![god of war ascension alecto god of war ascension alecto](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pZRMIOcGHJY/maxresdefault.jpg)
With the PS3 nearing the end of its console cycle, my mind kept wandering back to the PlayStation 2 release of God of War 2, which came out in 2007 (only a few months after the PS3 launch).
#GOD OF WAR ASCENSION ALECTO TV#
I almost had to turn away from the TV after seeing the gruesome animations play out many times: brains popping out of elephant men’s skulls after Kratos cuts them wide open, the way that two bloody halves of what was once a gorgon just hang in the air after he executes it, and how the cyclops desperately clings to life even as its entrails spill out of its stomach. It particularly works well with the over-the-top violence. Aside from odd quirks (like pixelated birds flying next to an otherwise beautiful backdrop of the ocean), God of War: Ascension is one of the best looking PS3 games I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t hurt that Ascension has a near-flawless visual presentation.
![god of war ascension alecto god of war ascension alecto](http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130403032759/godofwar/images/4/40/Charybids.jpg)
Despite the word’s overuse, “awesome” is the only description I can think of that aptly fits the sensation of seeing these set pieces in motion. While I fought a bunch of smaller enemies on a constantly moving platform, the Hecatonchires kept trying to swallow us with his disgusting maw filled with sharp fangs and spider-like legs - Kratos and company looked like mere ants in comparison. This is the domain of Ascension’s three main villains, the Furies (sisters who act as judge, jury, and executioner for anyone who betrays a blood-oath to the gods). Ascension wastes no time in getting to the good stuff: Within the first hour, I was fighting the hundred-arm Hecatonchires, a menacing giant whose body served as the foundation for a prison. God of War’s most distinguishing characteristic has always been its sense of scale, with Kratos fighting legendary monsters who can seem as large as entire cities. It preserves the hack-n-slash spectacle from the games before it, but it also adds cinematic tweaks that make you forget that what you’re seeing is running on a nearly 7-year-old console. That alone should tell you that Ascension is a slightly different beast from the rest of its ilk. So vulnerable, in fact, that he doesn’t even engage in any tongue-in-cheek sex minigames, which has been in every other God of War so far. He’s self-reflective, haunted by visions of a past he doesn’t understand, and he’s also (dare I say it) vulnerable. Join gaming leaders live this October 25-26 in San Francisco to examine the next big opportunities within the gaming industry.īut to the developers’ credit, we do see a side of Kratos that’s never been shown before.