One has to wonder... is it now about graphics... or actual gameplay merits?
God of War III is an awesome game, but I felt the story didn't wrap up so well. Visually stunning, but the gameplay didn't seem to push any barriers and most of it felt mostly the same as GoW 2, but with a prettier layer of paint. Sure, the game does come with the most epic set pieces in gaming history... But you also run through those mostly via QTE prompts...
MGS 4 was to me a really good and emotional end to Snake's story. Gameplay was diversified, and the game made clever use of the many different tech items presented to the player. Play on Big Boss difficulty and you see how much this game's approach to stealth is rewarding, compelling and so frickin unforgiving. And even to this day, I think the game's visuals fare surprisingly well against the more recent outings. When all is said and done, that game gave me a much bigger lasting impact than GoW3 did.
Both awesome games, but MGS4 takes it for its cleverness and near flawless execution.
