Kratos is a hard guy to size up. On the one hand you love him because he's so over the top and brutal and on the other hand he can be a real dick. I couldn't even begin to list all of the mythological characters and creatures and innocent people that have fallen at the hands of Kratos. Even Perseus, the main character from the tale that the God of War series takes most of it's inspiration, was not immune to Kratos' wrath.

   But behind all that hate and anger, you (or maybe it's just me) always hope that Kratos is not without some piece of humanity. Carrying the weight of having accidentally murdered his own wife and daughter always seemed to me like an understandable reason for Kratos' anger, but only if properly used at the end of the saga. If something is used as a means to an end then it is acceptable, but if that end is not reached, then it feels like it was all for nothing.

And that's how God of War III's ending made me feel, like it was all for nothing.

   That's not to say that the ending was all bad, he does manage to get his revenge by killing all of the Gods and the Titans, but for what? So he could kill himself? I was truly hoping that the good folks at Sony Santa Monica would use  this supposed last game to grant Kratos (and us players) some redemption. Give him a chance to right all the wrongs he's committed over the last 4 games. I would have loved to see an ending where Kratos is finally reunited with his wife and daughter in the afterlife and Athena really just wants to let mankind rule themselves.

   One of the beautiful things about video games is their ability to connect with the player. This is why most players refer to in-game actions as things that they themselves have done as opposed to the character that they are controlling. But sometimes having that sort of a connection to a player means that you want that character to do things that you would do, and when they don't it creates a disconnect between the player and the character. It's a balancing act to be sure, but one some developers manage to execute on with incredible precision.

   For anyone who stayed until the credits finished rolling, I think it's fair to say that this isn't the last we've seen of Kratos. Although given the state of things I'm not sure what direction is left to go.  I really loved the game as whole, I just felt like the ending was a missed opportunity.

Kratos is a hard guy to size up. On the one hand you love him because he's so over the top and brutal and on the other hand he can be a real dick. I couldn't even begin to list all of the mythological characters and creatures and innocent people that have fallen at the hands of Kratos. Even Perseus, the main character from the tale that the God of War series takes most of it's inspiration, was not immune to Kratos' wrath.

   But behind all that hate and anger, you (or maybe it's just me) always hope that Kratos is not without some piece of humanity. Carrying the weight of having accidentally murdered his own wife and daughter always seemed to me like an understandable reason for Kratos' anger, but only if properly used at the end of the saga. If something is used as a means to an end then it is acceptable, but if that end is not reached, then it feels like it was all for nothing.

And that's how God of War III's ending made me feel, like it was all for nothing.

   That's not to say that the ending was all bad, he does manage to get his revenge by killing all of the Gods and the Titans, but for what? So he could kill himself? I was truly hoping that the good folks at Sony Santa Monica would use  this supposed last game to grant Kratos (and us players) some redemption. Give him a chance to right all the wrongs he's committed over the last 4 games. I would have loved to see an ending where Kratos is finally reunited with his wife and daughter in the afterlife and Athena really just wants to let mankind rule themselves.

   One of the beautiful things about video games is their ability to connect with the player. This is why most players refer to in-game actions as things that they themselves have done as opposed to the character that they are controlling. But sometimes having that sort of a connection to a player means that you want that character to do things that you would do, and when they don't it creates a disconnect between the player and the character. It's a balancing act to be sure, but one some developers manage to execute on with incredible precision.

   For anyone who stayed until the credits finished rolling, I think it's fair to say that this isn't the last we've seen of Kratos. Although given the state of things I'm not sure what direction is left to go.  I really loved the game as whole, I just felt like the ending was a missed opportunity.

It seems that everyone that is upset with the ending also decidedly interpreted the end as, "Kratos killed himself." He didn't just kill himself for no reason. If you listened to Athena he had the power of hope inside of him. Knowing that she wanted it and that if she got it then the same perpetual cycle of deity bullshit when continue. He therefore, perceivable, killed himself to release the power of hope to the world and mankind to heal it after seeing what chaos he had wrought on the world. 
 
THIS was his redemption: he gave all that power to the world to fix his wrongs.
 
Also I say "perceived" because I'm interpreting the end of credits video bit as him not dying. Also that post-credits bit looked awfully like a "great flood"...

I don't even know if he did it " to release the power of hope to the world and mankind to heal it after seeing what chaos he had wrought on the world."  Knowing Kratos he could still give 2 shits about the rest of humanity and he did it simply to prevent Athena from having the power.  So basically it wasn't so much as giving something back to the world as it was a final "screw you" to the gods.

I wanted the closure of MGS4 from this.

I thinking a good ending would be for him to rip Zeus in half and just yell.....then credits. I guess him just stabbing himself is alright.

" I thinking a good ending would be for him to rip Zeus in half and just yell.....then credits. I guess him just stabbing himself is alright. "

I guess not even Kratos was immune to Kratos's wrath.

" It seems that everyone that is upset with the ending also decidedly interpreted the end as, "Kratos killed himself." He didn't just kill himself for no reason. If you listened to Athena he had the power of hope inside of him. Knowing that she wanted it and that if she got it then the same perpetual cycle of deity bullshit when continue. He therefore, perceivable, killed himself to release the power of hope to the world and mankind to heal it after seeing what chaos he had wrought on the world.   THIS was his redemption: he gave all that power to the world to fix his wrongs.  Also I say "perceived" because I'm interpreting the end of credits video bit as him not dying. Also that post-credits bit looked awfully like a "great flood"... "

How did Kratos not right all the wrongs?
 
He cleansed the world of all the evils released by Pandora's Box. He destroyed the hateful Gods (even without Pandora's box, they were still assholes) and the vengeful Titans. He even released hope to mortal men, allowing them to rebuild the world as a better place.

" I don't even know if he did it " to release the power of hope to the world and mankind to heal it after seeing what chaos he had wrought on the world."  Knowing Kratos he could still give 2 shits about the rest of humanity and he did it simply to prevent Athena from having the power.  So basically it wasn't so much as giving something back to the world as it was a final "screw you" to the gods. "

who knows. maybe he just crawled off that cliff to die.  
but seriously, wtf is he going to do with all of the gods dead.  
 
i mean. what the hell is the story with them gone now? 
at first i thought the story would lead into modern times where greek gods is just mythology and all but i guess its not the case with the whole world flooded and lost souls flying around with tornados and lightning. 

" @Signpost said:

" I don't even know if he did it " to release the power of hope to the world and mankind to heal it after seeing what chaos he had wrought on the world."  Knowing Kratos he could still give 2 shits about the rest of humanity and he did it simply to prevent Athena from having the power.  So basically it wasn't so much as giving something back to the world as it was a final "screw you" to the gods. "

This he pretty much just cock blocked Athena. "