After a delayed release, Epic Games close out the Gears saga with Gears of War 3. Was it worth the wait? Read More after the jump to find out what I thought of the game in my gears of war 3 review.
My History with Gears of War
I originally purchased the Xbox 360 for Gears of War when it was released back in 2006. I worked for a large corporate, faceless blue and white computer manufacturer at the time and being as they are a large corporate machine with ample cash to spare, there were many rooms filled with Xbox 360s and games we could play on lunch break. Gears of War was one of these games, actually it was the only game that we all played regularly. So long story short, I was sold on the game from the get go and immediately used my first pay cheque to go out and buy an Xbox 360 and Gears of War.
I’ve always enjoyed the Gears of War games but somewhere along the way, I lost interest in them. Other franchises like Call of Duty, Battlefield Bad Company, Halo, Resistance & Killzone began to take up all of my time, money and interest as far as video games went. While Gears of War was revolutionary and original showcasing really unique visuals, enemies, and core game mechanics I always found them to be lacking in replay value. Almost all of my game purchasing decisions are based around fun factor and replay value. With games costing as much as they do these days, I am always trying to ensure I get the most bang for my buck out of that new game. In the past the Gears games always fell short in the bang for the buck category because of the lack of replay value. Once the campaigns were completed I didn’t have much incentive to replay them, or jump into the lag infested online multiplayer that was Gears of War 2.
A Robust and Well Integrated Package
Well we are nearing the end of 2011 and things have changed. Epic Games knew that Gears 3 needed to up the ante in terms or replay value and multiplayer quality or the franchise would be dead in the water and up the ante they did! Gears 3 is stuffed full of goodies and content that could keep a gamer playing it for years. From the impressive 4 player co-op campaign offerings to it’s robust suite of multiplayer options, I’m never bored for lack of choice anymore like I was with the old games.
As soon as I booted up Gears 3 for the first time, I knew I was in for a special experience. The whole interface has been redesigned from the ground up to appear and function like a multiplayer lobby where one can easily invite friends to join in on any of the game modes, keep track of their characters stats, unlockables, levelling progression and more. I haven’t encountered such a slick interface since Halo Reach. The two games share many similarities in the amount of care and attention to detail each of the developers have put into the games. Dropping in and out of friends games whether they are playing the campaign, doing mulitplayer online, or playing coop horde mode is a breeze. A simple click of a button and you’re connected and communicating with buddies. This is definitely the main premiere reason why so many of us prefer Xbox Live to other online offerings. As soon as I loaded up the game I, like most of you I’m sure, immediately had to jump into the campaign and see where Marcus, Dom & the rest of Delta team were at since Gears 2 wrapped.
An Impressive Campaign with a Great Story
Gears of War 3 had an impressive campaign that played through at a rapid pace. There was always tons of Lambent & Locust to kill, always collectibles to find and always incentive to keep plowing forward as little achievement progress meters pop out from the side of the screen showing me how close I was to obtaining the next achievement. I haven’t had the chance to play through online yet in 4 player co-op but even playing solo I found my team’s AI was usually really good. There were only a few occasions where I was downed and they would run the opposite direction. Lots of new enemies were introduced and a few different weapons too. The controls felt a lot tighter, smoother and faster than previous games also. Popping in and out of cover, and sliding around from cover to cover was a snap. The game really was fluid and responsive.
I completed the campaign in about 15 hours or so and was close to Level 9 when I was done. That’s the really cool thing about the game, is that it rewards you with experience points for doing anything, regardless if it’s single player or online I was constantly getting xp and levelling up my character. I haven’t played any other games other than Halo Reach that allow you to level up one main character either online or off and it’s a really cool incentive to keep playing through the campaign multiple times and I think every game should take note of this now essential feature.
A Massive Multiplayer Suite
Once the campaign was wrapped, I immediately jumped online onto “Casual Team Deathmatch”; a training ground for new online Gears recruits to get their feet wet without getting stomped too hard by experience Gears veterans. The Casual mode must have some sort of level cap based on skill that I haven’t obtained yet to be locked out of it. I did see a level 23 player in casual the other night completely destroying everyone on my team, so I’m not sure if it even does get locked out, or players must make the choice to take on harder enemies in the regular mode. I certainly hope it doesn’t stay open to everyone forever as it will become a Shark tank feeding on helpless Guppies. (Please let me know if this mode does indeed get shutdown for more experienced players.) The multiplayer experience is definitely the bread and butter of this game. Gone are the useless peer to peer connections of Gears 1 & 2 which resulted in laggy as hell host advantage matches. Dedicated servers have levelled the playing field for everyone, and makes for a fantastic lag free and fast experience. Jumping in and out of matches is a snap, players come and go and are replaced by very competent bots, so game disconnects do not occur. Nothing is quite as satisfying as impaling a foe using the retro lancer and flinging his limp blood spewing carcass off the end of the lancer bayonet like a piece of day old steak. While very difficult to properly execute, I was screaming with glee like a school boy every time I successfully landed the attack.
Horde Mode Delivers Amazing Coop Gameplay with Friends
If online competitive multiplayer isn’t your bag, there is also another fantastic mode called Horde Mode. Played much like Call of Duty’s Zombies mode or Onslaught Mode in Battlefield, or Firefight in Halo, Horde mode is the king of online co-op wave based combat. Epic’s newest offering Horde Mode 2.0 enables players to build barracks and fortify their bases while earning cash for kills to unlock better upgrades, weapons and more. Wave after wave of ever increasing Locust and Lambent bombard the player until someone expires first. While other wave based modes like Zombies have no end in sight, Horde has 50 waves, and throws in boss battles and a set amount of spawns between waves. You always know how many kills are left to complete the round and what round you are currently on, so with an end in sight I feel this mode has a lot more purpose and potential than any of the others I mentioned.
Gears of War 3 is the Full Package and Highly Recommended
With all of the modes, unlockable characters, skins, weapons, weapon skins, trophies, medals, achievements, Easter eggs and more Gears 3 is a powerhouse. In terms of bang for buck value, Gears of War 3 is an Atomic Bomb of fuck yeah!
Everything about this game has been raised to peak standards and polished to a glimmering sheen. The whole game oozes production value and is an absolute blast from beginning to end and back again. If you own an Xbox 360 I cannot recommend this game enough. If you don’t own one yet, this is the game that validates it’s purchase. It’s that fucking good.
