God of War 4

Discussion in 'Consoles & console games' started by WhiteLightning, Jun 14, 2016.

  1. metagamer

    metagamer Ancient Guru

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    Damn it, my local Tesco was sold out so no GoW for me today, might venture to town to see if I can find a copy.

    I'm in a similar boat to you guys above, I'm in my 40s now and I've been gaming since the Atari 2600 days so not many games grab me. I often just end up playing grindy games where I can switch the brain off and repeat something over and over.

    PS4 has the exclusives that have really grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, especially Infamous Second Son, which I thought was amazing, also some other games. And I loved GoW3, it was a great game. The single shot camera intrigues me, I find the idea of it really unique and I will be looking forward to playing the game tomorrow!
     
  2. Darren Hodgson

    Darren Hodgson Ancient Guru

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    Sorry but I am reminded so much of Dark Souls when playing God of War. It's nowhere near as punishing though; when you die in God of War, Atreus can resurrect you (once you reach a certain point) or you simply start from the last checkpoint with nothing lost (collectibles are retained for example). It's also nowhere near as hard as Dark Souls. However, the way the world is laid out around a hub area, the change in perspective to an over the shoulder camera, the lack of NPCs, all lend the game a Dark Souls-esque feel. IMO, this game is far better though; the narrative in the Dark Souls games was poor IMO and NPCs simply stood their reciting their lines, never moving... not even their lips!!! God of War feels like a Dark Souls game made for me; challenging but not unfairly punishing, all wrapped up in the best visual/aural presentation so far this generation IMO.
     
  3. Ghosty

    Ghosty Ancient Guru

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    Dadk Souls? Just the name gives me nightmares of rage inducing fury.
     
  4. drandiiski

    drandiiski Maha Guru

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    Yeah, I must admit there is a faint vibe that reminds me of DS. Did not want to mention it, because it has become such a cliché. And with that shoulder/trigger buttons mapping my muscle memory started going for the same buttons. Thanks god (of war) that you can switch the X and O buttons, because I went for the O every time I needed to dodge. Still trying to parry with the trigger though …
     

  5. Darren Hodgson

    Darren Hodgson Ancient Guru

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    Only certain aspects of it; the atmosphere and world design/hub area plus some parts of the combat (mostly because I've died, well, a lot! on Normal difficulty).

    Played a couple more hours last night. This is a game that just keeps on giving and it is so compelling in its narrative, world design and combat that it is very difficult to stop playing it. It's one of those games where I am deliberately going in the opposite direction to where the game's quest markers are pointing (and where Atreus helpfully runs to) and I just keep finding new things: collectibles, puzzles to solve, hidden areas, mini-bosses... it is just all so supremely entertaining, expertly crafted and compulsive to play. Cliched I know but I really don't want this game to ever end.
     
  6. Netherwind

    Netherwind Ancient Guru

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    I fired up the game last night and played for two hours.

    Graphics - I cannot believe how good this game looks and I would honestly say that it rivals many PC games out there. The Pro version obviously looks stunning in 4K and HDR, absolutely amazing! I often stop to watch the ground clutter with all dead leafs, small branches and other things. Every time the camera pans close to Kratos and his kid you see every muscle move, the lifelike skin and the detail on their clothes - it's nothing but breathtaking. And it's fantastic how they use sun shafts/god rays in such a great way, you feel so immersed. The only tiny detail would be the background textures which aren't fantastic.

    Performance - I must say that the motion blur does a great job hiding the fact that this is a 30fps game. I've watched the DF video where they say that dips are there although very rare but I've not seen any so far. I understand how demanding this game must be so I was afraid that the PS fan would go crazy here. Actually it runs rather quiet during normal game play but revs up in "cut scenes" and for some strange reason goes completely nuts when opening the map. I left it for a minute on the map and thought my PS4 would take off and fly somewhere. Spending time in the other menus is fine but the fans can go up too for no apparent reason.

    Sound - I wonder if long time fans are annoyed by the new voice actor here. I would have noticed it even if I didn't know it from the start but personally I think the new guy does a great job. His voice is dark enough to sound intimidating. The boys voice is...a bit out of place if you ask me. It's really "American" and contemporary which isn't quite in line with how Kratos speaks. Music and SFX are top of the line.

    Gameplay - Wow, this sure is different from the other games. I like having the camera "unlocked" but I still wish it was slightly farther away from his shoulder. The FoV gets narrow which is a problem when there are a many enemies at once which involves a lot of rolling/blocking. Kratos is a bit slow but I hope it gets better with skills later on. The game is more difficult than I thought but not unfair. I'm playing on Normal but would probably like to replay it on Hard.

    Verdict - An excellent game and a must buy for everyone that has a PS4 and likes the genre! I'd give it 9,3/10 since it's not perfect (but quite close).
     
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  7. Darren Hodgson

    Darren Hodgson Ancient Guru

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    Nice write up, Netherwind.

    One thing that helps the visuals stand out is the relative lack of HUD elements that are intelligently shown as needed (and can be switched off almost entirely if you set HUD to Immersive). Too many games have cluttered HUDs that distract from the sense of immersion as you play but in this game the HUD is just about perfect IMO.

    I also agree with about the voice of Atreus. While the standard of acting is absolutely excellent (as is all of the voice work in this game actually), the fact that he sounds so American is a bit jarring. Kratos is voiced by an Amercian actor - the guy who played Teall'c in Stargate SG-1, I believe - but his voice is brash and neutral sounding, much like his character from Stargate. I guess it is unfair to expect a child to change their accent but I think it may have been better had an English child been cast for the role. It seems to be a "thing" now to have people speaking in fantasy movies and TV shows to speak in an English accent even though the reality is that even that would be wrong for this game since it is not actually set in England!

    That said, I quickly got used to Atreus' accent and the excellent acting and writing means that I quickly got to like him as a person, even feeling sorry for what he is having to go through (what with losing his mother and constantly being scolded by his father, not knowing that he is in fact a god).
     
  8. WhiteLightning

    WhiteLightning Don Illuminati Staff Member

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    yeah its Teal'c

    look at this :D



    what amazing technology this is really.
     
  9. metagamer

    metagamer Ancient Guru

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    Bought the GoW DDE on PS Store today, downloading now. Might play some today or leave it til tomorrow, have over a week off now so no rush :)
     
  10. metagamer

    metagamer Ancient Guru

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    Just watched it and got totally addicted to how they filmed it. It's astonishing how they made the whole game a single camera shot but seeing it in action, being all filmed and how they work hard at it to make it look seamless is incredible. Great insider look, love it. Thanks for sharing.

    I'd love to see more games using this technology/technique, it sure seems like it adds another layer to the immersion. I don't quite know yet how it actually transforms the experience because I haven't played it yet, but once I do, I'll make sure to share my opinion.
     

  11. Serotonin

    Serotonin Ancient Guru

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    I've not put a lot into the game. I just made it to the area where *SPOILER* (the water serpent reveals the areas under water you have to explore by boat).

    Up to this point, graphics are good. I personally find Uncharted 4 and it's DLC visually superior with PS4 Pro in 4K/HDR. Not that this game is a slouch. It has scenes that blow Uncharted out of the water, but then you go into a cave and have some PS3 era textures laying around. Graphics aside, I don't get the 9 and 10's this game has gotten by most sites. It's not a bad game. Just feels very generic and been here, done this. Nothing really new offered in the way of gameplay. Maybe for the series, but not for gaming in general. As some said, Dark Souls helped make this game.

    Prettier, easier Dark Souls = 10/10 the PS4 exclusive game to have!!!! Ehhhh.....I enjoyed Infamous Second Son, Uncharted 4 and Horizon Dawn more than this one. 7/10 for me. I'll play through it. But nothing new is being done here. Give this game average graphics and no one would be as over hyped about it.
     
  12. boodikon

    boodikon Ancient Guru

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    Demon souls/bloodbourne combined are trail blazers PlayStation exclusives and there's a hint in this game, this game gets the accolades for its own achievements, dark souls wouldn't exist without sony backing demon souls.
     
  13. metagamer

    metagamer Ancient Guru

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    I'm about 3 hours in and all I'll say right now is "Oh Boy!".

    Will play some more today, another 4-5 hours probably. One complain I'll mention is the text is too small, many seem to feel the same after searching for a solution.
     
  14. Netherwind

    Netherwind Ancient Guru

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    @Darren Hodgson Thanks! And glad to hear that you agree. Like you I'm also getting used to that voice now.

    Anyone noticed increased PS fan activity while displaying the map?
     
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  15. AsiJu

    AsiJu Ancient Guru

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    Yeah made the same observation myself, wish they'd add a scaling option for text.

    You can set text scaling in PS options but that probably doesn't affect games, just PS OS and some apps maybe.
     

  16. WhiteLightning

    WhiteLightning Don Illuminati Staff Member

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    they released a patch to fix this, however it still is very small. Im sure they will adjust it once more with a patch lol :D
     
  17. metagamer

    metagamer Ancient Guru

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    Yeah, I know they've released a patch but still too small. I currently use the Zoom function of the ps4, it's in settings > accessibility > zoom

    I sit abour 3m from my 40" TV and if I struggle to read some text, I just use the zoom feature (PS button + square). A patch making the text larger would be most welcome though.
     
  18. XP-200

    XP-200 Ancient Guru

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    I tried to pick up GOW bundle pro version yesterday for £350 but they are sold out everywhere up here in Glasgow, the black model, don't want the white model, so i think i will just wait 8 weeks until the summer and hopefully grab a summer sale, usually that is when retailers are not selling so many so they have better bundles, so fingers crossed.

    And i promised myself i would only go one console this gen, but 4k gaming on the XBX has just blown me away and i never really expected it to, so rol on summer deals, i want Horizion, Uncharted 4 and GOW and a Black Pro for £350, all that 4k gaming from two wee boxes under my TV, love it. :)
     
  19. boodikon

    boodikon Ancient Guru

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    Might be a ps4 pro slim soon :)
     
  20. XP-200

    XP-200 Ancient Guru

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    Well i managed to get a GOW bundle today, took my last xbox one slim in as it was just being used as a br player and media device in tbe bedroom, dug out the ps3 and that will do the same job, plus that got me 135 quid off the price of the bundle bringing it down to a very acceptable 245 quid, and the game is just what i had hoped it would look like in 4k, stunning, just stunning, i now have two 4k console's under my tv all slim and neat on their respective stands, love it.
     
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