"Pre-order God of War: Ascension and receive the Mythological Heroes Multiplayer Pack bonus for your game. Follow in the footsteps of some of ancient Greece's greatest mythological heroes in the new God of War: Ascension multiplayer mode. Don the armor of Achilles, Perseus, Orion and Odysseus as you strive to become a true champion of the gods. Codes will be e-mailed within two days after release date. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com. This offer will be extended to all existing pre-orders."
At a cost of $79.99, $20 more than your average new PS3 game, you may be asking what extra goodies you'll be getting. Feast your eyes...
What are you looking at exactly? That would be an "Exclusive 8 Kratos Statue, a steelbook case, the official soundtrack, avatars, a dynamic theme, a code for double multiplayer XP, and a pass for 'all future DLC releases.'"
With Zeus biting the big one at the end of God of War 3, what gods are left for the Ghost of Sparta to take on? Well, none, actually. Which is why Ascension is a prequel that sees Kratos still under control of the original God of war, Ares. What else do we know? Game Informer was kind enough to provide the scoop, which you can read all about below.
* A group of Furies - female chthonic deities of vengeance - will be the game's main antagonists.
* A combat mechanic called tethering will allow players to grab enemies with Kratos' blades of chaos. Kratos will be able to drag these enemies around the environment while fighting other foes or throw tethered enemies into environmental objects.
* Kratos will now be able to pick up weapons scattered around the environment or stuck into fallen foes and then use them in combat. So far Sony has shown off swords, javelins, and clubs, but there will likely be many more objects that will allow Kratos to dismember his enemies. Players will only be able to pick up one world weapon at a time, but they will be common enough that players can replace them readily if, for example, they lose a weapon by throwing at a foe.
* Kratos acquires a new power called the Life Cycle, which allows him to rewind objects within the environment. This is an isolated event, locked to specific areas in the environment, but Kratos will be able to use it to rewind or pause falling objects in order to clamber over them. Kratos will also be able to use this Life Cycle power during combat, knocking enemies into the air and causing them to fall slowly back to the ground.
* God of War: Ascension features a simplified UI. Many quick time events have been simplified so that players will be able to instinctively react to interactive mini-game like events. A giant circle button no longer spins over enemies heads. Instead, when enemies are weakened they will shimmer with a golden halo and Kratos will be able to take them out with a brutal takedown attack. Once a red halo appears over an enemy they are nearly dead.
Be patient, because you won't see God of War: Ascension until March 13th, 2013. Get ready for a loooooooong winter...
