All Articles: God of War: Ascension

Just so we’re clear, the headline is referring to Total Recall the 2012 remake, not Total Recall the Arnold Schwarzenegger masterpiece. Anyway…

When the Total Recall remake starring Colin Farrell, kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel comes to Blu-ray on December 18, it’ll bring a God of War: Ascension demo first glimpsed at E3 2012 with it. The demo will be available on the disc “for a limited time.” It’ll likely make its way to the PlayStation Network after this limited time, but Sony has yet to say for sure.

This isn’t the first time Kratos has teamed up with a Sony Pictures Blu-ray release. A God of War III demo was included with District 9 back in 2009.

Did you miss out on Sony’s God of War: Ascension livestream with Game Director Todd Papy? Well the Internet comes to the rescue as Sony has released the full livestream for anytime viewing! Check it out above to explore the origins of Kratos and the game’s new multiplayer modes!

The PlayStation Blog livestream is still ten minutes away, but that hasn’t stopped Sony from sending out the official press release announcing God of War: Ascension.

The document doesn’t contain a release date for Kratos’ next adventure, but it does include a summary of the game’s plot:

Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War: Ascension is an epic adventure that allows players to take on the climactic role of the ex-Spartan warrior Kratos as he finds a way to break the blood oath that binds him to the god, Ares. Six months after being tricked into killing his wife and child, a younger Kratos is sentenced to a life of madness with the Furies, caged in a titan-sized prison for the living damned. Fighting insanity, his will is tested to the limit as he seeks to break his bond and gain the clarity to seek revenge on Ares for his part in the death of his family. Armed with double-chained blades, Kratos must take on mythology’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest for redemption.

The release also promises that God of War: Ascension will include “a revamped combat and weapon system, promptless mini-games, and new puzzle challenges.”

“The bar has been set quite high for this franchise as each God of War title succeeds in being better than the last,” said Todd Papy, God of War: Ascension’s Game Director at Sony Santa Monica Studio. “But, unlike previous releases, we’re providing a deeper look into Kratos’ tormented past and psyche that fans have not seen before. Combined with refined gameplay, jaw-dropping visuals, and a fresh twist on competitive gaming with our new online multiplayer mode, I guarantee that God of War: Ascension will give fans what they have been eagerly waiting for, and much more.”

I don’t even remember how it started, but it’s always been the assumption that a fourth God of War game would include some type of multiplayer mode. This morning, Sony confirmed that when God of War: Ascension ships sometime next year, it’ll include a multiplayer mode.

The multiplayer mode reveal will be included as part of a livestream on the PlayStation Blog today (beginning at 11 AM Eastern). But a few details have already leaked out early courtesy of a media event Sony held last week.

When creating a character, players will “sell their soul” to one of four gods (Ares, Zeus, Hades, or Poseidon). Which god you choose will determine how your character’s “allegiance tree” shakes out as they advance through the multiplayer mode.

During the event, Sony showed off Domination Mode, which will be an 8-on-8 brawl where two teams of four compete for “the favor of the gods.” The team that pleases the gods the most will earn the right to massacre a towering cyclops. The idea is to bring the infamous boss battles from the single-player mode to multiplayer.

But don’t forget to tune into the God of War: Ascension livestream to get your first look at the game’s multiplayer mode.

[Source: USA Today]

First leaked by Amazon late last night, Sony has now officially announced God of War: Ascension for the PS3. The retail giant may have spoiled their surprise, but the publisher still had a bit to say about Kratos next adventure. Since he “died” at the end of God of War III, Ascension is being developed as a prequel to Kratos story, and it’s once again being developed by Sony Santa Monica. The Amazon product page also points towards a 2013 release. Finally, Sony released the awesome teaser trailer above.

“Tease” appears to be the operative word as Sony also confirmed that we won’t learn anything else about the game until Monday, April 30 at 11 AM (Eastern Time). If you’re not stuck at work or in class at that time, you’ll want to point your browser at the PlayStation Facebook page to watch a live streaming event with the game’s director, Todd Papy.

He’ll be answering your questions during the stream and you can begin bombarding him now on Twitter by tweeting @PlayStation. And be sure to tag it with the hashtag #godofwarascension.

We know God of War IV is coming, even though it remains unannounced. We know this as surely as we know that Nintendo is working on another Mario game and Sega is working on another 3D Sonic. It is the way of things when it comes to the video game industry. But Italian website 4News.it has gone a step further and posted, what they claim, is a leaked trailer for the game.

The trailer opens with a Mature rating (even though, officially, God of War IV hasn’t been rated by the ESRB), the “Sony Computer Entertainment presents” text, and the Sony Santa Monica logo. Then a series of grayish images are flashed on the screen (a stone structure, floating rocks, hands reaching up from the ground) as a voice intones:

Brother, the phoenix has been drinking your blood. Full of your anger. Blood. Full of your anger and your strength in life. Now I ask you, what have you been doing with her? Would you leave me here in hell? Kratos… wake up! wake up!

Finally, we’re greeted with the God of War IV logo. Is it real? Who knows. But it certainly is convincing.

Timothy Williams used to have a website at TimothyWilliams.net. I say “used to” as the composer pulled down his site after revealing the existence of God of War IV on his resume this morning. Of course, that’s nothing new as God of War IV has been “confirmed” multiple times before.

But then Williams went one better.

Taking a giant dump on the non-disclosure agreement he surely signed, Williams told Joystiq that the God of War IV listing on his resume is accurate. In a statement, he said “[I am] working on [God of War IV] in the capacity of orchestrations and some additional music.” Williams would go on to say that Sucker Punch composer Tyler Bates is the “main composer” on God of War IV.

Your move Sony.