God of War: Ascension Preview – E3 2012
Posted by
SpectralShock
on
God of War: Ascension is the next title in the iconic PlayStation series. Once again helmed by Santa Monica Studio, the game promises more adventures for Kratos. The big news from this title, however, is that it will include multiplayer for the first time. And that’s just what the company is showing off at this year’s E3, and we’ve had a chance to get some hands-on time with the game.
The setting of the multiplayer match that took place has actually been well documented in the media. Action takes place atop a structure, whereas in the background a giant is shackled and wants to break free. Players assume the role of a randomly assigned Greek mythological hero, and can customize their attacks and armor before the match. In the demo, we only had the choice of two armor types (with slightly varied stats between melee and magic resistance), two weapons with different properties, and two special attacks.
Once everyone was set, the action took off. Players are spawned in safe area, and must zipline over to the battleground. Here, the main objective was to earn points by either recovering orbs (similar to health chests in the campaign), defeating enemies, or holding one of three strategic locations on the level. We could capture a location by simply holding down R1 for a short while, and then move on to the next. The enemy team, starting off from the other side of the map, did the same.
This, however, doesn’t mean that the teams simply battled for the middle point for the rest of the match. The map in fact allowed both teams to traverse without running into each other, attempting to steal enemies’ strategic locations. The map also featured various levers and pick ups. Some levers activated traps for the enemy team, while weapon and armor pickups provided temporary boosts to your fighting ability.
Speaking of combat, which is perhaps the most concerning point of having multiplayer in a God of War game, things work fairly well. Players should be instantly familiar with the light and heavy attack patterns, but they can also unleash alternate attacks by holding down a button in combination. A powerful special attack can also be used to cause serious damage. Players can also block, but only against normal light attacks. Finally, a recovery button is tied to L2 that allows you to quickly recover some health and escape from attackers. All in all, things should feel very right for fans of the series.
Of course, this time you’ll be fighting humans who also have various abilities and attack patterns. At the moment, the key to Ascension multiplayer seems to be stun locking, as if from a fighting game. You know those attack combinations from God of War 3, for example, that would keep your helpless foe in the air or ground while you trim their health? Well, the same thing often occurs in Ascension, so player skill will definitely be a determining factor. Generous use of dodging with the stick or, as a last resort, using the Recover button is key to victory.
The objective for both teams during the demo was to accumulate a certain amount of points before the other team. When that threshold was reached, a spear dropped from the sky at one of two locations, and both teams raced to reach it. Here, teamwork was necessary so that one of your teammates could recover the spear without interrupting attacks from enemy players. When successful, a cutscene played out, as you violently used the spear to defeat the giant by slicing his jaw, and thus winning the match.
There was one clarification that we weren’t able to make with the demo – even if our team had less points and the spear dropped, we would win the match as long as we used the spear. This meant that the action preceding the spear drop was pointless as to the outcome of the match. This is perhaps because using the spear awarded a large amount of points, but this means that unless the game is a blowout before the spear drop, it only matters who gets it first, regardless of success up to that point in the match.
As mentioned, the game can be just as violent as the rest of the series has proven to be. Once a player reaches low health or stunned state, he is vulnerable to being executed, just like in previous God of War games. Respawn times were quite fast, so it wasn’t long before jumping back into the action. Players can pull off great attacking moves in real time, same as if we were still playing in a campaign, which looked great and ran very smoothly.
If there is anything that God of War can deliver, it’s great action and violent behaviour. And perhaps that’s why Sony has chosen instead to focus their E3 presentation on multiplayer, the somewhat uncertain new element of the franchise. It is unproven, but if the main campaign remains strong, multiplayer in God of War: Ascension may yet pleasantly surprise even the most dedicated fans of the series. The game is set to arrive exclusively on PlayStation 3 in March 2013.