In God of War: Ascension, Sony Santa Monica will tell the story of Kratos the man, and the events leading up to his rise as the God of War. It’s not a new idea for old franchises to re-invent themselves and tell new stories that further elaborate on a game’s over-arching plot lines, but Sony Santa Monica believes that the directional shift is a more satisfying experience than before.
In a recent interview, God of War Ascension’s lead designer explains that multiple variables have spurred this switch in story telling for the upcoming game and thinks fans and newcomers alike will enjoy the change in pace.
“It’s definitely not a response to criticism,” says Mark Simon of Sony Santa Monica. “It is a response to the direction. Todd Papy’s direction has been to push Kratos in more of a human nature, and that goes across all aspects of the design, and the story, and everything that he does…I think it’s because he wants to tell a different side to the hero. That might be a reaction to criticism; that might be the story that Todd wants to tell. But I think in the end , I think for a fan of the series, and I think for people who play games in general, I think it’s more satisfying as well, because then you have a little bit more you can relate to. It’s not so one-dimensional,” Simon told Gamasutra.
God of War: Ascension is shaping up to be much different than the 2010 release of God of War III. The inclusion of multiplayer, and the shift of story telling perspective will make this one title that should definitely be on the radar for PlayStation fans as we get closer to the proposed early 2013 release.
