God of War: Ascension PS3

In the first part of 2012, PlayStation caught the world off guard when it announced a new God of War game. Well, it wasn’t the fact that God of War: Ascension was coming that surprised; it was that the next console game in the series would focus on multiplayer.

Since then, developer Sony Santa Monica has shown the single- player, set the story about 10 years before the first God of War, and talked at length about showcasing Kratos' journey from man to god, but multiplayer has always dominated the conversation. At shows like E3 and Comic-Con, the multiplayer demo is the one the company is showing. While it’s been media blackout since E3 for the most part, Sony's talking multiplayer when it allows something like the social game slip.

A recent trip to Santa Monica HQ -- the same that brought us new PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal’s impressions -- gave IGN another chance to play God of War: Ascension’s multiplayer and talk to the minds behind it.

MULTIPLAYER THAT MATTERS

As I said in the on-location PlayStation conversation above, it's the nerdy video game angles that get me excited for God of War: Ascension multiplayer. Sure, the combat's fluid, strategically parrying is rewarding, and kicking another player into a spiked wall for the kill rocks, but I get excited for when the match ends and the XP meters fill in. Leveling your character gives you access to better gear, and then that gear begins earning its own experience points and unlocking different buffs and stats.

In the very beginning of the mode you swear allegiance to a god, and that give you a number of benefits and limitations. Ares-born players are great at melee and fire-based attacks, but Zeus' troops specialize in lightning and hammer attacks. When you layer on a magic bonus from a helm and an attack bonus from a rare sword, the cast of characters starts to get really deep.

And I mean, who doesn't love hurling a giant hammer into a crowd of foes?

FROM OLYMPUS

IGN's written a lot about God of War: Ascension in the last -- and you're encouraged toread and watch every word -- but for how things have been going since we lasted checked in, why not watch my interview with game director Todd Papy? I'll even ask him a PlayStation All-Stars question for you... we'll also spell his name wrong in the video, but we're working on fixing that. Sorry, Todd!

SCREENSHOTS OF THE GODS

Still not enough God of War goodness for you? PlayStation also released the following screenshots for you to feast your eyes on.