God Of War Returns! (The Norse Gods Have Abandoned Me)

~If my hype for a game has ever been off the scales this certainly is the game that has done it. I've been a fan of the God of War series since I played the original one back in middle school, the head crushing, bone breaking, eye popping violence definitely had a young edgelord squealing in delight. Fast forward five games later and we bring ourselves to the release of a norse themed God of War with a much older Kratos and his son. I will admit after the ending of God of War 3 I was split 75-25, 75% of me was ok with Kratos not returning if a sequel was made but, 25% of me hoped that in someway Kratos would make his return in some fashion (I mean his body did disappear from the cliffs edge at the end of the credits...you get no spoiler warning because fuck you). Which brings us to the announcement of the new game which is simply titled "God of War", a much older and subdued (and I do say subdued very lightly) Kratos graces the screen replacing his Fuc Boi goatee with a more manlier beard that the norse gods would commit atrocities for, but his new facial hair and mood Is not alone this time you will be accompanied by his son...yes you read that right Kratos has a kid that isn't dead by his own hand this time...wonder how long that will last however. The character of Kratos going under an upgrade and adding in a kid isn't the only change to the game however, other than the amazing graphics brought on by this gen's technology the gameplay and camera angles have taken on a completely different form that might turn some vets of the series off. The camera is no longer that distant static camera God of War fans have become accustomed to, it has been replaced with a closer more intimate over the shoulder view similar to games such as The Last of Us which in my opinion will serve for some more intense in your face battle sequences. The ways of attacking have also changed, the quick high combo gameplay of the older titles seems to have been replaced with a more brutal and calculated way of attacking your enemy, also new to the series is the ability to switch control between Kratos and his son mid game during certain moments. Once again while this may put off vets of the old games this addition in my opinion opens up all kinds of new gameplay experiences God of War fans have yet to experience. As for the tone of the story, the games director and previous God of War 2 vet Cory Barlog has stated that Kratos is learning to deal with his anger which has gotten him in many of his problems in the past. Gone is the times of revenge and hate what we now focus on is a man who must provide his son with the tools for survival in a world that Kratos knows all too well is anything but easy. I'm excited for this game and I'm looking forward to the story updates and dev dairies as they drop. Checkout the stunning E3 video at the top of the page and make sure you keep it locked to the fiendfix.