After the announcement of multiplayer modes for God of War Ascension, from a press conference last week, the Sony blog has featured a live stream this afternoon, granting fans a first glimpse at what they might expect for the series’ first endeavour in competitive Hack’n'Slash as well as some tidbits on the main story.

Game Director of the new title by Santa Monica, Todd Papy, sat down with Jeff Rubenstein from the Playstation Blog to talk about what we can expect from Kratos’ latest adventure, while focusing on the addition of PvP to the franchise.

While players can be sure to see some new gameplay additions to the single player, alongside a deeper insight in the famous Spartan’s family and an altered design of the protagonist, Papy explained that it is important for now to focus on the multiplayer, as it is the new territory the series is treading on.

Giving the user an individual experience plays a major role in Ascension’s competitive modes, allowing for fully customisable armour, body paint and tattoos, next to the selection of “god factions” allowing for more distinctive gear, specials and attacks. As of now, the gods which are planned to be made available include Hades, Zeus, Poseidon and Ares, leaving the open if we are looking at further idols being released via DLC.

A main focus for Santa Monica was to take the God of War experience and filter out its essence so that when taking the game online, the gameplay felt familiar but more accessible for combat between human players. For this traversal has been sped up and made more open with walls featuring cracks and ledges reminiscent of Uncharted, which Papy admits to being a guideline. Other influences include classics like Powerstone and various Fighters.

When I first heard, we would be able to take our Blades of Chaos to the test in online modes I had some doubts. Attempts in the past, and also quite recent ones, have shown that Brawlers and Hack’n'Slash games don’t necessarily lend themselves quite well to fights between actual players.

Ninja Gaiden 3‘s competitive mode is a prime example on how excellent single player gameplay can have difficulties making the transition to multiplayer. Just as in God of War, the issue at hand was that the frantic fighting system found in such titles has gamers dodging across the screen before acquiring a target to unleash massive combos that leave you immobile and vulnerable for a follow up attack.

Although the footage shown didn’t quite diminish my previous concerns, the talk about a possible cooperative horde mode sounds brutally brilliant. When looking back at the roots of these Action titles, for instance Golden Axe or even Streets of Rage, thinking about the addition of coop modes seems obvious.

I personally believe regardless of what footage is released, the final verdict on Santa Monica’s take on Hack’n'Slash multiplayer can’t be given until we get our hands on it, until then it is only speculation.

God of War Ascension is supposed to receive several announcements as its still unannounced launch comes closer, in an attempt to keep fans interested but not unveiling too much at once. For now the next best thing we can look forward to is E3, where we can be sure to see the Debut of Kratos in his latest rampage.

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