The God of War gameplay demo at E3, shows that Kratos has traded his chained blades in for a battle axe. The way Kratos wields his new weapon suggests that the combat in the new game will be much more focused and personal rather than the wide, arcing blows from previous titles. The control scheme has also changed, Kratos’ attacks are now controlled by the trigger buttons rather than the face buttons.
The gameplay trailer also shows that the combat appears to be more varied, Kratos throws his axe as a ranged attack to kill one enemy, switches to bare fists to defeat another with a fast series of punches, then magically summons the axe to fly back to his hand like Thor’s hammer. Shroff explained the reasons behind the new combat system, “just mixing that play-style between using the axe, throwing the axe away, switching to bare hands, bringing that back and then combining, provides a really fun combat experience.”
Shroff also gave insight into the role that Kratos’ son will play in the game, explaining that he’d be much more than a passive character. According to Shroff, there will be a “son button” that can summon Kratos’ son into battle as an active combatant. Both Kratos and his son will be upgradable and Shroff hints that the son is a fundamental part of the combat system, “as the game progresses you can expect to see the son fighting toe to toe with Kratos taking out enemies on his own.”
From what can be gathered from Shroff and the gameplay trailer, it appears that at least some of the mystery surrounding the game can be laid to rest. Though there are still many rumors that fans are speculating about, such as the nature of the game world and the undiscovered easter eggs that are reportedly hidden in the gameplay demo.
Does the new combat system for God of War seem like a good direction for the franchise?
God of War is currently without an official release date, but it is expected to be available for PlayStation 4 exclusively.
Source: GamesRadar
