SCE Santa Monica Studio looks to capture the intensity and brutality of the series in its first ever multiplayer experience
The God of War franchise is one which has always set the bar higher and higher with each new addition, and God of War: Ascension developed by SCE Santa Monica Studio looks to do this not only with single-player but by also venturing in the domain of multiplayer. So how does it hold up so far?
I recently got a chance to try out the new Ascension multiplayer closed beta and although I’m not a big fan of online multiplayer, I have to say I was pretty impressed with this one. It looks and feels just like the single-player adventures of Kratos in previous titles but with added aspects to make it more approachable for a multiplayer audience. For instance, while the control scheme remains almost completely the same, they have tweaked it to allow for new moves that will make the multiplayer more enjoyable and fair. A parry ability has been implemented to block incoming quick attacks allowing for an instant counter when done right and I found this to be a helpful tool especially when I was a newbie going up against more experienced players which stopped me from getting frustrated.
You begin by choosing an allegiance to one of four Gods: Ares, Hades, Zeus or Poseidon. Only Zeus and Ares were available to me during the beta and each has different abilities they focus on, such as Ares focusing on strength and Zeus being more defensive. As you level up and complete certain tasks you gain access to new weapons, armours, spells and items to make your character more powerful as well as collecting treasures to unlock weapons and armour.
