Gears of War 3 review (Xbox 360 exclusive)

I’m about to open myself to a lot of hate from gamers the world over: I am not a fan of Gears of War. There, I said it.

I’ve just never been entirely blown away by the whole thing.

I don’t squeal with joy when I’m faced with the repetitive task of disembowelling onslaught after onslaught of Locust; I don’t tingle in funny places when Marcus Fenix’s ill-proportioned body barges onto screen; and I certainly don’t think “brown” is the colour of the future.

Okay – so now that I’ve garnered your scorn, and imagine you jumping furiously in front of your screens grunting “Why the hell are you reviewing it then?” behind gritted teeth; let me run my fingers through your hair and calm you right down by telling you all what you want to hear:

Gears of War 3 is awesome.

An Epic Conclusion

Two years after COG sunk the last remaining civilized human establishment, Jacinto, in a bid to flood out the overbearing Locust army; the human population is fragmented and hanging on to their mere existence.

It’s like the humans just can’t catch a break, because even though the plan to rid themselves of the Locust scourge was mostly a success, a new breed of enemy – the Lambent – are now posing an even greater threat; forcing people to live in remote locations on land, and on massive ships out at sea.

It is revealed in the opening chapters that Adam Fenix (Marcus’ dad) is still alive and kicking, and is being held against his will at an unknown location. Oh, and he obviously has the end-all solution to the world’s problems, naturally. So off you go on yet another suicide mission to save the world – or at least what’s left of it.

If you’ve never played Gears of War before, the game does provide a brief (and very bare) exposé into what’s been going on so far – but really, if you want the full picture of what’s going on, playing the previous titles would serve you far better.

It’s the Cole Train, baby! Whoo whoo!

Fenix and the boys of Delta Squad make a return, including another Carmine brother, whose fate, as you may recall, Epic left to the fans to decide.

Dom, still (understandably) miffed at what happened to his wife Maria, has decided to grow a beard (which I refer to as the “beard of mourning”); the Cole Train finally gets an extended chance to shine in the limelight he rightfully deserves, and Baird…well, he’s still an asshole.

Joining the team at the 11th hour are generic-secondary-black-character-that’s-not-Cole-Train, Jace (who was apparently around during Gears 2, but who cares) – as well as a couple of female COGs, Anya and Sam who, if they were real, I would be very nice to because they look like they could rip my liver out through my throat.

Some Gears fans might be quite surprised to find a new level of depth in all the characters they’ve come to know as the super-soldier cut-outs from the previous titles.

While you won’t see Marcus and Dom frolicking through the fields and giving each other bro-hugs; you do get a deeper sense of the bond between these guys, and leading up to the final challenges they will face, how that bond keeps them pushing forward on their journey.

Baby, it’s a wide world

Sera (that’s the name of the planet, for those of you who didn’t know) has never looked any better. One of my biggest gripes with Gears of War has been that it’s simply too brown; while there is plenty of the brown to go around, the franchise has been steadily adding more colours to its palette – with Gears 3 being the most diverse and visually stunning release yet.

No more ‘gat-kryping’ in the brown under Sera’s surface; Gears 3 takes you on a journey across land and sea; in light and darkness; small town to ashen city; and even dips you into the depths of the ocean. Each location painted with amazing textures and effects – the sheer scale of it all sometimes taking center-stage outside of the action.

Let’s not forget – this is Gears of War. While the characters may have more depth, and the locations more to show off; neither of these things ever manages to overshadow the true draw of this franchise – the ability to feed your lancer straight into the gut of the nearest enemy while squealing in unabated bloodlust as their innards spatter around you.

The right tools for the Job

If there’s one thing you’ve got to give Epic kudos for – it’s consistency. Anyone who has played the previous titles will feel immediately at home in Gears 3; the controls and gameplay are virtually unchanged, with the same cover-shooting system featuring prominently.

While the lack of evolution may seem like a downside to some – I’m of the school of thought that says “if it isn’t broken, don’t mess stuff up by alienating your established market”. Or something like that.

The fact is, what Gears does, and has always done, it does really well.

It’s not like there weren’t ANY additions: joining the Lancer and the weapons you know and love, Epic have decided to throw in a lot of new big toys to play with – including a digger launcher, which shoots explosives that burrow under and through cover – and a handy mountable blaster called the “One Shot” which, as the name implies, kills almost everything with one shot.

Add to the mix Catapult control and your very own mech-suit; and you can see how Gears 3 is equipping you for some massive conflicts. Trust me – you’re going to need every bullet for the Lambent and Locust hordes, and the other monstrosities coming your way.

Playing with Friends

The multiplayer for Gears 3 could probably do with a review all on its own; taking all the multiplayer modes from the previous titles and tweaking them – as well as adding a few more – means that Gears 3 provides the most comprehensive and challenging team-based multiplayer in the series to date.

Horde mode gets upgraded with a new “command post” style of play – where time is given between each new wave of enemies to purchase defences to fortify your position, or to purchase new weapons and ammo which is littered around the arena. This adds a new strategic element to Horde, and makes it quite a bit more challenging, too.

However, it’s Beast mode that will probably have fans most curious. In this mode you take the form of the guys you’ve spent three titles slaughtering, and work towards killing any humans you come into contact with using your “purchased” Locust. The only real buzz-kill here is the starting 1 minute time limit, which makes forming strategies tough at first. Or maybe I just suck at games.

Brothers until the end

Gears of War 3 is about endings.

Everything about the game screams at you that things are finally coming down to these last few moments in time: your team-mates find peace with this along the way; every wave of enemies you encounter seems more frantic than the last; and the over-the-top way in which you dispatch over-the-top baddies, spell it out for you quite clearly.

This game is epic. It’s big. It’s over-the-top. It’s going all out to wow you – it has to – because this is the end, so it can’t get any bigger than this.

Gears of War has never been the “greatest” in my eyes, and I’m not ashamed to admit that; and while Gears 3 still made me sigh every time yet another wave of Lambent and Locust stormed my screen; the set-pieces, the presentation and the narrative resolution impressed me so much – I can finally call myself a fan.

It’s an epic conclusion to the series that made the Xbox 360 a must-have machine for many; there’s enough “new” to compliment the tried-and-true – and it boasts a multiplayer experience that will keep you coming back long after the dust settles.

Gears of War 3 review (Xbox 360 exclusive) << Comments and views