Multiplayer is a big draw for many gamers, but they were understandably a little weary thanks to the Gears 2 debacles. But as the beta proved, Epic learned their lesson and multiplayer matchmaking works smoothly, and dedicated servers have eliminated the much hated “host advantage.” Combine these changes with the faster pace, new weapons and maps, and you have the most fun Gears multiplayer experience ever. Be warned, however: even though there is a buff for new players, the franchise is known for being very brutal and hardcore, and Gears 3 ratchets things up even more.
But what has excited many other fans is the new Horde. This incredibly fun cooperative mode pits up to five players against AI-controlled Locust as they attack in progressively stronger waves. What’s new is that every tenth wave introduces a boss, like the giant Brumack or several rocket-spitting Reavers. The bosses and other new enemies make Horde much more challenging than before, even on the easiest difficulty setting.
To make things a bit easier (and a lot more fun), you now have the ability to build tower defense-like emplacements such as barricades, turrets and decoys. You earn cash for each kill, down and assist, and can redeem your earnings between rounds to buy or upgrade your emplacements. Upgrade far enough and you can unlock things like the new Silverback mech, which is armed with a powerful chaingun that chews through all but the toughest bosses.
Each map has weapon and ammo spawns, but unlike before, you now have to buy these instead of simply picking them up for free. This adds a nice element of risk and reward: do I spend money to buy some much needed ammo now, or save it to buy a turret later? Another consideration is that you can also buy back into the round if you are killed.
The revised Horde mode is an absolute blast, especially playing with friends who may have imbibed a few adult beverages. Adding to the cooperative mayhem is the new Beast mode, which is basically Horde mode but instead, you play as the Locust fighting against the humans.
Yes, it’s just as fun as it sounds, but there’s a unique twist: instead of buying weapons and emplacements, you instead buy a Locust character, ranging from the tiny Ticker to the hulking Beserker. Yup, you can play as a Ticker, and it’s a blast – literally, as you can run up to humans and blow yourself (and them) up. Sweet! Racking up kills and destroying human emplacements earns you both money (needed for buying characters) and time. Each round has a time limit, and if you don’t wipe out every human before the clock runs out, you lose. This adds a frantic pace to the game and surprisingly requires a lot of coordinated teamwork. For example, I’ve helped my team succeed simply by taking a Ticker and destroying emplacements, which adds precious time to the clock and giving them an opportunity to wipe out the last pesky resistance.
Enhancing the ridiculously fun gameplay are absolutely stunning graphics and artwork. The franchise has always looked good, but never this good. The mechanical clacking of the guns, ear-splitting explosions, and thrilling musical score by Steve Jablonsky all serve to keep your excitement level up.
Complaints are few: the dialogue and story could have been beefed up a bit more, the checkpoint system could use some adjusting (it can be frustrating engaging in a long, extended battle, only to die and find yourself forced to start way back at the beginning), and the unfortunate return of the beta bug where you would play as the default character, instead of your pre-selected character, when joining a game in progress.
But overall, Epic managed to exceed the incredibly high expectations and create an insanely fun, exciting conclusion to the Xbox 360’s “other” signature franchise. With a lengthy, satisfying campaign, intense multiplayer deathmatches, crazy fun cooperative Horde mode, and tons of unlockables, Gears of War 3 is a must-have for the shooter fan. Even with several other big-name competitor titles nearing release, this is a game that will have players chainsawing each other for a very long time.
Review Disclosure: A retail copy of Gears of War 3 was purchased by Warp Zoned for the purposes of this review.
