Gears of War 3 (2011 Video Game) User Reviews

Wow, don't think about it, just go out and buy it.

[brown_sam57 · 10/10 · 26 September 2011]

This game is ridiculously awesome.

Not only did the games story get taken to a new level but so did the weapons, the characters, and the monsters of the game. I will not go into details of the story for those who have not played the Gears games but in order to grasp the full emotional story, you need to have played the first two games. There is non stop action and sweet ways of killing the enemies. You can shoot from across the map or get up close and personal with the enemies, whichever you prefer. The online co-op campaign portion is sweet and you can rock 4 people at the same time on it.

Just, stop reading this and either go out and buy it, or if you have it already, turn off your computer, fire up your xbox and start killing.

Amazing!

Brothers to the End!

[jullebull · 10/10 · 13 July 2019]

The epic conclusion and ending to one of the best trilogies and the most memorable and celebrated sagas in gaming history. The father of the cover based shooter keeps the joyride up with tons of action, cool story with likable characters. This is actually the longest campaign. I feel that is good cause then I got more for my money and I am obsessed with and me and my brother had more laughs and longer playtime is always nice - but it became a little bit more tedious this time compared to the other two. However great game.

Gameplay: Gameplay is super fun, I absolute love the cover mechanic. And swapping between covers, running while crouching to avoid bullets brings a tactical feel. As usual there are not many guns but that isn't necessary. The guns we had feels heavy and awesome thanks to the sound and their function. I mean the Lancer and the Longshot are really satisfying. Enemies might not be smart but when they're many it can be challenging which is fun. The gameplay is the best part of this game, wow. A lots of action and a thrilling ride all the way through. But became a little bit tedious and repetitive sometimes gameplay felt way too long. But the boss fights. That was a challenge on Insane and Hardcore. The best one in all Gears and that's how you do a boss fight. An epic final battle, the boss fight is one of the best parts of the game. 9.2/10.

Graphics: Beautiful graphics for being 2011, still holds up today. I mean it looks so f**** good. From dark and gritty to colorful and bright colors. I think it actually were satisfying to see brighter colors, and characters look more detailed and realistic then ever. Environments may be small but the surroundings like buildings are really well made. The world we play as feels like Gears of War. Even with light colors it's a dark bitter tone. Beautiful graphics, amazingly build up world with environments and everything. Character models look good and real. Gears 1 was grey, Gears 2 was brown, Gears 3 is yellow. 10/10.

Audio: Voice acting is professional, the soundtrack is fitting to both gameplay, tone and story. I can almost pull a comparison to Star Wars but a little darker and more serious. I feel that the soundtrack is the great along with cool effects like explosions, gunfire and everything. 10/10.

Story: This is a bit more personal story which tells a more developed story for a few characters. Like Cole going back to his hometown and remembering his time as a Trash Ball pro and everybody loved him, and no everything is just gone. Marcus looking for his father and does everything he can to save him. And Dom who is yeah Dom who suffers after the huge tragedy, he's depression and suicidal personality is described well and we have gotten an emotional connection to him and can empathize with him. The personal parts are enjoyable to experience. It's less war this time and that can be uplifting storywise. The plot is also very dark and sad as usual. This one cuts deepest for me, god what a depressing story, what a depressing ending. The plot also gives us a final showdown were we the story also focuses on stopping the Queen - I mean finally! The story is so more developed this time with one of the best, most memorable and saddest scenes in gaming history. This one cuts very deep and the story is really really good. I know people complain about we didn't get any answers on the plot mysteries, like why the Locusts waged the war. Honestly that was a part of the story, leaving you there still with a lot more questions. In real life we don't get all the answers, there's still historical events that are mysteries and things we don't understand. I feel that was a good part of the story. It feels like the ending and when the credits rolls we are meant to feel empty and think: what did we accomplice? Beautifully done!

I love Gears 3. I played it in one sitting with my brother and it was the most enjoyable experience of them. I have a lot of memories from that night. Man what a brilliant game that deserves so much love.

10/10

better than the first game

[darthsitkur · 10/10 · 8 December 2013]

this easily kicks the crap out of the first game, it's much more intense and the campaign is extended which makes it even more fun, the more the better am I right?, and the chainsaw kill is just as insane too, in addition to blood flying everywhere when you're chainsawing locust, their intestines also fly out and splatter onto the screen, hell yeah lol, and of course you can still see the locust's insides after you've dismembered them with the lancer or blown them to bits with the shotgun or the hammer of dawn, and their heads still explode when you blow them off with the sniper rifle. gears of war 3 is the most insane video game ever and yes it does top splatterhouse lol. I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves insanely gory action games

Gears of War 3, The END!

[bugz581 · 7 June 2010]

I was one of the lucky few that got to play GoW3 the first level on Ravens Nest at a screening for Game-informer Podcast. It is AMAZING how much things have changed, The graphics are much improved and the lightings are fantastic, Right from the beginning i noticed the story telling was more personal and had more emotion to it, Right after some storytelling the base was under attack by the Lambent and we were on our heels shooting whatever wasn't human, The pendulum lancer had a nice kick to it but i noticed its more effective Mid range, I don't wanna spoil anything so i just say that this game is gonna blow your mind, and you MUST purchase it if you want the conclusion of the story.

Amazing and overwhelming!!!

[apollosurvivor · 10/10 · 24 January 2012]

This game just doesn't disappoint in any area. The Multiplayer is fresh, fun and enjoyable, unlike Gears of war 2's Multiplayer. Their isn't much lag and most people play the game for fun and don't get serious. The new weapons make the Multiplayer more tactful and harder to survive. As for visuals, character development and etc. The visuals are purely amazing. Everything looks detailed and beautiful. The characters develop even more within this game which makes the story stand out and makes it one of the most well written games I've ever played. The game has a way of making you like every character, friend or foe. The game isn't that difficult. Even on insane you can beat it in about 8 to 10 hours.

The campaign made this game for me, taking the game even further and dropping the Gears in further s**t. I also loved that they kept Carmine alive at the end of the game. Carmine has a lot more attitude and is more heroic than his two brothers who ended up dead. I feel though characters like Carmine and Bernie should have been in it more, but oh well. You start of about two years after the COG flooded the hollow to wipe out the locust. What's left of the COG have now taken up defences on land and on aircraft carriers. But when a new threat dangers the COG and Marcus discovers his father is still alive through a disc Chairman Prescott gives him at the beginning of the game, he sets off with Dom, Baird and Cole to his father. They first have to stop off at Anvil gate to find Hoffman so they can decode the disc and find out exactly where Adam Fenix is being held. On the way to Anvil Gate, Delta squad find Dizzy under fire, they rescue him and he goes with them too Anvil gate. Before they reach Anvil Gate they become under fire from Queen Myrrah. The gas-barge they are on is shot down and they crash land outside Anvil gate. Hoffman greets them and Marcus explains what's going on. After decoding the disc you discover you'll need a submarine so that you can get to Azura, a base which can only be accessed through an underground tunnel in the ocean. Dom explains about the fuelling station in Mercy, Maria's hometown. Marucs, Dom, Sam, Anyas, Jace and Dizzy travel to Mercy to get the fuel for the submarine. Everything goes wrong in Mercy as it turns out their are now lambent humans. Delta is pinned by locust and lambent forces. Dom chooses to sacrifice himself to save them all. Once this part is over they travel to Char to find more fuel as they failed to get any from Mercy. They meet Aaron Griffin who compromises with them and allows them to have fuel if they can get it back to the tower from the opposite tower. Skip forward a bit here. Once they get the submarine repaired and fuelled they travel to Azura, along the way you fight a few hostile fish and a Leviathan. Once inside they realise they'll have to shutdown the maelstrom machine, then allowing other COG units to come and give assistance against the locust. When Marcus finds his dad, Adam Fenix, they run back to the bottom so that Adam can turn the machine on that will destroy the lambent forces and most of locust forces (they are infected by the lambent). A massive fight against Queen Myrrah takes place. At this point Carmine comes in on a helicopter to cover you, he is shot down and assumed to have been killed. Once Myrrah is defeated, the machine powers up and begins its sequence. Marcus learns that Adam is infected with the plague and sees him die right in front of him. Myrrah rises up and begins to talk to Marcus, but he stabs her in the stomach, through anger and wanting revenge. Once everything is finished up, you see all of the Delta squad (Marcus, Anya, Baird, Cole, Sam, Carmine, Jace, Dizzy, etc) all stand at a beach and look out at the ocean. Carmine is alive which is shown in the cut scene. It's a happy ending!

Character Development: 10/10 Multiplayer: 10/10 Campaign: 10/10 Graphics: 10/10 Script: 10/10 Voice actors: 10/10

Everything: 10/10 Thanks for reading, sorry for length!

Story gets better.

[cobra_freak_006 · 10/10 · 27 September 2011]

well i was just home one day looking for a job. tired of filling out applications so i turned on my xbox and saw that there were some gears of war 3 clips on so i downloaded one of them to check it out to see when the game was going to be released. little did i know the game released that very same day. so i grabbed my wallet and ran to the store for another Gears adventure. one of the first games i got for Xbox was Gears of War. (actually it was Dead Rising, and Gears if War). i loved it from the start.

unlike Gears of war and Gears of war 2 this game has a little bit more of a personal touch to it. the first game was more of a "hey lets kick some ass" feel. the second game was more of "come on team lets work together and kick some ass". this game is more personal because they continued the struggle with Dom who lost his wife, Cole goes back to his home town, and Marcus is out to find his father. im not sure if i gave too much away in the story thats why i put the spoiler alert on it.

the gameplay was good but to me personally i feel there was too much story and not enough game play. thats one of the problems i have with games. i don't want to watch a movie i want to see short clips and then go back to shooting. BUT after saying that i actually did enjoy the story. it didn't seem like there was too much action compared to the other games but it was satisfying enough to make me happy. there wasn't very many new weapons. there is a sawed off shotgun that seems almost useless. the Retro Lancer was awesome even though its different from the normal one.

so even with its slight hickups in my opinion. i give gears 9 out of 10

Pure perfection.

[camachogabe · 10/10 · 20 September 2011]

I just got this game a couple hours ago and I have one thing to say about it. It is the most beautiful and addicting game out there! Gear 3 brings so much more to the table with a whole new game mode, a kick-ass multi-player (without lag might I add), and the most intense storyline that I have ever played. I haven't even beaten the game yet and know that the replay value is extremely high, and that the Beast and Horde 2.0 modes will keep you playing for months if not years!

Pros: -Beautiful graphics. -Explosive story-line that will keep you at the edge of your seat. -Even if you have never played a Gears game, it is easy in this one to just get the game and understand what is going on. -Great voice acting. -Creative game-play modes.

Cons:- Beast mode is not single player, sorry fellas. -Not as many new guns (even though the original are still kick-ass.....on second thought put that one in the Pros.) -I am not playing right now. Gotta go!

Multiplayer makes up for average story

[Nbrayton17 · 9/10 · 14 July 2012]

The third and most anticipated Gears of War hit shelves late 2011. The steroid-laced macho-men, who are the Cogs, are back to fight the lambent and save humanity. I feel the need to put a disclaimer here; I am a huge Gears fan. However, I'm not sure Gears 3 lives up the the hype and standard of previous Gears games (at least in terms of single player).

The first thing I noticed when I booted this bad boy up was how detailed and beautiful it is to look at. I applaud the time and effort it must have taken to render this game. However, I would advise anyone who plays Gears 3 to install the game on their hard drive to make it run smoother. I noticed when some of the bigger monsters came on screen the frame rate slowed down slightly.

Many people say that the Gears of War games are not that deep and have a weak story. I thought differently for the first two games. Gears may not have had the most complex story, but I have always been compelled and invested in all the characters. However, in Gears 3, I think it's the story that holds the game back. For the first time in the Gear's world I felt uninvolved. The game doesn't focus on the main characters the whole time. I can't tell you how much I don't care about Jace. He is probably the flattest character in the whole series. When the game does focus on the main characters, like Dom, it feels like the Gears of old, which is a huge plus. Also, it does a great job of bringing the nostalgia of the first Gears game to the audience; I almost cried at one point.

Where the game stumbles is in the weak story telling. In a game this epic and on this huge of scale, some of the missions felt small, pointless, and repetitive. I never felt like I was saving the world and I never really had a sense of urgency.

All that being said, it is still a Gears game and the mechanics and gameplay are as solid as ever. As usual, the player needs to use the unique cover system to fight their way past the lambent and locust.

So, for the single player story mode I would give Gears 3 a rating of 8.0 out of 10. It's still a sold game but lacks the heart of the first two.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer is a huge part of the Gears of War games, helping to cement the longevity of Xbox live. Many people complained about the multiplayer in the second game, however, I thought it was fine. This time though, Gears of War 3 has its own dedicated servers to help with host issues. While this helps, it's still not perfect. There will be lag in about 1 in every 50 games, which is still a great improvement but slightly annoying.

The new beast mode is a great addition. However, it is not as robust as horde mode. The retro lancer now has a bayonet like spear on the end, great for charging people.

Also, I love how stunning the maps look and how each one has their own vibe.

Something really smart was making the team death match mode based on the number of re-spawns. I've noticed that more online players pick each other up when they are down, truly embracing the "brothers 'till the end motto".

Overall, the multiplayer is some the best times I've every had. I've spent more time in the Gears of War multiplayer than anywhere else.

The multiplayer gets a solid 10 out of 10 from me.

Therefore the average of both the single player and the multiplayer is a. . .

9.0out of 10

On a side note, I think that the Gears of War franchise has some of the best trailers ever. I've put them here for your viewing pleasure.

absolute rubbish!

[jordanmarkharding · 8/10 · 31 January 2012]

Load of buggy nonsense don't waste your time with it...its a complete shambles compared to the others and needs a massive overhaul campaign ends rather disappointingly, online is a buggy, laggy waste of time and is certainly not worth a fiver let alone 30 quid. I feel let down and shocked by how crap this game is unless they fix it by the end of the month which they wont because epic do not listen to online gamers or monitor multiplayer gameplay. For this reason you would be foolish to but this game. Want to shoot but nothing happens, want to play a game where you lag so other people shoot you before their servers can register and shots, want to slaughtered by people who play this game non stop? well buy this awful game today :)

Epic and Amazing in Every Way

[851222 · 10/10 · 10 September 2022]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Gears of War 3" (2011) is an epic and amazing video game in every possible way. It's a superb continuation and the end of the original trilogy - Gears of War. After competing this campaign for a first time now in 2022 i can only say - it was amazing game in every way.

I loved pretty much about everything in here. The settings were changing constantly, and they always felt fresh. Graphics were gorgeous, and i can only imagine of how incredible this game must have looked like playing for a first time in 2011.

Every set piece felt fresh and unique. Game takes you from one location to another, and they all felt and flew in natural way. I really liked Gears of War 1 and Gears of War 2 - but 3 in my opinion outdone first two titles. Gameplay is more or less the same, but there are some new ways to act in a world.

Story was involving, epic and just great. I liked this game for it being a game - no over convoluted plots, character interactions and etc. - Gears 3 delivered by simply being fun, superb action-adventure game.

A Disappointing End To The Series.

[jmcginn174 · 7/10 · 20 October 2011]

Playing the lackluster Gears of War 3 makes me realize how disappointing the trilogy has become. Now don't get me wrong all three games were good but not great, but they all lacked one thing to take it to the next level of such franchisees like Halo, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, and fallout. That is a compelling story and characters, which Gears of War lacked.

First let me go into what I did like. The graphics which I would give a 10/10 were stunning and amazing. They were at times breathtaking.

Next is the game play which I would give a 7/10. I played the game twice when I rented from Game Fly. I played it on normal and hard. The controls were easy to use and easy to switch weapons. It was wonderful through the first have of the game as the game was truly challenging especially the early bosses, but once I got a little past the half way point the game seemed to become easier, repetitive, and to linear. The two latter parts are what hurt the franchise the most.

Finally there is the Story/Characters I would give a 4/10. This trilogy started off great with in the first game (8/10) which was compelling as we were introduced to this unique world. The second game (8/10) started the downward trend with the story being good but lacking appeal. I was expecting more since this was most likely going to be the last time we see Marcus Fenix, Damon Baird, Anya and the all the other characters. What I got was a lackluster undertaking. The first half of the game was by far the best and one of the best moments of the game took place around the half way point when one of the major characters dies. I won't give it away but I'm sure you can figure it out. The second half and climax was average to bad, and the ending was down right terrible.

Overall this game was good, but not great, excellent, or a classic. The same goes for the three games in general which over all I'd give a 8/10 for being a great trilogy. It will never be on the level of the series I've listed above, and it's definitely not worth $60 price tag. The game and series are worth playing but I'd rent it from Game Fly or pick it up when it's under $30.

Disappointing conclusion to series

[BanzaiTron · 30 October 2011]

The first Gears was my first game on the Xbox360. I was a thrilling ride from start to end, but there was still some nagging issues with the plot.

Epic promised an improvement in the second in terms of story telling but that didn't go to well as the plot was still bare bones and left a whole lot of questions unanswered.

So here we are with the so called EPIC (pun intended) conclusion to the series, and this is how I'm going to break it down.

Gameplay: Aside from some minor changes, the core mechanics remained unchanged and still remains good. The gripe here is that the heavy emphasis on co-op made my single player run on Hardcore a breeze since you are constantly revived by your squad mates. I give an 8.

Graphics: Even for the Xbox 360 standards the Unreal Engine 3 is already showing its age. A 7 from me.

Sound: Steven Jablonsky's score is a wee bit underwhelming compared to his work on the second game but it still gets the job done. No major complaints on the 'macho' voice acting. They have always been the staple of the series. An 8 from me.

Story: Now this is where for me personally pulled down my overall impression of the game.

I wouldn't be making a big deal of this if Epic(especially Cliff Bleszinski) didn't keep pointing the fact about how they were gonna improve the story in the sequels.

Karen Traviss who wrote the novels wrote this game too but it was trite.

Some parts of it were just terribly written (Imulsion is now a living parasite, really?) and a lot of unanswered questions by the time the credits start to roll(the humanoid nature of the Locust Queen and the reason she speaks perfect English and the hints from the second game where Locusts were actually results of human experiment were still unresolved).

I give the story a 4. The only saving grace here is you feel for Dom and that's just about it.

Multiplayer: I don't like to sound rude but honestly I just couldn't care about MP. To quote another reviewer Zero Punctuation aka Yahtzee 'A game should always stand on the merits of its single player' and I agree with that.

So on average, this game gets a 6 from me.

Cool graphics

[robbinsm2138 · 5 October 2011]

I'm not a big Gears of War kind of guy as it is. I played the first one and it just didn't keep my attention at all. I think it was the whole third person shooter thing that bothered me. Anyway, I had no intention on buying this game and I still don't. But I was at my buddy's dorm room for a few days and I played it out of complete boredom. I must admit, the graphics are fantastic. Even though i'm not a Gears fan, I definitely can at least see WHY people like it. Personally, I just think everyone thinks this game is amazing because it was a huge anticipated game and it just spread like the plague. Kinda similar to why everyone voted for Obama because he's black (lmao). But hey, if you like 3rd person shooters and love the other gears, I'm sure you'll dig this one. The campaign was a little boring... but the graphics were incredible. Probably a good game just to have id say.