Hoping to finish up Gears 3 tonight or tomorrow. The game is definitely the best in the series but the combat does get monotonous. Still, as shooters go it's mindless in a good way, things certainly blow up well enough and humanoids gib as they should. I could care less about meeting / rescuing Marcus's dad but instead enjoy the banter between Cole, Baird and Sam. Marcus and Dom are not very interesting at all, and Marcus looks like a constipated honeybadger most of the time. I'm glad they opened up the world a bit with varied landscapes, less rock and metal than the previous two. I kinda yearn to play the multiplayer--I don't know if anyone's still playing at this point but the horde mode sounds like fun. Not paying for Live though, especially with the PS4 coming out in less than a month.

After reaching a stopping point in Gears, booted up Dragon's Crown on the PS3. I like that it's a beat-em-up with a little more sophistication. There's levels to be raised, loot to be picked up, equipment to be repaired. The music is reminiscent of Vanillaware's other game Odin Sphere, both remarkable compared to many video games. I wasn't aware that you could recruit AI party members which allows you to solo without having to open up your game to randoms. I at least want to finish the game once on my own, I hate it when randoms drive a co-op game at a faster pace than what I'm comfortable with, skipping story, cutscenes and what not. I don't know if this is the case with DC but the AI is good enough so far.