Gears of War 3 is the final installment in the immensely popular Gears of War series, developed by Microsoft Studios and Epic Games for the Xbox 360. Just like the previous two installments in the franchise, Gears of War 3 is packed with insane firefights and brutal combat with horrific alien monsters, and it is truly marvelous. The story of Gears of War 3 (now abbreviated as GoW3) is a direct continuation of the first two games. You play as Marcus Fenix, the quintessential badass marine of the COG and hero of the story, as you attempt to stop the Locust infestation on the world of Sera. In this game, however, the COG have been disbanded and you are left drifting on a ship with the remnants of the military, only this time you have more than just the Locust to worry about. Turns out the Locust have evolved into a new species known as the Lambent, and they are just as mean as their predecessors, if not more so. They also are highly explosive...but more on that later.
In terms of story, GoW3 does it right. The characters from the previous two games are still around, including Marcus, Anya, Dom, Baird, and my favorite, THE COLE-TRAIN (WHOOOOO!!!) Anyone who is familiar with the previous two Gears games knows how great these characters are, and it is a delight to see them back in the final installment. They are well fleshed out and compelling as ever, and the banter between these COG soldiers lightens the mood of an otherwise bleak game. The world is literally falling apart, and the characters of the story are just trying to find a way to survive. Toss in the fact that Marcus' father Adam, previously thought to be deceased, has resurfaced and the fact that he tells Marcus that he has a "cure" for the Locust problem, and all of a sudden you have a race against time to save Adam Fenix from the Queen of the Locust. The story is compelling and tense and it draws you in from the moment you start playing. That being said, I will add one small caveat, and that is this: unless you are a fan of the previous Gears games, you won't really care about the characters and the story as much as someone who has played the first two games, mainly because if you have played them, you are more emotionally invested in seeing what happens to the main characters. Still, as a fan of the Gears franchise, I give GoW3 a 5/5 for story.
Now on to the graphics. GoW3 takes full advantage of the processing power of the Xbox 360, and it looks even better than the previous installments. Character designs are crisp and detailed and the environments are equally stunning. From the giant oil tanker on which you start the game to the hidden hive of the Locust Queen, all of the environments are well rendered and intriguing. Some of my favorite locales were the COG outpost and the abandoned hotel, because they were compelling not only visually, but technically as well, meaning that they were fun to play. In terms of graphics, I give GoW3 a 5/5.
Gameplay in GoW3 remains largely unchanged, however. The COG soldiers still move exactly the same, still fire exactly the same, still run exactly the same. The only improvement is that there are new guns, which grant new execution methods. Despite the lack of originality in this department, I can't help but realize that if it works, then why fix it? Also, the whole "storm run" thing is kind of a trademark of the Gears series, as is the cover based shooting. Because of this, I am willing to be a little more forgiving. Regardless of the unchanged gameplay, GoW3 still remains a great game because of the environments you get to explore and the things that you get to do, including the enemies you have to fight. Once you get to the Lambent Berserker, you'll know what I mean. The other saving grace of GoW3 has to be the multiplayer. Vastly improved over the previous two games, it offers new game types and new achievements and goals to shoot for. My favorite of the new game types is Horde Mode and Beast Mode. Horde Mode pits you and three friends against increasingly difficult waves of Locust and Lambent enemies, and it is a blast to play. Beast Mode, on the other hand, is much like Horde Mode, except you play as Lambent and Locust yourself and attempt to slay the COG players. It is a refreshing change from the normal "soldiers versus monsters" game types. Because of the multiplayer alone, I give GoW3 a 4/5 for gameplay.
In closing, GoW3 is a fantastic game, and is worth buying just for the new multiplayer, as well as to see the end of the story. While it will appeal more to the hardcore Gears fans like myself than the common lay-gamer, I still think that people unfamiliar with the Gears series will enjoy it. I highly recommend this game to everyone who loves a good third-person shooter, and with the release of the new DLC "Raam's Shadow", there is even more to do once you complete the campaign. So I urge you to go out and purchase Gears of War 3. You'll like what you see. Until next time!
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