When I first began playing I was beyond excited. Gears of War was one of the original games I picked up for the Xbox 360 after being a late adopter of "next gen" consoles. Gears of War 2 was Delivered to me on release day from the nearly extinct Circuit City (along with 1600 MSP) and I skipped classes that day so I could immerse myself once again in the world of Sera. Gears of War 3 nearly caught me by surprise because I hadn't heard anything about the franchise in some time. A friends feed on Facebook walked me through his adventures in Cedar City, UT as we waited for the midnight release. The next day I was bombarded with requests for me to get it so I could join him and finish of the Locust once and for all. Once I was able to get my hands on it I went home and put it right in. The recap done by Anya was a very useful refresher on what had happened in the first two games, and got me excited to see what was happening after the sinking of Jacinto. Now I had been reading the books written by Karen Traviss and I have to admit I wasn't terribly impressed with her writing. She did a great job of keeping elements of the world in place, but she never really made any characters I felt anything for, and I honestly started to care less about the original cast. I did not know that the story for Gears 3 had been written by this same author, if I had known I may have been a bit more apprehensive going into the campaign or maybe I would have lowered my expectations a bit. As it was, I had high hopes for this campaign because of the wonderful ending of Gears of War 2.
Right away the campaign didn't feel the same. Perhaps it was being on a brightly lit ship in what can only be compared to the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps it was the Lambent popping on deck like the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. Perhaps it was that some great characters had seemingly been neutered and turned into whiny tomato growers. Perhaps, just perhaps, it was the addition of characters I had never heard of, and honestly annoyed me through the entire game just to make the 4 player arcade campaign possible. I liked the idea of a 4 player campaign, but this just didn't seem to be working. More on that later. I enjoyed the new enemies that were being presented to me right from the get go, and I was genuinely surprised to see my first mutated Drudge. The game play was holding its own, but the story was getting left behind. I kept on playing hoping that the story would catch up and leave me dumbfounded like the others did. There were the quirky moments that have been in all of the games that usually involve stealing a locust animal for transport or being on a mounted turret on a moving vehicle, but there was no real enjoyment in these like there was before. This did lead to one of the shining moments of the campaign though. The defense of Anvil Gate.
Now I had given up on the books by the time Anvil Gate had come out, so I didn't know a thing about the fort, and the constant references to the authors books only made me more frustrated because I hadn't read them nor did I want to. She had just succeeded in making me feel like the guy who walks in on a conversation where everyone is conversing using inside jokes that I just didn't understand. Sorry Sam's dad, I have no idea what happened but it was something involving food rations. Aside from making me care even less about the story, Anvil Gate was amazing. I loved that the enemies just poured out of the trees at you and you just got to kill as many as you could before having to go for more ammo. I also enjoyed the fact that choosing your path in this game was an extremely different experience as opposed to choose right and it's the same thing as on the left, but on the right! In Gears of War 3 you had the choice to go out in the truck and eventually fight your way back, or stay on the walls and guard your friends as they struggle in the open. This was a great move on the part of the design team. Lambent Berserker is one of my least favorite terms after a run on Insane. I loved the fight, it just frustrated me to no end the first time through.
The end of the story was a tease that never satisfied your needs. It was the evil high school girlfriend from hell. They started to go into why Queen Myrrah looked and sounded human, they started to cover where she came from and how she was talking to Adam Fenix, but then it all ends. The story smiled an evil grin and said, "Sorry but I have to go home now." The story had completed its journey to the dark side, and not in the impressive "I am Darth Vader, the epitome of cool evil" but rather the "I'm Anakin and I will whine my way to evil" sort of way. In short, some great characters died needlessly while annoying add on characters live to annoy another day, and the key components of the wrap up are still missing. What can you do?
The multiplayer was not a let down in this game. I know there are still the gnasher purists who abhor all things sawed-off, but I don't mind it. I don't use it, but I don't mind it, it adds a new element to the game. The "Gears of War" game types have made themselves known once again. Having the traditional Team Death Match at the head, and of course King of the Hill and Capture the Leader making triumphant returns. There have also been several weekend events such as "Torquebow Tag" which have really added a bit of spice to what would normally a typical game of TDM. These weekend events are usually entertaining and provide a sense of a good time to be had by all.
Horde 2.0 was a diamond among sapphires. The enhancements that were inspired from making walls out of boom shields are incredible. I still get online just to play horde mode. A more structured boss level was also a good addition just to remind us that no matter how good your fortifications are, a berserker can still ruin your day. Just be careful and watch for rage quits.
Beast mode was another great innovation for multiplayer. If people loved horde mode, why wouldn't they like to be on the other side? Also it gives me no end of satisfaction to get to kill some characters, and a sense of pride at being able to kill some of the more impressive members of the COG like the mighty Cole Train and Marcus Fenix. A great idea was to use the money you earned not to build a better base, but rather unlock more ferocious enemies while still making the lower level units useful as you progress. Smashing Prescott as a berserker is one of the greatest feelings in the world.
The arcade mode of the campaign was not my favorite part of the game. As previously noted I didn't much care for the campaign, and now having to wait forever to find a group of people to play with so I can get the achievements by playing through it again is not my idea of a good time. I am sure there are people who enjoy it, I am just not one of them.
Epic has been amazing about providing loads of downloadable content for this game, and it does not look like it will end any time soon. There have been 5 pieces of content made available for download. they are the "Horde Command Pack" which introduced a new level of upgrade for the Silverback and the new command center fortification which allows for sniper, mortar and Hammer of Dawn strikes as you level it up. Next was the "Versus Booster Map pack" which was just additional maps and skins for use in multiplayer. Arguably the best DLC for the game so far is "RAAM's Shadow" Which adds additional campaign play that takes place before Gears of War where you get to play as General RAAM and also the forces of Zeta Squad. "The Fenix Rising" addition was again just maps and multiplayer skins once again, but some very good skins that I enjoy using. The final DLC released so far is the "Forces of Nature pack" which adds more levels and skins, but also a few surprises as far as unlockable easter eggs in Horde mode. Given all of this I would say my investment in a Season Pass has proven to be a very wise one indeed.
Overall I would rate my experience with Gears of War 3 to be a mixed cocktail of emotions. The graphics and sounds were amazing, but playing on an older Xbox 360 would cause tremendous lag spikes even when playing offline and it was loading something. I tried to install it on the hard drive but it didn't go away. When played on a 360 Slim, the problem was not there. I greatly enjoy the multiplayer aspect of the game, but my hope of largely fulfilling story mode was dashed by not using the same writer that gave us the greatness that was Gears of War 2. There were some problems, but it is still a game I can go back and enjoy several months later. I give it a 7.5/10
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