Those who are familiar with the trilogy know that Gears of War is a special breed of third person shooters, that places the emphasis on storyline and sophisticated gameplay. Instead of being pit against never ending waves of enemies that you have to gun down, you need to play smartly and make the most of any cover you can find. This is what made Gears so popular worldwide and each sequel was awaited with enthusiasm by millions of fans. The latest installment makes no exception and while adding even more value to the franchise, it strays a bit from the core ideas.
When story and visuals combine
In terms of storyline, some fans might feel shortchanged, because there is very little innovation and they feel like they are reliving the action from previous installments. The narrative progresses fairly smoothly to its conclusion and characters are still convincing, but with prospects being as high as they were before the release, the game received mixed reviews. One thing that nobody dares to challenge is the upgrade in terms of visual appeal, with Gears of War 3 outshining the previous titles in every imaginable way.
It is a pleasure to progress with the single player campaign, because each encounter with a new foe is a visual treat and the surroundings are just as impressive. You still need to play it cool and by lingering for too long in the open, you become a sitting duck for the incoming locusts, but this is only for the better. It will get you deeply immersed into the action and will also present you with the best occasion to admire the environment. Sound effects are terrific and the background music is absolutely superb, so you should only play Gears of War 3 in ideal conditions, with powerful hardware and high fidelity headsets.
Staying true to its name
Guns are more potent than ever before and the nice variety will grant you the chance of trying different types of gameplay, even during the singleplayer campaign. The real test comes in multiplayer, where human opponents are just as adept in taking advantage of terrain and they wield weapons with higher accuracy than any AI controlled opponent. Speaking of which, Gears of War 3 is a giant leap forward, as enemies are more effective in surrounding you and attack without notice, even on low difficulty levels.
High expectations are usually followed by equally impressive disillusions, but much to its credit, Gears of War 3 lives up to its name. Just like its predecessors, it is one of the best third person shooters of its peers and doesn’t simply dwell on the former installment’s success. Innovation is not its strongest point, but with such a solid foundation, it was not necessary for developers to reinvent the wheel. The trilogy is now complete, but the downloadable content is going to keep the flame alive for a few more years.
Gears of War 3 is the best in the series, and with the previous titles being spectacular, it deserves no less than 4.5 stars out of 5
[xrr rating=”4.5/5″ label=”Gears of War is Rated”]
If you are still reluctant to try it, this should help you make up your mind:
[youtube width=”550″ height=”339″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86QvTlQ5ziY[/youtube]
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