I'm about halfway through, and I feel like I missed something between this and God of War 3. Last I recall, Kratos stuck a giant sword through his chest and died. How did he get to where we begin in God of War 4 (Ascension)? Was there some PSP game I was supposed to play or something?! If it's a prequel, where does the story fit chronologically?
Yeah from what I have read, Ascension is the prequel. There are also the 2 PSP games that you can play on your PS3 now, the God of War: Origins Collection if you missed them.