Kratos wasn't always a mean guy. If his fall from grace as a loving murderous family man outlined in the first game wasn't enough for you, then there's a whole new game coming out detailing the dreadful chapter of the God of War's life. God of War: Ascension might heavily revolve around its multiplayer angle, but there is still a solid story campaign to be had.

This chapter in the series centers around Kratos trying to break free from the curse that binds his soul to Ares. Six months after unwittingly murdering his wife and child, his journey shows a more mundane side of the character, easier for gamers to relate to.

While I've never been a huge fan of the series, the original unveiling of Kratos' origins during the first game stands out pretty clear in my mind as one of the great moments in gaming storytelling. Why this excellent moment has to be dragged out over the course of an entire game, I have no idea, but it gives the developers an easy story to tell while justifying the sales of a multiplayer game.

Character origin stories are cheap, especially if we already know this information. I hope it just doesn't diminish the effect of the original's twist ending.

Much like Halo, and every other series on the planet, God of War turned out to be a trilogy, and now it's time to exploit the subtitled sequels before we finally get a chance to see the series return to form in God of War 4. I'm beginning to notice a pattern in all of these "planned trilogies."

God of War: Ascension will be released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on March 12th. A single player demo was released today for those interested.

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