Dragon1893
Member
Yeah, GoW needs to be played on hard, can't be said enough.
-
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
Yeah, GoW needs to be played on hard, can't be said enough.
When most reviewers continue to use only the 6-10 side of a scale regardless of how bad a game is then yes, 7-9 can be disappointing as that 7-10 range has generally replaced the whole scale. When down right shitty games end up getting around 6 and they are blatantly broken, mechanically or otherwise, then there is something wrong with the way people score; 7 should mean it is a good game, but in the eyes of the general population when far lesser games are one point behind or worse games end up with 8-9 then a 7 is looked down upon as the dirty step child of review scores.
I said it previously in the thread, I wish we had never moved from a 5 point scale, that 5 point range should tell you everything you need to know without the need for stupid decimal places like IGN or percentages out of 100 that are just ammo for stupid console wars; when these reviewers comment on why something is an 87 instead of an 88 they always spew some nonsense about it feeling like an 87 but not quite an 88, what does that even suppose to mean?
A simple 5 point scale from Brokenly Shitty, Bad, Mediocre, Good, Great is all we should need, like most do for films, but without the half stars and other nonsense.
God of War getting a 7 doesn't really bother me though, from Bayonetta to DMC to GoW I'm not a big fan of these sort of games generally as I'm no doubt just not very good at them, but they can be a fun ride regardless; to me the God of War games have looked fantastic for their time and played alright, after playing each one I would probably settle around the 7-8 score myself and not near the 9+ they get, lol.
I like AC way more than any GoW game, but come on... gameplay in AC is pathetic. GoW is at least a competent action/adventure game.
tiny raptor
Member
Word! The pacing, level design, and puzzles were the main reason I enjoyed the original GoW so much. The combat was nice but felt a little shallow (I did not play on hard however). Anyway, I feel like the series lost sight of that brilliant sense of adventure and journey that the original had. At least, I felt like GoWIII lost sight of that. I haven't played the other ones.
Honestly, I don't have an issue with any of those. Apparently the game is at least 8 hours. There were a couple true boss fights in the original GoW, and that was a great game. I never used the unique weapons anyway, so that's fine, and it might even be better here depending on the usefulness of the elementals. And the scale thing is just aesthetics and therefore not as important to me but from what I've seen of Ascension there are still plenty of large scale moments.
Personally I found GoWIII repetitive especially towards the end, so if there's less fluff making for a shorter game, that'd be good.
I just want the level design, pacing, and puzzles to be good. All things I felt were somewhat lacking in GoWIII in some area to some degree.
After thinking about the trophy name discussion, I just wish Sessler had handled it with less ire, saying things like it tarnished his whole view of the franchise. His reaction alone has turned it into more of an issue that it ever needed to be, even if he felt it was worth mentioning. I feel like now it'll become something akin to the whole "Nathan Drake is a mass murderer" BS that permeates all discussion about Uncharted, just because people want to agree with an intelligent person in the industry to make themselves seem smarter. Stuff like that trophy name are worth discussing but it needs to be framed as setting up a dialogue, not a huge rant.
tiny raptor
Member
I'm still sort of baffled about why Sessler is even commenting on it. He may have taken it the wrong way, though. He may have thought "Bros before hos" meant "Men are better than women" which I'm positive is not what the game is trying to say.
It's absolutely not.
Like I said last night, when I got that Trophy I'm not even totally sure it was related to that moment anyway.
I need to check.
Hunter-Zero
Member
Maybe i´m one of the few guys here who thinks that the entire huge-setpiece after huge-setpiece game design sucks, and sucks HARD, i don´t want to play a boss-rush oriented single player, i´d rather play in large dungeons surrounded by tons of grunts, solving puzzles and travelling platforms.
Boss fight after boss fight and QTE-fest gameplay is just awful and boring as fuck, maybe that is the reason i found GOW3 to be a dissapointment (crazy good graphics and improved gameplay aside of course)
Ascension looks more like GOW 1 and less like 3, and that is a good sign (to me at least)
Boss fight after boss fight and QTE-fest gameplay is just awful and boring as fuck, maybe that is the reason i found GOW3 to be a dissapointment (crazy good graphics and improved gameplay aside of course)
Ascension looks more like GOW 1 and less like 3, and that is a good sign (to me at least)
tiny raptor
Member
Yeah. When I first saw it, I thought, "Ok, what's the larger context of this?" As another poster wondered in this thread, is there a bro that Kratos is putting before a ho (the Fury)?
Story spoilers:
kind of, yeah
That's what I mean. Needs context.
Not sure how I can check without playing through the entire game AGAIN though.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Of course, it’s not impossible and the sense of achievement you get from actually beating it is immense, but the fact its difficulty is so out of line from the rest of the game is strange. To put it into context, I spent just over nine hours getting to that point in the game, then six hours straight trying to beat wave after wave of enemies.
What IS this final gauntlet
What IS this final gauntlet
It's really not that hard. It's tougher than the rest but it's three floors of enemies without health chests.
You can get extra health on the second level though from some enemies. You just have to remember to use the two new abilities and have powered up Blades.
Well, on Normal, anyway.
ThisWreckage
Banned
The politically correct can't even be outraged consistently. Where was the gnashing of teeth when Kratos was using women as sex objects? Greek mythology simply doesn't have many female characters to pull from and the few they had to work with were exhausted in other titles. Besides, wasn't this game supposed to show Kratos' love for his wife and child? I guess that important bit of information is being completely overshadowed by a trophy title that was definitely intended to be an immature joke rather than a total damnation of the female gender.
The God of War games have never been politically correct and they've always trended toward the immature and gratuitous. Does no one else remember the Austin Powers-esque fountain sex scene but me?
The God of War games have never been politically correct and they've always trended toward the immature and gratuitous. Does no one else remember the Austin Powers-esque fountain sex scene but me?
HueyFreeman
Banned
At the end of the day, the god of war series should be treating women with a more mature attitude. Greek tragedy has a huge amount of respect for its female players, as did Greek society in general.
It's very uncommon to see a female in this series without her tits flopping around, and to commit violence on them just compounds the problem. I love you, SSM, but when it comes to women, you guys need to grow the fuck up.
It's very uncommon to see a female in this series without her tits flopping around, and to commit violence on them just compounds the problem. I love you, SSM, but when it comes to women, you guys need to grow the fuck up.
And if I remember correctly, which I certainly may not, you had to repeat the process a few times to unlock the trophy. I remember the trophy having something to do with entertaining whores.
Dragon1893
Member
Still no eurogamer review. I'm expecting a 7 but it might be a 6.
You get the brothel trophy for the first time but you have to do it 3 times in a row if you want an item related to the goldy possessions trophy.
catashtrophe
Member
Are we getting a OT for this game?
Thought it would have been up ages ago
Thought it would have been up ages ago
Kind of. You only have to do it once for the trophy but you have to do it 3 times for a special relic, one of the ones you can't use until NG+. BUT...you need that relic since there's a gold trophy for getting all 6 or however many there are.
edit: Beaten.
tiny raptor
Member
That's exactly what I've been saying in this thread.
I hope SSM doesn't lean more towards being politically correct after this whole thing.
*sigh*
I hate politically-correctness. Instills fear in people and keeps them from expressing what they really feel.
Derrick01 said:
Oh yeah. I knew I had to do it multiple times. Couldn't remember exactly why.
The reviews are pretty much exactly what I was expecting.
And I really like Adam Sessler, but that trophy complaint...
Can somebody explain why it's okay for people to enjoy and willingly play a barbaric game but aren't okay with the objectification of women? This series is about murder and everything else that comes with it but women being topless and being treated like garbage sets people off? Society in the world generally accepting violence is a huge problem. People have to get their priorities straight with things like this.
Dragon1893
Member
God of War Ascension OT - Trophy Furies
HueyFreeman
Banned
First of all, objectification and violence against women are separate issues, and this game manages to cover the ground. Second, it's a bit of a sensitive issue, ya know - much more so than say stuffing a blade down a minotaurs throat. Third, any post with the word "society" in it is suspect (see: my previous post
let's talk about Greek mythology and where this game is taking place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rape
Greek mythology
The rape of women or youths is a common theme in Greek mythology. Among the rapes or abductions committed by Zeus, the supreme deity of the Greek pantheon, are Europa and Ganymede.
http://www.writework.com/essay/role-women-greek-mythology
The role of female characters in Greek mythology was to be held as an object for lust.
One reason why this is held true is that many gods have used women portraying that. On the other hand, another reason is that many men have also used women as an object of lust which is depicted in many myths.
When Zeus, who is married to Hera, decides he is bored he goes down to Earth and find a beautiful person to satisfy his lust. One example was the story of Zeus & Leto. Zeus had to pursue her and when he finally did they both produced Apollo and Artemis, from which we have many stories. Another major instance involving Zeus is when he wanted a beautiful maiden named Danae who was a princess. Zeus only used her for his desire and only that. Danae was the object of that lust and from their union came Perseus and along with that a whole tale about him. A different god who had the same idea in mind was Poseidon and his desire, Aethra who was suppusedly raped by him. Poseidon went to that extent to satisfy his lust and he clearly did not care for her much because he abandoned her and only came to help when their son Theseus needed help. It was not a question of love for these examples, only lust.
On the other hand, men in Greek myths also depict of how women are used as an object of lust. An instance of this occurred in the Greek myth of Pygmalion. He was an expert sculptor of marble who was adored by all. However, he also had an object of lust as well. He created a statue whose name was Galatea. She was litrelly an object of lust. It...
--------___-
you can't take things out of context. You are playing a game not based on moral values of today. If you did this game would make everyone throw up. It's in the context of Greek mythology. You can't say oh man SSM are asses because the showing females as girls with just tits hanging out, while Zeus the god himself treated and raped them as sextual objects. Allthis is part of Greek mythology which is kratos universe.
First of all, objectification and violence against women are separate issues, and this game manages to cover the ground. Second, it's a bit of a sensitive issue, ya know - much more so than say stuffing a blade down a minotaurs throat. Third, any post with the word "society" in it is suspect (see: my previous post
Human men are also killed in this game so no it's not just about killing minotaurs and other mythological creatures. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for some people to be okay with the subject matter as a whole but get offended when there are women being degraded. It's a completely backwards notion that we see all over in the world today.
People enjoy watching MMA and boxing where people have a good chance of being killed in combat but once a woman shows her nipple live on broadcast TV being get offended. Something is completely wrong here.
90TilInfinity
Member
I doubt this will affect them much.
From what I've read Sony Santa Monica is one of the most diverse studios in the industry with quite alot of female workers. 25% was the figure I believe. Upon moving there Seth Killian actually said most of the top spots are held by women, and according to Todd Papy, a lady was the one who named this trophy. That wouldn't surprise me, since often when a group of diverse people get close, certain phrases that could otherwise be seen as offensive elsewhere won't be seen as more than a joke within.
I'm still surprised Adam Sessler condemned the studio and not just the act tbh (especially since trophies are usually handled by 1/2 people). SSM puts the entire industry to shame in most regards, not just talent.
TheLaughingStock
Member
Disagree, but I would like SSM to make boss fights like Poseidon or Cronos not feel more confined than fights in an arena vs Hades or Hercules. Those cool looking scenes were too tightly controlled and directed. Need to find a better balance and they need even less reliance on QTEs and the climbing mechanic. I thought jumping up/sideways on Gaia's arm and hacking away at the water horse was an awful section.
Pai Pai Master
Banned
The games' depiction of sex is overzealous and immature for the most part. However the violence is something crucial to the nature of Greek mythology and there is no reason to hold back in God of War. What you actually see in the games is pretty tame compared to some of the shit in literature.
Babylonian
Member
Becaaaaause consensual sex with a woman is not the same thing as (what Adam called) the most violent thing ever seen in a video game?
I just checked it. The trophy is all about another character (Orkos) deciding to betray his mothers and assist Kratos instead.
This character gives Kratos a valuable item in the game and the plot moves on. Minutes earlier, Kratos fights a fury (a female) and kicks her down, then impales her on a sharp object. The trophy pops immediately after Orkos sides with you.
Raitosaito
Member
He's always been like that, even with Resident Evil 5. He explicitly stated stated that the bad press over racism put a cloud over RE5, and it contributed to the low score he gave.
Overeating is a shtick he lives by.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Sessler is so thin, though.
Raitosaito
Member
Sessler is so thin, though.
Oh gosh :3
I believe Ryan is reviewing it for Giantbomb and here his thoughts so far.
https://twitter.com/taswell/status/310843402818306049
https://twitter.com/taswell/status/310843402818306049
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Okay, was watching a walkthrough and saw the "Bro's before Ho's" Trophy.
Major spoiler here:
From this, I would say as much as I like Sessler I do think he overreacted a little bit.
Major spoiler here:
The Trophy appears after escaping with Orkos who gives Kratos an artifact which occurs after the fight with the Furies. It DOES NOT happen after he stomps one of the Fury's face in, which btw doesn't even kill her.
From this, I would say as much as I like Sessler I do think he overreacted a little bit.
If this is true, then Sessler goes into the same pile as polygon and ign.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Nvm. You quoted someone else.
I don't think Sessler is so bad for not liking it, just maybe a bit sensitive. Especially considering when and why the Trophy is actually earned and how it fits into the context of it all.
equippedwithtowel
Member
That seems like a meaningless notion. Neither of the sites are monolithic entities and have far worse writes then Sessler.
Domcorleone
Member
My blades are one upgrade away from being fully powered up, am I screwed? Could you PM me on how you got through it? That part is kicking my ass and I am playing it on Hard. I die before I get to the second floor...
If he can't even figure out the context of that trophy whilst causing unnecessary drama, what else has he got wrong? For me (important) his views would be meaningless as I'd always be wondering. Not that I read/watch anything of his (or anyone elses) unless it gets linked here anyway, so no loss for him.
And fwiw I think the demo for gowa was awful and won't be going near the game, incase anyone thought I was just a gow fanboy with a grudge.