Well God Of War wasn't especially unique itself, so I have mixed opinions about criticizing games for ripping it off. Zelda is a better complaint.
Very amusing review though.
Oh yes, one minor point I will make is that I think the comments about the "14 year old ideal of masculinity" sort of misses the target. Rather I'd simply say that the game is presenting typical masculinity, face it... guys are wired that way. The modern meterosexuals are more or less an attempt at self supression.
Or let me put it to you this way, we can either have a macho dude driven by a desire to protect, avenge, conquer, and destroy, who acts like a warrior (which mandates a degree of emotional repression while he's doing his thing), or some dude who wants to sit around and talk about his feelings and confusion over the state of human emotion constantly.
I suppose one of the big problems is that a compromise is VERY hard to do, which is why the tiny handfull of characters that pull it off are noteworthy. In general you've got a choice between a Soldier/Warrior, a sarcastic swashbuckler type, or some fruit who would be the the lead man for a chick flick (or one of those gay-seeming supernatural creatures from paranormal romance books and the movies based on them).
In general, I think the withdrawn attitude is pretty realistic to what people who survive via violence wind up like. Granted, they DO insert too much angst into it though which I do not see as a nessicary conclusion.
I suppose War could have been done as the witty "Swashbuckler" of the Nathan Drake mould, which is what you'd get the the "check it out, I'm a monster truck with legs" vibe. However I imagine Yahtzee would have hated that more...
