Games I Like That Everybody Else Dislikes

"Now we are empty. Now we are nothing."

Graphically, artistically, and narratively the best one of these at the time of its release - but demonstrably the worst in terms of its combat. Like yeesh, these never had the most optimal fighting systems to begin with but here everything seems to happen a second or two after you initiate it (or try to, with how much more often you'll be caught in a move in a series where that's already super common), the dodge roll is as nonfunctional as it's ever been, its blocking sucks, fury mode or whatever tf that was sucks almost as much, and the secondary weapons feel clunky and unnecessary. It's easy to see the faultlines from being bogged down by seventh-generation lameness - particularly its tacked-on and tossed-off multiplayer mode, which invaded many single-player flagships at this time to satisfy the hunger of casual CoD addicts and is absolutely LOADED with a laundry list of stupid microtransactions. But it's also one of the best looking games on the PS3, like seriously fucking WOW. Look at this wild behemoth!! Its spectacle is fitting and in no short supply to match - scaling and fighting through the massive Apollo statue, riding all those giant mechanical snakes, and the enormous Hecatoncheires prison (the latter of which being a strong contender for finest setpiece ever in a GoW game) and more all pop right off the screen - they're some of the greatest environments in the franchise flat-out. Plus it's cool seeing Kratos with some actual pathos here, smiling and shaking/holding people's hands in a way that actually feels natural (unlike, say, Hitman: Absolution's take on its antihero). I gotta give at least some points to a prequel that actually feels semi-authentic (can't say the same about Ghost of Sparta). Amulets are cool, final boss is epic, not even nearly the worst entry - honesty, one of the better ones! Has flaws but so do the others.

This may be the weakest of the God of War games but it's still way over-hated. The presentation is amazing, as always these games push their system's limits. The environments and level design are huge and wonderful to look at. The music is great too. The story isn't as necessary in this game but seeing Kratos a lot more calm and mellow in Ascension works super well.

The combat didn’t really need to be messed with but I think some of the experiments here are still good, I like the Blades of Chaos being interchanged with different elements instead of having different weapons, that’s neat. It also replaces the O button with temporary sub-weapons, which is cool. The combat makes this game stand out from the others in the series, and it’s pretty bold for doing that. Some other mechanics were changed kinda unnecessarily too, for example, climbing. Other than that, this is still a very fun game.

Overall Ascension is a good game, it’s lacking in the story department, and a lot of the gameplay changes feel unnecessary, but the beautiful presentation and action sequences make up for that. Regardless, the gameplay is still God of War, which means it’s brutal, epic, and violent action with amazing scale and spectacle. So, even if it feels like Ascension isn’t necessary, I still like its place in the series.

After a hiatus from God of War, I played Ascension. I felt like Ascension doesn't stand up very well against the other trilogy and was left wanting a little more. At first I thought the game looked great, however by the end of the first major fight I realised that the opening shot was a trick. Kratos' texture is far more detailed than any enemy or object in the game. Ascension has a couple of fun boss fights but there wasn't enough in between to make me feel invested. The gameplay felt quite different from other entries with only Kratos' primary blade and four elements to accompany them. A more balanced gameplay style forces you to dodge and guard more than in the rest of the franchise.

I feel like this wasn't the game to end a franchise on, but as an introductory piece for those who have not played the games, this is a good choice.

Uhhh....eeeehh

Why? What was the point? Mechanical, story wise, everything. Why was this game made. And why is this one of the best looking PS3 games? What a shockingly unremarkable game that seems to have more issues mechanically than GOW1. What happened?

4/10 Screw Chapter 28

My primary complaint with older God of War games has been their lack of evolution, so it's ironic that I find Ascension, the largest departure from series' staples, to be the weakest entry. Everything about this game feels unnecessary, from its very existence telling a story that doesn't need to be told to changes such as modifying counter mechanics. It's certainly the best looking PlayStation 3 game I've ever seen and the spectacle is all there, but the gameplay is weaker due to a lack of variety and gameplay design changes which only serve to stifle the flow of combat.

For some reason, I thought this was better than the first game on my first playthrough? It's definitely not, this is the Code Veronica of the series: some highly questionable design, but it's still a good game because the core gameplay loop is a lot of fun.

For example: some enemies have an invincible state, where you can do absolutely nothing; the elemental blades are super undercooked, making progression feel a bit unsatisfying; puzzles mostly have poor visual conveyance; enemy attacks have poor visual cues, making dodging much harder - I have never been juggled so many times in a GoW.

But there's more: parrying now requires an additional button for some God-forsaken reason; the scale and scope gets in the way of gameplay, it's incredibly common to have a hard time figuring out what the hell is going on; the Rage Meter is a new mechanic that exists by gimping the toolbox you already had, which is ????

To be fair, the "grab from a distance" is an improvement that improves the pacing of combat, but all this other stuff makes the combat pacing worse, so wah-wah.

And the story is a thing that exists. There is a small amnesia sub-plot going on, that I didn't even realize was a thing until the narrator stated at the end "then Kratos' memories came back", and I'm like "what".

At the end of the day, why they greenlit this game and gave it a budget of millions of dollars is a mystery. My theory is that the Sony's executives, in their infinite wisdom, saw the huge success of GoW3, then immediately had Santa Monica make another one thinking they could just replicate that.