God of War III Reviews: Perfect Scores and Cliché Abound

The recurring theme in reviews of God of War III, released today for the Playstation 3, is “epic,” a word that’s often tossed around when a game’s scale is too large for more descriptive words. Normally, I’d expect more caution with this sort of thing, but it appears that God of War III has left several reviewers gasping for adjectives, only able to communicate in cliché how good the game is.

Destructoid’s Nick Chester notes that “epic” is an overused word, but then says God of War III “truly redefines ‘epic’ in shocking and unexpected ways you may not have thought were possible.”

In fact, from start to finish, the game never really lets up. It’s full of more “holy crap” and “seriously, did that just happen?” moments than any game in recent memory, pushing the boundaries of both violence (yes, Kratos is at his most brutal here) and presentation.

The Telegraph actually begins its God of War III review with the dictionary definition of “epic” — itself a cliché in writing.

It’s an overused adjective, isn’t it, ‘epic’? Especially in video game critique or in those bullet-point lists that pop from the back of the box in a snazzy font.

…

God of War III is taking the word back for itself. You want to claim your game/film/novel is epic; you’re going to have to go through Kratos, who will likely tear your arm off and beat you to death with the wet end, given that he’s the angriest man in the history of everything.

And here’s a bit of somber enthusiasm from Computer and Video Games, reminding us that God of War III is essentially a souped up version of its predecessor, but not particularly upset about it:

There’s not a great deal that’s new here – it’s essentially GoW II on crack, but this nevertheless sets the mark for all-out action brawlers with unrivalled brutality, gore and epic scope.

Not everyone relied on the same old words. 1UP notes that God of War isn’t everyone’s bag, but still felt the game is A-grade material:

Chances are, if you were bothered by things like the button-pressing minigames, the puzzles, the linearity, etc. in previous God of War games, God of War 3 isn’t going to change your mind. And if you loved them before, get ready for an incredibly well made follow-up in that same template.

Judging from the long list of perfect scores at Metacritic, critics are not bothered by button-pressing minigames ad linearity, as long as they’re presented in epic fashion.