God of War: An element of humanity

Kratos is back to do what he does best: chop down wave after wave of enemies. Photo / Supplied

Kratos will return next year in an adventure that may be more evolutionary than revolutionary.

The God of War series has delivered a lot of severed limbs and Medusa heads since it first burst onto the stage in 2005 on the PS2. A mix of slick controls, rewarding combat, and highly polished art direction made Kratos one of the most loved anti-heroes in gaming history. However, after watching the trailer at E3, I couldn't help but think that not a lot has changed in the seven years since its conception.

While the visuals continue to get better with each iteration, the basic gameplay seems untouched.

This isn't necessarily a terrible thing, and one could repeat the timeless 'if it ain't broke, why fix it' line, but thel introduction of a multiplayer mode makes me wonder if the developers are concerned that their tried and true formula might need a shake up as well.

Like a few other games on show at E3, this new God of War game is a prequel to the original, and takes place around six months after the death of Kratos' family. Gone is his ash-coloured skin, and the younger Kratos has an element of humanity to him now, rather than the burning hatred we've seen in earlier games. However, this doesn't mean that our anti-hero is afraid of killing. Ascension is still packed full of brutal, eye-watering violence.

In fact, the over-the-top gore is almost a parody of itself. How is it that I can watch an elephant-man have open-air brain surgery via Kratos' flaming blade and not be shocked or surprised? The cruelty to animals in this game is staggering. I know these are mythologically inspired creations, but you still can't help but feel sorry for some goat-man who gets his organs juggled.

Kratos wastes little time in decimating wave after wave of foes. On top of his fiery chained blades, Kratos can now pick up weapons from his enemies and use them, each with their own unique attacks and finishing moves. We saw him grab a giant sword from a minotaur-thing, before going to town on his torso with it; with every gruesome detail carefully showcased. Ascension is a beautiful game, albeit a rather gratuitous one. But then again, this is why we love God of War - right?

There are other new features in the campaign mode of Ascension to mention. The Rage mode, introduced in earlier games, now plays a much bigger part, and is easier to charge up and deploy for ultimate carnage. Also the quick-time prompts are now a lot cleaner.

To further the cinematic feel, a lot of the 'finish him' sequences don't even use prompts, instead the game expects players to intuitively push buttons and dodge attacks without any visual cues. It's a welcome change and helps remove that repetitive 'now push circle, now wiggle your stick' chore that plagued the previous games.

Finally, Ascension also introduces a plot device that allows Kratos to reverse time, known as the Life Cycle ability. With it, he can build or decay structures around him and even freeze and hover enemies in a helpless manner before he decides to rip them a new one.

The singleplayer mode doesn't look like it will disappoint, and true fans will find some new subtle changes that should keep them happy.

More details on the multiplayer will be announced soon as well, but already at this stage we can confirm that Kratos will not be a playable character. Instead, players will create their own warrior and align themselves with one of four Gods (Ares, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades), each with their own perks and special abilities.

It might not prove to be revolutionary, but then it could just be that evolution is all we want from the God of War. We'll find out either way next year.

- NZGAMER.COM