Gears of War 3 Review
The final chapter has been written, and it is time to once again battle the Locust with Dom, Marcus, and others. Will this finally bring an end to the war, or will humanity fad into the past? Only you will be able to determine that. There is also the very important question of a certain bloodline that seems to meet misfortune at every turn in the series, will this Carmine actually see himself live through the game?
Graphically this game looks stunning. I had a chance to play around with some of the multiplayer at PAX, so I did know what to expect. The character designs actually show the wear and tear on the characters as this part of the war has progressed, which personally tells me that a lot of thought went into this game. There's also the new enemies that you'll have to deal with that not only look amazing, but also look a little bit scary (especially when it comes to trying to take them down). There's also the variety of different landscapes that you'll be playing through that not only makes you feel the games progression, but also give you a sense that not everything has to be barren in a war ravaged world.
The music has basically stay constant through the series, and that's probably for the best. As the saying goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and from the first time I picked up Gears of War I thought the music fit. There's also something to be said about getting the same voice actors to come back and lend their vocals to the series. There was no feelings of who said that, or have I seen you before, I thought I did but you sound different.
The controls, I think, are the only piece of the game that regressed for this game. The controls did not feel as snug as they could have been with several issues with having pressed the aim button but having something happen while still holding the aim button, and no longer aiming. I do like the fact that when using the Longshot you are able to keep your zoomed in look when reloading after every shot though.
So here you are, probably as Marcus Fenix, unless you are playing co-op. It has come down to this, and it is you who will have to put the final nail in someone's coffin. I'm not exactly sure what else to say about this game. There are going to be some twists in the story, and there are going to be new characters to meet, and you'll get to meet some old one's as well. There will be secrets revealed, battles fought, and a very large body count. You're going to get to play around with some new weapons, and use some of your favorite weapons from the past. This game is going to wrap up some of the biggest questions in the series, but it will also leave you with a couple of extra questions that I guess might be answered with DLC, or perhaps in the books.
If you've played the first two games you need this one to find closure. If you're new to the series I recommend starting from the beginning and then playing this game. I think you could probably start straight off with Gears of War 3, but you'll have to watch the quick previously on Gears of War video just so you get a little background. They definitely made multiplayer feel more fleshed out and give you a leveling up system to unlock characters and other goodies. Bottom line this is a very good third person shooter, and though it doesn't match up in some regards to its predecessors, this is still something that must be added to your collection. This game gets an 8.9 out of 10.