This game is definitely deserving of it's own thread.
Put about 5 hours into it so far, and I am wholly impressed. I've been a big fan of all the games so far (besides Ghost of Sparta which I didn't get around to because PSP), and this one has refined the formula to new levels. Combat is fast and furious as always, and the enemies seem a lot more apt to break through your attack strings which puts a nice emphasis on choosing your combos and spacing wisely, as well as learning the parry feature. Having the fixed camera means that the right stick is still used for dodging which works very well, allowing for last second escapes and the building of huge combos. Instead of simply switching between a few different magic spells like the first games there are 4 elements that you can coat your blades in, changing the attacks and adding a new spell with each, and you can switch between these 4 styles mid combo to create really satisfying strings with different enders (akin to what I would think you can do in DmC with the angel and demon weapons). I'm not sure if there's more variations to find, but it still seems like I'm early in the game so there very well could be. An option for new game + is a good sign since I'm finding lots of relics that say "unlocks after you beat the game" ala GoW3. Enemies also drop their weapons, which can be picked up and used at your leisure and discarded in a nice attack. QTEs are subtler than in previous games while having much more jaw dropping effects; some of the deaths are absolutely disgusting (in a wonderful "I HAVE to do that again!" kind of way). New "buttonless mini-games" are included, which basically have you tethered to a strong enemy while you dodge their attacks and wail on them without prompts telling you when to do so, the ending of which is always one of the more brutal kills I've ever seen in a game. Extremely satisfying.
The fixed camera also means that you'll see the environments the same way each time, but that's alright because it's some of the most bad ass level designs I've ever seen. I don't like to use the word "epic" to describe stuff, but it really is. Tons of moving set pieces that change while you fight on them and move around, and the sense of scale is absolutely massive. I really can't think of cooler levels than I've seen in the first portion of this game, they're extremely creative and very satisfying to play around in. Also, everything is goddamn beautiful. This is what I hoped every PS3 game would look like when the system came out.
It was between this and Tomb Raider for me when I picked it up, and I'm really glad I went with this because it's easily one of the best games I've played in recent memory. Definitely the best action game, hands down. I haven't even touched the MP yet, not sure how it will be handled but just having it there to explore when I'm done with the single player is a welcome addition. Also it has a demo for The Last of Us on the disc, although when I tried to open it there was just a countdown timer to it's release date. The instructions lead me to believe that it will be playable at some point, I just don't know when.
