14 DAY TRIAL // God of War: Ascension might be the most fun I’ve had with a video game during E3 2012 when it comes to a versus mode, and Sony Santa Monica can be proud of how well they managed to bring the spirit of the franchise to the multiplayer space.
The concept is simple: players choose their weapons and a god they plan to serve and they then head into battle in order to score points, capture control areas, gain bonuses and, of course, kill the players on the opposing team.
The entire God of War combat system has been brought over, which means I got to use light, heavy and special attacks on enemy characters while also blocking their attacks and trying to get the timing right in order to deliver a counterattack.
The individual battles are fast and furious and it often feels unfair to have one or two other gamers gang up on you and use their own special abilities and grapple moves to quickly reduce your health.
In God of War: Ascension, death is not the end and that means revenge is always an option, with players running around the map (in this case a complex one with two levels and a Cyclops in the middle, teasing the player) and chasing their own killers in order to get a rematch.
The depth of the God of War combat system is fully implemented in the Ascension multiplayer and gamers need to be aware of their surroundings, parry, deliver magic at the right moment and try to always evade when they see a heavy or a special attack coming in.
The God of War: Ascension multiplayer is also very easy to pick up and enjoy and on my second full round I managed to get the end of round event, which allowed me to pick up a special weapon and end the game by stabbing a Cyclops in the eye in order to make my Spartan team victorious.