Gears Of War 3 Review
Introduction
Gears of War 3, the third and concluding part of the Gears of War trilogy, goes out with a bang. Epic promised they would learn from their mistakes from Gears of War 2 and boy have they indeed.
Campaign
The campaign is roughly eight to ten hours long on Normal played solo. You can play with up to four players in co-op, online or via splitscreen. There are several parts of the game where you will split into groups of two, one taking high ground supporting the other group by giving covering fire, etc. A couple of on rails sequences, along with much better, and bigger, boss fights, and a really well told story make the campaign a worthwhile start to your Gears of War 3 career this time around. There are some really memorable set pieces, but I don't want to spoil them for you. The game does a good job of exploring some backstory for some of the characters, and also manages to fill a few holes in the proccess.
Multiplayer
Two words, no, one word. EPIC!
Yes pun intended. The servers are holding up really well. The matchmaking seems to be doing an adequate job, and there's enough variety in the form of modes, unlockable character and weapon skins to keep everyone happy. Not once have I experienced any form of lag (yet). There is now drop in drop out multiplayer and there are now bots to fill in any open slots. The maps are pretty well designed, and fairly balanced out. Some old maps return with a new look. The multiplayer never seems unfair. If you die you just genuinely got outclassed.
Graphics
I played Gears of War 3 on both a 32" LG HDTV and an Acer 24" 120hz monitor. The game looks great on both! Explosions, special effects, reflections, gunfire, all really stand out well. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was a different engine from Unreal Engine 3. There is a little aliasing, and the shadows are a little rough, but you can tell Epic really pushed the limits with Gears of War 3. There's a little rough framerate during some cutscenes, but the game itself holds out well even with alot of enemies on screen. This game looks really good but the small flaws it does have just highlight that it's time for Microsoft to start thinking about the next generation system sooner rather than later. Gears of War 3 also supports 3D though I haven't had the chance to test it yet.
Audio
Played through a 7.1 setup the game sounded fantastic. Bullets whizz past your ears, Boomshots explode with a satisfying rumble. The musical score is pretty enthusiastic, and sets the tone for the game really well. One set piece in particular will stand out to you most definitely and will no doubt be talked about by fans of the series for years to come. The voice acting is pretty well done. The relationships between the characters is well put across to the player because of this. If anything the only issue I have is with Marcus. He just sounds like he swallowed a hornets nest and kind of sticks out among the rest of the voice talent.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty tight. There's really good map design overall, offering plenty of chances for flanking and other variety of tactics across all game modes. Weapons are well thought out, well placed, and the newly introduced weapons fit in really well with the games tone and atmsphere. The refined controls feel good and responsive, along with some of the new moves and executions, and the refined cover system feels alot less clunky overall because of it aswell.
Conclusion
A very solid effort from Epic. Easily one of the best games of the year without a doubt. Xbox 360 gamers definitely have a game they can hold their heads up high about. Great game!
9/10
Gears of War 3, the third and concluding part of the Gears of War trilogy, goes out with a bang. Epic promised they would learn from their mistakes from Gears of War 2 and boy have they indeed.
Campaign
The campaign is roughly eight to ten hours long on Normal played solo. You can play with up to four players in co-op, online or via splitscreen. There are several parts of the game where you will split into groups of two, one taking high ground supporting the other group by giving covering fire, etc. A couple of on rails sequences, along with much better, and bigger, boss fights, and a really well told story make the campaign a worthwhile start to your Gears of War 3 career this time around. There are some really memorable set pieces, but I don't want to spoil them for you. The game does a good job of exploring some backstory for some of the characters, and also manages to fill a few holes in the proccess.
Multiplayer
Two words, no, one word. EPIC!
Yes pun intended. The servers are holding up really well. The matchmaking seems to be doing an adequate job, and there's enough variety in the form of modes, unlockable character and weapon skins to keep everyone happy. Not once have I experienced any form of lag (yet). There is now drop in drop out multiplayer and there are now bots to fill in any open slots. The maps are pretty well designed, and fairly balanced out. Some old maps return with a new look. The multiplayer never seems unfair. If you die you just genuinely got outclassed.
Graphics
I played Gears of War 3 on both a 32" LG HDTV and an Acer 24" 120hz monitor. The game looks great on both! Explosions, special effects, reflections, gunfire, all really stand out well. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was a different engine from Unreal Engine 3. There is a little aliasing, and the shadows are a little rough, but you can tell Epic really pushed the limits with Gears of War 3. There's a little rough framerate during some cutscenes, but the game itself holds out well even with alot of enemies on screen. This game looks really good but the small flaws it does have just highlight that it's time for Microsoft to start thinking about the next generation system sooner rather than later. Gears of War 3 also supports 3D though I haven't had the chance to test it yet.
Audio
Played through a 7.1 setup the game sounded fantastic. Bullets whizz past your ears, Boomshots explode with a satisfying rumble. The musical score is pretty enthusiastic, and sets the tone for the game really well. One set piece in particular will stand out to you most definitely and will no doubt be talked about by fans of the series for years to come. The voice acting is pretty well done. The relationships between the characters is well put across to the player because of this. If anything the only issue I have is with Marcus. He just sounds like he swallowed a hornets nest and kind of sticks out among the rest of the voice talent.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty tight. There's really good map design overall, offering plenty of chances for flanking and other variety of tactics across all game modes. Weapons are well thought out, well placed, and the newly introduced weapons fit in really well with the games tone and atmsphere. The refined controls feel good and responsive, along with some of the new moves and executions, and the refined cover system feels alot less clunky overall because of it aswell.
Conclusion
A very solid effort from Epic. Easily one of the best games of the year without a doubt. Xbox 360 gamers definitely have a game they can hold their heads up high about. Great game!
9/10
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