Well yeah, of course he's still an asshole, that's what his entire character is about. But he wanted to kill Ares for what happened to his family. In the second and third games, he just acts like a rage-filled drone merely for his own selfish reasons and mistakes, which were no where near as compelling or interesting.
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God of War: Ascension reviews
- Thread starter Loudninja
- Start date
Well yeah, of course he's still an asshole, that's what his entire character is about. But he wanted to kill Ares for what happened to his family. In the second and third games, he just acts like a rage-filled drone merely for his own selfish reasons and mistakes, which were no where near as compelling or interesting.
CartridgeBlower
Member
In all fairness, my opinions regarding Gies bias were not ever based on any reviews, I didn't even know he was an editor for Polygon until very recently. I PM'd him a while back, only because I thought he was a Microsoft insider (employee, developer etc) and just wanted clarification. He then told me he was a member of the press, didn't realise it was Polygon.
I have implied in posts that it seems he has a pro Microsoft agenda, but that was based purely on different posts he himself made. Some regarding Durango and Orbis, instrumental in downplaying Orbis and coming up with creative ways to boost Durango, including the infamous secret sauce. There were also several Twitter posts that gave off a similar impression.
I have implied in posts that it seems he has a pro Microsoft agenda, but that was based purely on different posts he himself made. Some regarding Durango and Orbis, instrumental in downplaying Orbis and coming up with creative ways to boost Durango, including the infamous secret sauce. There were also several Twitter posts that gave off a similar impression.
tiny raptor
Member
So having a better reason for vengeance makes him more sympathetic?
Killing his family was his mistake too, y'know. He chose to give his life over to Ares, the god of war, and he went on to plunder and murder to his heart's content.
toddhunter
Member
Reviews seem good, about what I expected.
For some reason God of War has always been my "it is what it is" series where I just want to go into it knowing exactly what I'm going to get and know I'll be satisfied when I come out the other side.
In that context I'll take a 8/10 "more of the same" game and be happy.
For some reason God of War has always been my "it is what it is" series where I just want to go into it knowing exactly what I'm going to get and know I'll be satisfied when I come out the other side.
In that context I'll take a 8/10 "more of the same" game and be happy.
partyphone
Banned
He was slightly sympathetic in GoW1 since Ares tricked him into killing his family. But he was still a giant asshole for the entire game so I didn't feel too bad for him.
Then GoW2 and 3 happened and he was just a giant dick to everyone all the time.
I'm certainly not interested in playing another game with Kratos in it and I hope they do a full reboot with a completely different pantheon. Like the Mayan gods.
Then GoW2 and 3 happened and he was just a giant dick to everyone all the time.
I'm certainly not interested in playing another game with Kratos in it and I hope they do a full reboot with a completely different pantheon. Like the Mayan gods.
I posted some tweets he made regarding Ascension before the review a few posts ago.
I completely get what you're saying, but I still feel that
the whole end scene where you're fighting to save your family by giving them some of your life bar and whatnot was really well done and a pretty amazing way to combine storytelling with gameplay. That's probably my favorite scene in the whole series thus far.
I always thought Kratos being a giant asshole was supposed to be part of his appeal, if you can call it that. He did what he thought he had to to accomplish his goal and let nothing get in his way of that.
I have a problem trying to create a "person" where there isn't one. It rarely works in video games. Just look at Tomb Raider as the most recent example of a game trying to create some emotional person that we're supposed to connect to, only to have her end up as a mass murdering psychopath who actually seems to get some enjoyment out of slamming a pickax into someone's skull. She screams various phrases throughout the game like "take that" while gunning people down like an 80s action movie star. God of War would end up the same way if they tried to make him human.
I have a problem trying to create a "person" where there isn't one. It rarely works in video games. Just look at Tomb Raider as the most recent example of a game trying to create some emotional person that we're supposed to connect to, only to have her end up as a mass murdering psychopath who actually seems to get some enjoyment out of slamming a pickax into someone's skull. She screams various phrases throughout the game like "take that" while gunning people down like an 80s action movie star. God of War would end up the same way if they tried to make him human.
Poetic.Injustice
Member
Franchise fatigue has been set in for a lot of popular series near the end of the generation. Gamers want new experiences and hopefully next gen will bring those.
Sony santa monica's new ip for ps4 better be damn well awesome.
Sony santa monica's new ip for ps4 better be damn well awesome.
I was fine with Kratos being a giant asshole, but the Hope stuff in 3 was awful. He also is brutal to the extent of doing really stupid things, and plotwise the games have also made a lot of character concessions to pretty much stupefy everyone down to his level.
CartridgeBlower
Member
Yeah, he doesn't 'get why GoW: Ascension exists'...
...but gives Halo 4 a 9.5.
That's really all you need to know about the guy and how he reviews PS3 franchises compared to MS ones.
tiny raptor
Member
That was Cory Barlog's idea if I remember correctly, and Jaffe absolutely loves that marriage of a story and gameplay mechanic.
God of War shows more scenes showing remorse from Kratos over the death of his family, because that's central to that game's plot. But I don't know if that makes him more sympathetic in the game. Again, he's always been apathetic to everyone else in the series, including in God of War 1
Precisely the point, yeah. On pre-production of GoW, Jaffe tasked their character artist with coming up with a character with the central idea being "F*** you!"
I think they succeeded.
grosvenor_92
Member
But will it sell ? I'm assuming since it's GoW and the commercial is played like every 5-10 mins on tv it will
BadAss2961
Member
Exactly...
You know one of those villains that does horrible things without a single thought for anyone but himself, and lives by his own screwed up logic? That's Kratos. We play as a bad guy among other bad guys, whereas usually we'd be controlling a random warrior or civilian fighting for noble reasons.
Kratos is badass, and being the bad guy has a lot of appeal.
Perhaps sympathetic is a bad word to use, but you (as the player) do at the very least want him to succeed in killing Ares by the time everything, in relation to the story, is unraveled.
Vire
Member
BubblegumCrisis
Member
yep, that's God of War alright.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I think God of War, as a series, can keep going, and keep being successful as "the epic scale cinematic combat game," but they need a new main character, a new fighting style, and a new mythology. I'd personally prefer the character to be more of a "jack of all trades, master of ALL" type as opposed to Kratos having the Blades of Chaos be his one real style. More opportunities for fleshing out combat, finishers, and giving the player lots of options.
GraveRobberX
Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
OH MY FUCKING GOD!
God of War plays like....
God of War
What Madness is this!
Next you'll tell me there's Tropes against women in this?
Vire
Member
Gametrailers review of GOW:A
http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/hlt8by/god-of-war--ascension-review
http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/hlt8by/god-of-war--ascension-review
Some guy was streaming man.
8.3 hmm..
I lol'd.
All game journalists have preferences. Whether this affects his reviews in some negative way is completely unrelated. If he's a professional that is.
You guys need to give it a rest.
tiny raptor
Member
Have you played a God of War game before? No offense.
Precisely why that term is an oxymoron.
Appollowexx
Member
Maybe reboot next gen.
- Goddess of War - featuring Nariko
OT. Reviews are lower than expected, I think typically most people expect a big First party title from Sony (especially something like GOW) to score in the high 8/ low 9's, but if this is by and large a by the numbers cash in, with multiplayer tacked on I can understand why it's reviewing the way it is.
Personally I loved the demo and after actually reading a few of the reviews (rather than just focusing on a number), it sounds like another great single player adventure. Longer than expected too with ign pegging the game at around 9 hours. The idea of a more humanised Kratos makes sense in relation to the timeline of this game, and also sounds like a nice change of pace from ultra pissed off, douche bag Kratos.
- Goddess of War - featuring Nariko
OT. Reviews are lower than expected, I think typically most people expect a big First party title from Sony (especially something like GOW) to score in the high 8/ low 9's, but if this is by and large a by the numbers cash in, with multiplayer tacked on I can understand why it's reviewing the way it is.
Personally I loved the demo and after actually reading a few of the reviews (rather than just focusing on a number), it sounds like another great single player adventure. Longer than expected too with ign pegging the game at around 9 hours. The idea of a more humanised Kratos makes sense in relation to the timeline of this game, and also sounds like a nice change of pace from ultra pissed off, douche bag Kratos.
Now I hope SSM is well prepared to bring this franchise to the PS4 by making the next trilogy way more epic than GoW III,they must have realized by now that if they don't top their previous entry by a lot the game will get panned in reviews compared to the other entries.I hope for a major shake up in the formula including the level design.
GraveRobberX
Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
I do have problems with camera part
It zooms out to much
I have played and Platinumed all 5 GOW's, in Ascension, I do lose Kratos from time to time when I played the Demo
Shit pans out too far, I'm like where the fuck did he (I) go?
I mistakenly brushed R3 and Kratos rolled forward during a pan out zoom effect, I just saw a white blip, then enemies fell and couldn't see him at all
Had to double jump to get my bearings again
Appollowexx
Member
MGR gets a pass because its deliberately stupid and OTT to the point where it stops being bad and just becomes awesome. God of War tries to do things in a more serious way, and while total fantasy, it still comes off as having a carefully constructed and cared for narrative. MGR just didn't give a shit.
lol I know it has problems, and its valid. But MGR getting a higher score is nonsense.
Why? A game is made up of more than just story and camera. Enemy formations, combat systems, boss battles, level design, etc. etc.
Also, I am going to hope you have fully completed Ascension and MGR to be saying such a thing. If not, excuse me as I visit the hospital for my exploded brain.
Eh... would this help: all humans have preferences.
Professionals don't let these preferences affect their work. This separates them from regular old fanboys.
Arch Stanton
Neo Member
Long time lurker, first time poster.
I expected GOW Ascension to garner reviews in the 7 to 8-ish range. If it's "more of the same", I'll still happily play it. Nevertheless, I do understand the creeping sense of familiarity... which of course, breeds contempt.
If there is an actual God of War 4 at some point down the road, I'd like to see the game still retain Kratos as the primary protagonist, but perhaps meld the game play to be kind of like Zelda where there's a large over world and underworld (temples, perhaps?), more fiendish puzzles, and of course, combat. In this version, Kratos would have to destroy the remnants of the Greek pantheon (such that they are after GOW3), as well as gods from other mythologies.
I know that battling gods from other mythologies is something that has been brought up before as a possible alternative to the formula... In fact, wasn't there a version where Jaffe offered up the idea that after Kratos killed off Zeus, his death lead to the sudden emergence of a portal which allowed for other gods to invade Kratos' world (which in turn, would allow Kratos to travel to their worlds and bring destruction).
In essence, it was the power of Zeus that had kept the other gods at bay (I believe Athena said in GOW2 that "Zeus IS Olympus", if memory serves), and with the vacuum created by his death, it lead to a power struggle amongst Norse and Egyptian gods. I'm sorry, I'm not remembering the whole thing... But I thought bringing that element coupled with perhaps a Zelda/Demon Soul's like world might be a viable option for the series to ponder.
I expected GOW Ascension to garner reviews in the 7 to 8-ish range. If it's "more of the same", I'll still happily play it. Nevertheless, I do understand the creeping sense of familiarity... which of course, breeds contempt.
If there is an actual God of War 4 at some point down the road, I'd like to see the game still retain Kratos as the primary protagonist, but perhaps meld the game play to be kind of like Zelda where there's a large over world and underworld (temples, perhaps?), more fiendish puzzles, and of course, combat. In this version, Kratos would have to destroy the remnants of the Greek pantheon (such that they are after GOW3), as well as gods from other mythologies.
I know that battling gods from other mythologies is something that has been brought up before as a possible alternative to the formula... In fact, wasn't there a version where Jaffe offered up the idea that after Kratos killed off Zeus, his death lead to the sudden emergence of a portal which allowed for other gods to invade Kratos' world (which in turn, would allow Kratos to travel to their worlds and bring destruction).
In essence, it was the power of Zeus that had kept the other gods at bay (I believe Athena said in GOW2 that "Zeus IS Olympus", if memory serves), and with the vacuum created by his death, it lead to a power struggle amongst Norse and Egyptian gods. I'm sorry, I'm not remembering the whole thing... But I thought bringing that element coupled with perhaps a Zelda/Demon Soul's like world might be a viable option for the series to ponder.
Of course, but journalists are supposed to be impartial; not that I'm aiming it at him in particular.
By the same line of thought fan-boys who write fan-fictions are no writers.
I don't mind journos speaking their minds openly. In fact I want more people to do so.
That's because they aren't. If you mean the profession of being a writer.
You're right on with everything,I want it to be 'open' like Darksiders 1.
And they definitely should when it comes to gaming. Also, a side note... in case you missed my edit, there was a typo in my previous post: Of course, but journalists are supposed to be impartial; not that I'm aiming it at him in particular.
Yep, that's what I meant.
I was going to say, I actually appreciate the fact that aegis openly said the comment being unsure of Ascension's existence, and I'm not sure why it's getting jumped on. Both this game and Gears of War: Judgement have been getting that thrown at them CONSTANTLY. That does not mean they still won't be good, or as if it's trying to suggest there isn't a team of talented folks slaving over making the best product they can. I have that feeling about both games, but am still getting them both and will still be able to critically analyze them for what they do well and falter at, like any other game.
Hell, if anything I imagine going into a game with a negative mindset actually helps more often than not. Games more frequently surprise that way, and it avoids the ugly issue of blinding hype.
Critics are just not meant to let their biases sway their writing. The bias itself is unavoidable as a human being.
Optimally he should approach the game as neutral as possible. It's not a big feat even though you have some opinions about the series in general.