New God of War: Ascension trailer shows telekinesis and epic levels

Sony has released a new trailer for its upcoming flagship game—God of War: Ascension. The trailer shows the aftermath of Kratos being drafted by the gods for their will. It shows him being hunted by the three furies and the bloodbath he leaves behind.

If the trailer is anything to go by, Ascension will be just as epic as God of War III was, if not more. The trailer shows huge levels that Kratos must traverse. It also looks like bosses are set to be even more spectacular this time around, with giant monsters being a staple of the series. The trailer also shows Kratos using something akin to telekinesis to lift and move objects. The game will undoubtedly have puzzles revolving around the new power.

The demo for God of War: Ascension is available in two flavours—a demo for the single player and a beta for the multiplayer. The multiplayer beta is only available to those with a PlayStation Plus subscription.

When you start playing the beta, your first stop is the Rotunda of Olympus where you learn the nitty-gritty of gruesome gladiator combat. Here you'll pick up vital techniques on special attacks, blocking, parrying and combos.

These early battles are essential to master as the computer-controlled opponents are a lot more forgiving than other fellow gamers you'll face in the multiplayer modes. Don't be afraid to replay these training stages to brush up on your skills until you're confident of your battle prowess.

As Leonidas would say, "This. Is. SPARTA!"

Before you leave the Rotunda of Olympus, choose which god you'll pledge your allegiance to. In this Beta, you can pick between Zeus or the Greek god of war, Ares.

Earlier this month, Sony had unveiled the God of War: Ascension PlayStation 3 bundle. The bundle is set to include the Special Edition version of the game, which comes in a black Steelbook case and includes the soundtrack, a double-XP unlock for multiplayer and a dynamic PS3 theme and avatar.

According to Sony's Indian distributor Milestone, the company hasn't announced any plans to sell the bundle in India yet, but seeing as how other bundles have been released here, the God of War: Ascension bundle may see a release here after a month or so.

The God of War series is the story of Kratos, who was a soldier from Sparta. Kratos was the servant of the gods and worked primarily to defeat the enemies of Olympus and run away from his past. The first game begins with Kratos declaring that "The gods of Olympus have abandoned me" and flinging himself over the tallest cliff in Greece; the rest of the game details how and why this happens. The game mostly takes place in the temple of Pandora where Kratos must find the power to stop Ares from destroying Athens.

God of War: Ascension is set to be released on the PlayStation 3 on March 5, 2013.