Sony's SCE Santa Monica Studios shows the media Kratos' human side, dynamic art, and an advanced combat system.
This week, Sony opened the doors at West Hollywood's Smashbox Studios to hungry press in order to present one of the most anticipated titles of 2013: God of War: Ascension, Santa Monica Studio's new prequel to it's highly successful God of War series. The night included in-depth looks at the game's story and combat systems, along with several other goodies that are sure to have gamers scrambling to get their hands on it in March.
Bringing the God of War franchise into 2013 with a bang, Santa Monica Studios first presented the media with it's already famous Super Bowl trailer, showing a side of Kratos that certainly hasn't been touched upon in such a light before: a human side. An in-depth look at the team behind the game showed footage of designers, engineers, and even the good old QA guys banding together to create a God of War experience unlike any other thus far.
While the game's new multiplayer mode has been highly anticipated, press was introduced to the game's single-player mode. The demo showed players a Kratos that is escaping the clutches of the Furies, three sisters created to defend honor above anything else, and given the kind of guy Kratos is, they're all pretty ticked off at him. Players were challenged to race towards the enemy, battling away several of her lackies -- horrendous and disgusting monsters that you would absolutely not want anywhere near you, for fear of either instant death or overall grossness -- with not only the dual swords that we've come to know and love, but the ability to pick up weapons along the way (swords, spears, and an artillery of other ancient weaponry) and use them to create amazing, high-damage combos to take out swarms of enemies.
What really shines above the advanced gameplay and more in-depth characterization is the art direction: the team behind Ascension spent hours on the research and conceptualization of characters that bring visual detail to a whole new level. The smallest bits and pieces will move, enemies will react to their surroundings, and the direction of color is truly vibrant without breaking the classic God of War palette.
With titles from several studios coming out on PS3, Sony chose two truly amazing games to present to the press, presenting an unforgettable interactive experience and giving the fans much more insight on the future of gaming on the Playstation 3. God of War: Ascension hits the shelves in the US on March 12th.
