God Of War Ascension PS3

[Sigfried1977]

I presume you mean the presentation where you see the tentacles snapping a galleon in half in the distance, and where they show off Kratos's time-controlling powers. That's not the demo on PSN.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Played the PSN demo. 60 HZ is nice, but it wasn't solid. The actual visuals were pretty simplistic and looked very 'computer gamey'. The scale is the main design point, but I felt that the camera was often too zoomed out and I had no idea where I was and what I was doing. But as you can just button mash and don't need to dodge or block, that's not a problem.

 

[Billy Idol]

Demo wasn't that great imo. First time a GOW game did not instantly wow me...is also a bit unfair as I am just playing Crysis3 on very high to judge graphics, but especially sound and music was lacking/missing/ to silent.

We need new consoles.

 

[Sigfried1977]

We need better game design. Or at least different game design. New consoles aren't gonna change a damn thing besides making old shit look slightly newer again. Seriously, the visuals are the least of GOW3's problems. It's still a fantastic looking game. It's just been done to death. That series has blown its load. Fighting random hand-bug-thingie at 1080p/60 with glitzier shader work still isn't going to measure up to fighting Poseidon.

 

[Cornsnake]

After the first 20 minutes I've seen on Youtube, the demo which I assume is what was at Gamescom, looks almost like a God of War 1 tribute level/ remake.

It's not the same level as the Gamescom demo. This level is a lot like the Poseidon fight in GoW3, only Poseidon is replaced with a giant ugly green insect monster. That and the Poseidon fight was simply better.

We need better game design. Or at least different game design. New consoles aren't gonna change a damn thing besides making old shit look slightly newer again. Seriously, the visuals are the least of GOW3's problems. It's still a fantastic looking game. It's just been done to death. That series has blown its load. Fighting random hand-bug-thingie at 1080p/60 with glitzier shader work still isn't going to measure up to fighting Poseidon.

The series really has nowhere left to go. The story hasn't been good since GoW1, and Kratos has become the most one note character imaginable. The gameplay has always stayed the same, only more spectacular to look at. The existing games aren't going anywhere, so make something new instead. I'm sure that whatever they make it'll look great aswell.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Agreed. I really hope Sony lets them do something entirely new on PS4 (preferably something that's more than the sum of corporate buzz words) They've certainly earned themselves a Kratos break.

 

[Billy Idol]

For me, gameplay is GOWs least problem...

 

[Angelcurio]

Played the PSN demo. 60 HZ is nice, but it wasn't solid. The actual visuals were pretty simplistic and looked very 'computer gamey'. The scale is the main design point, but I felt that the camera was often too zoomed out and I had no idea where I was and what I was doing. But as you can just button mash and don't need to dodge or block, that's not a problem.

I had the same problems with the demo. For some reason i think that the game actually looks worse than GOW III. The Poseidon level and fight in GOW III is still one of the most amazing scenes i have ever seen on videogames, and yet this demo looks extremely "gamey", still can't understant what actually does it make it look so weird.

In general terms, it definitely made me feel like everything about it was already done, they definitely need to either reboot the franchise with a new main character, or make Kratos batlle against other gods from other mythologies. Also i must admit that i missed the button prompts for finishing the enemies, the current system seems somewhat automated.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Fantastic demo ! The shaders and lighting on the last monster is just fantastic !

 

[Nesh]

I had the same problems with the demo. For some reason i think that the game actually looks worse than GOW III. The Poseidon level and fight in GOW III is still one of the most amazing scenes i have ever seen on videogames, and yet this demo looks extremely "gamey", still can't understant what actually does it make it look so weird.

In general terms, it definitely made me feel like everything about it was already done, they definitely need to either reboot the franchise with a new main character, or make Kratos batlle against other gods from other mythologies. Also i must admit that i missed the button prompts for finishing the enemies, the current system seems somewhat automated.

Felt the same. I must say that the visuals are still amazing and the lighting seems improved in many respects. Yet something was missing in the demo.

For one, the demo was more often at the 30fps mark, As a result it didnt have the fluidity of the previous games. The smooth framerate also made GoW3 very pleasing in the eye. This makes it even more frustrating when the camera is so far away that Kratos is the size of an ant. Its harder to spot my character when he is tiny, there are multiple characters on the same spot and the framerate is not smooth enough.

They also appeared to have paired down (at least in the demo) the number of light sources cast by Kratos' blades as well as the lighting emitted by the orbs. I have hopes that Kratos' blades will be able to cast more pronounced effects on other surfaces when he is upgraded. In GoW3 it was amazing how the blades' fire was reflected differently on each surface like metal objects etc. In the very same gif that you posted it shows the lighting from Kratos' blades cast on the beasts' face

The image quality is also inconsistent. MLAA works perfectly in areas and fails in others whereas in 3 the IQ was more consistent.

As an intro it is certainly not as strong as the fight in Olympus. Then again how can they compete the chaos in GOW3? Its a tough achievement to beat especially the fight with Poseidon.

They have run out of ideas.

In general though what was shown in the demo is quite an achievement

 

[Billy Idol]

Felt the same. I must say that the visuals are still amazing and the lighting seems improved in many respects. Yet something was missing in the demo.

For one, the demo was more often at the 30fps mark, As a result it didnt have the fluidity of the previous games. The smooth framerate also made GoW3 very pleasing in the eye. This makes it even more frustrating when the camera is so far away that Kratos is the size of an ant. Its harder to spot my character when he is tiny, there are multiple characters on the same spot and the framerate is not smooth enough.

They also appeared to have paired down (at least in the demo) the number of light sources cast by Kratos' blades as well as the lighting emitted by the orbs. I have hopes that Kratos' blades will be able to cast more pronounced effects on other surfaces when he is upgraded. In GoW3 it was amazing how the blades' fire was reflected differently on each surface like metal objects etc. In the very same gif that you posted it shows the lighting from Kratos' blades cast on the beasts' face

The image quality is also inconsistent. MLAA works perfectly in areas and fails in others whereas in 3 the IQ was more consistent.

As an intro it is certainly not as strong as the fight in Olympus. Then again how can they compete the chaos in GOW3? Its a tough achievement to beat especially the fight with Poseidon.

They have run out of ideas.

In general though what was shown in the demo is quite an achievement

I guess they need new hardware to go large scale while increasing the intensity. They are not out of ideas I do hope, simple limited by the hardware. Poseidon opening is nearly impossible to beat as well, which might be the reason something felt a bit off. I also hope that those bugs are gone throughout the game and don't return...

 

[Billy Idol]

Just got it from gamestop

Very slow start...but after the initial part (basically the demo), the game gets better and better...loving it so far. Game is not that easy, some additions to the combat are nice. Overall graphics are nice as well. Only issue so far: sound mixing is off. Needed 10min to adjust the setting. It's okish now, but a bit dissapointung as it drives the action on screen (music is way to subtle imo).

Now, more gaming...

 

[patsu]

Let me know what you think after you completed the game.

I'm replaying Dark Souls again in the mean time (Started NG++ a couple of days ago, already half way through).

 

[Billy Idol]

Only real issue so far is sound mixing. Sound, ambient effects and music lack punch. This is quite dramatic imo, as it does typically push me in battles. I really think at this stage that it is a bug in the game. I had the same issues with the demo...I wonder if it is possible to address in a patch. Everything else is really good so far.

 

[Billy Idol]

Oh boy, long gaming session, now some sleep. Besides the severe sound issues which are really a big let down and something I did not expect from SSM, game is (as expected) fantastic so far.

Graphics nice, especially all the human character models, settings very epic, framerate ok-ish, gameplay great as always...new combat feels fresh, although clearly vibes from all other GoW combat mechanics apparent, like a nice interpretation of a known song: it feels fresh and new, but familiar at the same time, you clearly understand what the designer had in mind. Puzzles are ok as well, I am a particular fan of GoW QTEs with all the cinematic drama and the extension of some to a 'free form' variant is cool.

An issue: story and Kratos character is not well told. Although I have probably played more than half of sp, I still cannot connect to the story. The other issue is the slow start of the game...not typical for a GoW game, and I hope that the next one really starts at 110% right from the beginning.

Oh, one last thing...either I am a bit rusty or the game is already a nice challenge on 'normal' mode. Some fights were rather close. I wonder if I will finish this part on titan as well...

And the last thing: lol, even GoW borrows from almighty Uncharted...there are some climbing passages a la Uncharted included. Uncharted must be the game with most influence on other games this gen...

 

[ultragpu]

Hey Billy, how does the Graphics compare to GOW3? I still haven't got the game yet but people were saying there aren't as many epic battles but the average level visual is higher, is that true?

 

[Arwin]

And the last thing: lol, even GoW borrows from almighty Uncharted...there are some climbing passages a la Uncharted included. Uncharted must be the game with most influence on other games this gen...

What's different from GoW3? Afaik GoW3 always had climbing sections?

 

[Cheezdoodles]

And the last thing: lol, even GoW borrows from almighty Uncharted...there are some climbing passages a la Uncharted included. Uncharted must be the game with most influence on other games this gen...

1. gow3 had climbing
2. uncharted didn't exactly invent climbing (although not many games I've seen make every other ledge break or take fire, in order to create "action", atleast not to the same extent as uncharted, where in the third iteration some sections get laughable after a while )
3. Uncharted influenced which games exactly? In any case, far from the biggest influence this gen. COD4 will always have that title, considering that every shooter made afterwards have copied it's xp and unlock system

Back to more important matters, the framerate isn't 60 anymore? (can't recall if it was like that for gow3 also)

 

[DonaldDuck]

GoWIII had a framerate that fluctuated from near 60 to around 40 fps in very busy playable areas.

Apart from this, there was the occasional drop in cutscenes till 30+ fps.

Nevertheless the game was pretty fluid from my point of view, which combined with its spectacular image quality made the game one of the highest pinacles of graphical excellence in PS3... the MLAA and the triple buffered output, the texture filtering was great.

To my eyes, the Ascension demo had the same high level of texture work, a really good IQ overall, but somehow the framerate was slightly lower in average than the previous installment.

Maybe that´s why the game seems rougher around the edges. I don´t know if the final version (that I´m going to get from my pre-order this evening) is a bit more polished.

Apart from that, taking into consideration the other examples of slashing games offered this generation, that´s it: Bayonetta (XTS version), Rising, Heavenly Sword, Dante´s Inferno (uncompromised 60 fps) or DMC4 (that had a really high and stable framerate), Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Sigma 2 (just to get the 720p resolution), to my taste the GoW engine is the more capable and to some extent complex... Bayonetta was astonishing offering layers and layers of transparencies, high amount of paticles, but the texture work, the NPC models, background, IQ (that tearing...), AA... was no so effective. And in the end both games had sub-60 fps in average.

I can understand some talking about what is more convenient: a pristine, simple but highly optimised output, with rock-solid framerate, high amount of pixels (Ridge Racer 7, 60fps 1080p native... DMC4, 720p, 60 fps...) or a more baroque engine.

GoW has the upper hand in that "other" kind of engines... the take no prisoners approach. It´s easy to forgive a bit of stuttering with that mindblowing environments and fantastic textures.

 

[DonaldDuck]

The job of making Kratos´ history consistent has to be a extreme source of nightmares to writers, just because the game has wildly traversed the greek mithology and has so many derivations already used than adding more content is almost out of the question.

It´s not to say that Homerus could have ended blinding its eyes looking into the bizarre Kratos´ path of destruction, brain-smashing and macho´s show of vigour capabilities, but... God () knows.

But, at the end... that´s what makes GoW so special. Kind of being a iconoclast punk dated 1000 BC. Why stop just globalization now? Going into the roots, the origins... and kill them all. Twice, if possible.