http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/193695/postmortem__sony_santa_monicas_.php
Shows how adding MP in a SP centric franchise like God of War sacrificed the quality of the SP
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Postmortem - Sony Santa Monica's God of War: Ascension
- Thread starter Sid
- Start date
Shows how adding MP in a SP centric franchise like God of War sacrificed the quality of the SP
TacticalFox88
Banned
My personal postmortem?
It REALLY highlighted why they need to ditch Kratos and Greek Mythology.
Game wore out its welcome halfway in for me.
It REALLY highlighted why they need to ditch Kratos and Greek Mythology.
Game wore out its welcome halfway in for me.
Chuck Norris
Banned
Who ever asked for multiplayer in a God of War game?
The single player had as little ambition as imaginable
The single player had as little ambition as imaginable
Yours is better.
After passing
I really appreciated and enjoyed the combat a whole lot more! Up until then I didn't really like the whole blocking or extra item powers. That being said, it came way to late in the game. Regardless, I very much enjoyed GOW:A but it didn't leave me with the same feeling that beating the previous three did.
trial of archimedes
Canis lupus
Member
I think everyone agrees that they should never come back to Kratos and Greek mythology again and start building a new franchise, and/or reboot GoW in a different setting.
BrainZEROX
Member
They can keep Kratos but, yes, it's time leave the Greek mythology behind. If they don't know what to do after the event of God of War III, they could still make another "prequel" where Kratos is Greek's Gods champion versus other Mythologies' champions in a "War of Gods" fashion. Or another Mythology trying to take over and to take down Kratos, the last remnant of the Greek pantheon.
The combat is the worst in the franchise.To explain why:-
-Rage meter
-Goatmen
-Parry system
No but I was referring to this game.I'll just edit the OP to make it clearer.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Time to move onto Roman Gods and finally Norse Gods. Three game arc for each.
It seems that they did what to do after GOW3 until very late into their pre-production phase which screams to me uncertainty in the franchise.
Santa Monica, if you are reading this, you did a good job with GOW:A, but do not go fourth with Kratos. Its time to build a brand new character in a brand new mythology. Kratos's story has finished. Refresh the franchise.
Santa Monica, if you are reading this, you did a good job with GOW:A, but do not go fourth with Kratos. Its time to build a brand new character in a brand new mythology. Kratos's story has finished. Refresh the franchise.
GrotesqueBeauty
Banned
Uh...
Im a Manatee
Member
Time for egypt and kratos getting flung through a portal
dancingphlower
Member
This series has worn out its welcome by being stagnant. Kratos is such a static character; they really need a more compelling character for us to play as. Reboot the series with Norse or Egyptian mythology.
The Roman gods were the Greek ones with a name swap, sounds about right for the games industry!
Sounds next-gen.
BrainZEROX
Member
Norse is the worse Mythology to go after if people want something new. Every fantasy based game is more or less based on or inspired by Norse mythology which makes it over represented in video games. Santa Monica should try something more "unique".
I actually think that might be a really subversive and cool situation if they played their cards right. They could essentially do a BioShock Infinite style multiverse thing with it and essentially reboot the series without rebooting it.
I mean the possibilities alone with playing around with peoples expectations would be really awesome.
No more Kratos! For the love of all things good (and evil)!
Anyone familiar with Virgin Comics (later Liquid Comics)? It was a superhero universe that derived heavily on Indian and other Asian mythologies. While it didn't last long (launching an all-new comics universe in the west is incredibly brutal), it has some great, fresh takes on the whole gods-among-men type of stories.
I want GoW to relaunch in an eastern-mythology based universe. The games are a lot of fun to play but greek and roman mythology is so very tired at this point.
Anyone familiar with Virgin Comics (later Liquid Comics)? It was a superhero universe that derived heavily on Indian and other Asian mythologies. While it didn't last long (launching an all-new comics universe in the west is incredibly brutal), it has some great, fresh takes on the whole gods-among-men type of stories.
I want GoW to relaunch in an eastern-mythology based universe. The games are a lot of fun to play but greek and roman mythology is so very tired at this point.
Kratos was fine in the first game. He was silly and nobody thought of taking the story seriously. It felt tongue in cheek.
And then the sequels happened.
I played through the game with a mate, but, yeah, it just wasn't particularly interesting or engaging -- an aura of "been there, done that" permeates the entire campaign. As I've said in other GoW-related threads, the series needs to switch mythologies to grab my attention again.
mysteriousmage09
Member
Time for Egyptian mythology SSM.
Dragon1893
Member
As someone who is a huge GoW fan and hasn't touched the MP because I don't have the time to truly dedicate myself to a competitive game, it's disappointing to know that the campaign suffered because of it.
Even though the main character and setting are clearly overused at this point, I saw potential in the Fury plot and the art direction which is indeed beautiful and much more pleasing to the eyes than Gow3's.
The problem is that nothing happens in terms of plot, it's completely irrelevant to the saga's storyline.
As for the game itself, it feels like they completely blew their load on the first and last boss. GoW3, like the previous games, had several epic confrontations throughout the game, the first fight is obviously a highlight but you also have
, which are all amazing in their own way.
Ascension has more bosses of course but they are human sized and completely forgettable.
Some of the locations you visit are among the most beautiful in the series and the scale is absolutely amazing and this to me was the strongest aspect of the game.
There is an obvious lack of polish which is really surprising and disappointing for a GoW game. Sound issues in particular plague the game to this day.
The time manipulation was a nice addition but I feel it wasn't used to its full potential for puzzles.
It's a solid game and would've blown people away if GoW3 hadn't come before it but they should've moved out of 3's shadow by doing something different and MP sure as hell wasn't the answer to that.
Everyone agreed that it would've been a waste to only use that amazing engine for one game but it ended up being one GoW too many.
The fact that they already had the tech in place and still struggled to complete the game even though they had the same time they had for GoW3 tells us all we need to know about the impact MP had on the quality of the campaign, these quotes confirm it without a doubt:
What I find surprising is that ND were allowed to come up with something new to avoid frustrating their members with non-stop uncharted sequel production but SSM just keep churning out GoWs.
We know they are working on a new IP for the PS4 but the Ascension team should've been allowed to pursue something fresh as well. Then they could make another GoW for PS4 and it would feel fresh because of the possibilities of the new hardware and the amount of time that would have passed.
Now I don't think I can even get excited for a PS4 GoW, the franchise fatigue is too big.
Edit: Ascension tells us that Egyptian mythology co-exists with the GoW universe, why didn't they explore that in this game instead of dropping a note on a dead NPC and make us go "OK...?"
Even though the main character and setting are clearly overused at this point, I saw potential in the Fury plot and the art direction which is indeed beautiful and much more pleasing to the eyes than Gow3's.
The problem is that nothing happens in terms of plot, it's completely irrelevant to the saga's storyline.
As for the game itself, it feels like they completely blew their load on the first and last boss. GoW3, like the previous games, had several epic confrontations throughout the game, the first fight is obviously a highlight but you also have
Hades, Hercules and Cronos
Ascension has more bosses of course but they are human sized and completely forgettable.
Some of the locations you visit are among the most beautiful in the series and the scale is absolutely amazing and this to me was the strongest aspect of the game.
There is an obvious lack of polish which is really surprising and disappointing for a GoW game. Sound issues in particular plague the game to this day.
The time manipulation was a nice addition but I feel it wasn't used to its full potential for puzzles.
It's a solid game and would've blown people away if GoW3 hadn't come before it but they should've moved out of 3's shadow by doing something different and MP sure as hell wasn't the answer to that.
Everyone agreed that it would've been a waste to only use that amazing engine for one game but it ended up being one GoW too many.
The fact that they already had the tech in place and still struggled to complete the game even though they had the same time they had for GoW3 tells us all we need to know about the impact MP had on the quality of the campaign, these quotes confirm it without a doubt:
What I find surprising is that ND were allowed to come up with something new to avoid frustrating their members with non-stop uncharted sequel production but SSM just keep churning out GoWs.
We know they are working on a new IP for the PS4 but the Ascension team should've been allowed to pursue something fresh as well. Then they could make another GoW for PS4 and it would feel fresh because of the possibilities of the new hardware and the amount of time that would have passed.
Now I don't think I can even get excited for a PS4 GoW, the franchise fatigue is too big.
Edit: Ascension tells us that Egyptian mythology co-exists with the GoW universe, why didn't they explore that in this game instead of dropping a note on a dead NPC and make us go "OK...?"
Dragon1893
Member
You can use that logic for any game available digitally which is most games these days.
It's dirt cheap now and definitely worth it at that price.
nelsonroyale
Member
The game was okay, but I am passed tired of Kratos.
Actually, they could have just released the final battle as DLC and I would have rated it the same. Last battle looked spectacular, but the rest suffered from a severe lack of ambition.
No more God of War!
Actually, they could have just released the final battle as DLC and I would have rated it the same. Last battle looked spectacular, but the rest suffered from a severe lack of ambition.
No more God of War!
awesomebro
Member
It should have been a vita game. IMO
edgardavids
Member
I'm still not even sure why this game needed to exist. Hopefully santa monica is moving onto a new ip by now.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
I'm in the keep kratos but move to different mythology, We are all set up in tents outside the Entirely new character and mythology town.
That said, Damn GoW ascension really felt like they tried to evolve the series in the wrong direction.
That said, Damn GoW ascension really felt like they tried to evolve the series in the wrong direction.
Chuck Norris
Banned
Move on to a new character and a new Setting. Kratos hasn't grown as a character since the first game. He is really just a terrible character and a new setting won't change him
A fresh start will help the IP immensely
A fresh start will help the IP immensely
Robot Pants
Member
Combat wasnt great. The story is basically non-existent.
MP is worth your time for about two matches.
Very disappointed in the game. Looked amazing though.
MP is worth your time for about two matches.
Very disappointed in the game. Looked amazing though.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Keep Kratos, but move on to a new mythology.
Gimme dat norse GoW.
Gimme dat norse GoW.
Chuck Norris
Banned
Yeah just what we need, the same repetitive gameplay with a new coat of paint
fatgamecat
Member
I liked the combat in Ascension. No more easy GoW3 style parries, rage meter encouraged you to not get hit, and you can't grab spam or stunlock juggle every enemy you come across.
