Sony has announced that God of War: Ascension will feature a two-player, wave based co-op mode, a first for the series.
The game mode is called Trial of the Gods, and will have players competing against the clock against five increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Extra time is earned by defeating enemies, with bonus seconds added at the end of rounds for exceptional performance. Making it to the end of the five waves without dying or running out of time will lead to an exclusive boss fight.
The game will launch with three Trial of the Gods maps: Desert of the Lost Souls, Rotunda of Olympus, and Forum of Hercules. More maps have been promised, although Sony did not specify if they would be paid DLC or available for free.
Additionally, while it was designed as a co-op experience, Trial of the Gods can also be played singleplayer.
Experience points earned in this mode will carry over the game's other multiplayer modes. these include Favor of the Gods, Team Favor of the Gods, and Capture the Flag.
God of War: Ascension, the seventh installment in the series, will be released March 12 in the US, and March 15 in Europe. The game's singleplayer story is set before the events of the rest of the series, with Kratos attempting to sever ties with Ares, the God of War, by defeating the three Furies. A singleplayer demo is currently available on the PlayStation Network.
The game was developed by SCE Santa Monica Studio, and was directed by Todd Papy. It will be available exclusively for the PlayStation 3.