Grumpy Old Nerds

Well I'm pleased to present my review for our site and say welcome. However I'm not going to wax poetic about dreams, hopes and other such nonsense because people check reviews to hear about the game and not to listen to someone's wistful philosophy. So without further delay I present Mimic's Grumpy Old Nerds review of Gears of War 3.





One of the first things you'll notice as soon as you start the game is that it looks just like the other two installments only much more clear. The graphics haven't been changed, but have been streamlined to look more like a solid war art that the other two did very well, however this time you can almost notice a consistency of very small tarnish marks on several characters' armor. Which is a big bonus from the first, and even a step up from the second which was visually great, but seemed to be just shy of really believable.

The only reason you even begin to notice is the flashback to the opening shots from the first game. At first I thought it was a throw-back to show off how much snazzier the graphics have gotten, but no. The undercurrent of the plot is set early and driven in like a nail-gun. Marcus has a dream of why he went to prison in the first place. A mission he lead that went so south it ended up in polar Mexico that involved his father.

Now that sentiment is driven home in the first 30 minutes of gameplay and very well written, and even makes you care. However as a fan of the series I couldn't help but wonder if it was just something to fill the gaps of wartime stress since Dom's wife was found in the second game. I wont spoil that moment for those who're new to the series, but the running concern and devotion for two games came to the sort of head that most movies fail to accomplish.

Despite this you'll be invested and believe in the friendships these people have developed over the course of their service together. It's not always on exposition like a Joss Whedon story, but it is told through amazing facial expressions, voice acting, and even some surreal dream-like moments where you know the environment is colored by time to appear like hell on Earth, but stands out as intense and very story driven none the less.

Baird, the most smart-mouthed Cog on the team, is in his usual form. Always shooting off with his mouth faster than the AI can spray bullets from an automatic weapon, but this time he has a comedic foil with a new female team member, Sam Byrne. Originally introduced in the novel Anvil's Gate, Byrne returns fire to Baird's wise mouth so fast that Cole Train is freed up to do what he does best. Scream "Wooh!" at the top of his lungs and treat grenades like footballs launched by Brett Favre in his prime.

With this in mind there is a sequence where you get a glimpse into the life of Cole Train. What could have been short and passed over quickly, became a short but satisfying little oasis in the so-serious carnage. Nothing Oscar worthy, but it made everything else sink in that much more. You really understood how things went straight to the gutter, and you see it from the ever optimistic (and violent) perspective of a former sports hero with a never-give-up mentality that you can't help but get swept up into.

All of this highlights that the shooting, mobile combat and controls have also been kept the same as Gears 2, with a notable exception of streamlining it to make it more smooth after some tweaking to personal liking. In the first Gears it was hard to control, jerky and you had moments where anger at the controller was expected. In Gears 3 you'll have a small learning curve, have to toy with the options, but you'll be kicking ass in no time flat. In fact you can bounce around the map with ease most of the time. Sometimes it's to your best interest to hunker down, pick out targets one at a time and just push them back like tide of death and muzzle flashes. Other times flanking will net you the best results and you'll need to be swift on your feet to get past some of the most dangerous AI the series has ever had.

With the addition of the sawed off shotgun blowing nearly anything to pulpy meat chunks at point blank range you quickly hold off on that guilty pleasure until you need to edge around a sizable force to ruin their day like dropped soap in a prison. Not to mention that there are 'charging' attacks now. Where you can use the chainsaw on the Lancer to impale someone before slamming their still gasping corpse-in-production into the ground. With the over-sized muscles that members like Fenix, Dom, and Cole Train sport it reminds you somewhat of the Incredible Hulk. If the Punisher took over his body.

What should be rehashed a thousand times gets broken up. In the second game the flying sequence was so excellent that they took that feedback and broke up the intense foot-work with some vehicle combat in air, on ground and even under water to make the story flow with the same spew of blood that it does throughout. What should be a campy attempt to make you not get sick of the constant carnage instead brings a gorey, dangerous and sometimes frustrating ride of insanity for one hell of a war-time story of the future. While I appreciate the attention to detail to story, graphics and gameplay, I still have my complaints. Beginning with some of the movement problems.

Even with the movement and cover system streamlined there comes plenty of problems to make it almost as frustrating in sections as the first. Most of it revolving around strange cover. Sometimes the only place to take cover that's not in crossfire is in the worst possible spot. That may be intentional, but carving you way to a better vantage point becomes laborous in two or three parts and you find yourself calling for a medic quite often in later levels if you're not packing enough sawed off shotgun ammo to cut a path to a good flanking possition.

Secondly the shooting controls, as I said, are excellent. They just need to be slightly adjusted to your style of play. The default settings just feel sluggish and strange, but with a few minor tweaks you too can make Marcus Fenix a monster on two feet. However some of this cant be fixed. As good as X-Box is it just cant quite get that precise feeling that a mouse could, and you're painfully aware fast. More so in multiplayer when you're aware of the guy behind you and give the other guy a full second and a half to cut you to pieces.

However this can be a strength as the multi-player experience is as strong as any game can possibly be without giving way to grief-wars and relying in fan made mods. Allowing you to do a split screen co-op or even a 4-man online team up that reminds players of Left 4 Dead's excellent multi-player experience. This go around the team can work together as never before. And any excuse to play as Cole Train is a good thing.

The Horde Mode gameplay is also excellent this time. First introduced in Gears 2, this time it's beefed up by giving you a wide array of monsters and mutant death machines to help take out the surviving human scum. Some of the mutants can't take cover, some aren't even remotely bipedal, and others are clunky and slow. However none of them are weak, and in the right hands can terrorize a battlefield and give even the multiplayer that feeling of the campaign when every sort of creature is out to wreck the last hold outs of humanity.

Some of the story gets corny in places, and feels forced or rehashed, but the moments are brief and by the final push for the end you get the general Gears feeling of wanting to fist pump the air while you reload and scream "Wooh!" while you wade through bad guys with a Schwarzenegger abandon. So I'll have to give this absolute excellent installment credit for making you invested.

It's riveting to see the team just be bonded. Not having to explain why, or try to make art out of it, but the subtle and gruff ways they show affection and understanding with mostly the cutscenes and spattered banter during fights is outstanding. Even in tense moments where most games would bring in the string instruments and give you a sledgehammer of 'you should care' this game takes a step further and continues the smart remarks, puns, and crude denials of anything short of being the toughest damn soldiers to ever exist in the history of mankind.

In short if you're a fan of the series, or even a newcomer to the series, you'll enjoy Gears 3. Even die hard FPS players who insist that if you see the character holding the gun it's for kids will enjoy the strategy, complexity, and violence this installment packs in like Baird packs his 'extra strength' explosives. With difficulties ranging from raw nooby to elite death machine worthy, this game has the ability to actually make your death enjoyable at times, and give you a sense of scale and story that are sadly lacking in far too many shooter games that push multiplayer and give you a campaign as a side note.


The Breakdown:

The Good:

* Smooth graphics make the combat feel fluid and not a static reload and spray event common among some lesser titles.
* The story has it moments that grip you so well you're sometimes on your feet even during cutscenes marveling at how things could possibly get worse.
* Movement controls (after adjustments) can be almost everything you could hope for and more than you'd ever expect from a competitive shooter in this day and age.
* Engaging characters, though is that a surprise for Gears? WOOH!
* Lots of guilty gore, and in this day and age that's worth mentioning.
* Multiplayer is advanced enough to keep you coming back for a while if you're a die-hard competitor, or if you just want to experience an excellent war story with a friend.
* Playing the bad guy was never this much fun anywhere else.
* The final climax was soo good I couldn't sit down. And considering I'd been on my feet for 15 hours before I came home for that last push: That says something.

The Bad:

* Story rides on cliches and rehashes of it's self from time to time, but it wont bog down the overall feel.
* Movement still can be tricky. Not as good as other third person shooters such as Mass Effect 2, and you feel it when the fighting gets intense or you're online in multiplayer. But with lots of practice (and you'll have time) you can over come this.
* Environment issues can make or break a fight, and sometimes you're rewarded for the same behaviors that earlier you were punished for.

Papa Mimic's Score: 9.5/10