Here's my review of God of War 3 - it's spoiler free.

After finishing this game, I started to appreciate it. It's so fast paced and action packed you rarely get time to stop and smell the roses (as if Kratos would do such a thing). If you liked God of War 1 and 2, you will love the newest volume in the series. This game deserves at least 9 out of 10, and I wouldn't protest if they gave it a full house.

Visually I think this is the best game ever made. There is no doubt that they introduced concepts and visuals in this game that have never been used before. From massive landscapes, beautiful and vast temples, and arid wastelands, this game has it all. It's not an exaggeration to state that you will find yourself fighting in every dimension - even the ground you stand on is not to be taken for granted. All the boss fights are spectacular, and there are many.

Kratos starts off where he left off. The Titans are attacking Mount Olympus, and Kratos wants to kill Zeus. If you think you're going to spend the first part of the game fighting off lowly minions who increase in size and danger, put it out of your mind. The game throws you into the middle of the action from the beginning. You can also forget being a weakling who upgrades himself, or a man stripped of his power who needs to gain it all again. Kratos has done that before. He remains as powerful in the beginning, as in the end. There's a vast array of weapons and powers, and so much to upgrade, but you never feel like you're suffering and in need of a power boost. Every weapon is completely lethal, unlike in previous games where his blades were always stronger. I found myself fighting with every weapon in every battle, sometimes changing weapons in the middle of a combo just for fun.

The sound is also magnificent. You'll find yourself mumbling the angelic tones even after you stop late at night. The game is highly addictive, and I struggled to pull myself away.

Combat is fun, and flows freely, but as I said, incredibly high paced, often with rapid reflex requirments, especially when the place is falling down around you. There are some new creatures, but not as many as you'd expect, but visually they are all vastly improved. Friends like the medusa and minotaur look breathtaking. The game is extremely violent - the worst of the series. There are plenty of puzzles, and they are challenging, though not nearly as difficult as the previous two games. There's a nasty piano that irritated me to bouts of rage.

The story is well written and the dialogue good. I didn't like what they did with the story at the end, and it felt preachy. You're likely to feel disgusted with all the morality talk, and the lectures about the greatest power of all - especially after playing with one of the worst mass murderers in all of gaming history. The story does go back to the previous games, and it's good to see old things returning from the past.

Another irritating thing is that the game is short. There is no doubt that it's shorter than the previous two, and this left me rather angry, because it is so exceptionally brilliant that you just want to play forever. It's also easy. While playing on medium, I never died once against a boss, and rarely against the creatures. You're too powerful to die, IMO, though I occasionally fell off a cliff or platform. I'm hoping that the higher levels are much more difficult, because even on medium the creature army size was a fraction of the size of the previous games. I never felt truly overwhelmed by monsters, though this may be a reflection of Kratos's new weapons and powers rather than anything else.

Overall, I like God of War 2 more than 3, though some people will say I'm mad to make the claim. It's not a major distinction though. The three God of Wars are my favourite games of all time on Playstation. You'll regret not buying this game... it's epic in every way.