Acension was good as a game, it was just a bit meh as a GoW game. I still liked a lot of the gameplay developments they put into GoW:A and some of the set pieces were as mighty as any of the GoW games. So I think it's fine to play it first, as long as you like this style of game. If this style of game is not your favourite then better to play the best of the series and then Ascension if you can be bothered.
Personally I quite like the idea of playing them in story chronological order to see how the story hangs together across the entire series, so A-1-CoO-2-GoS-3 is how I would like to play the games as a GoW virgin. Though A is optional and as a prequel to 1 is actually not truly part of the GoW canon. So there's nothing wrong with playing A last if there's still an apetite for more Kratos.
“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
Jimi Hendrix
