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  • Enthralling cinematic story. Experience the epic finale to the Gears of War trilogy
  • Unparalleled gameplay
  • One of the definitive multiplayer experiences on Xbox LIVE
  • Gears of War 3 pushes the envelope for stunning visuals on Xbox 360
Pretty darned good

This was my second XBox game so I knew none of the back story. The campaigns are engaging and I estimate about 12h of game play. The game itself is not that difficult and I am very glad there aren't any maze-like areas where you just have to hunt for that tiny door or something. The video segments inbetween the game play itself are short and sweet. What I loved about this game was being able to take cover and shoot, but I was somewhat dissapointed there was no way to lay prone and shoot. Afterall what is the point of a "Longshot" (pretty much a sniper rifle) and not being able to lay down and sight! Online game play is fun, the locations are the same as used in the various levels of the campaign. You can be a human (COG), or a locust (several different types) and play death matches (where each team has a pool of lives) or capture the leader or area matches (much harder than the death matches). One complaint I have is the seeingly one-sided nature of the damage. As a player how come I can shoot an opponent 3-5 times in the body with the hammer burst and they kill me with *1* shot from a pistol. How come I have shot an opponent at point blank range with my pistol in the body and head and they not drop (then they shoot me with a sawn off shot gun and blow me to bits)? No matter what, this is a fun game and I enjoyed every minute of the campaigns and the online.

The Apex of Gaming

Let me start by saying that I played GOW 1 and 2 and loved both games. So much so that I've probably played through both games 3 or 4 times each. The series is simply fantastic. From the storyline to the voice acting; the tight controls to the magnificent graphics, this series has everything a gamer could ask for. Simply said, a person that doesn't find great entertainment value in this series needs to be medicated. That being said, GOW 3 is one of the greatest games I've ever played. And I've been playing video games since the Atari 2600. The story truly is epic. The gameplay is epic. The graphics are beautiful. There is simply nothing negative that can be said about this game, with the exception being that it didn't last long enough. Not that it was a short game, I just wanted to keep on playing! If you are lucky enough to own an XBOX 360, there is no excuse not to have this game in your library. If you haven't played any of the GOW games in the series, I urge you to pick each title up, 1 through 3. Start with the original GOW and play though a fantastic series that culminates with one of the finest trilogy endings ever. You won't be sorry. PROS - Beuatiful graphics - Epic story - vibrant characters and voice acting - excellent control scheme - good challenge - great musical score that fits the game perfectly - Effing fun as hell to play CONS - Not a one

Brothers until the end…

Gears of War 3 continues to serve as my favorite Xbox 360 game, holding its spot right up there next to Halo 3 (specifically the multiplayer component). This game combines a brilliant storyline, amazing graphics, a fantastic third person shooter system, and an impressive audio track for the entirety of the campaigns and multiplayer action. I personally enjoy the single player or multi-player campaigns, not only because I relish in the physical/mental/bodily/etc destruction of my NPC enemies, but also due to a great, emotional story which introduces new characters and wraps up loose ends. The multiplayer online also introduces some fun options, including Horde and Beast Mode, which provides endless entertainment past, or instead of, the main campaign. I’m definitely excited to move onto the next game in the GoW series.

Mostly for the Best

Well to start it out, let's talk about the good points. I will avoid all spoilers so don't worry here. The campaign is great, with the greatest voice acting and visuals ever. I don't think I have ever seen a game with as good of graphics as GOW3, utterly stunning. The voice actors are very convincing. And the small detail that the designers put into the visuals is amazing. There are many hidden "Easter Eggs"(little secrets put into a game just for fun) that add to the replay value of the campaign, as well as co-op. Arcade mode also adds a competitive piece to campaign allowing you to fight for the most points over your teammates. We see the return of most of the characters, though a bit older looking now, and the new Carmine is better than ever. The story was written very well and we get to see some new enemies as well. Basically, the campaign is utterly amazing and great. Good job here EPIC. Horde mode is also improved with the ability to purchase blockades, decoys, turrets, sentries and silver-backs. You earn money for kills, assists, and completing bonus objectives (usually killing enemies in different ways. EG: 10 Head-shots in a round). The more points you spend on specific "fortifications", the more you level it up. With higher levels you can build enhanced versions of that fortification, and unlock new ones. Also, a good job here. Beast mode is an interesting mode that puts you in the shoes of the locust as they attack in horde. You get to fight through 12 waves of horde as locust. The more kills and assists that you get, the more locust breeds become unlocked. You start out with simple breeds like tickers and wretches, then unlock stronger breeds like boomers and berserkers (oh is it fun being a berserker). And one last thing is the new abilities that you can do. Trading weapons with characters, both A.I. and player controlled, is a very nice addition. And if both characters have the same weapon, one can choose to share his ammo with the other. Now for the little bad points. (Mostly all of these are in online matchmaking) If you had the chance to play the beta of GOW3 you will see that a lot has changed, and not all for the good. It seems that there were many complainers who played the beta, and EPIC listened to them. The retro-lancer now spreads more quickly than it did in the beta, and it was already fairly in-accurate. You also slow down more when you get shot during a retro-charge or "roadie-run". The sawed off shotgun is also much less effective than it twas. The range of it has been reduced to a bare point-blank. Anymore and it won't even do damage. The gnasher shotgun is much farther range, and I feel that it's a little too far. The gnasher can now kill someone from 15+ yards pretty quickly. Besides these, most of the weapons have been left untouched power-wise. And, when playing campaign or horde, the weapons seem to be just as powerful as they were in the beta. It seems like they just changed it for match-making. The other bad point that this has is the team balancing. The problem is, I don't think it exists. I have been on teams that have had 3 bots (A.I. players). And bots do not play very good, mostly they are just walking ammo banks they give the other team kills. Of course this is in a quick match, but even in a ranked match, it also does not seem to keep even ranks on the teams when playing. Plus ranked matches take much longer to get into and don't really rank you up any quicker. All in all though, Gears of War 3 is a great game and I definitely recommend buying it. The campaign is perfect, the horde and beast modes are great, and you can get past the little annoyances, match-making is decent as well. So EPIC, you still get a nice 5 star, well done!

Great Game 1 2 and 3

I LOVE THIS GAME. I have played 1 and 2 and I look forward to 4! The story lines for Gears have War have captivated me, and been enjoyable which is something that I find very important with anything that I play. There's is lots to kill, and the different types of enemies and dynamic between them is great. Gives you a new perspective on the world of Gears of War. The weapons are fun, though there were some changes that i didn't care for. The only downside is that its a dark game, so playing in light can be tough especially if you are playing split screen with a friend. You have very little visibility and so finding and hitting targets can be incredibly frustrating, which deters you from playing during the day. But light the sun go down and Beserkers shall DIE!! Overall I recommend this game, but make sure you play 1 and 2 first to really get the full feel of this world. :)

Best Gears of War!

This is my favorite gears of war game for the xbox 360. I've beaten gears of war and gears of war 2. The single player campaign is longer than the first two. Great graphics. Great story. What makes this standout from all others is the best in class multiplayer modes. This game, like gears of war 1 and 2, has a local co-op split screen mode for playing with a friend. It also has the multiplayer modes for playing on xbox live. That's really where this stands out is in Versus Mode. That's where you pit your character against other gamers that are either randomly selected on a team or you select your own team to fight with you, don't have to worry about people dropping out as they're replaced with bots to keep the match going. the achievements and ribbons will keep you playing for hours. there's lots of different arenas/maps to play in so it's never boring. Team Deathmatch is my favorite. You can easily spend several hours all day playing this mode. If you're an adult or young adult who's good at video games you have to buy this game. This is best in class for all shooter games or co-op multiplayer games.

I can't quit you, Dom...

Gears of War has done what almost no one in the history of anything has done - crank out a near perfect trilogy (eat me, Halo 3 and get bent, Aeschylus!). It's a powerful, satisfying and suprisingly emotional close to what has been my favorite video game franchise in years. A well played end to one heck of a ride. Take a bow, everyone, you deserve it. But... Note that I said "near perfect" - there are some flaws and short comings that I'll be happy to point out in obnoxious detail below. But if you read no further, know this - if you enjoyed anything at all about the previous Gears games, even in the slightest bit, then this is a must play. It's a wonderful blend of story and gameplay successes and a deserving end to a bloody romp. Seriously, I could end the review here, because that's all you need to know... but how is that any fun for ME? Commence my pointless bitching... Vissually, Gears 3 is both a huge leap forward and a huge leap in the wrong direction. Now stay with me, because I may be the only person alive who's going to gripe about this game's visuals. They've given it a much shinier, smoother, more photo-realistic look and it's truly impressive to see - until you start to move around with any speed, that is. The color palette (the infamous Gears of War brown on grey on bleh) that has worked well in the past is now too muddled and blurry to actually SEE anything. And don't give me any crap about my eyes not working, because I'm playing this one on a 40" HDTV, where I played the others on a 26" tube TV and was able to make out what I was shooting at just fine. They've put such wonderful visual detail into the characters and the enemies (especially the newly intorduced breeds of Lambent locust) that to lose them all among the backgrounds and foregrounds in a mess of brown and grey is a real shame. I know Gears is supposed to muted and muddled and to do anything else would make it not feel like Gears, but they've kept a small portion of the tone at the expense of my eyesight. Though changing that would have made it feel like a different world, I suppose. Now get ready for a big ol' paragraph of contradiction, because... They've made unecessary artistic choices that start to make it feel less like a Gears game and more like a different world. ...Why? How come, all of a sudden, no one has any sleeves? I guess they were like "huh, they've been living on a boat for a while, they should probably look like they're all beat up and tired... Eh, take away their sleeves, that should do it." That's... that's weak. It just looks like they're sporting their summer armor or something. If the desire was to give the impression that the COG soldiers were short on supplies and living thin, they should all have, like, partial armor. And patched up armor. We should see more guys sporting those silly Baird goggles instead the full helmets - things like that. And how come Anya is now in full armor and has a big gun? I get that they wanted to put women on the front lines (something curiously lacking in the other titles) and I've no problem with Sam, or the gal with the white dreadlocks - I buy them just fine. But Anya? Shouldn't she be on the bridge of the destroyer with, like, a compass and a... protractor or something? Giving her the full Gears armor just felt out of character. And who the hell is this Jace Stratton weenus? Is this my new sidekick? Could they have found a WORSE actor to play him? He doesn't sound like a Gear, he sounds like glass-jawed weenus. Seriously, screw that guy. Some other strange things happen - the locust no longer appear out of big holes in the ground, they now pop out like lemurs. Why? You spend a half chapter with Cole as the lead character all of a sudden... why? Sure, it was cool to learn more about him and he feels less like a racist charicature than he ever has, but it's a little late to back-track him from the last two full games. All it does it break continuity and lead to some awkward story transitions. And oh, God, don't get me started on the story elements they don't follow through on and the plot threads they introduce just to forget about... just, just don't even go there. The biggest sin throughout, however, is the refusal to simply give us what we want - more old-school Gears action. The last level of the game is incredible: it's an old-school, no-holds barred slog through waves and waves of locust grunts with your lancer at your side and a shotgun in your back pocket that leads to a neat and challenging boss fight that fits fluidly into the rest of the combat - tride and true Gears of War awesomeness. But... about halfway through that level I realized I had to wait THE WHOLE GAME to get what was the staple for the other two. I should be SICK of that by that point and ready for some kind of endgame treat (like the Brumake ride in Gears 2 or the showdown with Raam in Gears 1). All the other chapters a sprinkled with so much arcade-ish feeling BS. Silly weapons (oh... a 'one-shot'... cool) and unncessary new eneimes (look, a centipede... that shoots lightning... neat). There's no painful and obnoxious "drive the vehicle" level (thank God) but there are plenty of "man the turret and shoot at something silly" levels. And for the first time, we have Gears standing toe-to-toe with a Brumak... you know, the giant dinoaur with rocket launchers on it's arms?... and surviving. After they spent two games establishing that you don't take those (or other monsters) on without some sort of heavy weapon or high-tech advantage, now you just shoot it in the eyes... like everything else... "eh, just give it a glowing and obvious weak spot, they'll figure it out". It's a laundry list of tone altering and genre bending sillyness that is just so unnecessary. I can't tell if it was all added because the developers were worried they were boring us or if they were bored themselves... I'm inclined to believe the latter. All in all, I'm glad this is the last installment. Sera's a broken world, our protagonists have been beaten to and battered to the point of no return, and delving back in for another go just wouldn't be fun anymore. They've lowered the curtain on the series, taken a final, beautiful bow and I truly hope it stays that way. Oh, wait... I just read about the prequel they're planning... with a different dev team... ...oh...

Best Gears Installment

Gears of War 3 is arguably the best installment in the franchise. The game offers a handful of fun game modes each of which is loaded with hours of fun. For starters the campaign features the climatic end to what has been built up to through the first two games. In the campaign you can play co-op with up to four people, co-op Gears is really where the fun is in this franchise. It is what I believe makes the game so epic and unforgettable. I will not discuss any spoilers here though I would point out that there are emotional moments in the game if you have been immersed in the franchise for some time. Horde Mode: Horde is of course wave defense, you and up to four friends can play this mode. In Horde you use in game currency to upgrade defenses and get ammo/weapon drops. Every tenth wave you'll encounter a challenging boss. For example: Brumaks or Beserkers. Horde is tons of fun to play with your friends and it's VERY challenging to make it through all 50 waves. Beast Mode: In this mode you get to be the locust. Thought I wouldn't like it, but it turns out being a locust and thrashing the COGS is freakishly addicting. Multiplayer: I personally don't enjoy multiplayer in any game. That said being as objective as I can, the multiplayer is well constructed with fun maps and tons of fun execution finishers. You can customize your character and weapon skins in the options menu to give your character a little personal flare.

Almost as good as gears 2 (edit)

As gears 2 is my 5 for this franchise, this one has to be a 4. I didn't like the story as much, I didn't like losing certain people, and I'd rather fight conventional locust over lambent whatevers. It's neat when they blow up the first few times, but it's ultimately just an annoyance. Other than those few things, this game is among the best in it's class. Would recommend without a doubt. EDIT: I've been achievement hunting and gave this game a thorough second look. I'm changing my rating to a 5 from a 4. Between arcade, versus, and horde this game really does set itself apart from the other games in the series. It never ceases to be a challenge, and maintains form as something I really enjoy plodding through. First, I tried the campaign on insane after finally trying the end all be all gears difficulty on gears: judgement, which was honestly a lot cheaper in how it kills you when it does (A LOT of frags). The story is still engaging to me, the game play is every bit as polished as any you could mention, and beating it was honestly satisfying. It wasn't miserable, and it wasn't easy. It was a firm lesson in strategy and pacing yourself. Great campaign, and arcade mode gives that little bit of competitive edge when playing with friends to really push it over the edge into my top 5 all time favorites. Next thing I tried was versus, where the pace is obviously a bit faster. Granted, there is a firm belief that cheap shotgun blasts to unaware opponents is a skill move, and I'm going to find that to be ridiculous in any game that has that dimension, but it isn't impossible to combat. Otherwise, the versus is engaging and it does seem fairly well balanced. There's not a lot of excessive explosives, there's always a chance of surviving your encounter. It's just a matter of figuring out what it is and if you can come away with a kill in the process. Good stuff. Then I tried horde, which I can only compare to firefight from halo. Waves of enemies that become increasingly difficult through rounds. The only thing about this that I find annoying is leveling up your ability to do things like building barriers or turrets. Obviously this is overcome with a bit of time, but I'm not a fan of giving advantages to players because they played a lot. Even playing fields are the basis of competition. It's a bit ridiculous when you're in a game with someone who pulls out a rocket baring silverback when you're in there trying to lancer a platoon of heavily health boosted grenadiers. Really cod, and not a fan. Last I tried beast mode, which is honestly just tacked on in my opinion. It can be fun to run around as a berserker or corpser, but for the most part, if I play much more of this variant, it'll be for instagib melee mutator and medals if I wind up caring to go for seriously 3.0. All in all, this game is awesome, and if you're into aggressive shooters this is one you shouldn't miss out on. If you're finding it too hard, give it some time, because it's worth it to pick up a little skill in this game. It's made me stronger in the other shooters I play between the recoil and strategy involved. Don't pass on the retro, and learn to play tag.

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.

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