Gears of War 3

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2035 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,606 out of 2035
  2. Mixed: 244 out of 2035
  3. Negative: 185 out of 2035
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  1. Yojimbo2015
    Jul 5, 2023
    7
    Very much more of the same with the hulking stereotypes blasting away at everything that moves in this third person shooter. Like the previous games, there's little in the way of strategy or variety but it looks nice and has some spectacular set pieces. A decent if rather mindless shoot 'em up.
  2. The_rainbow_00
    Jun 30, 2023
    7
    7/10

    Story: 7
    Gameplay: 7
    Game mechanics: 7

    The story wraps up and ties everything together. Gameplay was better but still the same, same with the mechanics.
  3. Jattaman
    Oct 5, 2022
    6
    A mio parere qui la ripetitività la fa un po' da padrona, se si è già giocato ai primi due capitoli.
    Ancora more of the same...
    Gioco non finito, ma abbandonato dopo averne appurato la mancanza di innovazioni, almeno per quanto riguarda la campagna.
  4. Cjmolina007
    Jul 21, 2020
    7
    As someone who loves the previous two games, I was kind of let down with this one. A lot of improvements from the last game but I think the story in this was the weakest out of the original two. There just wasn't enough heart even though this game DOES pull on one major string after that it just feels flat which is a shame. Though the Locust are still around, the new focused baddies are aAs someone who loves the previous two games, I was kind of let down with this one. A lot of improvements from the last game but I think the story in this was the weakest out of the original two. There just wasn't enough heart even though this game DOES pull on one major string after that it just feels flat which is a shame. Though the Locust are still around, the new focused baddies are a force not to be messed with. More creepy and more ruthless but I'm not sure why I didn't find them to be all that unlike their counterpart. The missions also felt repetitive, some of them kind of felt as if they didn't serve anything for the game's overall story and were just made to give us a full plate which I can appreciate but eh. Overall, for the conclusion to the original trilogy, this one falls sorta flat for me. Beautiful graphics and grand moments, but with a much weaker story from where Gears of War 2 left off.… Expand
  5. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    6
    At this point the games are starting to feel the exact same. There are great parts, it's fun for a while, but it feels like the same game.
  6. angelss_13
    Jul 6, 2017
    6
    Siguiendo la estela de su predecesora, comforme mejora el multijugador, empeora la historia. La batalla final contra la Reina es más que decepcionante. Eso sí, en multijugador podrías consumir tu vida entera.
  7. XxJoseManuelxX
    Sep 3, 2016
    7
    Gears of War 3 is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft.

    + Fun Gameplay
    + Coop
    + Multiplayer
    - Bad Story
    - Stupid Characters
    - Repetitive
  8. GhiriGhiri
    Aug 27, 2016
    7
    Gears of War 3 has the best coop-game that I've never seen before. This is the only reason to buy Gears of War 3. Multiplayer has a lot of bug to aim heads and monsters, but is a really easy win.
  9. josesueiro
    Apr 14, 2016
    6
    Gears of War 3 is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft

    + Fun Gameplay
    + Coop
    + Multiplayer
    - Boring Story
    - Stupid Characters
    - Repetitive
  10. Muzzle131
    Jul 27, 2015
    6
    This perhaps is a rare occasion where the community absolutely ruined the experience of the game for me but I'm gonna save that for later, right now from gears of war 2 you need to know absolutely nothing in terms of story, there's these creatures called lambent that are yellow and blow up and then there's these albino guys called Locust and if you're a gear of war fan then this conclusionThis perhaps is a rare occasion where the community absolutely ruined the experience of the game for me but I'm gonna save that for later, right now from gears of war 2 you need to know absolutely nothing in terms of story, there's these creatures called lambent that are yellow and blow up and then there's these albino guys called Locust and if you're a gear of war fan then this conclusion doesn't really tie anything up, some questions for me were who was the queen, what are these things, what's Marcus' dad have to do with them, etc. and none of them are resolved. Gameplay is the same as gears of war 2 only a little more fluid and smooth.

    As for multiplayer it's absolutely the worst and it baffles me how this stays up, there's only team deathmatch and even though there's other game types this is the only one that truly matters, it's incredibly unbalanced with weapons like sawed off that can be a little forgiving since it does have a short range, to weapons like the retro lancer that downs in less than 3 seconds like a shot gun and you can just charge up to someone and either hit them doing major damage and finish them off or ram them for an execution. Had these guns been pick up rather than selected in your load out everything might of been better, but in this case everything is OP and no one will have fun, I've played with the hammer burst and due to my twitchy finger I can shoot it at incredible speed, but guess what show any amount of skill and you'll be bombarded with hate mail with a community of **** I'm not joking it's the worst community out there, I remember one time where in the middle of a match someone messaged me saying "Nice mod noob ;)" then I calmly (I'm not joking) at the end of the match turn my mic on and say in the most soft and nice tone possible "By the way I don't have a mod" and the guy bragging on the other team who sent me the message screamed "IM F***ING DONE WITH YOU" and rage quit despite his team winning. That's the norm in the game. There's also a bunch of bugs that crash the game example (hasn't been patched and never will be) you push a button while spinning some grenades around and it'll somehow either freeze other players' games or lag the match. Other issues are how the host will be the most OP broken person (it's randomly decided) I've been host I've tanked point blank shots and instead instantly kill other's.

    It's 2015 don't bother with this game, nothing interesting about the plot that someone can just tell you, the multiplayer should just dwindle and die. This game is not bad though it maybe above average if not for some little flaws, but with the flaws (community and all) in mind it's just an average cover based shooter since it is the poster boy for cover based shooting.    … Expand
  11. Bmastr
    Aug 9, 2014
    6
    I haven't played the Multiplayer-aspect of the game, since I am mostly just interested in the story and co-op-experience. Both me and the friend I played it with lost interest quite early the first time we played it, and it took two years before we picked it up again, and finally finished it. I think we both felt that the game didn't really bring anything new to the table, and it just feltI haven't played the Multiplayer-aspect of the game, since I am mostly just interested in the story and co-op-experience. Both me and the friend I played it with lost interest quite early the first time we played it, and it took two years before we picked it up again, and finally finished it. I think we both felt that the game didn't really bring anything new to the table, and it just felt too repetitive. Having said that, the game still delivers a really solid experience, and is absolutely on par with the previous games in the franchise.… Expand
  12. thegodfigure
    Jan 20, 2014
    5
    For all the "improvements" brought to the table in this game, they only manage to cheapen GoW's gameplay. The raw simplicity that made GoW2's multiplayer shine, is gone in this title. Any idiot can pick up the sticks in this game and play decent. The virtue is gone. This was an attempt to appeal more to the CoD crowd than it's core fan-base unfortunately. This was a disappointing end toFor all the "improvements" brought to the table in this game, they only manage to cheapen GoW's gameplay. The raw simplicity that made GoW2's multiplayer shine, is gone in this title. Any idiot can pick up the sticks in this game and play decent. The virtue is gone. This was an attempt to appeal more to the CoD crowd than it's core fan-base unfortunately. This was a disappointing end to the series.… Expand
  13. Gamespro
    Aug 7, 2013
    6
    The game is good just repetitive and boring at times it just seems like for 8 hours they are throwing waves of grubs every corner you go it's pretty annoying,it was fun at times and I enjoyed this.The multiplayer is decent,but honestly I don't think it deserves a 91 metacritic score its more of a 75 or something like that
  14. Pickle
    Jul 20, 2013
    5
    Aaaaah... Gears of war...
    It could possibly be my favorite franchise from the xbox exclusive games, but this game just tends to feel and be really tedious while i was playing it, at first the gameplay it's pretty straight forward, nothing has changed since the last gears in terms of gameplay, and i mean nothing.
    The graphics are obviously appealing, obviously giving the fact that the    Aaaaah... Gears of war...
    It could possibly be my favorite franchise from the xbox exclusive games, but this game just tends to feel and be really tedious while i was playing it, at first the gameplay it's pretty straight forward, nothing has changed since the last gears in terms of gameplay, and i mean nothing.
    The graphics are obviously appealing, obviously giving the fact that the last two entries into the franchise where great, talking about graphics of course, even then the game really doesn't shine to the player at least in my personal experience, i don't know to what i can attribute the fact that the graphics just didn't knock me off, as some might say, they just felt bland and just un special, with nothing really unique that i could love.
    Aside from that the game starts becoming pretty repetitive at times, and this is because every aspect in the game, in terms of developing, hasn't been innovative or improved in any way.
    Aside from that the game never really feels like it's imposing too much of a challenge in any way, and oh believe is noticeable from a mile away, even on the hardest difficulty i found myself feeling like i was just plow ding through the game, i didn't even have to think how to approach to any given situation that the game was settling to me,
    "it was just go stay in cover", "peek when the enemies are taking cover and take them down", this just caused me to let a big "yaaaaaauuuuggggggg" out of my inner self.
    If you really wan't to know if the game was engaging or if it give me any kind of love towards the different characters that are presented through the story,(some new, some old), i really never in any other Gears of War entry have i ever cared so less to anyone that was new to the game.
    Every single character was bad, they were extremely tedious to listen, they break they entire to no little flow that you have in the game, and they are just plain simply bland characters, non of them says something that is truly relevant even in the most emotional parts that the game has to offer.
    They just never click.
    The story is another thing that bothers me the most, let's mention something about the Gears of War 1, and 2 stories, shall we?
    The Gears of War franchise has always been popular not only for his gameplay but for his story,
    in the beginning you really feel like the developers where actually trying in the sense that every single moment that was shown via cutscenes, was relevant, every moment count, either to add some context into the game or maybe to just try to explain to you the different perspectives of each character about the entire main plot of the game, or just plain and simple try to advance the main plot of the game.
    But this game just doesn't have that, even the most dreadful sequences and scenes that are showed in the game that are supposed to impact the player in some emotional way or another, just don't work at all,
    if anything they just annoy the hell out of you because most of them don't even seem to make sense whatsoever, but worse in this parts that are supposed to be shocking not only to the player but to the main characters in the game, they never move anything in any way at all.
    Nothing, cero, they can't care less if someone that's been carrying on the last two entries in the game just dies in one of the stupidest and nonsensical way's possible, doesn't matter to them, they just feel sorry for themselves and move along, and the death never since relevant nor to the game only but to the player too.

    Overall i really didn't have any sense of enjoyment as much as i was expecting from a gears of war entry.
    If they wanted to take a much more mature approach to the game then that's fine, but they can't keep old cheesy story blockbuster moments, and then next to that make one of the most important characters in the entire franchises die in an act of heroism.
    That just doesn't make any sense in any sort of context that you try to put it on.
    It just doesn't...    … Expand
  15. houyi111
    May 10, 2013
    7
    Pretty much the same as the previous one regarding SP. Haven't beat it on insanity, since cannot find a friend who is willing to play campaign with me.
  16. movo
    May 1, 2013
    5
    This is an average game........ Yes there is not much more to say. Decent combat, small roster of characters and guns, short campaign and a boring story. I can no say that I did`nt have fun because I had lots of fun. It just did not stick to me. The only slightly interesting character is Marcus Phoenix. His problem is that he is angry all the time so when he finally has a reason to beThis is an average game........ Yes there is not much more to say. Decent combat, small roster of characters and guns, short campaign and a boring story. I can no say that I did`nt have fun because I had lots of fun. It just did not stick to me. The only slightly interesting character is Marcus Phoenix. His problem is that he is angry all the time so when he finally has a reason to be angry it just flows in to the rest. A five is average in my eyes so that`s this games score.… Expand
  17. gorelequint
    Apr 23, 2013
    7
    Well I was not disappointed with this game, some very cool new weapons and some brilliant adaptations on Horde plus a new game called Beast. Me and my friends have had hours of fun playing both these games, the campaign was not bad not amazing but worth playing. So much carnage to in this game I love Gears of War. Do try and find a bargain price for it tho, I ordered it second hand forWell I was not disappointed with this game, some very cool new weapons and some brilliant adaptations on Horde plus a new game called Beast. Me and my friends have had hours of fun playing both these games, the campaign was not bad not amazing but worth playing. So much carnage to in this game I love Gears of War. Do try and find a bargain price for it tho, I ordered it second hand for about £10 and managed to get a brand new game in the wrapper still. If you love the gears games buy it, if you are new and intrigued then buy it and enjoy the blood shed and carnage with your trusty chainsaw lancer … Expand
  18. dirtierburigo
    Dec 26, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the campaing is great, the multiplayer awesome, the horde is good, but the game sucks compared with the others gears, because the environment is not so heavy and the crosshairs is diferent. the crosshairs
    in the others gears is better.    … Expand
  19. coopers41
    Sep 27, 2012
    7
    I delayed getting this game because I was worried that the game would be a carbon copy of the second, well my fears were right. Unfortunately there is very little new here gameplay wise, same old duck and cover, same old shooting and same cinematic cut scenes. While the story is epic and movie like I was hoping for something that little bit more. Don't get me wrong, I love the gearsI delayed getting this game because I was worried that the game would be a carbon copy of the second, well my fears were right. Unfortunately there is very little new here gameplay wise, same old duck and cover, same old shooting and same cinematic cut scenes. While the story is epic and movie like I was hoping for something that little bit more. Don't get me wrong, I love the gears universe but its just missing that spark to have taken it to the next level.
    On the plus side, the multiplayer have improved vastly. With ribbons to earn and earning the cash to buy weapons etc this is the reason to purchase this game. The multiplayer is the saving grace.
    All in all the graphics have improved with every game, the story is worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster and a fitting end to fenix's story. I'm not saying that gears 3 is not worth getting, if you liked the other entries in the series you will no doubt like this but like I said its just missing that certain spark, the something that takes it up a notch.    … Expand
  20. Micho
    Aug 12, 2012
    7
    A good game. I played Gears 1 and 2, which i enjoyed even though there were some lag issues(Multiplayer). The campaign was fantastic, i loved the whole new twist on it with the lambent and the fact that it's 4-player co-op! Beast Mode is kinda boring if you ask me. It's repetetive as hell, and reaching the last few rounds there will always be one or multiple guys using the berserker whichA good game. I played Gears 1 and 2, which i enjoyed even though there were some lag issues(Multiplayer). The campaign was fantastic, i loved the whole new twist on it with the lambent and the fact that it's 4-player co-op! Beast Mode is kinda boring if you ask me. It's repetetive as hell, and reaching the last few rounds there will always be one or multiple guys using the berserker which will ruin it for you. I love Horde Mode 2.0. Very well done, the whole leveling system for your fortifications is awesome, and was thought out very well. I'm also pleased that there's finally host migration, i never liked Horde on GoW2 because the host would usually leave early, which would just stop the whole match. And Multiplayer.. well.. i have mixed feelings about it. I love how smooth it plays, but the one thing that pisses me off are these damned retro-lancer users. People complain about the sawed-off, but it's not that over-powered IMO(Even though it's the shotty for people who suck at using a Gnasher). It has like, what, 4 shots? Just stay on some distance to kick ass with your gnasher, they won't be able to hit/kill you. But the Retro? I can't even run across the battlefield just to get sprayed down by another retro-user sitting behind cover. They'll even spray you down in no-time from close-range, and you basically have no chance when they have an active reload. Any person with EYES can use this weapon effectively. I dont know why EPIC dumbed it down this much. Well, maybe i do, just to get more casuals buy it, play it, and achieve a 5.0 K/D just by camping with the damn retro. And the thing that really proves that they dumbed it down is replacing Guardian with Team Deathmatch. I just have NO words for this. I'm just glad they included it in DLC, even though the fact that you can see the enemies with the tac-com as the leader is **** Still, i really enjoy it. There's plenty of other players using a Gnasher ofcourse, but you can't even fight him for 10 seconds without someone walking up with a retro or sawed-off and just making you his ****
    I really want to give this a higher rating, but dumbing everything down in the Multiplayer was just a dumb, (but for them a clever and moneygrabbing) move.    … Expand
  21. GCMANINDAHOOD
    Jun 21, 2012
    7
    I'm a longtime fan of gears and this game was great. The Campaign was by far the best of all the 3 games and it really raps up. Honestly if it weren't for the amazing campaign this game would have been a disaster. Aside from the campaign I'd say everything else was made worst from Gears of War 2. They took GoW2 and tried to make it like Cod and thus GoW3 was born. The new Horde isI'm a longtime fan of gears and this game was great. The Campaign was by far the best of all the 3 games and it really raps up. Honestly if it weren't for the amazing campaign this game would have been a disaster. Aside from the campaign I'd say everything else was made worst from Gears of War 2. They took GoW2 and tried to make it like Cod and thus GoW3 was born. The new Horde is terrible, the fact that you have to buy your weapons and all this other stuff ruins the fun, their trying to turn horde into CoD Zombies which is not cool. classic horde were you could just grab a gun and start killing some grubs without any nonsense. Multiplayer was just as bad as GoW2 no multiplayer in the history of gaming could match up to how great GoW1 was where you could host your own game and random people would join. But again Gears constantly trying to be like others copied Halo's matchmaking and they made so called "true skill" matchmaking which isn't true skill at all and ruined online multiplayer. Also everything looks kinda sloppy green guns and all this colorful stuff like those glowing spikes and command posts ruin the scenario. Beast mode is fun and a good improve but only for a brief time + it could be better. Other than that nothing too new, interesting, or extravagant other than the campaign. It is above average.… Expand
  22. mrpeanut
    Apr 1, 2012
    6
    Im only in the game for the campaign, but if u want the whole game then i wouldnt recommend it.The gameplay gets frustrating and boring on multiplayer when u keep dying and having a spawn limit which took all the fun out on multiplayer. Horde is fun if the players arent noobs or dont take it serously, but still gets boring boring when u find yourself just killing locust, but its a good wayIm only in the game for the campaign, but if u want the whole game then i wouldnt recommend it.The gameplay gets frustrating and boring on multiplayer when u keep dying and having a spawn limit which took all the fun out on multiplayer. Horde is fun if the players arent noobs or dont take it serously, but still gets boring boring when u find yourself just killing locust, but its a good way to past time. Horde mode is alright but they barley give u any time to kill and all that time is used when when u keep dying when you try to get through traps and **** I give the campaign 9 out of ten for its great action. I give the multiplayer stuff a 3 out of ten. So would give the game a 6.… Expand
  23. rotku
    Mar 25, 2012
    7
    Yes it's more of the same but the storyline feels more realistic this time around with an ending of hope (until the fourth installment anyway). The addition of more in depth online gaming and different modes adds longevity beyond anything the first two parts had.
  24. Makaveli
    Mar 6, 2012
    7
    By all means this is not a bad game at all. However I didn't like the multiplayer, it felt like they tried a CoD approach, and I hate CoD. Gears 1 and 2 I was addicted to those for a long time. This game not at all. I bought this game at launch, And single player ending was not as good as I thought it would be.. Gears 1 was the best and Gears 3 is the worst.
  25. Matriix
    Feb 14, 2012
    7
    did not live up to the hype. i felt that the campaign was the least good out of all gears games, the AI in this campaign runs through the levels with incredible speed and adds so much frustration to you and your buddy playing this in co-op especially on the highest difficulty. the multiplayer is solid and good for the fans. the horde mode fell flat in my mind. it was a really gooddid not live up to the hype. i felt that the campaign was the least good out of all gears games, the AI in this campaign runs through the levels with incredible speed and adds so much frustration to you and your buddy playing this in co-op especially on the highest difficulty. the multiplayer is solid and good for the fans. the horde mode fell flat in my mind. it was a really good experience untill you realised that its pointless building better defense sine there is a bossfight every 10th level and you simply cant afford building it all up after he destroys it (without any problems i might add) 7/10… Expand
  26. ablindkid
    Feb 11, 2012
    5
    I really didn't find this game very fun at all. It functions well, but the campaign is laughably generic. The competitive multiplayer isn't very fun or exciting and requires you to earn unlocks for just about everything. The only part of the game I enjoyed was Beast Mode, an addictive gametype that turns wave based horde mode on its head. But although I had a great time chopping upI really didn't find this game very fun at all. It functions well, but the campaign is laughably generic. The competitive multiplayer isn't very fun or exciting and requires you to earn unlocks for just about everything. The only part of the game I enjoyed was Beast Mode, an addictive gametype that turns wave based horde mode on its head. But although I had a great time chopping up COGs with a giant cleaver, this relatively small addition wasn't enough to justify keeping this game for very ong.… Expand
  27. boxster98
    Feb 4, 2012
    6
    I was a huge GOWs fan, but I agree that it was exactly like GOW2. I found myself not thrilled to complete the campaign because it took forever to best and was very repetitive. However, the graphics were some of the best I have seen. The fire and smoke were great to watch. The new horde mode and beast mode were off the charts. So taking everything into consideration I score it a 6. ItI was a huge GOWs fan, but I agree that it was exactly like GOW2. I found myself not thrilled to complete the campaign because it took forever to best and was very repetitive. However, the graphics were some of the best I have seen. The fire and smoke were great to watch. The new horde mode and beast mode were off the charts. So taking everything into consideration I score it a 6. It could have been alot better.… Expand
  28. oldloverboy
    Jan 17, 2012
    5
    The same thing but with better graphics and a worst story. This game is only for fans of the first two games. Maybe the only thing that I like of Gears of War saga is the art, only that.
  29. coolinb123
    Dec 29, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. overall the game was fun, good on almost all aspects but the sp lacked alot, i was not satisfied with doms death, or the story. kinda sad after an epic gears 2 story..... i dislike the lack of playing with carmine, and the delta squad.. epic games, didnt leave with a bang so this game is a bit lower than it should if few things were changed. i like beast mode, the new horde the lack of 4 PLAYER OFFLINE coop, really killed it after they said they included it, kinda sad gameplay-8 fun-7/8 creativity-8 lasting gameplay-9… Expand
  30. DANDEIN
    Dec 18, 2011
    6
    GOW2 with new maps. don´t xpect absolutely anything new at all. I Still dont understand how come this game costed aprox. 10 million USD being just a copy of its antecessor.
  31. Warlike
    Dec 13, 2011
    7
    The online in this game is as good as ever, but the story just wasn't there at all. every time a cut scene happens after a long mission of fighting they will talk for a few seconds before they are once again attacked by the lambent or locust. I also did not like the lambent from previous games so finding out they were the main enemy wasn't pleasant, they did fix the problems i had such asThe online in this game is as good as ever, but the story just wasn't there at all. every time a cut scene happens after a long mission of fighting they will talk for a few seconds before they are once again attacked by the lambent or locust. I also did not like the lambent from previous games so finding out they were the main enemy wasn't pleasant, they did fix the problems i had such as using the chainsaw on lambent no longer damages you like in previous games. Although the story wasn't what i wanted it to be the online multi-player is still great and the new maps live up to the gears of war name.… Expand
  32. GooGooguru
    Dec 10, 2011
    6
    Without a doubt the game i was most disappointed with this year ... to much of the same ... to little innovation ... still fun just feels like an expansion pack
  33. shreddedduck
    Nov 22, 2011
    5
    Single player review only btw! Dissapointing.. loved GOW1, it had a dark atmosphere and was brutal.. GOW3 graphics were dull, firing weapons was truly forgettable, i couldnt believe how uninteresting it was to kill the enemy. except grenades which were awesome. Normal was very easy.. i found myself running into the middle of battles cos i lost the will to play anymore and still didnt dieSingle player review only btw! Dissapointing.. loved GOW1, it had a dark atmosphere and was brutal.. GOW3 graphics were dull, firing weapons was truly forgettable, i couldnt believe how uninteresting it was to kill the enemy. except grenades which were awesome. Normal was very easy.. i found myself running into the middle of battles cos i lost the will to play anymore and still didnt die once. Storyline was alright but a bit gay. One of the main things that got me really pissed was that you can either walk incredibly slow or run crouching down and get motion sickness and therefore spoiling all the action. The enemy were really poorly designed.. Is it now fashionable to make all enemy explode.. kinda spoiled it for me.. Glad i didnt buy it, just rented it.. im sure multiplayer was better but i like single player so didnt try it. OVERALL: Nothing jaw dropping, wont be playing any more GOW, apart from no.1 .. I hope this is the last GOW cos the good name of the original has been well n truly panned.… Expand
  34. Aarvex
    Nov 22, 2011
    7
    Gears of War 3 takes what I've seen out of Gears of War and puts it in a new game with higher quality graphics. This isn't the worst thing as the series is a compelling one but new features or motions would be exceptional and bump this game to a 8 or maybe 9. The multiplayer improved drastically from being one where you'd have to be excellent to get any enjoyment out of it to being oneGears of War 3 takes what I've seen out of Gears of War and puts it in a new game with higher quality graphics. This isn't the worst thing as the series is a compelling one but new features or motions would be exceptional and bump this game to a 8 or maybe 9. The multiplayer improved drastically from being one where you'd have to be excellent to get any enjoyment out of it to being one where anyone can excel and get some fun from it but there is still that WOW factor missing from it that other shooters seem to have.… Expand
  35. MatJoker
    Nov 16, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was really expecting this game and it not let me down, despite some minor problems. If you take it for a brainless game, just for the fun of the action, you'll enjoy it, otherwise it's quite shallow and do not offer a real challenge. The game it's really short, the storytelling seems rushed and you lose all the sympathy you had to use with Marcus and company. I missed some machine using. The sub part, for example, you should drive it, as cars and maybe even motorcycles to get some action and break the liniarity of the game. In other hand, Graphics are amazing and really beautiful. At least, give you some closure for the trilogy. If you are a fan and like to play multi players online, you must have, otherwise, just rent. In a rainy Sunday you might get to end of this game.… Expand
  36. davenbettridge
    Nov 14, 2011
    6
    The Gears of War series is a franchise popular because there are a large amount of people in society who are impressed by the sensation of violence rather then originality, depth, metaphors, meaning, and purpose. Gears will not be remembered or loved but forgotten along with the massive pile of missed opportunities. The video game industry could actually be better with more deeper,The Gears of War series is a franchise popular because there are a large amount of people in society who are impressed by the sensation of violence rather then originality, depth, metaphors, meaning, and purpose. Gears will not be remembered or loved but forgotten along with the massive pile of missed opportunities. The video game industry could actually be better with more deeper, original games if people weren't so easily entertained and demanded it.… Expand
  37. the5thfreedom
    Nov 14, 2011
    7
    oh excuse me ok hold on thats better sorry had to remove my hype goggles to get a clearer picture of this game. so will start with the single player easily the best in the series (which def help with my score being more postive) the story isnt nonsense like the other two installments probably due to the fact that it actually had a real writer this time around. anyways i throughly enjoyedoh excuse me ok hold on thats better sorry had to remove my hype goggles to get a clearer picture of this game. so will start with the single player easily the best in the series (which def help with my score being more postive) the story isnt nonsense like the other two installments probably due to the fact that it actually had a real writer this time around. anyways i throughly enjoyed the campaign it was action packe d and full of everything i want high intense action and amazing boss fights as well a rich story that you could feel for the charcters as they took this journey. now for the multiplayer were to start first off this is a COVER based shooter so wheres the cover every map that was playabe on launch features litte to no cover no matter were u went a person could easly shoot and kill you while you took cover instantly changing the type of gameplay from the amazing tactical shooter it once was to a borderline third person copy of a popular FPS. im not complaining about the weapons at all new games means new weapons which takes adapting to but when u change the way the whole game palys you lose your hardcore fans who are the ones who keep the community alive. so Since epic wants us all to play the Most popluar shooter on xbox live (since the changed almost everything about there game to fit the type of game) i traded in gears of war to get the most popular FPS out there ( for a refence i am a huge Gears fan bought the epic edtion and i even have a gears tattoo) at least when the second game came out i want so betrayed by the company and it was still a Gears of war game so unless EPIC has some patches planned to make gears similar if not exactly what it use to be then ill stick to my FPS instead of GEARS OF DUTY.… Expand
  38. PlasmaPrestige
    Nov 13, 2011
    6
    Gears of War 3 is not a huge step forward from its predecessor in terms of gameplay. To many, this is great, but it also a bit of a problem. While the movement has been improved, the sluggishness of it all is getting outdated after four years. Trivialities like the reload quick time event whenever reloading a weapon are no longer the novelty, just an annoyance. Luckily, the game's story isGears of War 3 is not a huge step forward from its predecessor in terms of gameplay. To many, this is great, but it also a bit of a problem. While the movement has been improved, the sluggishness of it all is getting outdated after four years. Trivialities like the reload quick time event whenever reloading a weapon are no longer the novelty, just an annoyance. Luckily, the game's story is very nice; while the same old bland characters are there, the sense of pacing and scarce amount of emotional scenes to pack a positive punch. On the multiplayer side, Horde mode is very similar with now upgrades, but Beast mode is by far the best. Unfortunately, Beast was only given little attention since games will be over within 10-30 minutes depending on player skill. Overall, if you like Gears of War, then buy this game, but if you didn't like the first two, there isn't much change here.… Expand
  39. Bigredd77
    Nov 12, 2011
    7
    Awesome game, would have given it a 8 but holy crap look at all the 10's!! I haven't given a game a 10 ever, that means it's flawless. Graphics wise it is awesome, weapons are getting a bit tired and the shtick coming from the corny characters is hard to deal with. Overall I find the game very fun but not addictive. True GOW fans should love this one as it doesn't take itself tooAwesome game, would have given it a 8 but holy crap look at all the 10's!! I haven't given a game a 10 ever, that means it's flawless. Graphics wise it is awesome, weapons are getting a bit tired and the shtick coming from the corny characters is hard to deal with. Overall I find the game very fun but not addictive. True GOW fans should love this one as it doesn't take itself too seriously. Visually a great game.… Expand
  40. NoMoreNiceGuy
    Nov 11, 2011
    7
    I got to say, i am a little dissapointed. the Campaign is decent and long, but i've played most parts of it in GoW1&2, sure some parts are new, buts its mostly run, cover, gun again. i love Beast and Horde, they're both awesome. But i dislike the fact that i have to buy weapons and ammo in Horde. The MP is great, but i still mostly see gnashers again

    In short: +Beast mode + Horde + long    I got to say, i am a little dissapointed. the Campaign is decent and long, but i've played most parts of it in GoW1&2, sure some parts are new, buts its mostly run, cover, gun again. i love Beast and Horde, they're both awesome. But i dislike the fact that i have to buy weapons and ammo in Horde. The MP is great, but i still mostly see gnashers again

    In short:
    +Beast mode
    + Horde
    + long campaign
    - repetive campaign    … Expand
  41. Crabman
    Nov 10, 2011
    7
    I have been a fan since the first Gears. I have owned every installment and played all of them to death. That being said I didn't feel the campaign lived up to expectations. The story just felt like it ended period. I understand there are thousands of Gears in their universe but they introduce new ones every game and expect me to care for them isn't going to happen. With that being saidI have been a fan since the first Gears. I have owned every installment and played all of them to death. That being said I didn't feel the campaign lived up to expectations. The story just felt like it ended period. I understand there are thousands of Gears in their universe but they introduce new ones every game and expect me to care for them isn't going to happen. With that being said the multiplayer is tight and polished. Horde mode 2.0 keeps you hooked for hours at a time and beast mode is fun too. The only problem with beast is that it is short. Oh and not to mention playing the story with 3 friends is real good fun.… Expand
  42. Dangerousdavid
    Nov 10, 2011
    7
    The campaign was okay, I thought 2s was better though. Other than that the new MP maps are solid, new weapons are good and I like how they tightened up gameplay even more than 2. I cant give it a better score though because I feel like Epic Games were too conservative in the development in this game, unwilling to change hardly anything.
  43. GhostROF1DooM
    Nov 8, 2011
    5
    The story in gears of war has been plummeting to its doom since Gears of war 1, and thats why #3 in the series gets a 5. Because its entire premise is ridiculous Its very disappointing that such a great story has been ruined. Gears of war 1 had it right. a Desperate struggle between mankind and the locust, and thats **** it. Why did GoW 2 +3 have to **** that up so bad by making it soThe story in gears of war has been plummeting to its doom since Gears of war 1, and thats why #3 in the series gets a 5. Because its entire premise is ridiculous Its very disappointing that such a great story has been ruined. Gears of war 1 had it right. a Desperate struggle between mankind and the locust, and thats **** it. Why did GoW 2 +3 have to **** that up so bad by making it so appallingly unrealistic and silly that it sucked the life out of it. From the dumbass Aztec design of the locust cities (that are **** empty and make no sense) to the pants-on-head-retarded worm segment, Gears of war just lacks all consecutiveness. the campaignin #3 was **** useless, a total waste time, but the graphics have improved just because Epic finally discovered the rest of the **** colour palette, and because they got multiplayer to work better, even if it is still an unbalanced mess half the time. Good fun, but still broken. Cliffy B also continues to annoy me...not sure why

    DOM DIES LIKE A **** TOO WHAT A SURPRISE    … Expand
  44. TheBruteHazard
    Nov 8, 2011
    7
    If you are looking for the ultimate installment in this long running series, then this one is the one to get. Gears of War makes no sacrifices and enhances upon an already solid TPS. You've got action, fun, and beautiful visuals in one package.
  45. Gamer84
    Nov 5, 2011
    6
    Gears of War 3 has proven to me why I wont pick up a part 4. The story throughout the entire series has been terrible. Who wrote this game? Theres so much to tell but I dont want to ruin anything. i just dont get why you have to have a cutscene when going through a door. I mean serious and on top of that I lose my weapon when this happens. The only thing good about this has to be playingGears of War 3 has proven to me why I wont pick up a part 4. The story throughout the entire series has been terrible. Who wrote this game? Theres so much to tell but I dont want to ruin anything. i just dont get why you have to have a cutscene when going through a door. I mean serious and on top of that I lose my weapon when this happens. The only thing good about this has to be playing with friends in multiplayer and using the overpowered shotgun. Once again another game with unbalanced weapons with the exception of the sniper rifle and the magnum which kills enemies in one hit. I'm tired of this series and it should go away.… Expand
  46. BovinePiracy
    Nov 4, 2011
    7
    Good conclusion to a stellar storyline. Multiplayer still a bit lacking though. Nothing improved from previous attempts. 4 player co-op rocks, and horde mode still stands strong. Beast mode was not as fun as I hoped it would be though. Overall a pretty good game and worth the bucks for the single player alone.
  47. Robbie111222
    Nov 2, 2011
    7
    Not a bad game at all, for me it's the graphics, and the gameplay, solid effort, their are a few little issues here that dampen the experience here within the multiplayer aspect that negates the score. Worth a buy if you own an xbox360, as not many more exclusives to come, unless you own a kinect.
  48. Sci-Fi-Dude1456
    Nov 1, 2011
    6
    Gears of War has the best third person gameplay in a video game ever. But this one doesnt live up to Gears of War 2. The story is a bit cheesy but there has been some improvements like graphics and multiplayer.
  49. devil-fangio
    Oct 27, 2011
    6
    same game after gears 1 and 2,great quality,beautiful graphics,awesome action but just run fire run fire all the time,story not as beautiful as expected,it is just a beautiful game
  50. Imran
    Oct 25, 2011
    6
    The game is almost same as last two games.Same repetitive actions make me bored.I played the game for 2 days but i felt that i am playing like gears of war 1.I don't know after waiting for long time epic games have produced same repetitive action game.
  51. ancientscrolls
    Oct 21, 2011
    6
    I loved Gears in the first 2 games. Plain and simple though, i'm already bored with it. I've been bored with it for a couple of weeks now. All the stuff you have, or are going to hear about "shotguns of war" is totally true. The only way for this game to be fair would be to have everyone camp with sawed offs. Campaign was pretty enjoyable, and i love a couple of the bossfights. AlsoI loved Gears in the first 2 games. Plain and simple though, i'm already bored with it. I've been bored with it for a couple of weeks now. All the stuff you have, or are going to hear about "shotguns of war" is totally true. The only way for this game to be fair would be to have everyone camp with sawed offs. Campaign was pretty enjoyable, and i love a couple of the bossfights. Also somehow the randomly placed waist high obstacles/cover aren't as conspicuous as the were in the first 2. so yeah... no more "jersey barriers of war".… Expand
  52. gypsygib
    Oct 17, 2011
    7
    As a long term Gears fan I must say the 3rd tittle is more than a little disappointing. The MP is better than in Gears 2 but the SP is pretty bad. The AI is idiotic and having your teammates constantly revive changes the game dynamic in such a way that it doesn't have any of the Gears magic anymore. Also, level design, story, and dialogue just seem off for some reason. This games SPAs a long term Gears fan I must say the 3rd tittle is more than a little disappointing. The MP is better than in Gears 2 but the SP is pretty bad. The AI is idiotic and having your teammates constantly revive changes the game dynamic in such a way that it doesn't have any of the Gears magic anymore. Also, level design, story, and dialogue just seem off for some reason. This games SP just feel like the worst in the series. Overall, if you're looking for a solid MP only - Gears 3 is fine. But, if you want a comprehensive package, which is what is expected of the Gears series, look elsewhere. This game, sadly, is a big disappointment and way overrated by the major review sites. The metacritic users have it closer.… Expand
  53. Tashy497
    Oct 13, 2011
    6
    This games is OK. There is a cut scene of people opening and closing doors because I think perhaps it needs loading times between small portions of the game? I wish I could just walk down long corridors instead of cruddy cut scenes. Also, maybe that's done as well... I recall many rooms that were vacant... after awhile I ran until I came upon an enemy because I was used to not seeingThis games is OK. There is a cut scene of people opening and closing doors because I think perhaps it needs loading times between small portions of the game? I wish I could just walk down long corridors instead of cruddy cut scenes. Also, maybe that's done as well... I recall many rooms that were vacant... after awhile I ran until I came upon an enemy because I was used to not seeing enemies and getting tired of tirelessly walking. So instead of walking wondering what's ahead, I soon realized that nothing sneaks up on me and to simply run until enemies appear.

    Cut scenes sometimes use in-game models... then some cut scenes have a purple tint because it's likely edited in AfterFX to add particle effects. The cut scenes look different in quality and kills the consistency. Also in the cut scenes that use the in-game engine elements such as tires of vehicles, trees, vegetation,,,, pop in and out.

    The mechs you crawl into could have been better and maybe used more... also I wish could ride some of the beasts like you did in GOW2. This is something that would have elevated the gameplay. I love the idea of FPS and vehicles and I'm surprised there wasn't more of this... part 1 had a vehicle (that sucked I know), part 2 had beasts (only partially near the end) and this one had a mech... in which I barely used, plus I have yet to see the mech in the multiplayer (if it even exists).

    The first 2 GOWs felt dark... this one is cheezy and I feel it killed the dark feeling of the predecessors. Some of the dialogue is beyond hokey and the queen comes off incredibly over-acted and gives it a less serious feel to it. The queens animations when she talks, her body language is incredibly exaggerated and ridiculous. Ice T makes an appearance and his dialogue is the only dialogue that sounds like he's swore before; whereas, other voice actors in the games drop the "F" bomb all the time and it sounds like they've rarely used it or felt uncomfortable using it. After half way through the game the "F" word and the "S" word are used so much it's gratuitous. Back to Ice T... after your first encounter it's him, the second encounter... I'm pretty sure it's a different voice actor... and either he has a cold or someone is a bad Ice T impersonator.

    The multiplayer is much better than the previous 2 games. Some levels, if you turn quick (briefly) left or right... some structures in the game turn blue (like the edges) then it snaps it's texture back. I had fun in the multiplayer... but once you get good it's all run and shotgun... which will give you vertigo because of the constant movement to not get blown to pieces.

    Basically it seems the game is trying to appeal to a broader audience and overdoing some stuff to appeal to the existing audience. The game is pretty and has some of the best special effects I've seen in a game. Sun rays, environment art, character design, explosions... best I've seen in a game.

    The ending really sucked; whereas, in GOW2 I felt the gameplay near the end was fantastic. The story sucks in general, as most games do, but I wanted more of a grand finale action ending. Play it for sure, then sell it on Amazon when you're done.    … Expand
  54. SonnyFlowers
    Oct 11, 2011
    5
    Gears of War 3's tiresome chest-beating final chapter comes out along side sloppily unearned emotion, a detestably shallow multiplayer mode, and a disappointing "pay for the whole story" model that is frankly antiquated and behind the times. Itâ
  55. nixon31
    Oct 8, 2011
    6
    As a big fan of Gears of War I was vastly disappointed in the story mode. Just like GOW1 and GOW2, the main story mode is a long monotonous journey of walking, waiting, ducking behind the same things you always duck behind, and then you shoot. There is very little good I can say about the campaign. I feel like they didn't put much thought into it at all. It ridiculous. If I were to judgeAs a big fan of Gears of War I was vastly disappointed in the story mode. Just like GOW1 and GOW2, the main story mode is a long monotonous journey of walking, waiting, ducking behind the same things you always duck behind, and then you shoot. There is very little good I can say about the campaign. I feel like they didn't put much thought into it at all. It ridiculous. If I were to judge this game based on story mode alone, I would give it a zero. Now, to the good stuff:

    1. Beast mode is amazing. What a breath of fresh air in the gaming world. I loved this and will keep the game in my library because of this alone. 2. Online play is great, as always.    … Expand
  56. Weyland
    Oct 6, 2011
    6
    Repetitive.. no options to really play with other than a couple skins you can unlock & some really lame characters you can get access to use. Graphics are really nice though & it is full of silly one liners! but i really really wish i did not get talked into this game. :(

    Way over hyped!!
  57. Blitzcrag
    Oct 4, 2011
    5
    I have clocked in more hours playing GoW and GoW2 than any other game. I loved the first two. Here we go...

    Campaign is annoying. Every time you go somewhere you have at least 3 other AI teammates, and they provide absolutely nothing to the story or game play. Instead, the AI serve as healers when you go down, since even on Insane difficulty you can still get revived. I found myself just    I have clocked in more hours playing GoW and GoW2 than any other game. I loved the first two. Here we go...

    Campaign is annoying. Every time you go somewhere you have at least 3 other AI teammates, and they provide absolutely nothing to the story or game play. Instead, the AI serve as healers when you go down, since even on Insane difficulty you can still get revived. I found myself just sitting on the ground most of the time during the boss battles, just waiting to get revived by a bot. Getting downed instead of dying produces a very choppy run through. Also, the AI have choppy, stupid remarks about everything imaginable, and the cut scenes are even worse. They try to throw in some stupid relationships between the characters, too. There is no plot, just a never ending series of battles as you move from level to level. About the final boss battle.... just boring and long. Shoot it in the mouth, get behind cover, and repeat a billion times. And there is only 1 single checkpoint during the last battle. I ended up dying at the very very end when on Insane, and had to go back way to far every time.

    Lambent are stupid and annoying. Just be warned. The only reason I give it a 5 was I like a lot of the new maps, graphics are great, and a lot of multiplayer action is fun.    … Expand
  58. THE_COCONUT_MAN
    Oct 4, 2011
    6
    The co-op elements in this game are exactly the sort of thing most mainstream games are missing in todays market, Beast Mode and Horde are worth the price tag alone and you'll never run out of things to do.
    My main complaint however, is the campaign. I have never felt so alienated by a franchise title to which i have become a patron to. It seems like im playing GoW4 rather than GoW3, with    The co-op elements in this game are exactly the sort of thing most mainstream games are missing in todays market, Beast Mode and Horde are worth the price tag alone and you'll never run out of things to do.
    My main complaint however, is the campaign. I have never felt so alienated by a franchise title to which i have become a patron to. It seems like im playing GoW4 rather than GoW3, with all the unexplained, un-introduced new characters, (i assumed they were a bunch of "red shirts", but was sadly mistaken) setting and location not to mention the complete lack of locust. I heard that alot of this was explained in the 19 comic books that Epic released, but I feel that the finale of the franchise should not ride so heavily on cross-media. Without trying to spoil too much, I was greatly disappointed with the games conclusion, which seemed all too rushed and convenient. Im not saying that they should of killed off all of the characters, but I would of liked the game to stir some emotion rather than cliche in its closing hour.    … Expand
  59. Rynocirator
    Oct 3, 2011
    5
    Before I go into this, I have played every single gears of war game and I find this one to be the worst game I have played this year...it is absolutely horrible. My friend and I played for 3 hours straight and asked each other if we were having fun yet. Not only is the game filled with overused cliches that arent even good like "clean up on aisle 8" or "Mr.ugly just got uglier", but theBefore I go into this, I have played every single gears of war game and I find this one to be the worst game I have played this year...it is absolutely horrible. My friend and I played for 3 hours straight and asked each other if we were having fun yet. Not only is the game filled with overused cliches that arent even good like "clean up on aisle 8" or "Mr.ugly just got uglier", but the story is piss poor and boring...the locusts are black and white, the lambent are annoying and boring, and from the beginning of the game until the last mission my friend and I honestly didn't know what we were doing when we were playing certain parts. Asking ourselves "why are we doing this what does this have to do with the story"..I gave it a 5 only because the horde mode is actually decent but as for the campaign I would rather throw up my insides than play that again...didn't even try the multiplayer because I know it will be the unbalanced garbage it has always been.… Expand
  60. killdrphil
    Oct 3, 2011
    7
    Very much like a movie heavy on special effects and little else. In other words, all style and no substance. Pretty shallow really. And can be very boring at times. But, if you're in the mood to just check out your brain and not think - just roll, shoot and say "ohhh pretty" over and over then this is your game.
  61. Woodlin37
    Oct 2, 2011
    7
    Firstly the story in campaign mode bored me to death really, i was really disapointed with it and could not wait for it to end, rather than me wanting more, also its a little on the easy side. Gameplay is brilliant and flawless in my opinion. Multiplayer is also perfect this time around after the disapointment and buggy Gears 2 at release, Good not great game a worth while pick-up when atFirstly the story in campaign mode bored me to death really, i was really disapointed with it and could not wait for it to end, rather than me wanting more, also its a little on the easy side. Gameplay is brilliant and flawless in my opinion. Multiplayer is also perfect this time around after the disapointment and buggy Gears 2 at release, Good not great game a worth while pick-up when at a cheaper price.… Expand
  62. DesNukem
    Oct 1, 2011
    5
    Despite the hype, this game isn't a patch on Halo Reach. Here's the main faults, most of which carry over from the first installments:

    * Virtually no improvement in the graphics after 3 years in development. * Derelict cars with such basic features they'd be lucky to pass muster in a cartoon. * Invisible walls that defy logic. You can't even jump off a cliff and die! * Most visible    Despite the hype, this game isn't a patch on Halo Reach. Here's the main faults, most of which carry over from the first installments:

    * Virtually no improvement in the graphics after 3 years in development.
    * Derelict cars with such basic features they'd be lucky to pass muster in a cartoon.
    * Invisible walls that defy logic. You can't even jump off a cliff and die! * Most visible barriers in the maps are contrived and lazy.
    * TVs and other in-game objects that cannot be destroyed with gunfire. In fact, you can shoot holes in the screens and they still display a picture! Where's the logic in that?!
    * No bullet wounds; just heaps of gratuitous blood.
    * Distasteful executions such as the 'curb stomp' which cater to teen bloodlust.
    * Juvenile, one-dimensional characters with immature dialogue bordering on the moronic.
    * Enemies with no personality. They're really just cannon fodder in different shapes and sizes.

    In Horde Mode:
    * Selectable, glowing fortifications which totally destroy the sense of realism before each wave.
    * Cardboard cut-out decoys that also destroy realism and supposedly fool otherwise intelligent enemy.

    You expect better from a famous multi-million dollar company with an elite team of CGI experts at its disposal.    … Expand
  63. Tolmar
    Sep 25, 2011
    5
    I bought this game with high hopes. I loved the storyline of the first two, but the third part left me feeling very disappointed. The endings of GoW and GoW2 were spot on IMO, but I felt that the ending to GoW3 was not the epic cinematic experience one would expect at the conclusion of story involving the fate of humanity. Plot references felt contrived and convenient and there was noI bought this game with high hopes. I loved the storyline of the first two, but the third part left me feeling very disappointed. The endings of GoW and GoW2 were spot on IMO, but I felt that the ending to GoW3 was not the epic cinematic experience one would expect at the conclusion of story involving the fate of humanity. Plot references felt contrived and convenient and there was no emotional depth, nothing to reinforce the previous two games.

    Game play is the same as the others, along with the repeat and rinse maps. Running from one section to another, you will certainly know when to expect a Locust attack. I was hoping for something new in the game play, so I was disappointed with how similar to the other games each level felt. The campaign arcade mode was interesting for a short while, earning points for position on a high score table.

    Multiplayer faired better. I'm not a fan of competitive multiplayer, so I always turn my attention to co-op. I loved beast mode, laying waste to the Stranded and the heroes of GoW, but horde mode was excellent. In Horde mode you earn cash to build and repair defences which hinder the locusts as they try to wipe you out. My only problem with horde mode was that it was somewhat easier to kill the locusts at normal difficulty. XP can earned in campaign and carries through to multiplayer and, every so often, your friends may jump in and help you at any time.

    Overall GoW3 doesn't offer anything new over GoW and GoW2 that would warrant forking out £40. In some ways it is a missed opportunity to close a terrific story. For me, horde mode in GoW2 feels more hectic than in GoW3.

    So 5/10 from me.    … Expand
  64. 13years
    Sep 24, 2011
    6
    GOW3: My single player experience.

    Game is now more Zombie type, than a scifi horror. The melancholy, dark, sad, sort of depressing tone in the first game is replaced by jokes, sarcastic jokes, and more sarcastic jokes. I mean it when I say EVERY spoken dialog by every character is a sarcastic joke. It gets old super quick. GOW3 lacks any suspense. No creatures of the night, no    GOW3: My single player experience.

    Game is now more Zombie type, than a scifi horror. The melancholy, dark, sad, sort of depressing tone in the first game is replaced by jokes, sarcastic jokes, and more sarcastic jokes. I mean it when I say EVERY spoken dialog by every character is a sarcastic joke. It gets old super quick.

    GOW3 lacks any suspense. No creatures of the night, no scary encounters, The first game even had lots of "wholly **** moments. GOW3 instead gives you zombies waves. Then fails to provide any real risk or thrill factor with these zombies. They die with one hit, they don't grab on to you, they move at normal speed. Where is the ripping your gun away from you? Or having the zombies jump on you and you have to shake them off? Even the missions lack any sense of urgency. Where is the 3 minute countdown? Or defend the base for 15 minutes? Where is the LIMITED AMMO!!!! While the level design is amazing, the battle fields look great, with lots of room for fights, lots of great places to stick and move, but GOW3 has moved away from this tactical type game play. In the first Gears game, you had to out flank turrets, move quickly cover to cover, the grub also (on the harder difficulties) were quick to charge your cover, jump over and try to instant kill you. GOW3 is pretty much setup at one location, cover shoot, cover shoot till everyone is dead. No need to move forward to advance your position.

    Great suspenseful moments in the first Gears game, where the Grub is climbing over the barricade forcing you to switch from your lancer to quicker melee weapon are non existence in GOW3.

    This game is designed to be played by 4 people, akin to the whole Left 4 Dead Zombie horror game. (Which explains a lot)

    But there is not 4x times the enemy on the screen 4x the action, 4x amount of stuff going on. You don't need to have some of your team flank the enemy while you move up and one guy hangs back with a sniper. As before when you take some damage you will have the option to be revived. Except now you have 3 other team mates to do it. Sometimes, you literal cannot be killed. Start firing, get taken down, get almost instantly revived, repeat. My first run, playing on Hardcore, I barely had to use the cover system, and with instant revive from my teammates you almost don't need it.

    ALSO, because you have 4 people playing, the designers felt that those times where you died by explosion, head shot, curb stomp, or the infamous Torque Bow have to be turned down if not gotten rid of. This takes away a lot of risk, thrill and difficulty in the game. In the first Gears game, the sound of a Torque bow being charge up followed by the sound of the explosive arrow hitting something, was a nerve wracking experience. That weapon made you take notice, and move a little different. Now I take the damage, maybe if iâ    … Expand
  65. a9footD0NG
    Sep 23, 2011
    5
    1 step forward, 2 steps back. that's where GOW3 stands against its predecessors. this is essentially the exact same thing, except the devs believe they have improved the graphics by splashing an annoying level of bloom lighting on everything, to the point where it looks washed out and burns your retinas. in all honesty, i truly believe the graphics from the first game, back in 2005, are1 step forward, 2 steps back. that's where GOW3 stands against its predecessors. this is essentially the exact same thing, except the devs believe they have improved the graphics by splashing an annoying level of bloom lighting on everything, to the point where it looks washed out and burns your retinas. in all honesty, i truly believe the graphics from the first game, back in 2005, are still better than this "updated" version. not because i believe myself to be a purist, but because that's just that way i actually see it. and the A.I. is even worse than before. how is this possible? time after time you sit and watch one of your NPC teammates dancing a jig with a NPC locust. it looks pretty stupid. also, there is pop-in, where if you look around the map fast enough, you will see white boxes suddenly fill in with a texture. seriously? artifacts like this are still present? even with an additional 5 months to polish? then there's the dialogue. this is writing fit for a Micheal Bay movie, not much substance or nuance, so they fill the void with harsh language and explosions. awesome. every character is a complete douche-bag, ESPECIALLY the new female characters. it's like they have to out douche the biggest douches in the universe in order to be invited to the COG house for hell / rush / pledge week. speaking of which, the female characters are so out of place in a game like this. i'm calling it the worst addition ever, it's absurd. a 90 lb woman soaking wet beating a 500 lb locust in the face until it explodes? really? this is NOT a pleasing end to the trilogy. the entire storyline is convoluted and trite. big guys grunt here, and then they grunt over there, someone spouts off a lowest-common-denominator remark to appeal to the Jeff Foxworthy / Larry the Cable Guy / Jeff Dunham crowd, then some woman starts gruntin like she's been getting testosterone treatments without all the nasty facial hair and body mass increase side-effects. i guess i'm just REALLY let down when it comes to the champagne. and by the way, the lambent is a blatant rip-off of Halo's flood. just throwing that out there because it is. so overall, weak level design, unlikable characters, Micheal Bay style action, lame storyline, and **** A.I. make for a complete borefest, of which even the addition of new weapons and the Silverback mech suit can't alleviate. MP is pretty tight though, much better than GOW2, but still, not as good as GOW1. horde 2.0 is still pretty fun, and is in fact much better than the original. i'm glad they decided to throw bosses at you, from previous games, after the 10th wave. it gets super intense. beast mode is just ok. it's not nearly as exciting as horde. but it's something different.

    one other small grip i have about this game: you used to be able to kick dead locust all over the place after you blew them away. what happened to that? now they just shrink away and disappear. i know it's a minor thing, but i LOVED doing that, just rolling around in a pile of gibs. but anyway, you could say that i'm mostly disappointed with this game. once again i bit, due to effective marketing hyperbole.

    next time Epic, please assume your fan base aren't slobbering, hyperactive, knuckle dragging tweens. it wouldn't kill you to make a game EVERYONE can enjoy.    … Expand
  66. Ali1247
    Sep 22, 2011
    7
    The story had so much potential but it could have been executed in a much better way I would have enjoyed the story and gotten into it if it wasn't for this poor execution the bad humour and the lack of seriousness among the characters really ruined it for me. The characters from the previous 2 games return along with some new characters but I just could not get myself to care for or takeThe story had so much potential but it could have been executed in a much better way I would have enjoyed the story and gotten into it if it wasn't for this poor execution the bad humour and the lack of seriousness among the characters really ruined it for me. The characters from the previous 2 games return along with some new characters but I just could not get myself to care for or take any of them seriously because of their bland and annoying personalities specially the buff male characters who look like freaks of nature and mutated themselves. The campaign was fun and they have made some improvements over the gameplay but it is still very linear with its share of frustrating moments and still way to short for the wrap up of the triology but I still enjoyed it and the EXP system is really a great addition and exactly what the previous two games needed in the campaign and the new weapons are also unique and fun to use. The multiplayer is definitely much better than the one from Gears 2 they have added new modes and reworked the Horde mode and they are all really fun and much more strategic than repetitive and boring.. The online multiplayer for the campaign which allows a 4 player Co-Op is really cool however playing the campaign with offline multiplayer with a friend by your side with the awful split screen can be really frustrating. The graphics are just amazing it is nice that despite being out for so many years the 360 is still not showing its age. The game's voice acting is fine but could have been alot better and realistic. Also I still did not see that many changes in the Single player from Gears 2 this game it still feels more like it predecessors. Overall I think Epic Games took 2 steps forward and 2 steps back in my opinion don't get me wrong I still think this is a really good game but I think it is getting overpraised because as the ending of a 5 year triology it is a little disappointing. 7.5/10.… Expand
  67. Rammsoldat
    Sep 22, 2011
    7
    Where to start. Multiplayer is better than ever and i feel that the game is worth the purchase on the strength of that alone. The maps are well designed and the weapons are fun and match a nice variety of playstyles wich has bred a fair amount of discontent from the hardcore fanbase who are used to only having 1 type of player to deal with.

    Story mode falls on its face a little. With any    Where to start. Multiplayer is better than ever and i feel that the game is worth the purchase on the strength of that alone. The maps are well designed and the weapons are fun and match a nice variety of playstyles wich has bred a fair amount of discontent from the hardcore fanbase who are used to only having 1 type of player to deal with.

    Story mode falls on its face a little. With any story i feel the toughest part to nail down is a satisfying ending and gears of war 3 pulls the old "i win button" one wich is a fairly large cop out in story telling. There were some great parts of the story to play through such as defending anvil gate but its a bit short and some of the plot is a bit daft.

    I give the game 7 out of 10 based largely on multiplayer, the story itself has good characters and not alot else and seeing as its haf the game its underpreforming brings the overall score down for me.    … Expand
  68. zyryx
    Sep 22, 2011
    5
    I wanted to like this game, but I'm only reminded of what I hated about the first one and why I didn't buy the second one. Overall a fail. Multiplayer is simply frustrating. I'm sure the things I hate are what everyone else loves. The sprint effect, the random "bouncing" when taking damage that makes it near impossible to adjust your fire on target. The sounds are horrible, when you hearI wanted to like this game, but I'm only reminded of what I hated about the first one and why I didn't buy the second one. Overall a fail. Multiplayer is simply frustrating. I'm sure the things I hate are what everyone else loves. The sprint effect, the random "bouncing" when taking damage that makes it near impossible to adjust your fire on target. The sounds are horrible, when you hear the enemy they sound like they are right behind you even if they are halfway across the map. I know why they made these features this way, as a way to artificially raise the tension of the game, but do shooters really need this? Versus mode needs more options for games, like the ability to have uneven numbers of players on teams, though I guess that's what they included horde mode for.Overall it's just too simplistic, two dimensional, and lacking compared to shooters like COD. If you loved the first two I'm sure you'll love this one too. I wish I had saved my money.… Expand
  69. Daematune
    Sep 21, 2011
    7
    Gears of War 3 feels like a giant step back as well as a small step forward in some areas. Gameplay wise there are some invaluable new additions, they sadly proved to be pointless. However, somehow they managed to unbalance the game a bit. The melee is no longer auto-targeted and the damage has been broken down a fair bit, a few guns have also been messed with far too much. The campaignGears of War 3 feels like a giant step back as well as a small step forward in some areas. Gameplay wise there are some invaluable new additions, they sadly proved to be pointless. However, somehow they managed to unbalance the game a bit. The melee is no longer auto-targeted and the damage has been broken down a fair bit, a few guns have also been messed with far too much. The campaign feels extremely sluggish and dull, it was not executed properly at all. The story also had great promise. Cole Train returns to his hometown, sees his stadium in ruin.. Marcus finds out his father his actually alive-- Dom dies.. none of these story elements were taken seriously, it felt lifeless. A couple new characters were also thrown at you that no history behind them, they weren't very likeable either. The multiplayer section of this game lives up to expectations, more or less. The new and 'improved' horde mode is much, much better. It adds an engulfing amount of depth into the map. You can build different types of defenses and offenses, the boss battles are also very challenging. The new beast mode is also surprisingly fun as well, different playable 'beasts' had a number of strengths and weaknesses. Within the other half of multiplayer, player vs player.. nothing really changed. Of course you still have your new maps and all. Overall, I wish they could have been as innovative as they were with Gears 1 and 2.… Expand
  70. TrevZ
    Sep 20, 2011
    6
    I guess i'm mixed with this title because i prefer story driven games, and as much as I tried to want to like the story in it, it didnt really stand out shine in this perspective. In short the story is filled with a plethora of cheesy phrases and imo overall bad storytelling, however on the good side, the game boasts incredible graphics, gameplay, and a suiting end to the trilogy... OnI guess i'm mixed with this title because i prefer story driven games, and as much as I tried to want to like the story in it, it didnt really stand out shine in this perspective. In short the story is filled with a plethora of cheesy phrases and imo overall bad storytelling, however on the good side, the game boasts incredible graphics, gameplay, and a suiting end to the trilogy... On the multiplayer side, however we theirs an incredibe amount of game modes, and Horde 2.0 is aweeesoomme!! and i can see this as being a game dedicated gears fans play for a long time. In conclusion, the multiplayer aspect really saves this game, for without is i would've rated this game a 2.… Expand
  71. Thefallenhun
    Sep 20, 2011
    7
    Its good, well polished, quality sounds an effects, but there is virtually nothing to distinguish it gameplay wise from the first two titles except different weapons and enemies. The script writing is pretty hackneyed, and I didn't care about the characters at all.

    The multiplayer is a mixed bag. The deathmatch I don't think is much fun because it pretty much boils down to explosive    Its good, well polished, quality sounds an effects, but there is virtually nothing to distinguish it gameplay wise from the first two titles except different weapons and enemies. The script writing is pretty hackneyed, and I didn't care about the characters at all.

    The multiplayer is a mixed bag. The deathmatch I don't think is much fun because it pretty much boils down to explosive weapons and shotguns. The availability of cover and dive rolls means you won't be killing anyone with your rifle weapons. However, horde and beast modes are pretty fun, and are a less aggressive multiplayer arena and should provide some good fun.

    Still, this game is not at all innovative and I will probably get bored quick.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2011
5
#5 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011
4
#4 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 96 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 94 out of 96
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 96
  3. Negative: 0 out of 96
  1. GameCritics
    Jan 18, 2012
    65
    Rather than the perfect end to a thrilling series, it seemed like the developers were afraid to take real risks with either the story or the gameplay of Gears 3.
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  2. DailyGame
    Dec 12, 2011
    85
    Gears of War 3 is a solid game and likely worthy of the praise it's received. I just happen to think it falls a bit flat.
    Read full review
  3. Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
    Dec 2, 2011
    90
    An unmissable, unbeatable offering. [Dec 2011, p.95]
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