Agreed.
And it absolutely boggles my mind as to some of the things that reviewers chopped points off for. Sure, there were some minor things, but the good so far outweighs them, that it's pretty evident that this game (like UC2) is in a class by itself. In a way, I supposed this game's hype perception was like the Star Wars prequels (except GoW3 was critically/fan received much better) -- being a flagship title, everyone had a different vision in their head as to what the game would/should be like. But ultimately, it is what it is -- which is awesome.
I was kinda worried when I heard about the short game length, but I will end up at 19 hours + on Titan difficulty. I guess normal God difficulty is way easy and people just kinda blew right through it. It was a little surprising how few regular enemy fights there were in game compared to the first two, but now I see that those were largely filler, with focus this time on taking down some epic bosses (which this game has in spades).
I hear there's no "New Game +" but really, the New Game + in the previous games was kinda boring as you got so incredibly overpowered with artifacts and weapons (especially in GoW2) that there was no real challenge.
And apparently I was wrong, I wasn't on the last battle like I thought previously. Zeus pulled out a few surprises and now I am dealing with him (MAJOR spoilers concerning the late middle and near end of the game incoming -- seriously, if you plan to play the game but haven't, DO NOT click the below spoilers):
Oh, and LOL @ the sex mini-game. The comments/actions of the nymphs watching on the sidelines made it even better.
I hear the ending is either a "you'll dig it, or you won't" situation, as Santa Monica decided to take a bit of a controversial approach. We'll see, I guess.
EDIT: Finished it -- total playtime was right around 19 hours on Titan (Hard) difficulty. Just when you think that, okay, this is the last incarnation of Zeus you have to defeat, he pops up again even more pissed off and with a vengeance.
After letting the ending sink in and after reading others' reactions/interpretations of it, I liked it. That said, I can see now where some (esp. hardcore Kratos/GoW fans) might be taken aback by it. It was a little convoluted with all of the different agendas, but it seemed to tie itself together at the end (there's even a little cutscene after the credits roll that is very short, but significant to the potential future of the series).
Some further musings:
This is the first GoW where I thought that the sub weapons were really useful.
Several big name celebs lend their voice talents: Linda Hunt, Rip Torn, Malcolm McDowell, Kevin Sorbo, & Adrienne Barbeau. Elijah Wood was also credited as "special thanks to" but not sure where he fit into it all.
To anyone going to play, is playing, or has played it to completion: watch the making of videos. It just never ceases to amaze me the sheer amount of time, effort, and talent goes into an undertaking like this. Amazing that they were even able to pull something like this off at all.
Final Verdict: 10/10 -- the few and minor flaws of the game are completely overshadowed by the sheer awesimilitude of what it achieves.