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.
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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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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]
See all critic reviews »