A game that must be played by everyone. . .that is mature enough to handle it.
At its core, GOW is really just a hack and slash game; however, its the interactiveness, the finess, and overall sense of being a badass that makes it so much fun to play. The only complaint that could be made about the gameplay itself is the fact that there aren't enough bosses; however, the three that you do fight, might be some of the best you play. The controls are fairly simplistic; attacking with square is a quick blow, and triangle is charged blow. O is to grab people, either with your hands or the blades of chaos, and is one of the things that turns this otherwise fairly basic attack system into one of the best you can find. There are a multitude of attacks, all of the very satisifying and cool looking. Blocking is done with l1, and hitting block right before your opponent attacks you result in a parry, which inturn can allow you to string together combos in the thousands. The monsters have got to be some of the coolest you will find in any game. The variance between ogres, cyclops, satyrs, harpies, undead, and the many others come together to make a great game. You only have four types of magic, but they are great. You recieve diffrent powers from diffrent gods, and they do a wonderful job of adding another dimension to the game.
The game's graphics are very impressive, with many objects (breakable or not) that add to the ambiance. All of the people look great, the some of the backgrounds and scenes are awe inspiring. However, it pales in comparison to the cut scenes. By far the most impressive movies I've seen, the cutscenes are enthralling enough to not get bored of, maybe to the point that you actually watch them again.
On par with the rest of the game, the sound is excellent. Varied and well done, the game does a phenomenal job of setting the respective moods. Along with the CD, you get a free download of the soundtrack, and for those who enjoy such things, thats an added bonus.
Beating the game one time through, you unlock god mode with several other things. However, its only when you beat god mode (an impressive feat) that you recieve a bounty of goodies. The first time through on normal the game shoud talk you around 15 hours to complete, and playing through the second time might take you more along the likes of 20 (the bulk of the time is from your deaths and having to repeat parts over and over), and with the sound and all of the extras, its a great value. Its a shame the story wasn't a little longer, or their wasn't a co-op of some sort, because thats what keeps this game from being perfect.
Allowing myself to reitterate, this game is phenomenal. If you haven't played it, you need to. My only warning is the fact that it is very graphic and does a good job of earning its M rating. Easily one of the best action games this generation.