Woot, after sporadically playing God of War III in the past weeks, I've finally finished the story (haven't done all the Challenges yet). It's a great game (as you'd expected since it got 92% at Game Rankings) and I had quite a lot of fun playing it. The game play is familiar to it's predecessor's, sure, but I still had a lot of fun fighting the monsters. Although, at times I found myself just 'mashing' the buttons. I agree with some reviews stating that the extra weapons Kratos (the protagonist) gets are quite similar to his original weapons, the Blades of Exiles. The only gripe I have about the moves is that the double jump is really annoying to get it right, I hate the precision of the button pressing (having to pause just a little bit after the first jump) in order to double jump. I found myself in the earlier parts that more often than not, I just died from not being to double jump over a gap (and there are many gaps in the game).
Obviously, the graphics are great, and looks really really good, I guess what's even more surprising is that it's all rendered by the game engine and not prerecorded. I also like how the load times are masked, so it gives the illusion that there are no load times between cinematic and game play, it really reduces the boredom and annoyance of having to wait for something major to happen (or going back to playing after a cutscene).
The story was captivating, and it kept me going through the game. Kratos is pretty brutal though, and I was surprised when he showed care for Pandora (since up to that point, he practically just killed everyone he saw). The ending was quite nice, and the post credits scene shows that there could be a continuation even though this is supposed to be the end of the trilogy.
Some of the puzzles were crafted very well, and complicated to do (Hera's Gardens were hard but satisfying). You get a sense of satisfaction when you've completed them. However, I think the biggest flaw of God of War III is that... it's too short. You can finish the story in around 10 hours (since I finished in that time, and I'm one of the slowest players when playing games), but it's still a great experience. It makes you wish for more, there are post game stuff like the Challenges, but I don't feel compelled to do them like the story mode.
The music was excellent and suitable at whichever point you're up to, it feels just right setting the tone of the game. Overall, a great game, but too short, I want more of it! Probably better to rent than to buy (or just sell it afterwards I guess).
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