God of War III begins with a bang exactly where the second game in the trilogy ends: with Kratos, the protagonist, on the shoulder of Gaia as the Titans assault Mount Olympus.

Kratos, who has been the god of war since killing Ares in the first game, aims to kill Zeus, his father. But first he has to work his way through the rest of the Greek pantheon. Each fight with a god is a boss battle in God of War III (Sony; PS3; rated mature). There are a lot of them—there are a lot of gods—in this action-adventure game that was released on March 16.

The first boss battle takes place within the first 30 minutes. Kratos ruthlessly kills Poseidon by driving his thumbs through the eyes and into the brain of the god of the sea. Gamers get to experience Poseidon’s final moments firsthand, from his point of view, which is, in a word, unsettling.

Many of the deaths presented in God of War III are discomfiting, in part because of the realism of the graphics, but also because Kratos appears to take such pleasure in the excessive violence he inflicts on his victims. Kratos has, over the course of the trilogy, gone from being simply a troubled soldier to an enraged, deranged fiend who is driven by a need for vengeance.

While the God of War games have always revelled in gore, this installment crosses the line because the violence portrayed is nothing short of sadistic.

That this video game can elicit feelings of revulsion, though, simply speaks to the power of the medium and of this title. It is for mature audiences, after all, something we are reminded of by Aphrodite’s female servants, who watch the sexual tryst between her and Kratos.

Playing God of War III is much like playing the first two games. It requires fast and furious button mashing, as Kratos is nearly overwhelmed by hordes of enemies that range from skeletons to soldiers, Gorgons to Minotaurs, and Cyclopes to centaurs. Between the battles are puzzle and platforming sequences that aren’t too challenging but break up the action nicely.

God of War III is the first of the trilogy to be made for the PlayStation 3. The entire game—even the short movielike segments—is rendered with the in-game graphics engine, and it looks amazing. The developers at Sony Santa Monica show off the scale of the world, often juxtaposing tiny humans with the monstrous Titans and the vast landscapes.

In an interview in February at a launch event in Los Angeles, game director Stig Asmussen told the Georgia Straight that he wanted this game to wrap up the story that began with the first God of War, and it does. God of War III features characters and items that were critical to the plot of the first game, so everything gets tied up with a neat little bow.

The ending of this game, though, is a disaster. After lots of frantic and violent action, God of War III ends with a 30-minute sequence that has players doing nothing more than running Kratos down a path and back again. It’s as if the developers forgot they were making a video game.

Having a denouement at the end of an epic series isn’t a bad idea, but if that coda is the last thing players are going to experience, you’d best make sure it doesn’t put them to sleep.