaging even if it rarely steps outside the established comfort zone. In fact, it tells largely the same violent, shouty, gore-strewn tale that we’ve become accustomed to, one that will please stalwart fans and interest newcomers but will leave those hoping for a deeper understanding of Kratos out in the cold. As it is, Ascension doesn’t do that, and instead fills in yet more story of Kratos’ ten years of servitude.
With a past so well-documented, there’s little about the former Spartan warrior that we don’t already know, and I can’t help but feel that Ascension should have gone back to when it all began, shown us Kratos as a man, a husband, a father, a soldier, and told in detail the events leading up to the swearing of his oath to Ares. Although bonded to Ares, Kratos is still mortal, a man broken by loss and stitched back together by hatred – but it’s not really a side to him we haven’t already seen. The crux of the narrative is Kratos’ pursuit of the Furies, whose chains you slip in the opening moments of the game. The story takes place six months after Kratos murdered his wife and child, and begins with him imprisoned by the three Furies for attempting to break the blood-oath.īeing set before the entire series, you get to see a much more human protagonist, still in pain over the loss of his loved ones and yet to embark upon his God-slaying odyssey – and yet, when taken as a whole, Ascension feels a little like a wasted opportunity. STORY: God of War: Ascension pre-dates every game in the series released so far, leaving Kratos’ ultimate fate just as ambiguous as it was at the conclusion of the excellent God of War III. You’d think it would be confusing, but it really isn’t – all you really need to know in a God of War game is that Kratos is pissed off, and the only way to shake his thirst for revenge is to commit horrific acts of deicide. This latest offering from Sony’s Santa Monica Studios is the sixth game in the series (not including mobile title Betrayal), the third prequel to be released, and chronologically the first entry in the story arc.
GOD OF WAR ASCENSION NEW GAME PLUS SKIN
And who can really blame him? Tricked into murdering his family by the God he swore to serve, and then forced to carry their ashes around bonded to his skin for eternity, betrayed, lied to, deceived and killed at least twice (at the last count), he’s hardly had the rosiest of lives since that fateful day when he swore a blood-oath to Ares.Īnd yet he owes his popularity to his mental instability, as his single-minded quest for brutal vengeance has kept people hooked to the series for five whole games so far.
If you had to do a psychiatric evaluation of Kratos, the skin-headed, tattooed protagonist of Sony Santa Monica’s God of War series, chances are you’d conclude that, mildly put, not all his dogs are barking.
0 kommentar(er)
