I'm somewhere inbetween on this one. They could and they should be good but way too often they disappoint in the way a "tough opponent" is implemented. The repetitive pattern of attack and defense is just horrible. Add to that the endless deaths (at least for me) required in order to figure out 1) the pattern and 2) which attacks/defenses work against the boss makes many boss battles just lame.

I was watching my daughter's boyfriend play a couple of the boss battles in God of War II. Here's Kratos, former God of War and all around killing machine, spending 80% of the "battle" running away from the boss's attack sequence, waiting for that 20% opening when the boss is vulnerable so that he can get in three (and no more) swings before starting the "run away, run away" sequence again. Nothing makes me feel more heroic than spending most of my time fleeing.

Why is there is philosophy that a boss must be x20 tougher than you and that he's able to kill you in just one or two hits? You have to spend 15-20 minutes whittling down the boss, why can't the boss take 2-3 minutes (at least) to whittle you down to death rather than 10-20 seconds? One of the reasons for my fascination with Final Fantasy XII was the protracted battles. Some of the creatures I'd fight 15-20 minutes, but it wasn't running away. It was a toe-to-toe donny brook with a good mix of offense, defense and healing. I felt like the hero I was portraying in the game. How refreshing!

I don't know the cause of the current boss battle fiasco. Maybe it is an AI consideration. Maybe it is lazy developers. Whatever it is, I wish it would change.