Gears of War 3

Only Available On: Xbox 360
Played it for: 50 hours and counting

RATING: 11/10

WARNING: SPOILERS FROM PREVIOUS GEARS OF WAR TITLES IN THE SUMMARY SECTION, AND GEARS OF WAR 3 SPOILERS IN THE CAMPAIGN REVIEW.

Summary:
Humanity is dead. After the end of the Pendulum Wars, the Locust came to try and destroy humanity. They wanted the resources of the above world, and they were going to take them by force. Feeling a need to defend what was theirs, the humans, under the leadership of Chairman Prescott, Commander in Chief of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, or C.O.G., took up arms as COG Gears. They began to use weapons of mass destruction called the Hammer of Dawn, an orbital laser designed to burn anything in it's path. Much of humanity did not survive these "hammer strikes," and any that did went underground, and became labeled as Stranded. When the hammers didn't work, the humans used a Lightmass Bomb, Sera's form of a nuke, and launched it strait into the Hollow - the Locust stronghold. Not even this could end the Immulsion War. Finally, at the end of the second game, the humans sink Jacinto, the last bastion of humanity, in order to flood the hollow, and bring the city toppling down onto the Locust Queen. The war was over, but now humanity had to survive.

Review:
Every once in a console's lifetime, there comes a game that can make the console bloom in a way it never has before. It has impeccably rendered graphics, a soulful storyline, a perfect physics engine, no glitches, and is challenging enough to keep you coming back again and again. For the PlayStation 1, this was Final Fantasy 7. For the PlayStation 2, this was Final Fantasy 10. For the Xbox, it was Halo 2. And for the Xbox 360, it is Gears of War 3. Basically what I'm saying is that 11/10 you see at the top of this page is not going to come back until the Nextbox comes out, making this is a very special review. So, without further ado, I give you the best of this console generation.

Campaign:
Truly Incredible.
I really give props to the guys at Epic for this writing. For the first time in the saga, we see less of a focus on the gratuitous violence, and far more of a focus on the progression of the characters. To put this into context, while the deaths of previous Gears characters came as a shock, they were relatively easy to get over. In this third installment, we witness the death of the main character's best friend, something that was completely unprecedented, and definitely evokes plenty of emotion for the rest of the game. Not only that, but we also get a sense that Marcus has some emotion other than anger this time around, and it gives a depth to his character that hasn't been seen before in the franchise.

Other than the incredible writing, the story was also the longest of any Gears game, with five Acts, and seven or eight chapters to each. It really gave a scale to the Gears world that we haven't had the ability to see thus far, and it is much appreciated. It was nice to have a modern shooter that didn't take me less than three days to finish.

Multiplayer:
Better!
The multiplayer on Gears 3 is much better than the previous two, and is much more enjoyable to participate in. Instead of running around with a sniper shotgun, (which is not to say that no one uses the shotguns anymore) we find that the multiplayer has much more of a sense of balance, making the Lancers actually useful, and giving people a chance to actually play the game without rage-quitting. The maps have also been re-designed to be symmetrical, which, while a bit un-original, gives both sides an equal chance at winning.

Horde Mode 2.0:
An Interesting Twist.
The original Horde Mode in Gears 2 never really lost any appeal, no matter how much it was played. However, not wanting to simply copy/paste, Epic decided to integrate some very interesting features into Horde 2.0. First off, the objective of survival is still the same, so there's no need to worry about that. However, what Epic did was to change the means to accomplish that objective. Now you can build spike strips, auto-turrets, mounted turrets, dummies, and a Silverback (a large mechanical suit, similar to the first Iron Man suit that Tony Stark built from scratch). However, every 10 waves is a boss fight, in which Brumaks, Berzerkers, and various mutant versions of these come out to play. It makes Horde far more engaging, and definitely makes the original look almost boring in comparison.

Beast Mode:
Beast Mode is the opposite of Horde Mode 2.0, and puts you in the shoes of a locust trying to eliminate various human survivors. This wouldn't have been very fun in Gears of War 2, but the fact that the humans can build their own bases adds to the challenge. Beast is much shorter than Horde, lasting only 12 rounds where Horde lasts 50, but the last wave can prove troublesome, forcing you to down every survivor before killing them. Wave 12 also gives the humans the most powerful weapons in the game, and these make it easy for them to halt your assault, even if you choose to spawn as something as strong as a Berzerker. In the end, I think Horde and Beast both hold the same amount of appeal, and I applaud Epic for the idea.


As I stated at the beginning of this review, I think Gears 3 is the pinnacle of what the Xbox 360 has to offer. I look forward to what Epic does next, and I hope that whatever they do will be just as exciting as what they gave us last month. I would like to congratulate Epic on how far they come, and I wish them luck in the future.

Gears of War 2

Only available on: Xbox 360

Played it for: Minimum of 60 hours and counting

RATING: 10/10

WARNING: SPOILERS FROM GEARS OF WAR 1 IN THE SUMMARY SECTION

Summary:
 You play as Sargent Marcus Fenix, a Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) Gear. Several years ago, the planet Sera was attacked by its former residents, the Locust. The humans fought back. The current residents of Sera, the humans, were undergoing a brutal civil war, known as the Pendulum Wars, as the Locust began their assault. This left them battered and low on supplies to begin with, giving the Locust an immense advantage. In the first Gears of War, The COG used a form of nuclear weapon called a "lightmass bomb" in order to finish the war. Unfortunately, this was not enough to kill off the remaining locust, and the war continued. This is where Gears of War 2 picks up. As the war continues, you and your best friend, Dominic Santiago, will undergo many hardships of war, including the incredible pain of loss and the awful brutality of the Imulsion Wars.

Review:
There is a reason this game has a 10.
The guys at Epic really pulled it together for this massive release. The stellar graphics and seamless control handling are just the first of many compliments I have for this game. The graphics blew me away. It has been a long time since I have seen a game with this much originality of engine, and it is a very refreshing change. While Call of Duty and Halo continue to update their graphics in minute ways, Gears just went all out. The update from the first game is astonishing, not to mention the fact that the controls just work so well, unlike many of the games coming out today. There is no confusion, and no "throw your controller against the wall" rages. To put it simply, the game just...works. The campaign is a bit bland at times, taking on a more over-scripted tone, but the cinematics and actual gameplay more than make up for it.

Horde mode: Exceptional
While the first ten waves are a bit trivial, the next forty can prove quite challenging, as the Locust gain double health, double accuracy, double damage, then 2.5x all of the above for the final ten waves. However, even after one beats all fifty waves of horde, playing it all over again from wave 1 is just as fun, and this is the best part. The need for survival never gets old, and this is what makes horde a true masterpiece.

Multiplayer: Eh, needs a bit of fine tuning.
This is quite literally the only criticism I have on Gears 2, and it is not really enough to put a dent in the rating. The Lancer Rifle is much more downgraded in multiplayer, and the Gnasher Shotgun is far too upgraded. However, as long as you know how to use a shotgun you shouldn't have much of a problem.


Even though the game came out several years ago now, I felt it was my duty to put in my two cents worth, seeing as Gears 3 will be the subject of my next review. I still avidly play Gears 2, and it is one of my favorites. I will be surprised if the trilogy does not become a vintage classic within the next two years.