God of War: Ascension
God of War: Ascension is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). The game was first released on March 12, 2013, for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. It is the seventh installment in the God of War series and a prequel to the entire series. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist, Kratos, the former servant of the God of War Ares, who tricked Kratos into killing his wife and daughter. In response to this tragedy, Kratos renounced Ares, breaking his blood oath to the god. Kratos was, therefore, imprisoned and tortured by the three Furies, guardians of honor and enforcers of punishment. Helped by the oath keeper, Orkos, Kratos escapes his imprisonment and confronts the Furies, aiming to free himself of his bond to Ares.
God of War: Ascension
Todd Papy
Whitney Wade
Mark Simon
Vassily A. Filippov
Christopher Sutton
The gameplay is similar to previous installments, focusing on combo-based combat with the player's main weapon, the Blades of Chaos, and other weapons acquired by the game's World Weapons mechanic. It continues the use of quick time events from previous entries but also utilizes a promptless free-form system. Four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability can be used as alternative combat options, and the game features puzzles and platforming elements. The game also features a redesigned combat system, gameplay mechanics not available in previous installments, and downloadable content. Notably, Ascension is the only installment in the series to include multiplayer, which is online-only and features modes for both competitive and cooperative play. From October 2012 to March 2013, a social experience was available online in the form of a graphic novel titled Rise of the Warrior, a prequel story that tied into the game's single-player and multiplayer modes. Ascension was the last game in the series (production-wise; chronologically it was God of War III) to be based on Greek mythology and also the last one to feature Terrence C. Carson as the voice of Kratos as the franchise shifted to Norse mythology with 2018's God of War and Christopher Judge took over the role of Kratos.
God of War: Ascension received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its fundamental gameplay and spectacle as true to the series, although the story was deemed to be less compelling than in previous installments. The game's multiplayer element received mixed responses: although reviewers found that the gameplay translated well into the multiplayer setting, they criticized the balance and depth of combat. Ascension sold less well than its predecessor, with only 3 million copies sold and received no awards, but it did however, receive several nominations, including "Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing" at the Writers Guild of America Videogame Awards and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences award for "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design".
Synopsis[edit]
Setting[edit]
As with previous games, God of War: Ascension is set in an alternate version of ancient Greece populated by the Olympian gods, Titans, and other beings from Greek mythology. Game events are set six months after Kratos killed his family, and ten years before the original God of War (2005). The next game chronologically would be Chains of Olympus (2008), which takes place some time between Ascension and God of War (2005). The game's narrative takes place over four weeks; it shifts between the present (the fourth week) and past (the preceding three weeks), while the player controls Kratos in both. Several locations, including the Prison of the Damned and some real-world locations—including the village Kirra, the city Delphi, and the island Delos—are explored in the game.
The Prison of the Damned is the Furies' massive prison to house all oath-breakers. Kirra is an abandoned village that lost its water supply after its water wheel and aqueduct were destroyed. Other than monsters, the only life is in its harbor, where the tamed Harbor Master guides vessels in and out of the port. Delphi is located in the snowy mountains north of Kirra and features the Tower of Delphi. After activating three massive, mechanical pythons, the Tower allows access to the Temple of Delphi, home of the Oracle. Delos features a Titan-sized statue of Apollo, constructed by the inventor Archimedes to honor the god.
Development[edit]
Pre-E3 2012[edit]
In January 2010, Santa Monica's studio director John Hight told video-gaming blog Joystiq that "while God of War III will conclude the trilogy, it won't spell the end of the franchise" and said "We're going to be really careful about what we do next."[30] From April 2011 until April 2012, several sources claimed that a fourth main entry would release sometime in 2012 and would feature an online component.[31][32][33][34][35][36] On April 12, 2012, Sony released a teaser image on its official PlayStation Facebook page,[37] which was followed by the game's announcement on April 19,[38] though Amazon leaked the announcement the day before.[39] The trailer announced Todd Papy, who had worked as a designer on God of War and God of War II and as Design Director on God of War III, as Game Director.[38] David Jaffe confirmed that God of War III Game Director Stig Asmussen did not return to direct this game because he was working on another project at Santa Monica.[40] The announcement trailer was narrated by Linda Hunt; it refers to a time before Kratos became the Ghost of Sparta and was not "bound in blood".[41] The announcement officially confirmed that the game's title would be God of War: Ascension. Papy said the game was not titled God of War IV to avoid confusion because it is a prequel, rather than a sequel, to the trilogy. The name was chosen because it complements the story and the additional multiplayer component; according to Papy, in this mode, players are "basically ascending from an unknown hero to a god".[28][41]
The game features a retooled God of War III engine, enabling online multiplayer battles for up to eight players. Papy said to allow customization, Kratos and other known gods would not be included as playable characters in the multiplayer modes because the developers did not want "red Kratos, blue Kratos, yellow Kratos", and selecting gods would lock players into established roles. This decision was made "to balance the game when players are pitted against each other".[28] Papy also said there would be no female characters because each character in the multiplayer mode is based on Kratos' animation model.[28] The first demonstration of the game's multiplayer element featured the Team Favor of the Gods mode running on the map Desert of Lost Souls, which features the Titan cyclops Polyphemus.[28] Multiplayer had been discussed for past games, but had never been implemented as previous game directors felt that God of War was a single-player-only experience;[42][43] in Chains of Olympus's case, it was cut due to time constraints during development.[44] For Ascension, the development team made the decision to invest in multiplayer after a simple version, tested using two Kratoses, turned out to be "a lot of fun" for the game testers.[45]
The development team faced challenges in adding multiplayer to an established single-player franchise. Other established franchises had been criticized for sub-par multiplayer implementations, so Santa Monica felt they had to prove to critics that their multiplayer mode would not be "tacked on". Since multiplayer was new to the team, new staff were hired who specialized in multiplayer, engineering, and design, but Santa Monica did not realize the amount of work required for the experience they had envisioned. Development was delayed because multiplayer mode required several rewrites. The player navigation code had to be changed for online play, which was initially designed for co-op; the team eventually decided this was unsatisfactory, and the changed approach cost significant development time.[46] Local co-op was also explored, but the team decided to keep multiplayer online-only.[47] The team finally "found the heart of [the] final multiplayer game" shortly before the first press show. Development focus switched back and forth between single-player and multiplayer; single-player received less attention while the team were preparing multiplayer for the first press announcement, but when single-player mode was reemphasized prior to its public debut, multiplayer mode suffered.[46]
David Jaffe, creator and Game Director of the original God of War, spoke with NowGamer prior to the first press announcement in late April. He said that if he had worked on Ascension, he would have incorporated three specific elements: different myths, a co-star, and "look to the Zelda structure as a jumping off point".[48] He liked the idea of a cooperative mode, and added "I'd love to see player one be Kratos and player two be this stupid annoying sidekick that—for some to be determined story reason—Kratos is stuck with for the whole adventure and in the end, once the main quest is over, Kratos just snaps the poor kid's neck".[48] In May 2012, Jaffe spoke with IGN about the multiplayer element: "I think it looks cool. It looks like another great, impeccably executed Sony Santa Monica game", and added, "If it turns out to be the case that the single player is watered down because of [multiplayer], then I think they have some justification. But I don't see any evidence of that, and I don't see evidence of that based on the team they are."[49]
Post-E3 2012[edit]
At Sony's 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press conference, the North American release date was confirmed as March 12, 2013. A single-player demo was shown, revealing new gameplay mechanics and combat systems.[50] An encounter with the sea monster Charybdis was included in the demo, but this sequence was cut from the final game. Charybdis was recast as the creature that Alecto transforms into during the final fight of the game.[51] The same day, Papy confirmed on PlayStation.Blog that a collector's edition of the game would be released. He said Ascension was being developed to feature stereoscopic 3D,[52] but it was ultimately cut.[47] At Gamescom 2012, new multiplayer footage was shown, followed by the announcement of a multiplayer beta.[18]
