The Gears of War games have special meaning to me because this was THE GAME that convinced me to get an XBOX 360.  The first moment I was able to chainsaw a Locust I was automatically hooked (Deacon remembers that moment!).  So when I was finally able to play Gears of War 3, those same feelings I had years ago from playing Gears 1 came back to me.

So let’s take a second look at the game and dive into what my opinions are.  How do they differ from Deacon’s view?

CAMPAIGN AND GAMEPLAY

As of the posting of this article, I am not yet finished with the campaign mode (I’m currently on ACT III, I know I’m slacking) but what I’ve played so far hasn’t been a disappointment.  The presentaion of the campaign plays out almost like a movie.  From the introduction with Marcus Fenix to flashbacks with Cole, Baird, and other members of the COG almost in a LOST type flashback, the story this time around is fairly decent.  There are new characters as well as old characters returning.  But no one plays Gears for a good story right? 

I didn’t have too many issues with gameplay.  Players move around very well and their commentary is sometimes humerous.  The AI is actually pretty good at helping you when your back is against the wall but there are spotty moments when they just stand around.  Overall the AI does help which is a good change because what’s the point of having a band of brothers (and sisters) if they’re just sitting around while you’re getting shot up?

MULTIPLAYER

There are a few new game modes added to the multiplayer aspect of Gears 3 such as King of the Hill, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader, and the new Horde 2.0 .  The biggest change is with Horde 2.0 which has added a money system to buy weapons, ammo, and build a command post to defend against waves of  creatures that are thrown at you.  As for the money system, I didn’t have too much of a problem with this addition.  Buying and upgrading only takes around 25 seconds and then you jump into Horde.  I wasn’t concerned with spending while I was fighting because the more monsters I kill, the more money I got.  I only bought 1 round of ammo which lasted me a whole round and the rest went to upgrades.  It definitely makes your group of friends work as a team as far as spending and upgrading fences and weapons when you get into the harder waves.  There is no time to be a tight wad here!  

CONCLUSION

Gears of War 3 is a solid game (so far).  Anyone who hasn’t played Gears by now shouldn’t be scared to pick it up and play it. Hours of fun and war stories can be made from the mutiplayer alone and that’s not a bad thing.

8.5