Yes, you read the title right, this post is here to show people just how much progress the people behind our favourite Ghost of Sparta have made since the PS2 era. The images you will see below are what I would describe as CGI-quality character models.
Below the GOW3 images, you'll notice various GOW2 CGI images for comparison, you'll see that God of War III's in-game visuals, actually surpass the CGI rendered cutscenes of GOW2. And if that isn't progress I don't know what is. Have a look for yourself:
God of War III In-game Kratos Model


*-Remember to open the images in a new tab/window to see in FULL resolution.
GOWII CGI Renders

I'm sure you can see just how far the game has come, Personally I think it's a massive leap, considering the game looks even better than CGI! - And it can't be easy to make in-game visuals that better an already great looking pre-rendered CGI.
You can never stop the might Kratos. SOny leader out
