God of Bore.

You know if you had talked to me a few months ago, like say around December when I was playing through the God of War Collection on PS3, and asked me, "Hey, Ken, you ready for that God of War III?" My answer would likely have been a resounding "Yes!" But 6 months later and I'm singing an all too different tune. I had planned on preordering a copy of the game but looking back on it more and more I'm glad I didn't. Hell, I still don't own a copy and don't plan on making a purchase anytime soon. I just have little interest in it. The demo just flat failed to impress me. To me the God of War franchise is one of the most overrated franchises of all time.

Now before you start getting your hands ready to clack this angry rebuttal to my statement, I want to make this clear before I continue. I don't hate God of War and I don't think the games suck. I just think after 2 direct sequels and a PSP prequel they've gone to the well far too often and it's quickly running dry. Of course, taking a look at my page would incline one to retort with pointing out the Metal Gear Franchise, which has an equal amount of 4 games being released since 2005 as well, but the difference here is that these games all offer something different or additional gameplay elements that previous installments did not. MGS3 introduced the camo index and CQC. Portable Ops added a few RPG elements and party management. MGS4 introduced a whole new gameplay scheme altogether and gave the series a completely updated look and addressed nearly every issue that was annoying about the older titles. Peacewalker combines those gameplay elements with the party management and capture system of Portable Ops. Every entry in the series has provided something different and unique to justify so many releases in such a short time frame. Each game is noticably distinct from the last.

God of War was a great game for it's time, I'll give it that. However God of War II was really just more of the same with a crappier story. Instead of a fallen warrior seeking redemption, in this one he's more akin to a small child who kicks and screams, or in this case, bludgeons and maims because he didn't get his way. The game was essentially the same; you still stabbed stupid minotaurs in the throat, still ripped out cyclops eyeballs, still mashed buttons like a mad man just to open up a freakin door and the same crappy weapons besides the Blades of Chaos were available for use if you just felt like making the game harder than it has to be for some reason. The game wasn't really God of War II, but rather GOW 1.5 with minimal increments and contained mostly the stuff they had to cut out of the first installment. In short, it wasn't a true sequel in a gameplay sense. So now we come to God of War III and after 5 years, the gameplay design that made the first one stand out has now become a little more tired, and a little more worn and I can get my action game fix in better areas anyway. My need for puzzle solving is satisfied by Uncharted. My need for decent combos and kicking ass is satisfied by Ninja Gaiden(although in no way am I saying it had a better story than God of War) and my need for adventure is satisfied by Metal Gear. So why bother with God of War at this point?

I feel that Sony Santa Monica may be falling into the same trap that I felt Rockstar had been before finally created Red Dead Redemption in that they're returning to the well of what had been successful in years prior but not making the proper advancements necessary to justify rapid installments. If they decide to create a God of War IV I can only hope that they make stabbing minotaurs and ripping cyclops eyeballs a little more entertaining.