Perfect in nearly every way, this game is absolutely unbridled fun and should NOT be missed!
THE GOOD : Pretty much everything. It's really difficult to find fault with this game being as fun as it is. The scale, the graphics, the playability (and re-playability!) the new items and weapons, the combat system, the fact that every boss is a Greek God, and the array of creatures to smash to a pulp make this a pretty tough game to top. If you're reading this review, you've likely read others, so I won't rehash what everyone (myself included) loves so much about this game. There's a LOT of it and it could fill pages, so suffice it to say, this is easily one of the best action / adventure games ever created and unquestionably in the top 3-5 EVER for any Playstation platform. But rarely is anything perfect, so....
THE BAD: My complaints (though minor and few) are as follows.... As much as I love the combat system, what with the upgrades to the items and how they're used (no longer tied to your magic), the combat grapple and the new weapons themselves, it could still stand a little improvement in that, it still doesn't allow you to dodge if you're in the middle of a combo move. In this regard, Kratos could take a hint from Bayonetta, which is easily the best & smoothest combat system I've ever played in a game of this style. Additionally, the camera isn't as intuitive as it needs to be at times since it doesn't rotate to always give you an unobstructed view of what you're fighting. Sometimes you'll be fighting things off screen and sometimes the screen will be so filled with attackers, you'll be pinned behind them flailing away and can't even see what you're doing. This doesn't happen a lot, but enough that it bears mentioning. Also, something to note about GOD OF WAR 3, is it's difficulty compared to the other GOW games. On normal setting, it's noticeably easier than the previous releases. Not horribly so, but it's definitely easier. Titan mode (Hard) is definitely harder and a little closer to what you might expect a GOD OF WAR title to be, although, there are a few spots that are INSANELY tough to get by. I can't imagine what it'd be like on Chaos mode (Very Hard)....The only other complaint I had was with the ending of the story. Sure, it's a Greek tragedy, but after the relentless slaughter, brutality & mayhem through 3 PS3 games, 1 PSP game and a mobile game, you'd think the ending wouldn't be so........flat. Granted, it's a fairly minor complaint as you play video games for the action, not for the great writing and literary value, but still. When you see it, you'll know what I mean. Although, there is a short cut scene after the end of the credits that helps put a LITTLE air back in the tires so to speak. So, make of it what you will.
NOTES ON THE ULTIMATE EDITION : This is the version I purchased, as I'm a HUGE fan of the games. While I enjoy having it and I like what it came with, I'd also say it's not worth the $100 MSRP. I'm not sure I'd be able to say what it's worth, but not an add'l $40 worth of content. I can only reccommend this version if you're a serious fan of the games. Although, one thing that's worth mentioning is that this edition comes with a downloadable character skin that is easily & by far better than any of the other downloadable character skins offered for GOW3. The Dominus skin jacks up your damage output, orb value and reduces enemy damage, whereas all of the other skins only increase orb value or, if they do increase your damage output, it's at the same level the damage to you is increased. So, be advised, if that kind of thing matters to you. The art book is nice, but again, for collectors only. If you want a taste of the art book and some add'l content with real value to your gaming experience, buy the Ultimate Edition gaming guide (but try and ignore all the typos!).
THE VERDICT: It should be pretty obvious by now, but I absolutely LOVE this game (despite my few criticisms) and can't reccommend it enough. While it's not perfect, it's pretty close and what flaws it has aren't enough to damage the 'fun' factor of this title. Do yourself a favor and pick this up!