God of War: Ascension

God of War: Ascension has online and offline multiplayer battles for up to eight players. There are a variety of multiplayer modes, customisable avatar warriors, armour and weapon types to unlock. Eurogamer's Johnny Minkley saw it in action for a God of War: Ascension preview, published today.

Multiplayer "combines the brutal gameplay and large-scale battles that God of War is known for to create a competitive experience like never before", Sony said. According to game director Todd Pappy it's a "fresh twist" on competitive gaming.

But the game has single-player, too, this time with a "revamped" combat and weapon system, "promptless" mini-games and new puzzles. Sony mentioned "fluid, life-like characters, dynamic lighting effects, and world-changing scenarios".

Pappy told Eurogamer Ascension's campaign is "just a little bit shorter" than in previous God of War games. "We've mapped out everything and given time estimates. It'll be pretty damn close."

And lead combat designer Jason McDonald insisted that single-player has not suffered as a result of the addition of multiplayer. "We didn't want to sacrifice single-player for multiplayer, neither did we want to tack [the latter] on," he said. "We're definitely going full force with both."
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As for the story, Ascension sees players assume the role of Kratos as he tries to break the blood oath that binds him to Ares. Since this is a prequel, we get to see a younger Kratos, one driven mad after bring tricked into killing his wife and child. In the game Kratos "seeks to break his bond and gain the clarity to seek revenge on Ares for his part in the death of his family". Helping is his signature double-chained blades.

God of War: Ascension?
Since we know the actual name of the new GoW game, perhaps you should create a thread for it?

Customization is a major focus in Ascension, Papy tells me. When the multiplayer mode begins, players go through trials as a tutorial and face off against an enemy they have no chance of defeating. In order to gain victory, players must sell their champion's soul to one of four gods: Zeus, Hades, Ares, or Poseidon. This decision allows players to try out different weapons, armor sets, and perks, inspired by the god of their choice.

"Once you chose your allegiance, you can customize how you want to look," Papy explains. "There's actually six different places you can customize your armor: boots, skirts, gauntlets, chest piece, shoulder piece, and helmet. You can do what you want." Like other persistent character multiplayer titles, Ascension allows Champions to evolve with new items, looks, and even specials and combos over time, each with a tilt based on the god selected for your character.

The choice of weapon intersects with the character's chosen patron god, offering something close to a class system. Players can select from Poseidon, Hades, Zeus and Ares at character creation and each offers a different progression tree of skills, weapons, items (including themed armour) and magic, with experience points (XP) earned for taking part in battles and achieving objectives. Santa Monica Studios is working on a system where levelling up can happen mid-fight, leading to one team earning a distinct advantage in real time rather than waiting until the dust has settled.

Players are also given a secondary attack that uses a weapon collected in the arena or, if they've not collected one, delivers a kick that pushes back opponents."We've put in a kick button," says Jason. "It makes sense. 'This is Sparta,' right? There will be weapons around the level that you can pick up and use, and if you don't have a weapon, you've got to kick. There'll be a lot of things to pick up and use in addition to your primary weapon."