What isn't surprising, unsurprisingly, is that the basic formula remains regimentally similar; it's how it is applied that varies. Each character, regardless of side, begins the game with a rifle, a shotgun, a pistol and a smoke grenade, with extra "power" weapons available to be picked up at specific points on the map. And that's it. There are no perks, you don't get rewarded with more powerful guns for levelling up, and every character is equal. If you have played either of the previous games before then this is repeating the already known, but it's worth stressing that matches are decided more by skill and the co-ordination of your team mates, as opposed to how long you've ground the game into submission to beef yourself up, which is only a good thing.
There are some cribs from that certain series of games however. Ribbons, awards and medals are bestowed on the player for achieving, performing, or occasionally being the victim of certain occurrences during games, each of which boosts experience towards levelling up. The rewards unlocked though are player skins, weapon insignias, and mutators, which encompass such benefits as more powerful bullets, a one-hit kill melee, and infinite ammo. As these mutators can be only used during private campaign, Horde, and versus matches, they have zero effect to unbalance public play, but are definitely a welcome addition.
Campaign mode, now accommodating up to four human participants, can be played in regular mode as before, or in Arcade mode, in which everyone competes for the highest score; there is a score multiplier in play that increases for every kill and decreases for any player getting hit or dying; and if you die, then you respawn twenty seconds later, assuming at least one other player is still alive. Mutators can be applied during Arcade mode, which is as good an excuse as any to use them when trying to defeat Insane mode. Having said that, the difficulty of the campaign is not at the same level as the previous two games - it is slightly easier to boot, and encompasses fewer massive set-pieces. As a result, it can feel somewhat less epic, but is no less satisfying to complete.
The bulk of the game's meat though is in its multiplayer options, and in Gears 3 there is one hell of a lot to chew upon. Deathmatch sees the return of Warzone and Execution five-on-five battles, along with Wingman and King of the Hill, although the rules for that are more like Annex from Gears 2. Capture the Leader is a reworking of Guardian, where you must capture the opposition leader for thirty seconds instead of killing them. The most notable addition is Team Deathmatch, which plays out fairly similar to other team based respawning modes, but the number of lives per team is limited to twenty per round. It allows those not quite so skilled players to have greater involvement, even if it may prompt some cursing from team mates if they keep getting repeatedly killed.
However the uber serious players can keep themselves to Ranked matches instead of Quick as need be, the latter allowing you to enter any match at any stage of its proceedings. Along with an initial "casual" mode for those players new to the Gears franchise, the game is certainly the most open to all skill levels of any so far. Some people may rant about Gears 3 pandering to the masses, but their concerns are entirely misplaced, even in regards to making the rifles better. Suddenly you can take down a rusher using the retro lancer for example. The Hammerburst is extremely effective at long distance for those trying to grab the power weapons. As much as they would like to bleat, things aren't just about the Gnasher shotgun any more, even if it is still an integral part of the game.
Balance, connection latency, map design, and weapon choice are all important factors in the enjoyment of any online competitive game, and Gears 3 manages the most successfully of the three so far in juggling all the variables. Some of the power weapons such as the Torque Bow and Boomshot have been toned down to a degree. With the addition of dedicated servers, albeit not knowing whether they are on or off, the "lag" is on the whole not as bad as previously. Two-piecing, the move created to melee shoot, is mostly ineffective here, although it crops up occasionally in reverse via those sporting the sawn-off shotgun. Epic listened to comments made during the beta, and altered the layout of two of the maps used, and has managed to produce a variety of environments where it is possible to hold a position, but you need the support of everyone, and you always need to watch your back.
Horde mode returns, and with a lot of knobs on. Taking the same, frankly mindless and grin-forming destruction of vast swathes of computer controlled Locust, it ups the ante by installing boss attacks every tenth wave, map specific pickups, and the ability to purchase various defences to help against the onslaught. Each kill earns money, and there are barriers, turrets, sentries and more to spend your hard earned dough upon. Investing money also levels up the defences eventually, allowing for bigger and better structures. It is a mode that demands a lot of time to be dedicated towards it, and even with mutators available, there's quite a stiff challenge towards the end. Battling away with a group of four friends, there is an immensely enjoyable experience on offer. The same could be said of Beast, the reverse mode, where you take various Locust and attempt to kill humans instead, but at only twelve waves, it doesn't outstay its welcome and is more than worthy of its inclusion.
In concluding the trilogy, Epic has attempted to listen to fans on both sides of the argument and produced a game that is the most balanced, competitive, fair, and generally lag free of the three games to date. Sure, there will always be the die-hards who insist on running the Gnasher come what may, but the rifles now stand a chance, the maps are designed such that both weapons have their uses depending on the circumstances, and with Team Deathmatch you are not waiting around all the time if you happen to be not quite as good as everyone else.
In this case, three really is the magic number.
Genre: Third person shooter
System: Xbox 360
Region: Europe
Players: 1-5
Developer: Epic
Publisher: Microsoft
Pros
- The best game of the Gears franchise so far
- Rifles can actually compete with shotguns, hooray!
- Overall, less noticeable lag during multiplayer
Cons
- Sawn-off shotgun is a little overpowered
- Campaign has less wow factor than previous
- Seriously 3.0 will take forever to acquire without boosting
Score: 9/10