Should you spend your money on Gears of War 3? Azer Chaudhry and Joseph Mills give their opinions on Epic Games’s latest creation.

Story

Azer – When it comes to the story of “Gears of War 3” you have to be honest, there isn’t much to go on. The campaign tries to deliver a story in which humanity is desperately trying to survive a war of attrition against not only the remnants of the Locust horde, but also the new threat of the Lambent. Despite these factors you don’t really feel as though humanity is fighting a desperate struggle as the game is muddled in military bravado. However “Gears of War 3” also puts an emphasis on themes such as fellowship and sacrifice, and it does it well. The characters go through some harrowing situations and really makes the player feel for the characters. If you are someone who looks for a narrative you can get lost in, don’t expect to find one in “Gears of War 3.”

Joe – To truly care about a story you first need to believe to some extent that the story is based in reality, but what you get in “Gears of War 3” is an alien planet with humans and mole people both being chased from their planet by another alien life form that somehow spreads from the center of the planet. Where did it come from? Why was only one man told about it before the mole people committed genocide? All legitimate questions that are entirely ignored by the story of “Gears of War 3.” Plot holes aside, what is presented in the story is mainly focused on the emotional toll the war has had on the heroes of Gears and humanity which in itself is not bad but is done with the writing skill of a fifth grader.

Gameplay

Azer – Those who have played previous “Gears of War” games will find that the basic controls of the series are still intact. To the uninitiated, “Gears of War” is a third-person shooter in which combat is usually fought from cover to cover with some charging and rolling in between. Overall, the combat is solid, but one gripe is the weighty feel. The game could definitely benefit from an increase in turning speed and a better strafe movement seen in other shooters like “Uncharted.” The addition of new weapons is a welcome sight, although the double barrel shotgun could benefit from being weakened. The Lambent faction also adds in an interesting dynamic to the game as they will mutate and explode upon death.
“Gears of War 3” is host to a plethora of game modes. The campaign mode comes in the natural story version and an arcade mode where enemy kills garner points, both of which include a cooperative mode for up to four players. The arcade mode is particularly fun to compete with friends in. The industry-altering Horde mode that started in “Gears of War 2” returns again. This time, Horde mode includes an extra layer of strategy through environmental defenses, weapons and respawns purchasable through earning points. The formula is changed even more with a boss wave every 10 waves. The versus mode is back with its stellar, although largely unchanged, online mode and a local version with bots.

Joe – “Gears of War 3” sticks to the primary game philosophy of chest high wall to chest high wall combat, with thankfully fewer on rails sections than its predecessor and the complete omission of its driving sections. Though on rails are far less common sections still present are outstanding examples in why they should have been cut from the game completely being extremely disorientating and generic. The shooting is as responsive as ever and movement has the same weight it’s always had, while melee gains the addition of weapon specific execution which prove to be the most satisfying additions to the classic “Gears of War” gameplay with the retro lancers charge being the stand out.

Another addition is Beast Mode which allows the player and up to four other people to take control of the Locust and attack a human encampment. The mode works on a currency system based on both human kills as well as destroying defensive structures such as barricades and turrets. The more money and points you gain the more powerful the Locust you take control of with the player eventually taking control of some of the most powerful enemies in the game. The mode is only enjoyable when playing online due to constant failure while playing locally.

Presentation

Azer – Although “Gears of War 3” is running on the aging “Unreal Engine 3,” it is a beautiful game. The lighting effects, such as bloom and god’s rays, are used to superb effect. The player feels as though they are in the action with the dynamic camera that rocks when the character is hit or in the vicinity of a large explosion. The designers of “Gears of War 3” were smart to create a variety of locations for the player to explore from cities sunken to the depths of the ocean to a city with civilians burned into ash statues. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn’t hold up to the industry standards. Expect to hear some bad dialogue and average voice acting. There are also some technical issues in the form of slow loading textures, buggy cover and long loading times for multi-player games. I had to wait five minutes just to find a Horde match.

Joe – The quality and detail of the production remains at the same level of previous entries in the series with improvements were focused on lighting and sound improvements to the game. Sun rays have a much more realistic feel an brightness to them and lower level lighting also seems more realistic than previous entries in the series. The quality of the sound design has also seen an overhaul adding much better sense of direction to the sound. Increases in level of detail in environments are minimal compared to “Gears of War 2” with several instances of extremely low detail textures used to represent parts of fairly near buildings such as the tower near the end of the game. These instances are only noticeable because the quality of the environments in general is very well done and produces stark contrast to theses instances. The voice acting has also seen little improvement over the previous entry with the same lack of believable emotion and several ridiculous performances for Cole Train and Griffin though this is partly due to the writing.