Following the continuing story of Delta Squad, the small clump of humans that were part of the war effort against “The Locusts,” “Gears of War 3” picks up right where “Gears of War 2” left off.
The Coalition of Gears, as the human government is known, has lost the war at this point due to a new enemy known as “The Lambent,” a bunch of mutated, exploding, Locust-type bad guys.
The entertainment value of watching grown men, who look and behave in a manner that is highly reflective of farm equipment, bash into, shoot and otherwise ruin the day of various wretched beasties may have more playability for some than others. However, “Gears of War 3” may be the best tractorman-impact-and-gunshot simulator that can be purchased.
With the merit of this kill-or-be-killed situation being entirely in the eyes of the beholder, or perhaps more accurately, the wallet of the beholder, there is very little that is going to change someone’s mind about the “Gears of War” series at this point.
The new installment is exactly what one might expect from previous games. If there is someone who is at any level of unfamiliarity with the series, it could be quite easily understood upon encountering a machine gun with a chainsaw attached to it.
Without going too far into detail about the lovely crafted sounds that erupt upon doing almost anything in the game, or the somewhat Gothic beauty meets rampant destruction design themes at play in the background environment, it can easily be said that the game looks pretty and sounds pretty. Prettier than a lot of alternatives, so if simply the bang-to-buck ratio is what matters here, then let it be screamed from the mountaintops that, yes, there is without a doubt a lot of bang to be had.
What is more worth discussing, mostly by virtue of it being hilarious, is the game’s thick-fingered attempts to twang on the strings of one’s heart. It’s endearing, really, like watching a badger try to open a glass Mason jar. What sort of grim, pain-filled apocalyptic story they were trying to convince us that the game had is entirely overshadowed by the chainsawing and yelling.
Without the chance that “Gears” will leave a profound effect on one’s life, there still lies the good-enough campaign to be played through with some computer animated teammates, as well as the moderately fun multiplayer and survival modes.
Each option is filled with plenty of various life forms to snuff out in increasingly spectacular ways.
“Gears of War 3” can make some good times with friends. Shoot some Locust or perhaps shoot one another. That’s all there is to it with this game.
