Topic: Gears of War 3

[PyroMenace]

I was thinking of holding out on this for one of those amazon $10 or $15 off sales that sometimes hit early, but reviews are coming in and it's supposed to be awesome. Even the campaign is supposed to be well fleshed out and has a satisfying ending from what I've read. Fuck, I want to play this now.

Que, you should come over this weekend so we can finish 2 ASAP.

[K-man]

I'm doing my best to hold out for a deal, but I'm terribly anxious to see how this story ends.

I really enjoyed 1.  Co-op play was a really nice addition, and the game (for its time) was pretty innovative with the cover system.  I essentially blew through 2, and can't remember a ton about it.  I didn't play multiplayer a lot.  In fact it was only about 3-4 months ago that I actually played Horde mode for the first time with some friends.

Anyhow, I'm with you.  Pretty excited, but unlike most people it's mainly for the SP.

[PyroMenace]

Reviews

Jeff on Giantbomb - 5/5 stars
Joystiq - 5/5 stars
Gameinformer - 9.5/10
Gamespot - 9.5/10
IGN - 9.0/10
1UP - A-
Gametrailers - 9.4

[K-man]

Good deal.  Nice to finish the trilogy on a high note.

[Quemaqua]

Awesome. While it's definitely AAA crud to some degree, I have a fondness for it. I really liked the "destroyed beauty" thing they went for, and the coop gameplay is most definitely awesome good times.

I'm totally down to come blow through some this weekend, Pyro. Hit me up, we'll schedule something. I still owe you a visit anyway due to our prior epic fail.

[iPPi]

I'll get it when I have time*.

*Probably not for at least eight months.

[K-man]

I know my love for this series is due, in part, to the fact that it has Terry Tate:  Office Linebacker in it.

[Pugnate]

When the hell did this even come out? WTF!

[K-man]

It hasn't.  Comes out Tuesday

[MysterD]

No surprise, looks like Epic Games makes another kick-ass shooter game...
Damn, I want Gears 2 and 3 to get ported here [to the PC]...

[Cobra951]

It hasn't.  Comes out Tuesday

Right, but it was fed to the press early, which is why the confusion is understandable.  There are dozens of reviews out already.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> 8/10 from Jim Sterling.
Destructoid -> Cliffy B upset by the few "low" scores [compared to the rest of glowing 9's and 10's].
GameFront -> Jim Sterling on "Perfect Review Scores By Divine Right."

[Cobra951]

That was worthwhile.  I think the issue is that those review numbers figure directly into bottom lines now.  Metacritic scores are like futures prices on the stock exchange.  Of course, that shouldn't matter a damn to honest journalists.  And so the friction will continue.  Let there be heat!

[K-man]

No way would Gears 3 have been given to the press a week early if it wasn't a home run.

But yeah, I'm pretty sure review scores factor into the bottom line.  In fact hasn't a company come out and said as much?

[Cobra951]

No way would Gears 3 have been given to the press a week early if it wasn't a home run.
. . .

That was my take too.  But there will be honest disagreements in subjective reviews, and no one can guarantee or demand a perfect score from a self-respecting reviewer.

[K-man]

Agreed, but I also think it's equally as damaging for a reviewer to give a lower score out of spite or to prove a point.

[Xessive]

Agreed, but I also think it's equally as damaging for a reviewer to give a lower score out of spite or to prove a point.

Of course. Every reviewer will have a bias but the goal is to be objective in the review and add a hint of subjective undertones.

I used to be a big fan of CliffyB, back in the days of Unreal, UT, UT 2004, and even UT3. He's done some of the best map design to date too. As an artist, I frickin' love his commitment to quality. However, ever since the Gears of War series took off he seems to have really let things go to his head. It's good to be proud of your work but you shouldn't reach the point of pompous, self-inflated douchebag.

[K-man]

I wholly agree that he's a douche lord, but it's hard to deny that the Gears series is pretty damn good.

[Quemaqua]

It also could be a hell of a lot better. I think they really missed a boatload of opportunities with the storytelling (or lack of it).

[K-man]

I agree with you, but I don't think anyone's looking for Shakespeare when they boot it up.  They want to kick the shit out of something.

[sirean_syan]

There's no reason it couldn't have done both though.

In any case, this weekend I booted up the first game in my third genuine attempt to actually play it. I don't know what it is, but I've never been able to stick with the game. It could be that I refuse to play it on anything less than hardcore and get annoyed when I die after a big battle and the checkpoint is like ten minutes back. It's not that bad though.

Still, making good progress this time. I just hope I don't have do another section where being outside of light means those bat (Krull?) will tear you to pieces.

[Cobra951]

I got Gears 2 a few weeks ago, when it went on sale for $15 as a downloadable (the price of an XBLA game).  I haven't been able to get much into it, though.  I got pissed off at the vehicle riding and shooting (basically on-rails) that's like the 2nd mission.  Then you get dumped out into this firefight where there is no cover.  There are rock walls, but trying to hug them reveals that the game just sees them as background, and I got slaughtered by fire from about 3 directions.  It's all so contrived and brutally linear.  After that, I rage quit and restarted on Easy.  If the game wins me over at some point, I'll go through it on Normal difficulty later.

[iPPi]

The on-rails shooting part of Gears 2 was brutal.  I remember having to replay that section multiple times to get passed it.  Even on co-op it's not easy to get through. 

The Gears series has its ups and downs and there are definitely a lot of 'chokepoints' in the game where it's easy to get stuck because of the sudden jump in difficulty. 

[K-man]

Granted it's been a while since I've played the games, but I don't remember the story being awful.  If you guys are wanting the world a little more fleshed out, from what I've read 3 takes care of that.

[Quemaqua]

I genuinely enjoyed the first game and what I've played of the second, it's mostly just that they make all these allusions to things and never follow up on them. The first game has virtually no real story, mostly just some event fluctuations about the war itself, and yet makes all these allusions to the characters and their own stories that it never really brings to the forefront. Of course it doesn't have to, I just thought that it seemed like Epic actually put in enough thought to go somewhere with it. The backstory is all there, they just chose not to focus on it. I haven't finished 2 since Pyro and I have been playing it coop, I don't have it myself, but from what I understand they still didn't really put much of that stuff in. Again, it's not the end of the world, because at the end of the day these are games about sawing dudes in half, but I still noticed enough nuggets of interesting stuff in there that I always wondered why they didn't try a little harder to capitalize on it, give us a little more incentive.

[Xessive]

Story-wise, the first game was more like a series of grunts and groans of testosterone-ridden humanoids with occasional utterances of coherent words. It wasn't a story driven game, really.

I have not played the second game.

[K-man]

Yeah.  You were fed just enough story to acclimate yourself to what's happening in the present.  I agree there is a lot of fleshing out to be done, but I think fleshing out significantly would have been a detriment to the game.  It would have slowed the pace dramatically.  One of the great things about the campaign is that it kept you moving (aside from a few frustrating spots in each game).

But yes, I'll certainly concede the potential is there for a great story.  But again it looks like 3 takes care of that.

[Xessive]

When I played the original GoW I had hoped there would be a fair sum of "story" in there; that Gary Jules rendition of "Mad World" TV spot really pushed the idea of depth in the game. I was disappointed in that respect but I acknowledged that it is an action game geared toward a demographic that's doesn't generally play games for story. I still appreciated the game anyway.

CliffyB and Tim Sweeney have both hinted that even though this is the end of the Gears of War trilogy it's not the end of the Gears of War franchise, so I wouldn't be shocked if they explored a different aspect of the universe with a more story-driven approach in a new series. I think it's unlikely but certainly possible.

I would love to play GoW3 but since there a re no plans for a PC release I'll have to pass since I have no plans to buy an Xbox 360.

[K-man]

There is absolutely positively no way this is the last game in the Gears series.  That would leave WAY too much money on the table.

[Xessive]

There is absolutely positively no way this is the last game in the Gears series.  That would leave WAY too much money on the table.

Oh yeah, they've only said this was the last game in this particular story arc. What they will do with the next set of GoW games is uncertain.

This seems to parallel other big titles like Halo (which ended its main trilogy but had others stories like ODST and Recon) and Mass Effect which will end with the trilogy but has also been hinted that it may have subsequent canonical games.

[Quemaqua]

Next up is a graphic novel where you play as Marcus Fenix on trial!

[sirean_syan]

I thought they would do the first true bromance sim.

[Quemaqua]

You give your thick-necked bro a severed head and extra ammo clip. +1 to love for the head, -2 to your overall relationship score because now he's convinced you think he's too much of a pussy to handle himself in a melee.

[iPPi]

I think I never played the extra chapter in Gears 2 (DLC).  Before I get Gears 3 I think I might have to download and play that first.

[K-man]

I played through it.  It's decent.  I mean nothing mind blowing, just another sequence that got cut from the game.  You can approach it with stealth or guns blazing though, which is a bit of a departure. 

[W7RE]

I won a copy of the campaign DLC for Gears 2 a few months back, and I just played through it yesterday. It wasn't bad. I probably would have liked the guns blazing version of it more than the stealth option. Maybe I'll play though it again. I might also go play the last chapter of Gears 2, just to refresh my memory on any details of what's going on in the story.

I'm gonna be playing the campaign in online coop with 3-4 people. Still not sure how many, but it's amazing that you can do it with up to 5 people.

[MysterD]

Cliffy B lets loose some info on some upcoming campaign/story-based DLC for Gears 3.

Gears of War 3 isn't just content to sell you weapon skins for 3600 MS Points -- it's getting some story-based content as well. Epic's Cliff "Passive Aggressive" Bleszinski has promised "unique" story-based DLC that won't star previous protagonists -- taking a page from Grand Theft Auto IV.

"We've confirmed we'll be doing campaign DLC," he said. "One thing I can tell you is that you're not going to see Marcus or Dom or Cole in it. I believe that DLC should be unique and cool, like Lost and the Damned, Gay Tony, Mad Moxie's Underdome Riot.

"All those kind of things. DLC's the place where you play and have fun. So that's one thing that's an indication of where things may be going in the future."

Both Grand Theft Auto IV and Borderlands had some pretty well-received downloadable content, so it'll be interesting to see what Epic can cook up.

[K-man]

Just got to Act 3, going to stop for the night.  It's more of the same, just more polished.  Not that it's a bad thing, but I'd say this is the last game they can get out of the formula before it starts to get a little stale.

That said, the environments are pretty varied, and it's a very nice looking game.

[Xessive]

I just played GoW3! It is pretty awesome. I only demo'd it for a few minutes but what I did play was certainly impressive and a lot of fun. Damn you Epic! Release this for PC already!

[MysterD]

I just played GoW3! It is pretty awesome. I only demo'd it for a few minutes but what I did play was certainly impressive and a lot of fun. Damn you Epic! Release this for PC already!

We need Gears 2 on the PC, as well.