Gears of War is a franchise that has made a name for itself in the video game industry as the best third-person shooter series in the history of video games. Naturally, a lot of hype follows when the final part of such a series is about to see the light of day, and the hype behind Gears of War 3 is something to behold as it became one of the most anticipated games of all time as soon as the second game came to a close.
That hype has not gone to waste as the last part in the trilogy – which certainly comes with the caveats of the first games: an insane amount of blood, gore and violence – can be regarded as one of the most polished games ever to see the light of day. Players got a vague idea of the final quality of the game when they tested out the multiplayer beta, but Gears of War 3 blows every expectation out of the water by being better than anything players could have ever imagined.
Gears of War 3: Overview
Gears of War 3 is available exclusively for the XBox and is bigger and better than the first two games, coming in at around 12 hours for the campaign mode. The overall mechanics of the game have improved beyond belief, as moving through the game feels more natural, fluid and responsive, weapons feel more realistic and powerful than ever, and the graphics have moved up from the usual gray and brown palettes to include some color and beauty and become even more breathtaking.
The game never feels like it is rushing you, and you always feel like you are in a rhythm even when the game lets you take a breather. Although the battles in the game are now more tactical and strategic in nature and you are always on the move from one place to another even in a single battle, the pacing of the entire game is right on target and never seems to overwhelm you. It is simply the best game to come out of Epic Games to this date and a truly epic conclusion to one of the most revered games in recent memory.
Gears of War 3: A Dying World
Gears of War 3 begins with the protagonist Marcus Fenix in prison and we get to complete the story from five years ago, when the first game was released, and finally find out why he was imprisoned in the first place and then move on to discover what has become of the human race and the world since we last saw them. As with the previous titles, the main focus of the game is on the characters and what hardships they are going through and how they are surviving and fighting on the Earth-like planet named Sera that faces certain annihilation at the hands of the Locust and a new emerging threat aptly named the Lambent.
Hand-holding is something that was not needed in the last part, but thankfully the slight absurdity of the game telling you how to do some of the simplest tasks imaginable is overwhelmingly overshadowed by the story, the character, the voice acting and most importantly, all the action in this juggernaut of a game. The structure of the game remains similar to the first two, and should induce no qualms in fans because it was never something that needed fixing. You still need to carry out certain tasks in order to progress through the game and dispose of any enemies that dare spawn in your path, but the added complexity to enemy AI and the cooperative play mode is certainly much appreciated and adds to the replay value of the game when going through higher difficulty levels.
The imagery present in Gears of War 3 this time around is mind blowing and will certainly make you appreciate and care about what this world is going through. The graphics have undergone an overhaul and provide you with some of the most breath taking and beautiful images and also some of the darkest and goriest scenes ever seen in a video game. The texture loading problems of the Unreal Engine are still present but are much less noticeable this time around and do not hinder the viewing experience as much as in the previous two games.
Gears of War 3: Things That Go Boom
Guns in the Gears of War series have been one of the most attractive elements of the series and have always produced the big bangs needed to get the fans clamoring. Gears of War 3 does not deviate from what is a norm for this series and goes all out, bringing back all of the weapons present in the previous games as well as adding a plethora of new things to shoot your enemies in the face with.
One of the new additions is the retro Lancer, a powerful machine gun that sprays bullets in all direction – somewhat ineffective at long range but deadly at the close range as you can charge towards enemies and impale them with the attached bayonet. It is a wonderful counterpart to the chainsaw lancer present in the previous games.
You also get to wear some mechanized armor in some parts of the game and the armor is one of the most damaging weapons when you get a hold of it. There’s also the Butcher Cleaver, a large blade you can use to cut through the hordes of enemies but only a limited number of swings you can use. The Digger Launcher fires ammunition that goes through the ground, throwing up dirt as it moves towards its target.
The sawed-off shotgun is an annihilation machine at ultra-close distances but useless in any other situation. We also get a chance to take out the “one shot” – a sniper rifle that takes a long time to set up and fire but its a kill every time you manage to hit your target, which is where it got its name from.
All of the weapons are fun to use and play with, and it is interesting that each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, which make the campaign fun and interesting, and the multiplayer component even more enjoyable and challenging.
Gears of War 3: Battle It Out
As with the previous titles, Gears of War 3 includes full co-op play in the campaign mode for up to four players at a time, while a two-player split screen is also an option. Multiplayer aspects of the game mostly remain the same but have been refined to the point of perfection and playing with friends and rivals has never been more fun and exhilarating.
Horde 2.0 is of particular importance here as this adds some defensive and strategic elements to the original horde mode, including some aspects of tower defense-type gameplay. In Beast mode, you have the option of playing as the Locust, essentially the opposite of Horde 2.0, and you have to kill the good guys. The multiplayer adds to the replay value of the game and is definitely solid, enjoyable and one of the greatest available in this genre.
Multiplayer is definitely one of the things to look at if you’re planning to buy the game because it will surely not disappoint.
Epic Proportions
If I had to bestow a rating upon this gem of a game, I would deem myself unworthy. Gears of War 3 surpasses the need for a rating – It is just that good. So, saying that it is 5/5 or 10/10 would be distasteful to the say the least. The game is the most polished, well-designed and well-executed games I have played to date and provides a fitting end to one of the best third-person shooter game of all time. I can find no reason to not get this masterpiece – go buy it now!
Gears of War 3 is available exclusively for the Xbox 360 - $59.99 for the normal retail version (store link), $79.99 for the Limited Edition (store link) and $149.99 for the Epic edition (store link).
