Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360) Review

After the events of Gears of War 2, humanity's survival is hanging on by a thread, as the humans are battered, beaten, and sorely divided. The seemingly never-ending battle against the equally bruised Locust is worsened with the always terrifying Lambent, a heavily mutated species of Locust. While some of the survivors boarded up at Anvil's Gate, Delta Force departed on the CNV Sovereign in order to escape the Lambent. It is at this point the COG head of state, Chairman Prescott, arrives on the ship that Gears of War 3 begins.

The campaign is the most emotional of the three thus far, as the writing and scripting has progressively gotten better, while also hitting the right beats in the most impactful moments. Where previous Gears may have missed the cue on some of the bloodier parts of the battle, this time around every single fight is showing on all of the characters. Marcus Fenix is so worn down through this war, while Domenic is still feeling the effects of putting his wife down in the previous game. Baird and Cole also round out the main cast, with Anya, Sam and Jace making their way into the COG frontlines.

The campaign is lengthy and is split into five acts. The story is told throughout the eyes of multiple characters, which was a first for the Gears titles up to this point. Finishing the third game in a satisfying way was always going to be difficult, because the door had to kind of be left open for future instalments. Fortunately, though, Gears of War 3 does wrap up the three-game arc in a conclusive manner, while still leaving the door ajar for Gears of War 4.

Epic set pieces and sprawling battle arenas house many of the awesome encounters to be had. The cover-based system works as well as ever, and the destructible walls mean a lot of running and ducking for new covers, and one can never be too complacent in these battles. The AI appears smarter, as well; enemies will flank more accurately and efficiently, and some are not going to hesitate in running out guns blazing, looking for that rifle-butt. In saying that, the AI partners are just as efficient, and they can easily cut through dozens of enemies in a short amount of time. During one playthrough, Marcus Fenix spent an entire battle hiding behind cover, allowing for the rest of Delta Squad to make easy work of the enemies, which was impressive to watch.

Of course, a great addition to the campaign is the online four-player co-operative mode; however, trying to find others to play with, as well as the other online modes, seems to be pretty scarce nowadays. Whether it's due to the time zone differences or whether no one is playing Gears of War 3 online, either way these modes, which were great back in the day, are now just empty shells that don't function as they should, which is unfortunate. This harms the other modes, such as Horde, King of the Hill, and Team Deathmatch, which were staples in the past.

The graphics department has stood up dramatically, with Gears of War 3 housing some of the best looking explosions in the series up to that point. The various locations, combined with the exploding monsters and grenades, with flying debris and environmental destruction, is a wonderful sight to behold in the midst of combat. Unfortunately, these graphics come at a cost, with frame-rate dips sometimes during play, while cut-scenes also stutter at certain points.

The weapon wheel is back, and works pretty much the same way as expected. Ammo stocks and weapon drops are aplenty, so it's a good idea to not get attached to weapons, and replace them with new downed weapons, as required. Of course, if the game requires certain weapons to be used for a section of the campaign, then those weapons would generally appear right before the next battle begins. Each works well, and they feel powerful in their own way, and have their moments. This means many will find a weapon of choice to suit their play style, but again it is more fun mixing it up and playing around with the different weapons to see what works best.

Reloading the weapons initiates a small "mini-game," which other games have adapted, and it makes reloading weapons during battle a cool thing to pull off. Stopping the moving marker inside the designated field allows for a quick reload, with more powerful bullets for a limited time that amps up the destruction and chaos caused. Of course, messing up the reload has the consequence of being "stunned" due to the weapon's backfire. Therefore, paying attention during the reloads in the midst of battle will quickly become second nature for maximum efficiency in combat.