God of War: Ascension multiplayer preview - Surprise! Four on four competitive God of War battles

Though he might look like the Ghost of Sparta, this man is no god

We're not going to lie: we were actually happy the footage cut off before he plunged his weapon into the Cyclops' eye

We have a feeling that this isn't the most comfortable the Cyclops has ever been

The Cyclops' face being cut in half might be the bloodiest thing in the series so far

Enemies unfortunate enough to get caught on this spike trap were impaled

Executing other players was as brutal as you could possibly hope

Though the players aren't gods, they still have access to different otherworldly powers

The multiplayer adheres to the traditional "Red versus Blue" format, but that's all that's traditional about it

The wheels need to be turned to tighten the Cyclops' chains, making him vulnerable

We saw the fighters use a number of different weapons during the battle

The multiplayer had multiple levels, traps, and other surprises

The giant beast was absurdly impressive to look at

The beginning of the God of War: Ascension gameplay we saw last week was a joke – literally. A trick. It began with a Kratos-looking soldier in the typical God of War opening pose, staring at the player, full of rage. When the camera pulled back he was decidedly not Kratos, at least not how we've ever seen him before. He put on a helmet, turned around, and began battling a Cyclops. A few seconds later another soldier, donning the same armor and red body paint, joined the battle, hacking and slashing apart the raging beast.

Soon, the first fighter threw a chain into the chest of the monster, pulling its balance to the side, while the second jumped onto his back. Once there, he pulled the Cyclops back, revealing his ripe, squishy belly for the disemboweling. And disemboweled he was. A blade ripped through his stomach and his organs spilled out, splashing on the floor in bloody detail. At this point the developers pointed out that the second character was, indeed, a second player. He hopped up and down to prove it, but we weren't seeing co-op.

http://www.gamesradar.com/god-war-ascension-multiplayer-preview/

Above: Check out God of War: Ascension gameplay in our video preview

No, we were seeing four on four multiplayer (something we referenced in our article listing the 

Eventually, one team did just that, and was rewarded the Harpoon of Olympus. This gift from the gods hurdled towards earth, smashing into the ground for anyone to take. One player did, and proceeded to launch glowing, white deus ex harpoons at his opponent as he worked his way towards the now vulnerable Titan. On his way he kicked an enemy onto a spike trap and pulled a level, impaling his foe for a moment before finishing him off. It was all very God of War, even if the battles went on for slightly longer than Kratos's traditional fights.

After working their way to the Titan all four players converged and began to fight him together, throwing chains at his head and pulling him in close. Quickly, the player with the harpoon leapt up to the face of the beast and slashed at his face. After a pause the creature's chin split in half, flopping around so horrifically that we actually flinched at the gore. This Titan's character model was phenomenal – easily one of the best this generation – and watching his face ripped apart was painful to watch.

The Spartans threw chains at the Cyclops' eyes (another scene that was difficult to watch) and pulled him in close. The Harpoon of Olympus-carrying warrior took a step back before charging forward, leaping up and plunging the spear into its eye.

This, apparently, was one of seven (or so) multiplayer maps in God of War: Ascension. The first half – where players captured different points – was a domination mode, and the second half – killing the Titan – was an attack and defend. Other modes will match game type to content, though no one was talking about exactly what they might be. One writer suggested a mode where players have to "Kill Kratos to become Kratos," which piqued the developer's interest, but we're not sure if that was a ruse or not.

Other elements were discussed briefly, including customization, light RPG elements, and the ability to choose between four patron deities (Hades, Ares, Zeus, and Poseidon), and though they weren't detailed all that much, they served their purpose of proving that the multiplayer isn't some tacked-on experiment. In fact, it sort of sounds as though multiplayer might me a major focus of God of War: Ascension. 

Sony is taking the competitive side of God of War very, very seriously, and from what we saw they're doing a good job at bringing something new to the franchise. Time will tell if it'll fall into the ranks of Assassin's Creed's AAA multiplayer or  Ninja Gaiden 3's boring, button-mashing mess, but from what we saw God of War fans have no reason to be worried.