Unbelievable, phenomenal, astonishing game, this is the reason why we play video games, this is why the action/adventure/puzzle/platformer genre exists, it's art design and production values at their finest, and a reason to own a PS3.

Quote Originally Posted by Croyles
everything
THANK YOU for pretty much summing up my frustration at people who knock this game for being more of the same. GoWIII IMO does more to change the formula than the countless games mainstream journalists heap praise upon like the 4th Grand Theft Auto, the 6th Call of Duty, or the 2nd Mass Effect. I truly believe the combat put it on par with games like DMC/Bayonetta where you get in a few quick hits, juggle someone in the air, side-strafe in mid-air, then knock off a couple arrow shots before switching to another weapon and moving in for the kill. Fantastic combat depth and I can't wait to explore the depth of it on harder difficulties.

The only real complaint I have about the game is the ending, and my feelings get more and more mixed as time goes on. I like the fact that (SPOILER)he kills himself, ends the torment he's been going through, and releases hope to the rest of the world, so they don't need the Olympians anymore, and that's what Pandora and the box were really are about, retconning the first game which utterly raped Greek Mythology on that tip.

BUT (SPOILER)I'm still upset they never explained why Athena helped Kratos this time around, why she would help him kill Zeus, and how Athena could possibly be upset when Kratos surrenders Hope to the rest of the world instead of her. Athena, in the entire series, was established as a selfless character, she was willing to sacrifice her life to protect her father, who she felt would continue the survival of mankind. It just made no sense, I was waiting for a plot twist, and it never came. I just felt the ending was anti-climactic the first time I played it, but my feelings have been a little more positive, and it doesn't take away one iota from the game.

One of my favorite parts though, watching my gf start a new game, is that the opening cut scene shows you the bottom of Mt. Olympus and subsequently takes you furhter and furhter up, showing you all the different areas, until you get to the tippy top where the gods are. AND THE ENTIRE GAME is about all of that, the setting is all Mt. Olympus, this insane monument, its caverns and secrets, twists and turns, and you traverse and manipulate it all from the very bottom of Hades to the top where the pantheon resides, this is just a really focused story for the series, everything comes together so insane.

Sorry for the wall of text, but holy crap, this game is... well, yeah...