Note: Everything I said about realism and 3D doesn’t change the fact that God of War is shit hot. I mean, it’s really, really visceral. I haven’t even gotten a chance to play it yet — I invited friends over Saturday, and just watching it made me twitchy. In a good way.

That’s not to say that God of War totally contradicts what I said. One thing you notice really fast is that the hero is very iconic. It’s hard to mistake him for something you see in another game, and that really helps brand identity. Or maybe I’m just playing CYA.

Last year at E3, God of War was one of two games that I thought were really innovative and interesting. The other being, sadly, Playboy Mansion — last year was awash in sequels, Vietnam shooters, and bad GTA wannabes that didn’t understand what was so cool about GTA. This year, I’m taking a pass on E3. Maybe it’ll regain it’s magic if I skip a year.