God of War III Final Thoughts (Spoilers)

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.