The Gears of War series is one of the few exclusives that make Playstation 3 owners jealous. It soars above the clouds along with Halo as one of the flagship titles for, Microsoft. To many fans dismay, this looks to be the final title in which Marcus and the gang will do battle. So does the Gears of War go out with a resounding bang, or does it deserve a meaty chainsaw to the chest? Let’s find out! 
Loved
The Unreal engine is at the maximum level for Gears of War 3. Character models have had their textures heavily increased. The environments themselves are pretty impressive, tendrils will pop out of the ground, and there will be plenty of chain reaction explosions. It’s nice to see the game running at a smooth framerate with a mass amount of action on screen. It’s good to see how far the series has come graphically, and that it continues to push the Xbox to its limits. The story truly dives into the history of the characters we’ve taken the journey with. All the unanswered questions rise to the surface in the “final” installment in the series. The story stays Bromantic, with the the CoG boys heading off down the railroad tracks in old fashioned “Stand by me” style. The multi-faceted storyline jumps between all the remaining characters, and sticks to the asshole machismo we’ve all come to love. With Carmine becoming a Kenny-esque character who is always on the verge of being killed. Action wise, this may be the best Gears of War to date. I’m not going to lie, not much has changed from the original formula. Mass refinements and the inclusion of four player cooperative play will impress new and old players. Vast assortments of new executions are available depending on the weapon on hand. They are extremely brutal and add salt to many a wound when used in Multiplayer combat. While combat in the campaign itself is like a Michael Bay movie, everything explodes in typical popcorn fashion. The Multi-player portion of Gears offers a long lasting good time. Let’s talk about Beast mode; it’s a new inclusion that puts you in the shoes of the, Locust. Players will spend large portions of cash earned on becoming one of many monsters. As the players reach a new wave, lethal versions of the Locust will appear from Blood Mounts to Berserkers. It may not be as fun as Horde mode is, but it’s definitely an interesting take on the opposite side. For the most part, the rest of the multi-player remains the same. Horde mode has been expanded on greatly, with constant changes to enemy types and 50 waves to deal with. Every ten waves the players face off against boss types of the Horde, each new wave makes these fights more and more of a challenge. There will be a lot of death but nary will there be a tear, these fights are difficult but amazing amounts of fun.
Hated
The Matchmaking system is a problem at this stage of the game. Attempts to try to find a Horde of Beast mode game is painful. It takes a couple of tries before players can even get into one game. It’s good that players can earn levels in all areas of the game, or this would have been more of an issue. Right now, it’s best to take a couple of friends into a private match and have a blast. Since sitting through multiple attempts at connecting to matches is no fun at all. Beast mode has some strange hit detection for most of the monsters. Speed is everything in Beast mode, and you only get a minute or so to finish a wave. When you’re a larger monster like a berserker and you’re standing right over someone and not killing them. This can make or break a run through something that is dedicated to quick kills. Not only that, but it’s more frustrating to take down all of those automatic turrets and barriers as the Locust. Sure it’s great when you’re the ones placing them, but it is a mild annoyance that most attacks can’t break them.
Conclusion
Beyond all the nitpicking, the Gears formula is still intact. It has been refined to some degree, and the addition of larger monsters to Horde Mode can turn battles into, Monster Hunter. The investment from picking up Gears of War 3 depends on how much you loved the previous titles. It may be the best of the series, but that’s based on refinements of solid game mechanics. As it stands Gears of War 3 receives a B+ from Half-Ass Gaming. The series may not have gone out with a bang, but it did go out with a solid thud.
