Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 is the epic conclusion to this third-person cover-based shooter trilogy, focused on a group of soldiers fighting a war to preserve humanity. Set several years after the events of the previous game, Gears of War 3 brings the squad of COG soldiers back to the front lines, battling enemies on a larger scale than ever before. The game features an impressive campaign mode that supports up to four players, an enjoyable collection of multiplayer modes, and the return of the popular Horde mode. With so many modes to pick from and rock solid shooting mechanics to back them up, Gears of War 3 is one of the best shooters of the generation.

Main Game Features

• Brutal third-person shooting
• Solo and cooperative campaign
• Competitive multiplayer and Horde mode

Story

Gears of War 3 continues the tale of a group of COG soldiers including Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and more as they continue their fight against a vicious alien race called the Locusts. Set two years after the events of Gears of War 2, the last human city has fallen, forcing the COG to relocate to a new base on Vectes island. When the COG are seemingly disbanded and the commander leaves, Marcus and his crew must survive and keep the Locust at bay.

Things quickly take a terrible turn when the squad is attacked by a new foe, the Lambent, sending Marcus on a wild hunt for his estranged father. Aiming to reclaim an abandoned COG base, Marcus and his trusty partners head out into unknown dangers with only their rifles and courage. Overall, Gears of War 3 provides a satisfying end to the story started in the original Gears of War, neatly wrapping up several storylines and side plots. It's surprisingly emotional and delivers some upsetting moments, eventually leading to a stand-off of epic proportions.

Gameplay

Gears of War 3 keeps with the formula of previous games, choosing to make things bigger and better rather than change the core mechanics. In both the campaign and multiplayer modes, you control a COG soldier and move from battle to battle, picking up ammo and new guns whenever possible. There are a variety of Locust and Lambent enemies to take down, including massive bosses, quick-moving drones, and more. In addition to your sidearm, you can collect two primary weapons and a set of grenades to use, but your best friend during combat is the cover system. Using walls and broken structures, you can hunker down behind cover and wait for the best moment to shoot or choose to blindly fire at your enemies.

Multiplayer is back in a big way, containing five unique modes and ten maps to play on. Most expected multiplayer modes are available, including Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill, along with signature modes like Execution and Capture the Leader. You can also team up with your friends or AI partners and battle in the wave-based Horde mode, which pits you against dozens of waves of enemies with limited resources. Improvements have been made to Horde mode as well, including a new cash system that lets you purchase boosts and defenses. There's also an overall leveling system that ties all these modes together, encouraging you to keep up the pace and unlock new rewards.

Conclusion

Gears of War 3 is another excellent shooter from a talented team that contains a smattering of excellent modes that any type of player will enjoy. Fans of cinematic story modes will have a blast with the action-packed campaign, while committed competitors will easily spend hundreds of hours maxing their character in multiplayer.

Pros

• Emotional and intense campaign
• Addictive multiplayer leveling system
• Horde mode is better than ever

Cons

• Not many new weapons
• Lag spikes when playing multiplayer
• AI partners are useless