Gears of War 3
Review
Finish the Fight... Wait, wrong game.
by Keaton Arksey
reviewed on X360
Story (cntd)
Many (this reviewer included) have derided the Gears of War games for having a poor story, but Gears of War 3 is easily the best in the series. While it will not be the topic of any scholarly literature anytime soon, the climax provides some phenomenal moments. Even the Maria (wife of Marcus’ best friend and fellow COG Dom Santiago) subplot from Gears of War 2 is given actual meaning and has an effect in the high point narratively, Act 3. While it does degrade to some extent from there, it does still provide a good story. Special mention should go to the treatment of women, who have yet to play a significant role in the story. Newcomer Sam and Anya, an established character whose role evolved from “voice giving commands” to fellow soldier between games are treated exactly the same as any other soldier fighting for survival, not as skimp-ified sex objects.
Multiplayer
The biggest addition to campaign is four-player co-op, up from the previous games’ limits of two. The addition of two more players (controlled by the AI if playing solo) seem to make the game a tad easier, especially combined with the decrease in insta-death attacks that leave you in multiple pieces. On a Hardcore solo run the game lasts around ten hours, but has enough variation in environments and objectives to keep it from getting stale. The bosses also provide some of the more memorable moments in the game, never resulting to cheap tactics while still taking some forethought. It would be no exaggeration to call the climax the best campaign in the series.
Thanks to private servers and behind-the-scenes wizardry (and the public beta this Spring) Gears 3 avoids the pratfalls of its forbearer and provides a quick and lag-free multiplayer experience. Getting into matches is quick and painless, and once in you never have to wait for enough players thanks to AI bots that the game adds and removes as players come and go. Playing in any mode earns XP that unlock new characters and weapon skins once players meet the prerequisite level, which is the primary motivation behind levelling up (aside from bragging rights). Gears 3 also hands out various medals and ribbons during games, providing another aspect of collection.
Modes
The shotgun is still a bit overpowered, but Gears Versus is still one of the best competitive multiplayer out there. Along with personal favourite Warzone and other returning modes King of the Hill, Wingman Execution (like Warzone, but all kills must be executions, up close and often brutal moves like ripping off an enemies’ arm and beating them to death with it), Team Deathmatch and Capture the Leader (a play on Capture the Flag) finally make an appearance in the Gears games. The disc ships with 10 maps, usable across every multiplayer mode. Though the game occasionally throws the same map at you multiple times in a short span, all the maps offer good symmetrical layouts with battles usually revolving around where the power-weapons, like mortars or Boomshots spawn. The occasional environmental effect, such as a sandstorm that reduces visibility provides some element of chaos, and they do display a lot of the new technical features Gears 3’s updated engine provides.
9.7
fun score
Pros
Highly polished campaign, good story, quick and fun multiplayer, ridiculously fun Horde and Beast Modes, all in co-op.
Cons
Story drags after Act 3.
