Campaign

I will admit that I had high expectations for the campaign for GoW 3. The previous two installments provided the player with a simple, yet well-paced storyline. Although the overall feel of the game was serious, the developers did a good job of including some genuinely humorous moments. This time around, it feels as though the developers tried too hard to add humor. I did not find myself laughing during the parts that were supposed to be funny. GoW 3 also tries to develop the main characters by providing flashbacks and memories of past experiences. I found myself laughing during some of these sequences, rather than connecting with the history of the main characters. The addition of playable female characters did nothing to enhance the main storyline. I was annoyed with their dialog and thought it was extremely cheesy. I found myself wanting to skip through the cut-scenes so I could get back to shooting. I enjoyed the cinematic sections of the previous two games much more than GoW 3. The few bright moments in the campaign were when the original characters were all together. The cocky and sarcastic personalities of Marcus, Baird, Dom, and Cole were missing in GoW 3, and it definitely hurt the story.

The easier difficulties did not really provide much of a challenge. I would go through an entire chapter and just use the chainsaw to eliminate enemies. Hardcore provided a solid challenge, and I had to really be careful to get through certain sections. Insane mode lives up to its name and provides a significant challenge, no matter how skilled you are. Half of the time I felt like I was getting through the most difficult sections with pure luck. You take tons of damage in very little time, and instead of being downed, you die after enough hits. I understand that insane is supposed to be difficult, but removing a staple part of the gameplay (partners reviving you) just makes it more frustrating than challenging.

The duck-behind-cover mechanics work almost exactly the same as before. It seems the developers took an, “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” approach to the third game, and I have to say that I am fine with that. You will find a couple new weapon pickups here, one of which is the digger. The concept of the gun is creative and I almost feel like the locust should have been using it all along, considering they emerged from the ground to begin with (you will see what I mean when you use the gun).

Boss battles were nothing special for the most part, and were fairly straightforward and easy to get the hang of. The boss battles used rinse-and-repeat tactics, and once you figure out what to do, it is goes by rather quickly. Playing through on hardcore, I only died a couple times throughout all of the boss fights. The flow of the regular enemy encounters and the boss battles was done well, and you are almost always going from one action-packed fight to the next.

The developers did not do much to improve the graphical quality of GoW 3 over its predecessors, but that is not really a bad thing. The game looks good in every mode, and if you have played the first two games, you can expect more of the same art style and scenery. It is usually easy to see your surroundings and navigate through the levels. The levels are fairly linear, and you rarely do much exploring unless you are searching for all of the hidden collectibles, but this is also similar to the first two games. If you liked the gameplay and the flow of the action in either GoW 1 or 2, then you should enjoy going through the campaign in GoW 3. Just be warned that this final segment of the GoW story falls short if you were hoping for something epic and groundbreaking.

Multiplayer Modes

Epic has made some key game play improvements that make a noticeable difference. The most significant change is the addition of dedicated servers for online matches. The host advantage from the first two games has been eliminated, which was one of the most common complaints of the first two games. You now have a variety of starting weapon choices, but the most powerful weapons spawn in dedicated locations on the map. The most significant weapon addition to multiplayer is the sawed-off shotgun. Only able to fire one shot before needed to be reloaded, this gun is extremely powerful when used at close range. Most of the time you only need to be facing the enemy you are trying to shoot before pulling the trigger. However, if you miss, your opponent has plenty of time to take you down. This addition adds more depth to multiplayer games and gives you the opportunity to choose how you want to handle close-range shotgun battles.

The multiplayer maps are diverse and built well. Weapon control was always a significant part of the multiplayer in the previous games, and it remains the same in GoW 3. The best game modes from the previous games return, with a new mode in capture the leader. This mode is a spinoff of “guardian” mode from Gears 2, but it improves on the concept to give the player some exciting matches. Each team has a leader that you are supposed to capture and hold for 30 seconds. Both teams can have their leader captured at the same time, similar to a capture the flag match in a first-person shooter. There are a variety of ways to free your leader, and this mode is probably the most strategic out of all of the multiplayer modes. Once your leader is freed, even for a split second, the timer resets if they are captured again, which makes for some long and sometimes intense matchups. If you are looking for a game mode that makes it necessary to communicate and strategize with your teammates, then capture the leader fits the bill. Online match junkies will be happy with the basic deathmatch mode, and the quickmatch option makes it easy to just keep playing without having to constantly search for matches. The only issue I found in multiplayer matches occurred when a player left the game. Instead of a team playing short-handed, a computer-controlled bot takes over the spot. In theory, this concept could potentially balance matches when someone quits. In practice, the bot is usually just a free kill. I found I would rather play four vs. five with all humans rather than suffer the disadvantage of playing with a bot on my team.

Horde mode allows you to fight 50 waves of locust with up to five friends. You can play on Xbox Live or start your own LAN party if you have enough TVs and copies of the game. Playing on Xbox Live with random people almost always end up in trying to fight shorthanded at the first sign of a challenge. Hosts are significant part of this mode, unlike other multiplayer modes. If a host leaves, the rest of your group is stuck with starting over at the current wave. Normally, after a failed wave, you can rebuild fairly easily if it is your first wipe. When a host quits, you have to start your base over from scratch. All of your upgrades are lost and it is nearly impossible to recover. Playing horde mode online will give you an opportunity to level up your defense skills, but you should not expect anything more. Taking on the waves of locust was thoroughly enjoyable with a group of friends. Horde mode is a solid weekend LAN party option.

Beast mode is a new addition to the series. While the concept is intriguing and it is carried out fairly well, this mode is severely lacking depth. Storming through a group of heavily armed COG as a berserker is an awesome feeling, but as soon as the chaos begins, beast mode is over. Playing this mode with random people online is much better than horde mode. Even if someone quits, you can usually make it through all of the waves shorthanded. Overall, this mode is a fun diversion, but the replay value is limited unless you are trying to unlock everything in the game.

Conclusion

Epic has put significant effort into crafting an AAA title, and they mostly succeeded. The replay value of this game is higher than the previous two installments. If you are addicted to completing all of the challenges and you want to get the “Seriously 3.0” achievement, then be prepared to spend countless hours playing all modes of the game. The shortfalls in the campaign can be overlooked if you plan to spend time playing against people in the many online multiplayer modes. If you just want to play the campaign by yourself to reach the conclusion of the story, then a three-day rental should satisfy your craving since the story does not warrant replaying it over and over. This game was built to be played with other people, so grab some friends and let the chainsaw frenzy begin.