God of War: Ascension - Some New Information

[Nuvian]

God of War Ascension Singleplayer not at E3?

Game Director for God of War Asension, Todd Papy, took the time yesterday to answer a series of questions, regarding Santa Monica’s upcoming game, via his Twitter account. Even though he insisted on not revealing too much info on the singleplayer campaign, fans were able to get a few details out of him.

As of now Papy is not sure yet if they will be showing a singleplayer demo at this year’s E3, as he did mention before that for now they’re concentrating on putting the multiplayer component in a good light. However, although the online mode was not supposed to influence the main campaign’s development, Papy claims that while they are tweaking both components, for now the studio is perfecting the mp.

The tweets keep rolling in, thanks to Plastica Man we can now confirm that GoW:A will not include motion controls.

Other details included:

- There will be no SP campaign co-op

- Big open environments will not be in the game due to the style of gameplay

- Cloth physics are being updated with new engine developed by their own team

- GoW:A will use a similar blended animation system as in Uncharted

- Character features will be updated (i.e. hair, skin etc.)

- Various weapons seen in MP will make their way to the SP and allow for mixed weapon combos

- Puzzles will play a part in the game

- The Uncharted-like climbing system shown in the MP stream will be in the main campaign

- Besides the Tattoos, skin tones will also be customisable in the online component

- FPS rate will vary instead of steady 60

- Papy also went on to explain that as of now there are no plans to create a GoW title on the Vita

Admittedly, the multiplayer seems to be playing a bigger part than one we first assumed, to see that they’re putting so much effort into it while still tweaking the main story is welcomed nonetheless. Having Naughty Dog near Santa Monica studios appears to have also been a help.

For now we can look forward to what the developers are planing to show this E3.

Courtesy of Plastica Man: When asked if wet character models would play a part in the game, the game director answered, “If we need it, we will look into it. I’m just hoping we can oil everyone up. Kratos dries off in an instant anyways.”

Kratos’ new in-game model has been under our noses

Today has brought us tons of details surrounding the new God of War and although Papy has been trying to keep the singleplayer a mystery but a closer look at his Twitter profile has uncovered one of the major changes we will be seeing in Ascension, the new Kratos.

When asked via Twitter by Plastica Man, if the image was based off of Kratos’ new design, Papy surprisingly answered that although effects were photoshopped on top, it was in fact the in-game model. The Spartan was altered for the prequel, as his appearance was supposed to seem younger and less muscular in comparison to the latest instalments. From what can be seen in the image, this alteration is most noticeable in the arms.

[The Black Wolf]

No God of War for the Vita?! NOOO!

[MBS D@v!d]

Please stop complaining about Santa Monica or Ready At Dawn not doing a GOW game for PS Vita. I don't want another portable GOW! I hate this... you have to buy a 300 Euro console just for playing ONE game! Make it for PS3 and NEVER AGAIN make a spin-off for a handheld. That sucks.

I almost bought a PSP GO just for GOW Ghost Of Sparta... I'm so glad that Sony announced the GOW Origins Collection two days after that... I felt relieved because I almost spent 180 Euro on a PSP go + GOW GHoSp...

All those people who own a Playstation Vita... I'd like to have one too, but do you really want a GOW game for a HANDHELD? Handhelds never sell as good as the main consoles, and many people are pissed off when they have to buy a Vita for a freaking 300 Euro just to play a GOW title.

I'm a HUGE GOW fan and I want to play every single chapter of the series. And I don't have the money to buy a Vita for one game. And please don't tell us "But there's plenty of great games for Vita, or at least there's gonna be plenty of great games in the future!". Maybe - who cares? It's about GOW, not the other games.

Every GOW game that's gonna be released in the future should be for the main consoles only (stationary consoles - like the PS2, PS3 or - in the future - PS4) - that's my opinion.

[AaronSOLDIER]

Handhelds never sell as good as the main consoles

Wrong.

[MBS D@v!d]

Wrong.

Ok, maybe not true for EVERY console, but my opinion is based on (for example):

PS2 <--> PSP
PS3 <--> PS Vita (I'm pretty sure it will be similar to PS2/PSP)

[rbrtchng]

Puzzles will play a part in the game

[MBS D@v!d]

lol

[Fon]

Lol. I also got a "No Shit" moment when I read that.

[RedDragon7]

Wrong.

Sony portables scratch the surface compare to Nintendo. Vita might be doing good but really, Sony has never done great in the portable market.

Lol. I also got a "No Shit" moment when I read that.

Seriously....

I feel like they may as well say "We do have a single player component attached to our multiplayer game." I mean no big environments either? There's half the GoW signature gone right there.

So what? We get some arenas and corridor's and thats it? This game has felt forced so far since it was realized it was another prequel game. I do look forward to the MP for once but they need to call this what it is. Idk, we'll see what the single player looks like but so far I'm not exactly happy with the overall game outlook.

[D3seeker]

Sounds pretty frigging questionable from this. They better not force and halfas$ the sp because they want the MP to be so great. When will they figgure out that not every game these days need multi-player?! and what's up with the need for more prequel quenchers? They better not f up this series

[AaronSOLDIER]

Sony portables scratch the surface compare to Nintendo. Vita might be doing good but really, Sony has never done great in the portable market.

70m+ isn't great? Thats better than every console up until the PS1.

Anyway I've been playing the GOWC V2 for the first time, I'm totally ready for this when it releases. My favourite Sony franchise.

[RedDragon7]

Sounds pretty frigging questionable from this. They better not force and halfas$ the sp because they want the MP to be so great. When will they figgure out that not every game these days need multi-player?! and what's up with the need for more prequel quenchers? They better not f up this series

The problem is MP is the current generation, it sells generally better than SP only or centered (meaning tiny-ass MP feature in certain games) games.

And agreed, the need for prequels is getting annoying. I doubt this will be a bad game with Santa Monica behind it but it won't be on par with this franchise's standard. My current prediction anyway.

70m+ isn't great? Thats better than every console up until the PS1.

Anyway I've been playing the GOWC V2 for the first time, I'm totally ready for this when it releases. My favourite Sony franchise.

Discussion shifted to the thread in the Vita forum section.

[ps3freak18]

Yeah this MP thing sounds like it is going to screw this series over. Honestly say what interest I did have is slowly fading. Shame that devs feel that they have to add MP to make a game successful. Oh well gonna have to see a little bit more before I completely write this off.

[THUGGEDOUT]

- Papy also went on to explain that as of now there are no plans to create a GoW title on the Vita

Damn you to hell Todd Papy.

[Suzano-O]

I feel like they may as well say "We do have a single player component attached to our multiplayer game." I mean no big environments either? There's half the GoW signature gone right there.

So what? We get some arenas and corridor's and thats it? This game has felt forced so far since it was realized it was another prequel game. I do look forward to the MP for once but they need to call this what it is. Idk, we'll see what the single player looks like but so far I'm not exactly happy with the overall game outlook.

I think you may be jumping the gun a bit here...

I can't recall any of the main GOW games ever having what I would consider a "big open environment" at the moment...

[PSgamer28]

Please stop complaining about Santa Monica or Ready At Dawn not doing a GOW game for PS Vita. I don't want another portable GOW! I hate this... you have to buy a 300 Euro console just for playing ONE game! Make it for PS3 and NEVER AGAIN make a spin-off for a handheld. That sucks.

I almost bought a PSP GO just for GOW Ghost Of Sparta... I'm so glad that Sony announced the GOW Origins Collection two days after that... I felt relieved because I almost spent 180 Euro on a PSP go + GOW GHoSp...

All those people who own a Playstation Vita... I'd like to have one too, but do you really want a GOW game for a HANDHELD? Handhelds never sell as good as the main consoles, and many people are pissed off when they have to buy a Vita for a freaking 300 Euro just to play a GOW title.

I'm a HUGE GOW fan and I want to play every single chapter of the series. And I don't have the money to buy a Vita for one game. And please don't tell us "But there's plenty of great games for Vita, or at least there's gonna be plenty of great games in the future!". Maybe - who cares? It's about GOW, not the other games.

Every GOW game that's gonna be released in the future should be for the main consoles only (stationary consoles - like the PS2, PS3 or - in the future - PS4) - that's my opinion.

Well said mate!!

[PSgamer28]

Sounds pretty frigging questionable from this. They better not force and halfas$ the sp because they want the MP to be so great. When will they figgure out that not every game these days need multi-player?! and what's up with the need for more prequel quenchers? They better not f up this series

I AGREE!
don't kill the best franchise this generation has seen for acceptance from gamers that aren't true fans (because it doesn't have MP) I really don't think Santa Monica would fuck this up...?

[Joe Zombie]

They better not force and halfas$ the sp because they want the MP to be so great.

Sounds to me like this is exactly what is happening.

[RedDragon7]

I think you may be jumping the gun a bit here...

I can't recall any of the main GOW games ever having what I would consider a "big open environment" at the moment...

You clearly haven't played GOW 3. Kratos fighting on titans multiple times, the Caverns-something (boxes level)... and possibly a few others here and there. Haven't played the game in like a year so I'm just going off the big moments I remember off-hand.

[Suzano-O]

You clearly haven't played GOW 3. Kratos fighting on titans multiple times, the Caverns-something (boxes level)... and possibly a few others here and there. Haven't played the game in like a year so I'm just going off the big moments I remember off-hand.

Yeah, I remember those levels...for some reason tho, they just don't strike me as "open"...

Like, the boxes level you're referring to, was just a bunch of smaller, moving set-pieces if I remember correctly...same for the Titans, it wasn't as if you were free to go anywhere on them, you were just given a small portion to fight on at a time usually...

[RedDragon7]

I don't mean open as in walk into any store or roam around. I mean the levels are BIG, open compared to corridors/hallways.

[TekkenLord]

was hoping for some sp for E3

[Sylar]

Please stop complaining about Santa Monica or Ready At Dawn not doing a GOW game for PS Vita. I don't want another portable GOW! I hate this... you have to buy a 300 Euro console just for playing ONE game! Make it for PS3 and NEVER AGAIN make a spin-off for a handheld. That sucks.

I almost bought a PSP GO just for GOW Ghost Of Sparta... I'm so glad that Sony announced the GOW Origins Collection two days after that... I felt relieved because I almost spent 180 Euro on a PSP go + GOW GHoSp...

All those people who own a Playstation Vita... I'd like to have one too, but do you really want a GOW game for a HANDHELD? Handhelds never sell as good as the main consoles, and many people are pissed off when they have to buy a Vita for a freaking 300 Euro just to play a GOW title.

I'm a HUGE GOW fan and I want to play every single chapter of the series. And I don't have the money to buy a Vita for one game. And please don't tell us "But there's plenty of great games for Vita, or at least there's gonna be plenty of great games in the future!". Maybe - who cares? It's about GOW, not the other games.

Every GOW game that's gonna be released in the future should be for the main consoles only (stationary consoles - like the PS2, PS3 or - in the future - PS4) - that's my opinion.

Yes I want a GoW game for the vita. Handheld games may not always hold their own against console games but to be honest you shouldn't expect them to, it's a different experience which is what I think it's all about. I agree it's a waste of money buying a vita just to play a god of war game but that's only a self imposed rule at the end of the day.

[Fon]

I personally want a God of War on the Vita.

[MBS D@v!d]

Whatever... people wish and wish but don't think rationally (for example people wish that Sony's going to make a GOW title for Vita, even if this would piss of millions of people and if the game wouldn't be as good as on PS3 - I know that a handheld experience is different but who cares? It's GOW and I want it to be as badass and good as can be!). You people wonder if Santa Monica Studios is going to screw up the franchise because they're going to include multiplayer (which looks cool) and discuss if there's going to be "big open environments"... Even if there's no set-piece titan-fight (Cronos - GOW3), the franchise won't be ruined.

Don't bitch around because of one small sentence somebody posted... and yes, maybe Papy said that there won't be big open enviroments. But it's ONE sentence he posted on his Twitter account. There's so much hype about the game, and he's a game director for the first time (if I remember correctly). He's nervous and wants to tease us, and sometimes developers say something that gamers interpret the wrong way or in whatever way they subjectively want to interpret it. I'm sure it will be comparable, if not better, than GOW3. And even if it's 1/3 less good than GOW3, it will still be a great game. But just look at the multiplayer trailer. Isn't this MP level "big" and "open" enough for a GOW game? You fight against other warriors while a titan-sized cyclops smashes its fists to the ground of the level... I mean... WTF are you guys talking about? I played every single GOW and there has never been anything that was "open". The Cronos fight was very well done, but the area in which you could move was VERY VERY small. Yes, you ripped one of his fingernails off, but you could only move on a fraction of his forearm. You see? And I'm 100% sure we will see similar things in Ascension. Maybe we will fight a GIANT cerberus (the original one), or the cyclops we saw in the MP trailer.

I'd say this: Wait until you see more footage. Wait until you see singleplayer footage. Because MP - obviously - won't have the same polygon count and texture resolution, as well as "big open environments". But the MP level we saw was as big as most GOW3 singleplayer levels. I think that Ascension will feature singleplayer levels about the size of the GOW3 levels. What you guys actually talk about is DRAW DISTANCE. The caverns level in GOW3 had enormous sense of scope and draw distance. That's all. The area in which you could move around was - like I said before - very limited (but still big enough). I'm sure Santa Monica Studios won't let us down, but deliver once again.

As for the multiplayer... the footage I saw looked good, and I think that singleplayer will even benefit from the inclusion of multiplayer. Look at Dead Space 2... the multiplayer didn't take anything away from the multiplayer. It's totally optional. BUT: Visceral Games had to revamp the entire "feel" of Isaac. How he moves (he moves much smoother in DS2), new enemy types (Puker, Pack) that work well, new gameplay styles... I think that Ascension will actually benefit from multiplayer. For example, like Todd Papy said in the interview with Playstation Blog, the "circle" above the enemies when they're stunned or when you can finish them off. In multiplayer, you can't have circles above your enemy's head. It would look stupid. So they include some sort of fighter-like warning/indication system that you're gonna be attacked or that your enemy is stunned or ready to be finished off. Combat will be a little different, but I'm sure it will be improved. Familiar and totally GOW, but fresher, better, more direct and responsive.

Give it a chance, guys (and girls). Wait for more footage before bitching around and hating on the game and Santa Monica/Todd Papy. I'd go even further and say: Wait until you saw reviews or PLAYED THE GAME YOURSELF. Then you can judge it. We haven't seen a thing of Ascension yet (besides the very cool and fresh looking multiplayer gameplay trailer), and so many people are already complaining about Santa Monica "ruining" the franchise? What the heck?

I guess complaining is cool nowadays. It sort of makes you look "critical". Don't get me wrong, it's good to be critical. But GOW isn't a game for a small audience anyway. It's a game for the masses. And people say "Oh they're making it for a broader audience, for all those casual gamers who want multiplayer!". GOW is so popular - most GOW-fans are "casual" or "normal" gamers. I'm a die-hard GOW-fan and I'll wait with my judgement until I played the game myself.

For now, I'd say: Everybody calm down. Let's wait until the game comes out, then get our hands on and play it.