
Platform: PS3
Release Date: March 12, 2013

God of War is essentially the perfect video game trilogy. The original God of War exploded onto the scene and forever changed action games, bringing a fast, brutal take on Greek mythology wrapped up in a compelling personal story. The sequel maintained this sturdy foundation, streamlined it, and simultaneously raised the bar and the stakes in almost every department. God of War III took these stakes established in God of War II, jacked them up to the stratosphere, and closed out the series in the most satisfying way possible. Concerning both the narrative and the gameplay, this trilogy refined mechanics and escalated the story in such a fantastic, well-paced method, mercilessly forcing it within the most memorable in gaming’s franchises.
From the climax that was God of War III, it’s only natural to wonder where to go from the literal top of Mount Olympus. God of War: Ascension aims to answer this with the most prequel-y of prequels, predating every other God of War title. Kratos is still a man, one enslaved for his past mistakes and Ascension attempts to tell the story of this particular side of Kratos. Even though it bears the prestigious God of War name, Ascension feels like a generic, halfway competent competitor rather than one of the founding fathers of the hack and slash genre.
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