by jake108 Monday 19th September 2011

Gears of War 3: The Geekscape Review

Campaign

Gears of War, for me, had a great campaign. There. I said it. Who could forget the first time you fought a Berserker? Or the first time you ran into real Boomers? And let’s not forget one of the most awesome TV Spots made for a video game:

Then came Gears of War 2. What do I have to say about this title? “IT’S A GIANT WOOOOORRRM!”

Yeah, that’s about it. It felt like there was little to no sense of individualism between the characters in Gears of War. As far as I knew, they were all happy dudes, pre-Locust invasion, now they’ve lost everything and are literally fighting for their existence. Sure, we have Cole Train who was a thrashball superstar before Emergence Day, and always threw in the occasional “Woo!”, but that’s about as far it went.

On Tuesday, you’ll find that Karen Traviss, writer of Gears of War 3, got each and every character 100% right. Without revealing spoilers, I’ll say the amount of story and emotion is apparent within the first five minutes of playtime in campaign. Yes, I’m still talking about Gears of War and not another video game. Yes, Gears of War 3 has a fantastic story, and yes, Gears of War 3 WILL have a strong presence in the list of nominations for Game of the Year. Mark these words.

Karen Traviss is able to individualize every character to the point where you actually start to care about them (sadly, for the first time). For everyone that played through Gears of War 2, the emotion hit its peak during the scene where Dominic Santiago found his wife. In Gears of War 3, this level of emotion, and speed of pace, is kept through each act and every chapter. The games sound, graphics, level design, and atmosphere almost make this feat seem easy, but you can tell they really did put a lot of effort into making this a compelling story this time around.

As many Gears fans know, there are collectibles you can find as you play through campaign. In Gears of War 3, some of these collectibles advance the story. For example, in an early part of the game, you come across the results of a psych-evaluation for Dominic Santiago. Flashbacks are also included. Now, these aren’t the kind of flashbacks where you sit back and watch a cutscene, and these aren’t the kind of flashbacks where it feels like a chore or tacked on level you have to get through to advance the story. The atmosphere changes dramatically. One way I can describe it is that the atmosphere changes in relation to how Arkham Asylum changed during every Scarecrow segment.

Atmosphere plays a pivotal role in Gears of War 3. The game does a great job on reflecting the dire situation humanity is set in on Sera. Crumbling buildings, dead humans on the street, empty restaurants and stores are all featured during the campaign.

I have to admit, players may feel a little lost as the events of Gears of War 3 take place two years after the events of Gears of War 2. Fans are able to bridge the gap by reading the Gears books (also written by Karen Traviss). Characters will sometimes reference events that happened during this gap. I don’t see this as downside to the story simply because a canonical universe that utilizes every piece of fiction and story makes the universe, and in this case the game, even more awesome to play.

If you get tired of the regular campaign, you can switch it up by going into Arcade mode, where players are able to put on Mutagens, which work similarly to Halo’s Skulls, but with different features. Mutagens have to be unlocked in order to be activated. This feature also adds to the replay value, not that it needed much convincing to give Gears of War 3 another run-through. There are plenty of explosions, great dialogue, and action sequences that can only be more fun with friends. Did I mention Gears of War 3 features 4-player co-op?

Horde

Horde 2.0 is just that. The ability to set up command posts, turrets, barriers, and even the ability to buy a giant mech suit known as the Silverback makes Horde a tremendous amount more fun than it was on Gears of War 2. Every 10 levels features a boss wave that contains anything from three Berskers at a time to two massive Brumaks storming your front. Players will also have the ability to level up as well as earn ribbons, medals, and your place on the leaderboards.

If you plan on getting to Wave 50, make sure you get a team together, because you’re not going to be able to do it alone. Also, don’t expect to put a couple of Boom Shields at the doorways and be safe. Locust can knock these down and Boomers can climb over them.

Beast Mode

Beast mode, as name, is hilarious. Say it. It’s amazing. It’s also pretty much the opposite of Horde. In this mode, you are the Locust and are trying to take down humans and stranded alike. “Heroes,” which are the likes of Marcus and Dom have to be executed in order to be killed.

As you kill humans, you earn money. This money in turn can be used to buy better Locust. There are only twelve waves in Beast Mode, which is a shame. Once you and you’re able to play as a Beserker, you’ll never want to stop.

Multiplayer

Over the course of the last two years, I’d lost the excitement and joy of what was the Gears of War multiplayer experience. For me, Gears of War 2 was jagged and rough. The maps ran with shotgun shells, tagged grenades, and well, that was about it. The game’s most iconic weapon, the Lancer Assault Rifle, had lost its value.

When you put your copy of Gears of War 3 in your Xbox, and you WILL do this eventually, you will notice an immediate difference in the gameplay as a whole. Ribbons are given when you do special things during multiplayer matches. These things include highest amount of headshots, last one alive, most executions, etc. Doing tasks like these will also grant you medals that you can show off next to your gamertag in-game. You’ll notice that all of the old gametypes are back along with a couple of new ones. The variation of Team Deathmatch, which we all experienced in the Beta, is back along with classic Execution and Warzone gametypes. Gears of War 3’s multiplayer is defined, smooth, and fun.

First off, I’m happy to write that the Lancer has returned to its former glory of usefulness on the battlefield. In Gears of War 3, you are able to choose from three different assault rifles:

The Lancer – There’s nothing like a good hacking. Chainsawing opponents still rewards you with that awesome feeling of murderous gratification. The Lancer has the biggest clip of the three assault rifles, as well as the highest fire rate. Depending on who you are, you may find this rifle to be more accurate than its counterparts. It’s best used at mid-range, and even deadlier with an active reload.

Retro Lancer – There’s nothing like jamming a bayonet into your opponent’s emergence hole (yes, emergence hole). Holding B with this rifle will only cause you to hold it down harder as you get closer to your target, ifyouknowwhatI’msayin. This short-ranged assault deals heavy damage to enemies as long as you fire in controlled bursts. Don’t try blind-firing, though, it’ll only force your camera to tilt up because of its recoil.

Hammerburst – For you marksmen and women out there, with the click of the stick, you are able to aim down the sights of this rifle, for absolutely no money down. With the ability to aim down the sights, the Hammerburst proves to be a rifle for all situations. Just remember its fire rate isn’t amazing.

Each of these assault rifles vary in value depending on the map, opponents, and situations. I often find myself switching my spawning weapons in between deaths and maps. In fact, I’m able to use the assault rifles so much that I have to sometimes worry about running out of ammo. As far as assault rifles vs. shotguns on multiplayer maps go, I’d have to say it’s pretty balanced. Still, I guarantee you will have those moments when you insist that Epic Games and the Gears of War Franchise hates you and doesn’t want you to die by anything other than a shotgun, every thirty seconds.

Just as you can choose your spawning weapon for you assault rife class, you are able to choose for you shotgun class as well. Players who participated in the Beta will remember being able to choose from the standard Gnasher and the Sawed-Off Shotgun. Just as the assault rifles and both shotguns have their perks.

The Gnasher offers a quicker rate of fire and reload time to drastic proportions when compared to the Sawed-Off. The Gnasher is still everything you remember from the first two installments. So why give the Sawed-Off a chance? The Sawed-Off shotgun provides a massive crosshair. That’s why. Learn it. If you are near your enemy, and point this shotgun in their direction, they will die. This comes at a price: Sawed-Off shotgun fires both shells in one blast per reload.

As far as the other weapons go, they’re a ton of fun to use when you become accustomed to them. Each player will have their favorite, but Epic did a hell of a job balancing the weapons in this installment. My favorite new additions include the Incendiary Grenade and the One-Shot. The Incendiary Grenade works much its counter-parts. When it lands, a splash of flame will engulf a small radius.

Smoke Grenades now serve a larger purpose than just providing low visibility. When enemies are near its detonation, they will be unable to fire for a few seconds as a result of being stunned. You can still roll away though. Ink Grenades on the other hand stun opponents in place, allowing them to become easy targets. The Gorgon Pistol is now full-auto rather than short bursts. Other weapons from the previous titles such as the Hammer of Dawn, Scorcher, and Boltok remain relatively the same.

Unlike the first two titles, characters in the multiplayer character roster are earned. Most are rewarded by ranking up while others are rewarded other various Gears of War related accomplishments. The same concept applies to weapon skins, though, some weapon skins can be bought for a price (I’m talking real money here, folks).

Personally, I didn’t enjoy much of the Gears of War 2 map line-up that was on-disc. Aside from the maps that appeared in the Beta, which I heavily played and have already grew slightly tired of, I enjoy every map in Gears of War 3 for different reasons. On some of the larger maps, weapon spawns are where they need to be. Multiplayer games sometimes suffer from routine-based combat that can make the game boring. In this case, Epic has done a good job at providing reasons to take an alternate route in the next round, be it for a weapon or competitive advantage. The maps we’re already familiar with, such as Trenches, Thrashball, and Checkout, all have minor changes for the better. Some maps easily outshine others in the beauty and creativity department.

Overpass is a map set in a sinking city. As the match progresses, the map will tilt as it slowly sinks.

My two major gripes with the game are the following:

The spawning system can use some tweaking. Nothing is more frustrating than having enemies spawn behind you and shoot you down and to have that as your first death of the match. The other is the lack of theater mode. I know it was confirmed a while ago that such of mode wouldn’t make it into the final release, but come on. If any game were to include the ability to record your bloody killing spree with a chainsaw, it should be Gears of War 3. I can’t tell you the bittersweet feeling I get when I do something tremendously gory and awesome, but am unable to share it with the world. I thought Epic Games was going in the direction of including a theater mode when the inclusion of screenshot capabilities was featured in Gears of War 2. Without a screenshot capability, and lack of theater mode alltogether, I can’t say Gears of War 3’s multiplayer experience is all that it could be.

Cliff, or anyone at Epic Games, if you’re reading this, including a theater mode wouldn’t have just appealed to your “hardcore” fans, it would have appealed to all fans of Gears of War. There are no casual Gears of War players, there are only Gearheads. For as long Gears of War 3 exists without a theater mode, there will be an empty spot in my Omen-Shaped heart.

Gears of War 3 is everything a AAA title should be. It appeases everything from hardcore fans to gamers who just want blow things to bits. You don’t need to read the books or have a degree in Coalition of Ordered Government history, but these things will only enhance the experience. With the amount of time they Epic had to polish this game, one playthrough will determine it was time well spent.

This game is near perfect and earns a 9.5/10.

Want some more Gears of War? Check out our interview with Carlos Ferro, Voice of Dominic Santiago!