Written by: Ian

 

 

 

The Gears franchise reaches its epic conclusion here after 3 action packed games, but does it remain one of the foremost titles on the 360? The first game was revolutionary, but Gears 2 was very much evolution in all areas; although it still managed innovations such as Horde, which has now become pretty essential to all rival multiplayer games.

 

 

"Gears of War 3" certainly ups the ante in terms of storytelling, seeming to have far more video than its predecessors. The quality of the story also has a far more epic, but also troubled feel, as humanity, already fractured and reduced to a minimum, has had the heart, soul, and government ripped out. It’s a tragic tale of rediscovery, loss, and self-sacrifice to achieve your goals. Without any spoilers, several key characters from the series die during the course of the game, in surprisingly touching moments, whilst the ending is genuinely excellent- leaving a few unanswered questions, whilst providing real closure- something few other trilogies have done in recent years.

 

 

Gears 3 revolutionised the 3rd person shooter with its use of cover, active reloads, and intelligent enemies that would flank you. Gears 2 added in new weapons and the Lambent as enemies, along with better vehicle sections. Gears 3 doesn’t really have the same to say for it. Sure, there are a few new enemies, but they are just tough, but mindless Lambent varieties. And the new weapons are basically mechs- they don’t really add anything to the gameplay, other than to mix it up a little. The retro Lancer is quite cool though, but only for the bayonet charge.

 

 

The same gameplay as ever rings true throughout the game- a mix of run-and-gun and cover-based shooting, with a selection of two weapons, grenades, and a pistol. There’s no real change to how the game works. That’s not to say that the game is bad though- the gameplay is tighter and more well-balanced than ever before, with some quite desperate firefights that feel genuinely dangerous, without being overly frustrating.

 

The game is a decent length, taking up 8-10 hours on a first playthrough, which then opens up insane mode. You can also play in the arcade mode, and co-op is now opened up to a full four players, so there is plenty of value in the single player alone. You now also get XP, which is a nice touch for those that don’t enjoy MP so much.

 

 

The achievements are also pretty well balanced too. In fact, it’s pretty hard to fault Gears, other than for the fact that it doesn’t really try to do anything new or different over the other two games. It’s better in every way, but this is very much fine tuning- whereas many of the games on show at Eurogamer seem to be focusing on new gameplay innovations.