God of War 3. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Let's get the obvious out of the way. The visuals are great! The game does a good job of making this adventure look epic. Whether you are climbing Mt. Olympus with the Titans, running through Tartarus, or in the gloomy caves (where the lighting effects look beautiful), the game doesn't let you forget how pretty it is. Even the detail done to Kratos is amazing. I had a great time enjoying the visuals.
Sound, on the other hand, is a mixture of "awesome" and "huh??". The music is well orchestrated, making this game sound like a God of War game. Even some of the sound effects crank out your bass and make the room go BOOM, but every now and then, sound glitches pop in. Sometimes the music will stutter, or someone won't finish speaking, or Kratos is grunting during the combos, and all of a sudden, while you are mid combo, no sound from him or his blades. It doesn't happen often, but I assure you it will happen.
Now the gameplay...
God of War has always been an amazing mix of clever traps, great fights, and the all-so frustrating labyrinth type levels. For example, in the first one, you had Pandora's Temple. The second, the Island where the Sisters of Fate resided. But this one? Not that every God of War needs a puzzle palace, but it has kind of become incorporated into the series. The puzzles scattered throughout your climb on Mt. Olympus just seemed way too easy. It's as if the devs didn't want to waste time on puzzles and just wanted you to fight. Might be a plus to some, but a con for me.
Now, since the action is what it all comes down to, let's talk about it. The bosses are plentiful and fun. Not hard, though, just fun. The minions, on the other hand, are just plain too easy. While the other games made you angry enough to scream "That guy is overpowered!", this game will make you angry in where you feel that YOU are overpowered. Kratos has plenty of new moves that are so useful, no monster stands a chance against you. And I mean it. Hordes of creatures will fall to your blades, and before you know it, you will be watching the credits. And I played this game on Titan. Now Chaos mode does make things more difficult, but that isn't the point. In the other God of War games, the second hardest setting was pretty challenging. This one's second to hardest just feels like you are playing it on normal. Wouldn't be a problem, except you HAVE to play it on that mode to unlock the hardest, just like the other ones. This game also feels a lot shorter than the other ones. Maybe it's because I didn't die as many times as the other ones, but you can breeze through it pretty quickly.
So in conclusion, this game is fun, but if you aren't a devout fan of the series, I would highly recommend a rental on this one. If you are a fan, wait to get it used on Ebay or wait for the price to drop. If, like me, you just have to have it due to your loyalty to Kratos, go ahead and buy it.