God of War 4: What we want to see

29th Jan 2012 | 14:30

With the rumours of God of War 4's existence ever increasing, Kratos' next adventure is on everyone's lips (except yours, before you comment saying "Not mine!"), ours included.

So, what do we want to see in the next game? More God murdering of course, but there are a few other extras that we'd like as well.

A word of warning: this feature will contain spoilers regarding the ending of God of War 3, so if you have any intention of completing that game but haven't yet done so, we'd advise you to come back when you have finished it.

New story arc

Bit of an obvious one this. Those that have finished God of War 3 will surely be wondering where the story could go for the next game; it doesn't have to go anywhere. Pretty much all of the Gods have been murdered at the hands of the stand-in God of War, so Sony Santa Monica didn't really leave themselves much room for expansion.

So with that said, a new story based around figures of different mythology could be interesting, it would serve as a perfect opportunity vary the setting while staying true to the franchise. The obvious pick would be to go with Norse mythology and have boss fights against Thor, God of thunder; Odin, King of the Norse Gods; and a fight against Loki, the shape-shifting trickster.

The game could climax with Ragnarök, the apocalypse of Norse mythology, which plunges the world in to chaos with a series of various natural disasters, the deaths of a number of major Gods such as Odin, Thor, Heimdall - Watchman of the Norse Gods; and Loki.

According to Norse lore, Ragnarök culminates with the submersion of the world in water, eventually resurfacing anew and ready to start over. Sounds like the kind of epic set piece Sony Santa Monica are perfectly suited for.

Or Sony could go with Egyptian Gods, but we'd probably would prefer Gods of the Nordic kind. Though we wouldn't say no to a fight against Egyptian God, Bes - a dwarf who wears the skin of a lion.

New Character

We like Kratos, but he is a bit of a one note character. He's big and angry. He converses exclusively in shouts. Revenge is the only thing on his mind, besides the constant awareness of if the player is hitting the right buttons. He mercilessly murders anyone who attempts to prevent him from reaching his goal. We think it's time for a new character, the world can only take so much fury, even the Incredible Hulk has mellowed out recently.

And besides - Kratos is dead. Yes - gone, expired, ceased to live, bereft of life. When we said earlier that Sony Santa Monica didn't leave themselves much room for expansion, we weren't kidding. So a new character is the way to go, unless God of War 4 ends up being a prequel, or the developers bring Kratos back from the dead and use him again, but that would cheapen the ending of the third entry, don't you think?

We want a new character that's just as badass, and just as violent as Kratos, but actually lowers his voice and uses his brain to think about more than just revenge once in a while.

Co-op

There's that rumour going around that God of War 4 will feature co-op. Supposedly it'll see Kratos and his dead brother Deimos teaming up to escape the afterlife.

Teaming up to slay Gods would be great fun and we'd love some double team quick time events where two people are hitting buttons in a tug-of-war to a head off, or have one of us gouge out a God's eye while the other jabs it in the butt with his blade. It would be just like Mario Party, except a little less disturbing.

We imagine taking on a gigantic adversary with the help of a partner would be one of those amazing moments in gaming where - just having overcome insurmountable odds - we turn to our buddy, and our buddy turns to us; and we look at each other longingly before the silence is broken with "high five!," we might even actually give each other a high five too.

The game would have to support split-screen for this event to actually take place though. It would be a monumental shame if it didn't.

Save it for PS4

Bit of a controversial one this. God of War has always been about huge scale and spectacle, so imagine what Sony Santa Monica could do if given the increased power of the fourth PlayStation.

The opening half an hour of God of War 3 was one of the best sections of the game. Giant Titans scaled mountains while fending off Gods as Kratos scaled Mount Olympus and fought Poseidon. Set pieces like this have defined the PlayStation 3 and we'd happily accept if Sony left God of War 3 as the only game in the series that appears on the current generation.

Imagine if God of War 4 was a launch title for the PS4, complete with an even grander scale, increased draw distances, and even more jaw-droppingly huge enemies. It would be stunning, and the perfect opening act for the PS4.

Considering that this generation we've seen not just God of War 3, but also two PSP titles in Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta and the God of War HD Collection, we think that fans have certainly got their fill of Kratos for the time being and would be happy to wait until the next generation for a new entry in the series.

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