The God of War franchise has always been known for its strong single player campaigns, with their excellent boss fights and engrossing storylines. But after Sony Santa Monica revealed yesterday that God of War: Ascension will have a multiplayer mode, people (understandably) freaked out. With franchises like Mass Effect and Dead Space recently having made the unthinkable jump to multiplayer, it wasn’t a big shock to find out that God of War was doing the same. But there was one tiny difference- when we came to think of it, multiplayer actually made sense in both those series (even though the online component of Dead Space is terrible). But how do you fit multiplayer in a series like God of War?
I had some of the same doubts, but after Sony revealed some multiplayer screenshots and we even got to see it in action, my doubts vanished. I can now safely say that I think multiplayer will work very well in the upcoming GoW prequel. Why, you say? Here’s why-
Santa Monica is doing it in a way that fits with the nature of the series
If you’ve read the details and seen the video (both linked above), both of which shed some light on what the multiplayer in God of War: Ascension will be like, then you probably know that Santa Monica Studios won’t just be giving us a typical team deathmatch or capture the flag affair (they couldn’t even if they wanted to… I mean, how do you do that in God of War?). The gameplay seems to be keeping true to the nature and spirit of the series, and it doesn’t seem like the devs are deviating too much from what makes the action so good.
If anyone can do something so crazy, it’s Sony Santa Monica
Sure, BioWare managed to implement multiplayer in Mass Effect in a way that made sense, and sure, 343 Industries might be radically overhauling the multiplayer of Halo, but none of those tasks are anywhere near as crazy as implementing competitive multiplayer in a God of War game. I mean, co-op would have made a ton of sense, especially if the game focusses on Kratos and his brother, but since that isn’t the case, this seems like an especially monumental task. But it’s Sony Santa Monica! They’ve proven over the years that they have what it takes to do the impossible and defy all conventions. So let’s wait and watch.
The multiplayer bosses are going to be awesome
God of War is known, first and foremost, for its brutality and the super-angry Kratos, of course. But something else it’s particularly popular because of are the epic, mind blowing, large scale boss battles. From the Minotaur and Hydra in God of War 1 to the Colossus and Kraken in God of War 2 to Cronos and Posiedon in God of War 3 and the Scylla and the Persian king in Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus respectively, every boss battle in the God of War series is something exceptional. Learning the fact that the multiplayer in GoW: Ascension will be centred around similar awesome boss battles made me giddy as a schoolboy. Who doesn’t love boss battles in GoW games?
