Google+

Available on: Xbox 360

Gears of War 3 review

An epic conclusion in (almost) every way

Words: on September 15, 2011
Back to Article

91 comments

  • CaptCOMMANDO - September 15, 2011 8:50 a.m.

    This review is crap. Gears of War is the only reason I have an xbox and probably the only reason I still breath today. Screw your Halo and CoD. This is my Messiah. My savior. No more college for me. From now on its Gears online 24/7. I WILL be the best. Go to hell you Charlie Bearet.

  • TheoneandonlyPym - September 15, 2011 12:05 p.m.

    Troll much?

  • ExileOnMainStreet - September 16, 2011 3:54 a.m.

    I don't think he was being serious

  • ThatGuyFromTV - September 15, 2011 8:46 a.m.

    I'm going to take a wild guess here about the character you were wrong about with dying... It was Carmine, wasn't it?

  • GamesRadarCharlieBarratt - September 15, 2011 11:14 a.m.

    Nope. Not saying whether he lives or dies, but I called that one.

  • d21lewis - September 15, 2011 8:11 a.m.

    There were a couple of times where the review strayed dangerously close to spoiler territory and I wound up skipping whole paragraphs. Still, on the whole, this review confirmed that Gears 3 will be everything I've hoped it would be. I can't wait to pick up the final chapter to my favorite 7th gen franchise, Saints Row! Just kidding. Gears of War 3, baby!

  • veryweirdguy - September 15, 2011 8:44 a.m.

    There's no spoilers, beyond that some characters don't make it to the end. Oh, and that Cole dies. (Full disclosure: I have no idea if Cole actually dies or not.)

  • ObliqueZombie - September 15, 2011 8:09 a.m.

    Great review! You didn't say "bro" every five f*cking sentences like IGN did. And I've been hearing that all around: the campaign fell a little flatter than expected. But, I think I'll enjoy it more since my favorite author wrote the script, and her writing may or may not be apparent in the dialogue. As far as everything else goes? I'm SUPER excited to hear about the gameplay, the multiplayer will be some of the best I've ever played, Horde 2.0 is looking to stay many, many more hours out of my life, and Beast Mode is most likely going to be the first thing I do. However, if I remember correctly, you scored Halo 3 a "10" just because it added such high-quality content. Could you not do the same for Gears of War and possibly every over-hyped AAA game? Because seriously, we all expect too much, myself included.

  • GamesRadarCharlieBarratt - September 15, 2011 11:21 a.m.

    Gears of War 3, while adding an impressive amount, doesn't add NEARLY as much as Halo 3 added to its franchise. Plus, Halo 3's campaign, while flawed in the narrative department, was the first on a new console generation and thus felt a lot newer and shinier at the time. Actually, I still prefer that campaign to those in ODST and Reach, while I prefer the campaigns of Gears 1 and Gears 2 over Gears 3.

  • Austin_SJ - September 15, 2011 8:01 a.m.

    Resistance 3? Sorry, but even though the comparison is understandable – an exclusive PS3 trilogy and an exclusive 360 trilogy happen to reach their third entries during the same month – we’re not walking into that fanboy crossfire here. Chances are you’ve only invested in one of these franchises by playing the previous two games, so pick that. Otherwise, you’re lucky enough to own multiple consoles and shouldn’t be bothered with such silly rivalries. I lol'd.

  • ThatGuyFromTV - September 15, 2011 8:48 a.m.

    Creative way to sidestep the fanboy rage.

  • Turboash - September 15, 2011 7:46 a.m.

    The best part is where you hide behind that chest-high wall.

  • jackthemenace - September 15, 2011 7:35 a.m.

    I'm remaining optimistic. I always play through on at LEAST Hardcore, so the easiness shouldn't be a problem, and Gears is one game that never bores me, now matter how many times i play through the campaigns. Also, I've really only just gotten into multiplayer gaming, so hopefully I'll be better at Gears 3's than I was #2's. And am I REALLY the only person that likes Baird?

  • Fox_Mulder - September 17, 2011 6:06 p.m.

    Nope. Baird's my favorite character. He kind of reminds me a lot of me. If I was going through the horrific 15+ year war I would probably use sarcasm to cope with it like Baird does. But then everyone would think I'm an a-hole.

  • mothbanquet - September 15, 2011 7:14 a.m.

    I was blown away from start to finish with Gear 2's campaign when I first played it on release and I'm sure the same'll be said of this one. I can't say the plot and characters have really gripped me in a way that would make the lack of a decent resolution a problem; Gears for me has always been about solid, visceral gunplay and by the looks of it I certainly won't be disappointed!

  • gazdog9 - September 15, 2011 7:06 a.m.

    GOW is a strange one for me . I've played the first two games quite a bit and enjoyed them as good solid shooters . They just don't really keep me coming back for more like COD does and I can't quite put my finger on why that is . Anyway , I'll be getting this one on release day and i'm looking forward to playing co-op with my son

  • EiGrOn - September 15, 2011 6:06 a.m.

    I love Gears of War. Period.

  • BoxingMarco - September 15, 2011 6:06 a.m.

    9!?!?!?!?! YOU SHOULD BE FIRED FOR...........er....stupidity? Nah, just kidding. I cannot freaking wait for this game, and it's nice to know that I shouldn't keep my hopes through the roof for the campaign. Great review, Charlie!

  • Fetalspray - September 15, 2011 6:04 a.m.

    To be fair I expect a game to be pretty easy on casual and normal, heres always Hardcore and Insane to make that problem void.

  • GamesRadarCharlieBarratt - September 15, 2011 11:25 a.m.

    Right - the game itself describes Hardcore difficulty as the one to choose for a true Gears experience. But this isn't just an unexpectedly easy Normal setting... it's a Normal setting that, as the video proves, practically plays itself. And even on Hardcore, you're going to be frustrated by how often your AI squadmates finish your kills, steal your executions and generally get in the way of your bullets. Unless you're playing 4-player co-op. Which, of course, you totally should be.

  • Fiirestorm21 - September 15, 2011 6:03 a.m.

    Resistance and Gears of War are both fantastic games. You're right, there's no need to draw battle lines between them. You'll have great fun with either, and even more so with both.

Showing 61-80 of 91 comments

Join the Discussion
Add a comment (HTML tags are not allowed.)
Characters remaining: 5000

Excellent
YOU'LL LOVE
  • Campaign’s intense action and ferocious enemies
  • Brutal yin and yang of Horde and Beast modes
  • Quality and diversity evident in every multiplayer map
YOU'LL HATE
  • Occasionally too predictable and too familiar story
  • Your kill-stealing, glory-hogging AI partners
  • Hanging out with Ice-T instead of Cole, Dom or Baird

More Info

Release date: US
Sep 20 2011 (Xbox 360)
UK
Sep 20 2011 (Xbox 360)
Available Platforms: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: Epic Games
Franchise: Gears of War
ESRB Rating:
Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
RSS

Featured Content

Connect with Facebook

Log in using Facebook to share comments, games, status update and other activity easily with your Facebook feed.