Goodness! I’m tired of doing articles for E3. There’s just too many games! On the otherhand, I try to write about those that excite me, and the title definitely says what this is about. Undeniably one of the best announcements of this year’s E3, God of War 4 has finally been unveiled and presented. Simply not with a tease, but with a gameplay trailer. The near ten-minute video shows us a grizzled Kratos together with a son. If you have yet to watch, here it is:
The trailer showcases new things together with the good old traditional stuff. Kratos is seen hunting for wild deer, teaching his son with a less than gentle voice. To be fair to the kid, having the former god of war as a dad isn’t something to be proud of. One mistake might prove to be too much. The trailer also showcases a quick time event that ends with a facepalm, or an arrow to the chest for that matter.
Evident new things are the camera angles, some numerical bonuses shown at the bottom right corner of the screen, and the great axe. Old things include the Spartan Rage, Quick-time Finishers, and the block/roll/evade.
Warning: SPECULATIONS AHEAD!
The trailer presents us with two big questions will we be forced to endure the company of a less capable person, or will we see Kratos depart as the series’ protagonist? The developers and the people of Sony has confirmed that this is the same Kratos from the end of God of War 3. You know, the guy who gutted himself with a god-killing sword? We can assume that he started another family to make him forget about the unfortunate events of his past.
Anyhow, lets get back to my speculations, both of which are dynamically different from the concepts and style of the first three God of Wars. The first one, a large escort game, stands as similar to The Last of Us. Will the kid be a good partner in Kratos’ journey? Or just some flesh bag that needs to be saved every other minute? If Kratos’ son will be as capable as Ellie from the Last of Us, we have yet to know. In an article written by Kotaku, Sony has confirmed that the kid will be a central figure in the game, with a specific button specifically reserved for interaction. Press X to Jason comes into mind.
The second one, Kratos departs as the series’ protagonist, is hinted with several dialogues in the game. One of which is the “you are ready” part. Also, take a look at this image:
Now, what the hell is that? After going through hell twice, beating gods to a bloody pulp, it’s just now that Kratos learns firing “normal” arrows? Well, something is definitely amiss here. Maybe that or I might be overthinking some things. It might be some points which can be designated to the boy’s stats or skills.
To end, these are but speculations; a game speculation! God of War 4 had me wet my pants (not literally) due to my love for the series since my highschool days. I’m excited as to where the game will go to as everyone has somewhat played or have an idea of the previous games. And nobody wants to play something similar. We have to trust both Santa Monica Studios and Sony on the direction where the franchise is headed. Sadly, no release date as of yet. Obviously, God of War 4 will be a Sony PS4-exclusive
