rating: ★★★★

Buy the game.

Now that we have cleared up any confusion, here are some fun-facts about my experience with Epic Games’ Gears of War 3, released on Xbox 360 on Sept. 20.

The Gears of War franchise has seen its ups and down over its life. In 2006, Gears of War saw unanimous acclaim by single-handedly changing third-person action gameplay. In 2008 Gears of War 2 refined the game mechanics, but got serious backlash against its mediocre online multiplayer functionality. And through them both, the premise of the series has been criticized for being shallow and trite.

For those unfamiliar with the games, Gears of War puts you in the shoes of one of four giant, armoured future soldiers called the COG. Your team is constantly stranded in ruined cities, fending off an invasion by subterranean monsters, the Locust. It’s a post-apocalyptic nightmare, and against all odds, your squad finds ways to take back the planet.

Story-wise, Epic Games created a universe of complete and utter hopelessness through their take of an alien-invasion story. Consequently, it was all the more disappointing that the narrative of the characters, and their role in the conflict, never really went anywhere between the games.

What this boils down to is that the first two Gears games are fun and challenging, but missing a great story.

Gears of War 3 fixes this. Almost.

There are moments in the narrative that fully realize the dark tone, but by the end of the game, the emotional momentum disappears. It hits you hard with desperation only to break the illusion with gigantic story cop-outs. It’s like the game was written by at least three different people, each with different objectives. The first half of the game is easily the most effective.

Besides this gripe, Gears of War 3 is the best of the series and one of the best games on the Xbox 360. Epic Games have crafted the pinnacle of intense gameplay with tight controls and large set pieces,while giving everything in the gameworld considerable weight. The graphical engine Epic implemented does some amazing things before your eyes. So amazing, in fact, that you might just stop moving after a firefight and look around at the shadows to take all the details in.

The Gears games are also the perfect co-operative games for action fans. I played a large part of the campaign in two-player local co-op and experienced no technical mishaps. Enemies and friendly A.I. never faltered, and unlike with Gears of War 2 we didn’t get stuck in an action sequence where the game forgot to account for two players. With its flagship Horde multiplayer-mode, competitive mode and a new Beast Mode that lets you play as a variety of alien characters against humans, the multiplayer replayability is enormous.

If you don’t care about a game’s story and just want to have a good time, go buy this game.

And if you are looking forward to a great character drama, go buy this game. It might be the most fun you have this year.

—
Image: Epic Games