God of War: Ascension - New Game of the Day #56

GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION – New Game of the Day #56

What? The seventh vengeful instalment of Sony’s blood-soaked franchise

When? Q1 2013

Where? Playstation 3

Something of a bone of contention here at Made2Game is whether or not the God of War games are action masterpieces or overrated, button-bashy grumble-fests but, whichever side of the fence your battered carcass drops on, you can’t argue with in-your-face success.

Seven games, a comic book series, spin-off novels, cameo appearances in franchises like Mortal Kombat, SoulCalibur and, erm, LittleBigPlanet – there’s even a rumoured film in the works – indicate that regardless of how mad he gets and how much blood he splashes all over the place, old baldy Kratos is hugely popular.

For those who have been living under a rock, the God of War series is comprised of six brutal action games (and a side-scrolling mobile game, subtitles Betrayal) following the violent exploits of Kratos, a Spartan warrior tricked into killing his own family by the God of War, Ares. After taking his revenge, Kratos became the new God of War, and then basically got betrayed, got mad, and got revenge over and over by slaughtering his way through the entire Greek pantheon. Which is all hugely entertaining for us.

The newest addition to the series, Ascension, is a prequel to the entire saga. Previous prequel, God of War: Chains of Olympus, dealt with Kratos during his ten years of service to the Gods before Ares’ betrayal, but Ascension will head back even further, to a time when Kratos was just a man, and will presumably tell the tale of how he came to be in service to the Gods of Olympus.

More details are promised this week, but with nothing to go on so far other than the reveal trailer below and our knowledge of the series’ history, we can predict, with some confidence, that Kratos will be beating the blood, brains and snot out of some god or another during the course of Ascension.

We will, as always, keep you informed.

Developer Legacy: One of the biggest publishers and developers in the world, there’s really no need (nor room) to list Sony’s achievements here, but their Santa Monica studio are responsible for the God of War series, and have collaborated with various developers such as Eat, Sleep, Play (Twisted Metal) and Thatgamecompany (on Flower and Journey) among others. They are also working with The Workshop on the forthcoming Move title, Sorcery, and Lightbox Interactive on next month’s sci-fi shooter Starhawk.

They Say: “The most ambitious God of War® adventure in the series so far, God of War: Ascension™ takes us right back to where it all began. Discover the origins of Kratos as he takes his first steps on a now legendary quest for freedom.” – Official Press Release

We Say: As the God of War series (and this year’s Asura’s Wrath) proves, very few individuals can get quite as angry as a god. And we like angry gods because, while normal people might shout and scream and slam doors when they’re mad, gods can tear other gods into tiny pieces and destroy entire cities. That’s mad.

Can’t Wait? Play This: God of War III is one of the best instalments in the series, but you can catch up on the entire saga for less than 40 notes as the PS2 and PSP titles are now available as a duo of HD collections for the PS3.

Website: www.godofwar.com

Facebook: Facebook/GodofWarAscension

Twitter: @Playstation

Words by Mick Fraser (Twitter: @Jedi_Beats_Tank)

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