I never wanted to stop playing because the pacing of the gameplay is so refined. We're used to seeing this in movies, but it's a refreshing change to see this in a game's writing.
Gears 3 never forgets its moments, and the characters live within the emotional story instead of just having it happen to them. Video games have a nasty habit of throwing super-awesome plot twists and emotionally exciting narrative sequences at their characters, only to make those characters quickly forget everything after the next loading screen. I was led on an action-packed journey to save the remnants of humanity, and it had all the explosive action of a Call of Duty offering with none of the rails, hand holding, or cheap deaths. In the latest entry, the inner workings are so refined and polished that what I saw was an adventure. Since the beginning of the series, Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer at Epic Games, has been talking about how he sees the combat as a top-down platformer shown from the third-person perspective, and even though that's some pretty hefty game-designer talk, you could see what he means in the earlier releases from the franchise. Each fallen pillar or burned-out car can be used as another possible route to destroy your enemy. Gears 3 does a better job than any shooter before it of making you feel responsible for your death - not by punishing you, but by never cheating you.Įach area is expertly crafted. Sometimes taking cover for too long will let the enemy get the drop on you, and sometimes running into battle will get you blown to bits before you can chainsaw someone in the face.
These titles have always forged a constant push and pull between taking cover and running directly into battle. Every time I died, I earned that death by doing something really, really stupid. I played through the experience solo on hardcore difficulty, and it never felt unfair.
The gameplay is tighter than it's ever been. It feels like a conclusion, and that is the highest praise that I can bestow. They start to pack up their things, but then they smile, nod at you, and whisper, "Wait, I can still suck more money out of you! Let's not wrap everything up, OK?" Gears 3 doesn't do this with its story or gameplay. So many series call themselves trilogies, but when the time comes to actually say goodbye, most refuse to do so. Gears of War 3 is the first real ending to a video-game trilogy that I've ever seen.
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