Xbox 360 owners are sure to be  jealous with the March 16 release of the PS3 exclusive God of War 3.  Like its predecessors this game looks and feels amazing, but is it worth buying for $60?

I do want to make it clear that God of War 3′s game play is almost identical to God of War 1 and 2.  This is probably a good thing, since the first two were near perfect, but if you did not like the others in the series, don’t waste your time with this one.

For those of you who have not played the first two, the premise of the game is that you play as Kratos, the god of war, and you seek revenge against Zeus for betraying you and causing you to kill your family.  This game is all about boss fights, and on your journey up Mt. Olympus in your quest to kill Zeus, you will have numerous epic battles with gods such as Poseidon and Hermes.  One of these boss battles in particular, is among the most memorable moments in video game history, as you will face the giant titan Cronos whose finger is about the size of a house.  In addition to the huge scale and the environments that you fight in, this game is as bloody as it gets.  Don’t be surprised if your stomach can’t handle Kratos cutting a minotaur’s stomach open or gouging out a Cyclops’s eye with his bare hands.

The graphics also add to this gory experience by providing the gamer with detailed blood and guts.  Despite a few bland textures, the graphics are among the best to date.  In particular, the character models and environments look especially realistic.  At times it is hard to believe that Kratos is not pre-rendered, as his character model looks far better than any other video game character even from a cut scene.

In terms of game play, the game never fails to deliver.  It is as fluid as anyone could hope for and is extremely responsive in that it is able to get rid of the fine line between the player’s mind and the controller.  Basically, Kratos does what the gamer wants him to do when he wants him to do it.  This makes the game much less frustrating than many other games that feel like the player has limited control.

However, there are some drawbacks to the game.   Furthermore, it is extremely short for a game that has no multiplayer, and it offers little variety.  With the exception of the Cestus, giant metal gloves that were previously Hercules’s weapons, all the weapons feel the same.  It is also very repetitive in that every death sequence for certain creatures are the same no matter what weapon the gamer has equipped.  These brutal death sequences are fun, but by the end of the game, the gamer has probably killed a minotaur or a Cyclops the exact same way about 15 times.  The other problem with using the same execution over and over again, is that once one beats the game, there is no reason to play it again, as it will be the exact same experience as the first run through.

Though it clearly is an amazing game, I have to say God of War 3 is not worth buying.  It only took me about 9 hours to beat.  With that said, I strongly recommend renting this game, but don’t waste $60 for something you can beat by renting it for $10.