As the title says,I have acquired the God of War Ascension platinum,which was real easy,almost disappointingly easy,since there's only one online trophy.Going through the game on hard really wasn't much of a pain.

Eitherway,i'm sure you heard by now,some are dissapointed.I must admit I am somewhat dissapinted as well.I knew this would not top III,and after I played through it,I might rank even the portable installments even higher.Of course its still great,just not amazing like the Saga is,and lacking when compared to the portable installments.

One thing it lacks in is the story department.While previous God of War games have had excellent stories dealing with the past and revenge,this one its really"Kratos is having memory problems".I will admit it was kind of sad when you see him have a flashback(not really) where he's with his daughter,and the ending of the game gave off a pretty epic vibe(not as much as II though),but it doesn't kick in as much as other installments have.

One con and pro of the game is the new combat mechanics:They help the game have a change of pace from other installments.Magic is used for a powerful attack,and the rage meter builds up as you attack and avoid damage to unleash a powerful attack.You have a few items that are useful in combat,such as one that can slow your enemies down.Instead of multiple weapons,you have your Blades of Chaos with multiple elements,which also helps make this game different from its brothers.However,with that said...

The main thing is:The first 2 hours of this game are awful,which is disappointing compared to other God of Wars.Its literally just swinging your chains around,for you get the first elements within these two hours,and when you do,you have to upgrade them to even experience how awesome they can be.Not to mention you also need to upgrade your blades since its block is useless at level 1.The first hour of God of War games has had him piercing Hydra's in the mouth,facing a giant statue,smashing a kings head in with a crate,and ripping a gods eyes out;what they give you here is not nearly as exciting as what we've seen before,which is why the first 2 hours can give someone seriously low impressions if you've played any other of the series.I will,however,admit its not as bad if you return in New Game Plus,most likely because your powerful thanks to it.

The killing in the game for generic enemies is starting to get old,although I will admit the finishers for the elephantaur and gorgons are brutal,new and exciting,but for the most part we've seen Kratos rip heads off way too many times by now.The bosses fail to also be as exciting as what we've seen in other games,although the final boss is great,even though it took me my second playthrough to acknowledge how great it was.

One great thing is the puzzles:Some of them are pretty intelligent,without being too hard.Also,this game...has boobs,more then any other game in the series.A shame the 3D effect was cancelled.

The newest addition to the series is online:Which I admit I actually like a lot.They have plenty of stages from different God of War games,and you can do brutal kills,which are even bloodier then the finishers given to most of the enemies in the main game.Not to mention leveling up can get addicting.

So overall,the weakest in the series.That doesn't mean its not worth buying though,its just that this falls under the rank of"great",rather then "excellent" like all the other titles have been.

and with that said,I have decided I will celebrate this excellent series with a full,chronological playthrough of the series,similar to what I did with Metal Gear last summer.

If its not obvious by now,the games take place in this order:

Ascension ->Chain's of Olympus -> God of War -> Ghost of Sparta -> Betrayal? -> God of War II -> PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale -> Mortal Kombat> ->God of War III

I have to admit I don't have Ghost of Sparta or the Origins Collection,but I shall get it by Summer.Betrayal is the mobile phone game,and i'll see if I can somehow acquire that game,even though its canon is debated,and its really unknown if its before or after GoS.Battle Royale and Mortal Kombat have Kratos in them,and have somewhat of a story behind them,so I shall play them just for kicks,even though Mortal Kombat seriously seems like he was pulled out into that universe halfway through GoWIII or something.

Of course,I won't be playing each one immediately after each other;the games take place awhile apart from each other after all,save it for II and III.

Ending the series with III is something I look forward too.In fact,I look to ending this series with a bang,so I shall get the Chains of Olympus platinum and Ghost of Sparta platinum as I play through them(I don't rush on my playthrough),and then I shall finally beat III on titan(thats hard difficulty equivalent) and get my platinum trophy,ending the playthrough,and receiving my final platinum trophy for the entire series.

..now,if your new to the series or something,and want to know a good order to play them,I shall list the cons of playing chronologically:

Ascension...actually,Kratos is having trouble remembering stuff in here,its hard to explain this...but the game tells you about his tragic past without explaining his tragic past.It works to start with this,I guess.

Chains of Olympus hints at his past,and has a pretty big thing in it,however,it makes it seem like you know of his past already.

Ghost of Sparta i'm not too sure on,for I don't have it,although it deals with Kratos's far past,before his Wife and Child.

Betrayal...ah who cares,just beat God of War before this okay?

so really,Ascension and CoO manage to avoid completely spoiling his past while foreshadowing it.Ghost of Sparta is perfect to play after the first game since it spoils nothing of II or III.

If you want my recommended order:

God of War->Chains of Olympus->Ghost of Sparta->God of War II-> God of War III

Basically chronologically aside from Chains of Olympus and God of War being flipped,since Kratos's past is much better learned the way it is in one.

It'd be hard for me to recommend when to play Accension..its really a "if you do this after one,whatever".What Kratos remembers at the end about his past(thats widly known in I) will hit you as a shock the way it hit him if you never knew it before,but may also give confusion since it doesn't go into too much detail.So its really up to you to play it before GoW(or CoO),or after.

I found myself able to go back to previous titles even after III and Ascension,so don't worry about gameplay mechanics.

The main reason why I recommend this order is so your order can be more..unique then the normal players.I will,however,say this now:III is still the greatest in the series,and may endlessly be the best in the series.That is why I belive its greatest to end the series with this,rather then with Ghost of Sparta or Accension like most of us "release date order" players have,and why I am playing through the entire series again in the first place:To end it the way I was never able to.