"Where can Kratos go from here?"

Considering that we all asked this question after finishing off God Of War III, just imagine how Sony Santa Monica must have felt. Trapped by the epicness of their own internal mythology, all eyes were on the veteran studio, eager to discover how they planned to continue the series and develop their way out of a bit of a pickle. In what seemed to be a bit of a cop-out at the time, the solution was to create a prequel. How trite. How predictable. How... wait, did Kratos just kill a goatman with another goatman?

God Of War: Ascension takes place 6 months after Ares tricked Kratos into murdering his own wife and child, back when the Demigod was just an exceptionally skilled Spartan general on the path of conquest. Tucked into Sony Europe's private meeting room at E3 2012, I was able to get a guided tour of the demo level, a desperate defence of a coastal town overrun by bestial satyrs and patrolled by a titanic sea monster. After being walked through the new combat mechanics, redesigned platforming and myriad improvements, I can happily report that Ascension may be a prequel, but there's nothing primitive about it.

Sony Enters Three-Game Publishing Deal

Sony has made yet more headway into the indie scene with the announcement that they've entered into a three-game publishing deal with Giant Sparrow Studios. Their debut project, Unfinished Swan, will release as a PS3 exclusive, presenting an experimental monochromatic adventure in an unfinished world. Details and trailer below.

Sony has released a brutal set of screenshots for God Of War: Ascension, which show off the "brutal" multiplayer mode revealed earlier today. Teams of four will compete against both each other and massive bosses, blending both traditional multiplayer with enormous singleplayer set-pieces.

Game director Todd Pappy told Livestream viewers that the multiplayer "is purely additive," and "won't take anything away from the singleplayer campaign." It's looking good, but only time will tell whether Ascension can measure up to its predecessors in terms of visceral scope and deicidal mayhem.

After a cheeky Amazon listing blew the lid off of Sony's mysterious vengeful announcement, SCE has hurried to officially confirm...

God Of War: Ascension!

We called it. You guessed it. Amazon leaked it. But you might not have figured out that it's a prequel. Click below for some new details and a trailer for the next God Of War title slated for PS3.