Gears of War 3 Review

Sep 25, 2011

Do you need a break from Call of Duty: Black Ops? Do you need something to keep your attention until Modern Warfare 3 is released in November? Would you be interested in any or all of the following: blood, gore, over-the-top character design, profanity, testosterone, top-notch graphics, pulse thumping sound quality, and brutal executions? If so, I have three words and a number for you: Gears of War 3.

If you have owned the Xbox 360 in the past five years, then you have at least heard of the Gears of Wars franchise, and the vast majority of you have probably played Gears of War (2006) or Gears of War 2 (2008). The story continues with the recent release of Gears of War 3.

We all have different play styles and gaming preferences and since I am writing this review (my first ever write-up) for my fellow oinkers, I know that we all prefer one series: Call of Duty. It never fails, a new multiplayer game comes out, and a handful of us will get excited about it. We talk about it in the forums and the next thing you know, the new game is collecting dust and we are playing Domination and beating down Timmy. Don’t get me wrong, I get it. We are a Call of Duty clan. We prefer Call of Duty games and game play. However, do not let that love blind you and prevent you from checking out Gears of War 3! This game kicks serious ass.

Campaign Mode

There are five acts and most sources agree that, depending on which difficulty you choose, it will take you around 20 hours to complete. The single player experience has all that you can ask for: great graphics, a decent story, cool character design, tight controls, Halo style pacing (often overlooked in games), and sound quality that leaves you with PTSD when you go to bed.

While the single player campaign is great, the campaign really shines when you experience it through multiplayer co-op play (4-player story mode co-op or 5-player online co-op). I teamed up with some friends and ran through Acts 2, 3, and 4. Playing GOW3 co-op was one of the best video games experiences I have had in a LONG time. Cranking up the difficulty and experiencing the GOW environment with other gamers adds a completely new dimension to the FUN factor.  From a technical standpoint, the addition of co-op players coming in or going out did not cause any game play issues. The game play runs seamlessly.

Multiplayer VS. Mode

I need to start out by saying, and I cannot stress this enough: Do not judge GOW3 by the online multiplayer experiences found in GOW or GOW2. Most of my gaming buddies will admit, if you like COD, the online experience found in GOW or GOW2 left you a little disappointed (poor matchmaking, little strategy, annoying shot gunning, limited variation). This time around, however, the multiplayer experience is STRONG. There are 10 maps and a variety of game types. The game types include: Execution (downed enemies must be executed), Warzone (essentially no respawn team deathmatch), Capture the Leader (protect your leader and capture the others team’s leader), King of the Hill (capture and hold, COD Domination kind of feel to it), Wingman (4 teams of 2 players), and Team Deathmatch.

In my opinion, Team Deathmatch is where most people are going to gravitate and this is where I have spent most of my time. There are two teams (5 players per team) and each team has a limited number of respawns (20, I think). Once you get down to five respawns, when you die, you are out. Many of the Team Deathmatch games start out fast and furious until one of the teams gets down to their final five respawns and people start to get cautious. At this point, teamwork and patience is essential and the tension builds until the end. I cannot say enough about GOW3 Team Deathmatch and I would love to run this game mode with four other PCP members. Our teamwork would probably result in multiple nights of Timmy beatings.

Horde Mode

Horde mode was arguably the fan favorite game mode of GOW2. You and other teammates hold out against wave after wave of enemies. Horde mode comes back in GOW3, but it is obvious that past popularity inspired Epic to beef this mode up. This time around, Horde mode requires a little more teamwork and some strategy. In short, you set up a command post, earn cash by killing the enemy, and the cash allows you to build up your command post with various items (laser fences, turrets, etc.). This might be the best co-op experience currently on the market.

GOW3 also brings a variation of Horde mode to the table called Beast mode. In Beast mode, you play as the bad guys and take on the good guys. It is similar to Horde mode, but I haven’t played enough of this mode to give a fair impression of it.

Lastly, GOW3 adds a good amount of stats and awards and the ability to earn medals and titles. Medals and titles are similar to COD prestige modes and the game keeps up with most of your stats (kill to death, ribbons for combat achievements, various challenges, leaderboards, etc.). This formula has worked great for COD, and it certainly adds to the multiplayer experience of GOW3. These types of challenges and achievements have been shown to add to the long-term playability of a game and I think it will certainly help to keep you hooked on GOW3 longer than expected.

The only bad thing I can say about Gears of War 3 is that it was released a little too close to Modern Warfare 3. As much as I love GOW3, I know I will drop it when MW3 is released. In the meantime, however, Gears 3 is worthy of the full purchase price and I guarantee you will love it.