God of War (2018): How to reinvent a beloved series without ruining what works
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Looking forward to this game. I don't normally preorder but SOTC and this game have been my exceptions. The frame rate thing is a bit of a bummer but I'm sure Sony will push patches soon.
Thank you for the review.
Thank you for the review.
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Reminds me that ~10 years ago I bought my PS3 just to play GoW (first with PS2 bacwards compatibility, later the PS3 versions). Don't know if I should do the same with the PS4.
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"Kratos' early interactions with Atreus all amount to this kind of monosyllabic, condescending, tough-guy warrior-advice, which really grates after a while. The pair act less like father and son and more like a reluctant teacher with his uncooperative student."
Kratos being prwtty much like an warrior father of old instead of a whiny clingy helicopter dad like today? The terribleness.
I fucking hated the comic prince of Persia where they transformed the prince onto a wise cracking Nathan Drake and the princess into the stereotypical strong female character.
I want to have a game where a Mongol lord is gracious in battle but doesn't wax about the terribleness of War or inequality or any of those things Mongol lords definitely didn't give a damn about.
Kratos being prwtty much like an warrior father of old instead of a whiny clingy helicopter dad like today? The terribleness.
I fucking hated the comic prince of Persia where they transformed the prince onto a wise cracking Nathan Drake and the princess into the stereotypical strong female character.
I want to have a game where a Mongol lord is gracious in battle but doesn't wax about the terribleness of War or inequality or any of those things Mongol lords definitely didn't give a damn about.
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it'd be nice if I could actually play co-op with my son, he's just getting big enough to handle that much gore...
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The problem with being a Soulslite is that it carries with it significant expectations on how a game should feel, and they almost always fall short.
It's good to see a game that actually manages to riff on the Souls formula and succeed.
It's good to see a game that actually manages to riff on the Souls formula and succeed.
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I loved the previous God of War - games when I played them on my ex's PS2 and then on my own PS3. I'm not going to buy a PS4 just for one game, so it makes me a sad panda to know that none of these games will ever come to PC 
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Amen! Did the same thing! Bought the ps3 with backwards compat, then played through GoW and GoW2 prior to GoW3 releasing. Awesome.
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The article mentions poor PS4 Pro performance, but doesn’t say anything about regular PS4. Does anyone know how it fares?
[edit]: According to Polygon:
For PS4 Pro users, God of War offers a display mode with 4K resolution, but it had frame-rate issues in our tests. The game was also tested by the Polygon team on a standard PS4 and exhibited no major performance issues.
[edit]: According to Polygon:
For PS4 Pro users, God of War offers a display mode with 4K resolution, but it had frame-rate issues in our tests. The game was also tested by the Polygon team on a standard PS4 and exhibited no major performance issues.
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I would rather like a mechanic like the perfect evade system from Neir Automata than Souls constantly rolling, look for an opening slash once or twice, roll away, try to parry , die.
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PlayStation Now?I loved the previous God of War - games when I played them on my ex's PS2 and then on my own PS3. I'm not going to buy a PS4 just for one game, so it makes me a sad panda to know that none of these games will ever come to PC
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Why preorder anything ever? Who cares what they've done in the past, there's still absolutely 0 reason to preorder. You're not a "bigger fan" or whatever for doing so.
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You get that much information out of the twenty-second ad spot that Sony is airing. It's not a spoiler, its the entire hook for the game.
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PlayStation Now?I loved the previous God of War - games when I played them on my ex's PS2 and then on my own PS3. I'm not going to buy a PS4 just for one game, so it makes me a sad panda to know that none of these games will ever come to PC
Oh, I didn't know that was available for PCs. That's pretty cool, I'll keep that in mind in case they add this new game to the available selection. Spanks!
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Thanks for the heads up. Good to know for those of us still clinging on to the base hardware.
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Genuine question: What is the difference between "Buy it" verdict and a "Ars Approved" badge? Can I assume "Buy it" means >= 8, while Ars Approved >= 9?
No every one has different opinions, and it's fine that Ars does not give the badge to the game, but with a very well reviewed game like this (Averaging 94-95/100), I did expect the badge.
No every one has different opinions, and it's fine that Ars does not give the badge to the game, but with a very well reviewed game like this (Averaging 94-95/100), I did expect the badge.
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Should I tell you that Jesus dies at the end of the Bible or did you plan to read it for yourself?
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I'm anti-spoiler as well, but I don't see how saying "In this game, you're a Dad of War" is much of a spoiler. We don't know what exactly he gets up to in Scandanavia (beyond scattering his wife's ashes). I hope it involves poking out Odin's other eye in the first stage, so they know who Kratos is. We'll encounter Thor in Dad of War 2.
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We played that ten years ago. Why do the same thing over again when they can try something new?
Which brings me to my next point... I'm very interested in the change of scenery for this game. I love the idea of Kratos being a shadowy figure moving throughout the various mythologies of history, doing the dirty work that no one wants to do and trying to preserve his independence. They've already announced that the next game will also be in the Norse mythology, but I'd be happy to see Kratos move again after that. Central/South America seem like an obvious choice, but there should be even more opportunities beyond.
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I've heard good things about Monster Hunter World's. Horizon: Zero Dawn was an amazing game. There are plenty of upcoming games worth checking out.
I bought a PS4 this past Xmas season with only 2 games I wanted to play (last of us, horizon), knowing full well that a whole barrel of games were coming down the pipeline. If you're literally only interested in god of war, well then that is a sadness indeed. But I'd look into the library somewhat to see if there are other games that pique your interest.
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Anything in particular in mind? At first I thought of ancient Egypt and their gods, but then I started to think that something more exotic would be cool and it would provide a neat way of teaching people of more foreign myths, like I dunno, some ancient Inca-stuff, maybe?
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I've always been much keener on sci-fi than fantasy-style games, so GoW has never been something I've tried. But, this looks like a top quality game, and the type that I like - single player with a good story and character development.
Funny how the tables have turned in the Xbox/PS4 wars. Early on, the Xbox was weaker hardware but (in my opinion) had a better selection of good quality exclusives, that were good to play as well as being pretty. Nowadays my One X feels like a wasted purchase - better hardware, but nothing special to play on it. Luckily I still have my base PS4 to play on.
Funny how the tables have turned in the Xbox/PS4 wars. Early on, the Xbox was weaker hardware but (in my opinion) had a better selection of good quality exclusives, that were good to play as well as being pretty. Nowadays my One X feels like a wasted purchase - better hardware, but nothing special to play on it. Luckily I still have my base PS4 to play on.
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Writing this review and reading other available God of War reviews must be like passing a kidney stone for pc-only folk. LoL. Awesome game, most likely game of the decade. Kyle did his best to down play but failed.
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I am mixed on this - I was reallllly hoping there would be no skill trees when the talk of souls-like combat was mentioned. (EDIT - I really like the weapons defining the skills, like souls, or even monster hunter )
I have also been curious about the level design - is it really just mostly press forward to get to the end? I get theres random stuff to find, but if its basic with pretty dressing ... (what I am getting at is, does it have really well bit intricate levels like a souls game or does it at least open up to have a searchable field like rise of the tomb raider, rather than being a corridor with stuff off to the sides)
I have also been curious about the level design - is it really just mostly press forward to get to the end? I get theres random stuff to find, but if its basic with pretty dressing ... (what I am getting at is, does it have really well bit intricate levels like a souls game or does it at least open up to have a searchable field like rise of the tomb raider, rather than being a corridor with stuff off to the sides)
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I am curious, why you even thought this kind of post was worth posting?
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Maybe they wanted to take advantage of the 20% savings some places offer for pre-ordering? I don't see any issue with pre-ordering from a well developed franchise - you already know what you're getting [with maybe a few slight changes].
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The fuck are you talking about? I made two points:
1) this game looks so good that despite it not being my kind of thing, it looks well worth a go
2) the PS4 is on a roll with top quality exclusives at the moment. And the Xbox is not.
If you bother to read my post properly it's clear I own both consoles, and want good games for them both. How is that "dick wagging"?
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I guess naming the game "God Of War Jr." was not a great marketing tactic...
(hype train is a'rollin with this title...)
(hype train is a'rollin with this title...)
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This is BETTER than Souls. The issue is reviews describe anything slower and methodical as a knockoff of dark souls. Souls combat is nowhere near as cinematic, as dramatic, as spectacular and as immaculately animated as anything in God of War.
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I actually can't comprehend what you're trying to tell me now, so let's just leave this one. But don't say "I am curious, why you even thought this kind of post was worth posting?" to me again.
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[trollhide=No off topic trolling plz]But is this game an effective social and political commentary on Donald Trump and the alt-right? I know that's how I judge video games.[/trollhide]
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