This game is one that none should miss. Definitely attracts gamers from different genre fan bases.
As far as the main character goes, War is an epic addition to the action adventure 'bad ass' club. He is always calm and collected, issuing forth a presence of being insanely powerful. He is easy to follow and has almost no temper, more of a righteous need to justify his actions. He is not good nor evil, rather he is war incarnate. He does not choose sides, he is charged with maintaining the 'Balance' as it is referred to by a mythical council that watches the actions of Heaven and Hell, good and evil, God and Satan. He is a hard character not to like, except perhaps to extreme Christians (there are many instances where angels oppose you - their deaths are anything but respectful). He considers the other three Horsemen his only family and true allies.
As far as supporting characters go he is accompanied always by a wretched demon servant of the Council, known as the Watcher. He is a pain in the ass in every sense of the word and has his own little agenda, hiding behind the will of the Council. He relishes in the fact that the Council, for lack of a better term, owns War's ass. He is supposed to be there to help you but the functionality of the Watcher is almost nil. There is a merchant demon known as Vulgrim who assists you by allowing you to fast travel around the world map by using portals called serpent holes. He is reasonably funny and fulfills the role of the greedy merchant rather well. The last companion is known as Samael, the demon king. He asks for your help destroying the Destroyer's Chosen Ones and bringing him their hearts. His motives are unknown and you never actually find out what he really wants, but he plays the malicious knife in the dark rather well.
The game play itself is fairly well orchestrated and the combat system is pretty cut and dry. Myself I upgraded my sword as much as possible and got through the game with relative ease. The combat really doesn't have much to it. Chop, chop, launch, jump and chop. Pretty simple. Some of the context sensitive fatalities are pretty entertaining, however there are only about ten or twelve types of enemies, and their deaths do not vary that much.
The story is quite engrossing, even though the creators and writers took some major liberties with religious names and roles. However, it works pretty well and while, yes, at times the story is a bit predictable; it is still quite a satisfying story. Fans of the war of souls, heaven and hell - angels vs. demons; will probably find this new take on those things refreshing and exciting. War's discourse with the minions of hell and the servants of heaven often lends itself to meaningful discussion. There are no cut scenes that mean nothing, everything is important.
The graphics are very stunning and the character models are amazing. All of the environments are incredible and visually breathtaking. In some areas, on the X360 version texturing can get a little awkward, but for the most part it is fairly smooth.
Great game and a great package and I hope the fan outcry and sales of this game are enough to spurn a sequel. The ending certainly sets one up and I believe that all of us are hoping to see another game in this series.