A familiar face appears on the screen, moments before a demo for God of War: Ascension was about to begin at a press event earlier this week. Zoomed in, the angry mug resembles every one's favorite antihero, Kratos. But as the camera pans away, it becomes obvious that this is someone completely different.

Suddenly, a Cyclops bursts through a wooden door near the new character and the demo begins. The new character, decked out in armor inspired by the Greek God Poseidon, moves with the swiftness of Kratos. His sword pierces the lumbering ogre's skin as he leaps away from attack from it's giant club. In the blink of an eye, another character jumps onto screen and smashes the around around the beast with a giant hammer. The pair of soldiers mercilessly cut the Cyclops down, working together to mount the creature and slice its belly apart. As blood and guts slide out of the monster's gut, the area around the two characters explodes into a set of orbs.

Without a moment of hesitation, the pair walk through the newly opened structure before them, coming to the mouth of a large canyon. In the distance, the giant one-eyed Polyphemus, son of Poseidon and Thoosa, attacks a large group of soldiers already in the middle of a fierce battle. But it isn't a battle between A.I.; Ascension introduces God of War fans to team-based multiplayer.