Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #423: Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3

Xbox 360

Nostalgia Factor:

While I've always enjoyed the Gears of War series, I would never say I've been a huge fanboy of it. I mean, there is nothing wrong with the games. They're fun. They've got great graphics. I've never walked away from one of these saying "well that sucked." But at the same time, a big draw of these games is their multiplayer aspect. And quite frankly, I don't do online gaming. I play Gears of War games for their single player campaign mode. Once I'm through with single player, I'm through with the game.

I know I'm missing out on a huge part of what makes these games so popular, but at the same time I do not care. Online gaming is something I am simply not interested in. As a result, I've always felt that Gears of War is a bit overrated. Like I said, I do enjoy my time with these games. But are they as mind blowing as the hype would have led me to believe?

In the words of my two-year-old: abso-no-no-not.

All that said, I'm still interested in the series and I'm still interested in playing more games in it. When Mop Up Duty moved onto 2011 and I saw that is when Gears of War 3 came out, it was an absolute no-brainer that this would be the game I would check out.

Would my thoughts on the series remain the same, or would Gear of War 3 be the title that finally turned me around? Let's find out!

*psst you can find my reviews of the first two games of the series here:

Gears of War

Gears of War 2

Story:

I came into this game blind, knowing absolutely nothing about its story. Now that I'm done playing through the game, I still don't know if I can tell you much about it. You again take control of a squadron of Gears, which is what they call heavily armed soldiers in the Gears of War universe, as you fight to defend your planet from a hostile menace known as the Lambent. You have to track down and protect Marcus's father, who you might remember from the previous games is a well-known brilliant scientist. Only he can save the planet from the Lambent threat.

The focus of Gears of War has always been on its combat, its giant battle sequences, and its multiplayer mode. I've always felt that its campaign mode's storyline is kind of sloppily thrown together just so they can say they tried. I'm not knocking this game's story by any means, I am just saying there isn't much there. And after playing through two previous Gears of War games, I am totally okay with that. I came into this game with lowered expectations in regards to its story, and I have to say it paid enormous dividends this time around as I was able to focus solely on its gameplay and having fun. I didn't even pay attention to what was going on half the time. I was just enjoying the ride.

Gameplay:

If you've played the previous two games in the Gears of War series, you'll be able to jump into this pretty easily. Almost nothing has changed. Even if you are new to the series, this is pretty easy to pick up and play.

Action takes place from a behind-the-back perspective. You run through each level, shooting anything that moves. You'll pick up grenades, other weapons, and ammunition supplies as you go. You shoot at enemies, ducking for cover so you don't get killed. There's no real health meter like you may be familiar with from other shooters, like Doom. In this game your health automatically regenerates, so even if you take heavy damage from the enemy all you have to do is duck under cover for a moment and you'll be at 100% strength in no time. In the event you do lose all of your life, your character will crawl around on the ground for a bit, waiting to be revived by a teammate. If they revive you, you're as good as new! If they don't get to you in time, you die and have to go back to the game's last checkpoint.

I've just described this entire game in one paragraph. You run, you shoot, you pick stuff up. There is no exploration or puzzle solving to be found here. There are hidden collectibles scattered about each stage, but I wouldn't say they do much in regards to making you feel like you're exploring and discovering things.

While the premise of the game is simple and (on paper) repetitive, I have to say I really had fun playing this. Combat is addictive. Visually speaking the game is a wonder. Gears of War 3 became something I actively looked forward to playing, rather than just something I was only playing because I had to. I don't think it would be a huge stretch to say that this may be my favorite game in the series.

Graphics:

This is an 11 year old game on a last-generation console, and I have to say it still looks fantastic. The characters are crisp and well-designed. Some of the backdrops and landscapes are absolutely gorgeous. The battles are massive and cinematic. This was the first game I played on my brand-new 58 inch TV, and I have to say it completely blew me away.

Sound:

Gears of War 3 sounds just as good as it looks. Solid voice acting. Intense gunfire and explosions. This game really does a wonderful job portraying how chaotic it is in the middle of battle. I have to give credit where it is due: as far as presentation goes, this is an extremely well put together game. The graphics, the sound: magnifique. You can't see me but I'm doing that silly little chef's kiss gesture as I type this up.

Overall:

It is always such a nice surprise when a video game subverts your low expectations. I came into this thinking "okay, let's just get this over with" simply so I could finish the original Gears of War trilogy and move on with my life. I ended up having a really fun time with this. In fact, it is making me want to go back and replay the other games in the series to see if I didn't give them a fair shot the first time around.

Sounds silly, because I gave Gears of War 2 the final grade of a B and I liked this game a lot more, but I am still only going to give it a B. I think B pluses are reserved for games that I hold in very high regard, yet aren't quite there as far as getting an A. While I like Gears of War 3 and had a fun time with it, I don't know if I can say I hold it in "high regard." Ask me about this game in four or five months and I probably won't be able to tell you much about it. And although I said I would go back and play the other Gears games again, I don't have a particular desire to play this one again so soon. It's going to take me a few years to come back to this one, if I even do. And that is a big if.

THE GRADE:

40th Birthday Mop Up Duty Celebration Tour:

1982 reviews:

1983:

1984:

Frogger II: Threedeep!