-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
God of War: Ascension reviews
- Thread starter Loudninja
- Start date
Artimities
Banned
That is good... because my friend and I were talking today at lunch.
Just a bit of backstory. I have a (not bragging) PS3, 360, Wii U, PSP Vita, 3DS and a gaming PC. needless to say I love games... but if I knew then what I know now... I would have probably passed on the 360 this generation. I like Fable, Halo, Forza, Alan Wake and whatever else they pushed out... but truth be told, it is nothing compared to what Sony has done for the consumer (even tho... they tend to get bashed for other things they do).
I tend to like the PS exclusives over the 360's... of course this is just my opinion.
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
It's not just about how long between games, it's about how much content in the new game actually surprises people or blows them away compared to the previous games. There comes a point where things can't get bigger and more badass enough to counteract the audience's habituation to the GOW formula.
IHaveCandy
Banned
Well I mean they have 2 that have the same money backing as games like God of War and Uncharted. And that is only counting the PS3.
They didn't delayed anything it was known that the demo would not be up day one.
Lion Heart
Banned
Poor Knack. Still getting ignored despite based Cerny making it.
edit: You crafty stealth editing bastard.
I'm all over Knack on launch day.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Seems like drive-by posts. People following the game in the other threads guessed close to these scores, hell some of the guesses on page 1 are pretty close.
Atleast the strange misogyny arguments seemed to have passed.
Edit: Eh not sure if this franchise fatigue ones are any better.
Artimities
Banned
I hae to be honest... there are some consumers that are saying.. why should I spend money on games now? In 8-9 months I can have the newest console out and I need to save up for that. I can see poor sales across the board for both the PS3 and the 360 this year. Dont get me wrong.. some games are going to sell (no matter what), but overall we will see weaker sales.
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
The Last of Us demo being available later on is a very smart and relatively fair way to keep people from trading their game in when they're done with single player. I hope that delayed-release free content will continue to be used to combat used sales.
Polygon is the one source I'm not inclined to trust.
Truth be told, at this point, there is only one reviewer I do put my faith in who dishearteningly does not review PS3 games (he does not own one). He is Angry Joe. He really uses the 0-10 range like most mainstream "journalistic" outlets used to a long time ago.
Any way, seems like the game is getting good review. I'll pick it up in a month or so.
Truth be told, at this point, there is only one reviewer I do put my faith in who dishearteningly does not review PS3 games (he does not own one). He is Angry Joe. He really uses the 0-10 range like most mainstream "journalistic" outlets used to a long time ago.
Any way, seems like the game is getting good review. I'll pick it up in a month or so.
To drive the point home, Polygon gave BLOPS2, the 8th CoD this generation, an 8 and then drops this gem into their review, essentially comparing the game to a Rolex:
"These excellent new additions are layered atop an already-refined multiplayer blueprint, which is as good as it's ever been. Black Ops 2 multiplayer feels like a Swiss watch I could never afford."
http://www.polygon.com/game/call-of-duty-black-ops-2/2217
For BLOPS2, a few changes are innovation, making the game a "Rolex". For GoW, changes do nothing to a fatigued franchise.
Acquiescence
Member
Beyond and The Last of Us I assume? I wonder what the budgets amount to where Until Dawn and Puppeteer are concerned.
-tetsuo-
Unlimited Capacity
AC3 seemed to do pretty well despite it getting bashed.
I'm pretty sure the reason behind this is SSM getting comfy in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" line of praise many reviewers have used in the past. They seem to think they struck gold for good when they conceived the combat, but like you said, having a good formula doesn't get you away from becoming formulaic. I love SSM but I was one of the many who expected something in line with Uncharted in terms of presentation with GOWIII. A game so focused around physical combat should have more organic animations, more "heft" to the movements, more physics to it. I was even more expectant of this with GOWA since they wanted to give Kratos more personality, and since always been a character of few words I thought they would show his emotions by having a more complex "body language engine".
I guess so.
LunaticHigh
Member
It's something I've never understood. Nintendo cranks out carbon copies of their main franchises every year, other companies do the same. Like Gears of War, or Halo.
God of War always gets pinned on the fatigue. Even though GoW: Ascension is a far bigger change than any of those games have seen this gen period.
In what way?
Vire
Member
Downright false.
Gears of War will also be pegged in the Judgement reviews. Guarantee it.
T.M. MacReady
NO ONE DENIES MEMBER
sigh, Games Journalism:
Why did this guy review it?
Why did this guy review it?
FrankWza
Member
yeah, there was an article in the new gamer that came in. talked about all the prequels out or coming out. the industry is turning into too much of a copycat industry. after a million first person games they turned dead space 3 into an more of an action game. and from the looks of it, theyre turning lost planet 3 into dead space 3. anyone see that trailer? i love the god of war series though. i hope the prequel aspect is done well. but it's not something that i was wishing for or expecting. i was fine with the flashbacks they incorporated into gameplay here and there.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
Maybe in one case they felt like the changes were enough to freshen things up but not in the other case. The number of games in the series is only one part of the equation.
This is all based on opinion, you're free to disagree with it.
I own every game in the series and I basically feel the same way. The same goes for the Gears: Judgment. Am I unfit to review either game?sigh, Games Journalism:
Why did this guy review it?
Are you saying the franchises you mentioned don't get accused of milking? Because they do.
Vire
Member
sigh, Games Journalism:
Why did this guy review it?
It's not like his review is out of line with the rest of the reviews.
Give it a rest.
amstradcpc
Member
sigh, Games Journalism:
Why did this guy review it?
he didn´t find his secret sauce.
Artimities
Banned
So, I may be somewhat jadded, but I think a possible solution is what Tell tale is doing. Episodic content may be the wave of the future. It allows developers to spread out development while still keeping the game relevant and the demand high.
Look at it this way...
current day most companies spend boat loads of cash to develop a game. People get tired of waiting, and the cost to develop keeps rising. The game is released and if its good (great), but if not... studio closes (or will close if they dont start making games people will buy).
Episodic content.... Companies spend a shorter development cycle on portion of the game. The consumer gets to try thier hand at what was made. The company gets a little cash in the pocket (so to speak), and can get a glimpse of how the game is doing. This can be dones while work is underway on the next content. The life of the game is made longer because we are playing it over months instead of days. Hey if it doesnt catch on and sales are aweful... then cut be development, cancel it (got to be smart about how you do that)... but more options!!!
off subject, but still.. tis my 2 cents!
Look at it this way...
current day most companies spend boat loads of cash to develop a game. People get tired of waiting, and the cost to develop keeps rising. The game is released and if its good (great), but if not... studio closes (or will close if they dont start making games people will buy).
Episodic content.... Companies spend a shorter development cycle on portion of the game. The consumer gets to try thier hand at what was made. The company gets a little cash in the pocket (so to speak), and can get a glimpse of how the game is doing. This can be dones while work is underway on the next content. The life of the game is made longer because we are playing it over months instead of days. Hey if it doesnt catch on and sales are aweful... then cut be development, cancel it (got to be smart about how you do that)... but more options!!!
off subject, but still.. tis my 2 cents!
What does that have to do with anything?
High score or low score if a reviewer is bad it does not matter.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
TeethMummy is getting to the bottom of this ya'll
Bullshit. You don't see mainline Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros. or Pokemon games every year.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
Tons and tons of people were saying the same thing on GAF when Ascension was first announced. The surprise at the opinion baffles me, quite frankly.
To me it is because of the gameplay. GOW games have become bigger, better and more and more epic, but it plays almost identically as the first one. I for one could not get past GOW3. Stoped after the intro, when the massive sense of scale and eye-candy amazement worn out. Judging by Ascension's demo, as beautiful as it looks (honestly, Santa Monica deserves an award or something for this aspect of the game. It looks phenomenal, almost unbelievable), the gameplay and generally game progression is still the same, which totally kills any residual interest I could still have in this game.
T.M. MacReady
NO ONE DENIES MEMBER
All I'm saying is that its an odd choice to have him review it when he's openly being negative about it before having a chance to play it. I have no qualm with his score.
amstradcpc
Member
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
It's improved, but I don't think anyone's going to mistake it for DMC and its ilk.
I don't see how the changes to the multiplayer in BLOPS2 made it a Rolex, where the addition of completely new multiplayer and co-op modes to GoW Ascension did nothing to stop game fatigue.
Its hard to argue that different standards in game fatigue aren't been applied here...
Pretty much how I feel as well.
aegies is generally considered to be pro MS so people don't like the idea of him reviewing a Sony game. I'd say his review seems fair but I can understand why some people don't like it.
Vire
Member
My point is, put away your tin foil hats in fear of a conspiracy.
LunaticHigh
Member
I'm not saying that, I'm saying the general consensus in reviews isn't "I'm sick and tired of game X".
That being said, I haven't played it, but if they change the game play, I'm not interested. I'm looking for a God of War game, not something different.
Reviewers need to stop trying to force everything to be different. It's not like there are 2-3 God of War games to play every year, and they've all been fantastic. I just don't understand.
I don't even personally like god of war, but it's fairly obvious, especially with people like Arthur Gies, that he and others are not looking at the game for what it is.
We can sit here all day and pretend that reviews don't matter, but they do. They have a direct impact on the lives of people who create the entertainment we love. There are people out there who believe that some of these reviewers hold some sort of authority over what games are good, and whether or not you should buy them.
When a game gets a 7/10, to the general public that means that it isn't a good game, and that it isn't worth paying full price for. It's a stupid assumption to make based on the fact that it's a 70%, but when titles like Sim City that actually are not worth buying, and are functionally broken get 7's, you develop this reaction to scores.
All I'm trying to understand is why it appears that the game gets knocked for that. It makes no sense. I expect some sort of consistency.
I feel bad that a bunch of talented people were hired to develop a God of War game, apparently made an exceptional god of war game, and are getting dinged for doing exactly what they and their fans want them to do. The mentioning of series fatigue seems out of context and somewhat forced to me. I actually think that, outside of those comments most of the reviews were done well and make excellent and useful context for the game (outside of polygon, of course).
Was Zeus not realistic enough when we turned his head to paste? Or when we just ripped off Helios's head and use it as a lantern? This is silly.
Pai Pai Master
Banned
So...about that grapple mechanic
The Hermes kill was the one that got me the most squeamish in GOW3, but yeah I really really despise that point he seems to want to make.