‘Gears of War 3′: a bloody end to a blockbuster trilogy

“Gears of War 3” is a third-person shooter game designed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games. The third game in a trilogy known for its intense storyline, brutal gameplay and quick-paced, violent multiplayer matches, “Gears 3” has plenty of hype. Luckily, the game doesn’t disappoint as it has proven to be one of the best Xbox 360 exclusive games to date.
“Gears 3” follows the story of Marcus Fenix, a soldier in the remnants of the Army of the Coalition of Organized Governments (COG), and his squad, all of whom are known as Gears—slang for the COG’s soldiers. Throughout the game, they try to cope with a society utterly decimated by war and strive to fight against two subterranean species: the Locust Horde and the Lambent.

The game has no qualms about immersing the player in emotionally charged cutscenes that pepper gameplay. These brief scenes serve to maintain the player’s interest in the story and help take the game beyond the “point and shoot” stereotype of video games. While the ending was fairly predictable, the storyline sufficiently wrapped up the trilogy’s arc and was relatively good for a series that made its name based on combat mechanics.

In terms of gameplay, the main appeal of the game remains the same as those in previous installments: the weapons and cover mechanics. With more than 20 destructive weapons, each with its own execution move, the player has nearly limitless ways to enjoy killing the Locust, Lambent or Gears, depending on for which team he is playing. In addition to new weapons, fan-favorites have returned to the game with new improvements, such as the Lancer, which gives players the option of literally cutting their foes in half with a chainsaw bayonet attachment—a move that has become iconic for the series as a whole.

Cover mechanics have also played a large part in the popularity of the series and “Gears 3” only improves on them. The cover system allows players to use virtually any piece of the environment as cover, a factor missing in many other shooters on the market. Additionally, the player is granted more mobility than other shooters, including the ability to roll, quickly move between covers and hop over lower forms of cover. Certain types of cover that players can use are also destructible, giving an extra element of strategy to the game.

The artificial enemies (AIs) the player can face in “Gears 3” soar far above the standards of the previous two entries in the series. Players will find themselves facing a variety of enemies, all of whom use different weapons and tactics. Hulking maulers will use their shields to deflect player attacks; for example, the intimidating and armored Kantus Monks can roll through the player and his squadmates with near impunity, spraying bullets as they go. Each type of enemy requires different tactics to defeat, making games against AI opponents not only interesting but also legitimately challenging.

“Gears 3” also features a multiplayer component that is immensely entertaining. The variety of game types available to play, including the standard Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill, is bolstered by innovative options such as Capture the Leader, in which players are required to find the leader of an enemy team and use him as a “Meat Shield” (a tactic in “Gears 3” that allows a player to hold a foe in front of himself in order to block incoming fire), gaining points for every second that the leader is held.

The game also includes Horde Mode, a challenge in which the player and up to four friends are tasked with holding off waves of enemy Locust and Lambent AI’s. Each successive wave brings more difficult foes to contend with. Players have the ability to unlock devices to aid them, such as barbed wire, automated turrets and powerful weapons. Horde Mode is also reflected in the new Beast Mode, in which the player and up to four allies assume the roles of Locust Horde creatures and try to destroy waves of COG soldiers in a designated amount of time. These two game types add immense variety to the standard shooter multiplayer and are bound to keep interest in “Gears 3” piqued for many months to come.

Visually, “Gears 3” is very well-constructed. Players find themselves in a variety of detailed landscapes, fighting enemies that seem more and more lifelike as the game progresses. Some of the set pieces are a bit over-the-top but serve to add perspective to the scope of the war that envelopes the Gears.

The audio of “Gears 3” is well-done, but not enough to be classified as spectacular. The game’s music manages to reach the player and add yet another emotional level to the game thanks to the work of composer Steve Jablonsky. The voice cast also adds a bit of repute, with some characters voiced by seemingly unlikely actors (John DiMaggio, the voice of Marcus Fenix, also voiced Bender in the show “Futurama”). Overall, the audio enhances the game but is certainly not the main attraction.

Overall, “Gears 3” is a great game but not much of a surprise. Epic Games knew they had a great formula based on the previous entry in the series, “Gears 2,” and greatly streamlined it to present a very solid game. If you consider yourself to be faint of heart, then look elsewhere for some entertainment. If, however, you enjoy the bloody fun of chainsawing your foes in half or performing executions a la “Mortal Kombat,” “Gears 3” is one game you won’t want to miss.

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Article source: http://thebrandeishoot.com/articles/11974

Gears Of War Designer Says On-Disc DLC Is An Ugly Truth

Back during the PS2 era of games we would pay $50 for a game and that was it. Every once in a blue moon a game would get some form of DLC but for the most part when you paid for a game during the PS2 era, you got the full game. No questions, ifs or buts about it.

Today’s generation of gaming isn’t quite like that…a lot of games ship out of the box broken, some even requiring day-one patches while others require patches on top of having day-one DLC. It’s good business but let’s not beat around the bush, it’s a slap in the face to gamers and consumers the world around.

Cliffy B., lead designer for Gears of War has finally acknowledged the elephant in the room, that on-disc DLC is a necessary evil in today’s game designing climate. Still, he at least admits it’s an ugly truth that he’s not proud of.

In an interview with GameSpot at PAX East, Cliff Blezinski states that…

“When you’re making a game, and you’re getting into a ship cycle, there’s often three or four months where the game is basically done. And you have an idle team that needs to be working on things,”…”And often for compatibility issues, [on] day one, some of that content does need to be on-disc. It’s an ugly truth of the gaming industry. I’m not the
biggest fan of having to do it, but it is one of the unfortunate realities.”

I hate to correct the Cliffster, but it’s one of the things covered in the Top Misconceptions about the Gaming Industry, check under No. 8. There are clear examples and continued proof that a game, when it’s done (also known as going gold), is not sitting around for several months with people diddling their fingers. There are ample examples in the article listing the time frame of the team being “idle” and the game being ready to ship to stores. I’ve yet to come across a game, especially this gen, that sat on the shelf for four months going through certification. In fact, Gears of War 3 was an even month from the time it went gold to the time it shipped.

This is not to say that the team can’t get a lot of DLC done within the span of a month, but it shines a bad light on the direction of video game production priorities. Just like in the case of Street Fighter X Tekken and the disc-locked content, Capcom should have been spending that time fixing important features for the game instead of locking away content for a DLC campaign, such as the sound issues, pair-play for the Xbox 360 and some of those infinite character combos. Putting potential revenue in front of quality is just not a good direction for video game production.

Cliffy B. had this to say in closing…

“If we can get to fully downloadable games, then you can just buy a $30 horror game and just have it, and that stuff will thankfully go away,”

Eh, I tend to doubt that. Like in the case of Street Fighter X Tekken for PC, the DLC issue doesn’t really go away it’s just removed from the disc and stored on the server. Ultimately it turns into “How much can we charge for the game while withholding specific features to charge for later?”

The real “dangerous precedent” is with an all-digital approach, because like with most AAA titles on PC, they still cost the same digitally as their $60 disc-based counterparts for the Xbox 360 and PS3, even without the manufacturing, distribution or shipping costs on the publisher’s end to justify the $60 price point.

I do agree that it will be nice when we get to a point where everyone wins and these sort of tactics go away for good.

Article source: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Gears-War-Designer-Says-Disc-DLC-An-Ugly-Truth-41260.html

Gears of War 3 Title Update #4 Now Available

In a week from today, the next set of DLC content for Gears of War 3 will release. Titled ‘Force of Nature,’ the map pack adds five weather-themed maps, some of the pre-order weapons and character skins, while also making way for the return of the Gears of War 2 ’Guardian’ mode.

Before that hits however, Epic Games has released another Gears 3 title update to correct some of the bugs and tweak some of the weapons.

The Gears of War 3 Title Update #3 was released in mid-January, adding plenty of improvements and correcting a few exploits. Title Update #4 releases today, adding the following changes:

Improvements

• Savage Drone and Savage Grenadier can now “swat” turn in Beast mode
• Spectator mode now starts viewing a player instead of a battle camera
• Alternate control users in multiplayer will no longer look at DBNO characters when pressing R3
• The crosshair for the Longshot and Hammerburst will now show an X if a shot is obstructed.
• KOTH – ring locators are now visible in spectator mode
• KOTH – some hill locations have been adjusted

Bug Fixes

• The Onyx Guard decoy in Horde will not drop his rifle after exhausting the Vulcan ammo
• Clients will no longer be stuck with a “Waiting For Players” message up if the host quits Horde during the progression screen
• Chainsaw audio loop will now persist for listeners who leave the audible range and re-enter it
• Fixed some instances where special event ribbons would not be properly awarded
• COG pistol firing rate has been adjusted to be equal on host and clients
• The Flaming Retro Lancer is now available for attendees of the first special event
• Fixed some issues fixed related to the destruction of meatbags
• The Slab start up screen no longer has debug text
• After a host migration in Horde, the waves will no longer go past 50
• Cover near the elevator on Hotel no longer allows players to lean outside of the visible area
• Grenade throwers that are killed mid-throw will receive credit for any kills that grenade causes
• Silverback will be disabled if hit by a smoke grenade when the driver is in the middle of the exit animation
• Team Deathmatch time limit no longer resets to 3 minutes when both teams are out of respawns

With Mass Effect 3, Syndicate and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City adding four player co-op multiplayer over the last few weeks, and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Max Payne 3 bringing more multiplayer offerings come May, the Game Rant team has found themselves not playing Gears of War 3 in quite some time – has the amount of games affected your play time with the Gears?

If you are still playing, be sure to head to Epic Games tomorrow, Wednesday March 21, 2012, for the livestream session with Director of Production, Rod Fergusson where he’ll talk about the ‘Forces of Nature’ DLC.

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Source: Epic Games

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Article source: http://gamerant.com/gears-of-war-3-title-update-4-robk-139113/

How to Find the Imulsion Cleaver on Jacinto in Gears 3

March 25th, 2012 at 9:24 am –
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With the Forces of Nature map pack launching for Gears of War 3 on Tuesday, gamers are anxious to obtain the “elemental cleavers” found within the new maps.  On the remade Jacinto map, Gears of War 3 fans will be able to obtain the “Imulsion” cleaver after going through a few steps to be able to reach it.

Once you obtain the “Imulsion” cleaver and strike an enemy, the cleaver will create an explosion on impact.  However, don’t expect just to stumble upon the cleaver and obtain it in an easy manner.

A few users over at the official Epic forums have stumbled upon how to unlock the “Imulsion” cleaver on the Jacinto map for Gears of War 3.  Below, we’ve included a gameplay clip that shows the first few steps on obtaining the special cleaver.

After you’ve followed the steps above, you’ll want to buy the Hammer of Dawn.  You’ll be able to grab the Hammer of Dawn on wave 2, but if you can’t grab it on wave 2 you’ll be able to score it on any even numbered wave.  Once you’ve purchased the Hammer of Dawn, you’ll want to make your way to the imulsion pit at the end of the video above.

Fire the HoD into the imulsion pit and you’ll see three rocks emerge.  If the rocks haven’t formed enough for you to walk across them, repurchase the weapon when available and fire it in the pit again.  Once you’ve formed a path to actually obtain the cleaver, it will cost $900 to purchase.

What do you think about the “Imulsion” cleaver?  Have you been able to use it in any matches yet?  Be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a comment below, or discuss Gears of War 3 in our forums.

How to Find the Imulsion Cleaver on Jacinto in Gears 3, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Article source: http://stickskills.com/2012/03/25/how-to-find-the-imulsion-cleaver-on-jacinto-in-gears-3/

Take on "Forces of Nature" with new Gears of War 3 DLC

In the realm of console gaming, this week is pretty bland. There are not many major titles hitting store shelves this week, so if you were hoping for something fresh to get your thumbs on, save your pennies.

However, if you own an Xbox 360 and Gears of War 3, you may want to look into the “Forces of Nature” DLC available for download March 27, 2012. GOW3 was one of the most anticipated games of 2011, with numerous delayed releases. The problem is that gamers today are not content playing the same eight levels of Super Mario Bros. on NES over and over again. They want the latest game, they want to beat the latest game, and they want the next latest game. A game today with even a one-year life cycle is impressive and developers know this, which is why we see a new Call of Duty title every year. Between releases, developers often rely on downloadable content to keep their audience playing and engaged.

The “Forces of Nature” pack for GOW3, consists of five new maps, new characters, and new weapon skins. In sticking with true content recycling, there are only three new maps: Cove, Aftermath, and Artillery. The other two, Jacinto and Raven Down, can be found in Gears of War 2. Appropriately titled, each map has some sort of environmental occurrence that affects the map and gameplay halfway through the round. Cove is covered in dense fog, Aftermath shakes up the action with an earthquake, and Artillery is visited by a tornado. Jacinto, if you remember, is soaked with rain, and Raven Down gets a blanket of snow.

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The new playable characters include Commando Dom and Mechanic Baird for the COG, and Savage Grenadier Elite and Savage Hunter for the Locust. Most of the weapon skins are available right off the bat (Hype, Major League, Midnight, and Ultra Violet), but two need to be unlocked. Here’s how to beautify your weapons:

• To unlock the Ivory skin, you must kill ten enemies while your team’s leader in the Guardian game mode on a “Forces of Nature” map.
• The FL4K weapon skin is unlocked after winning a match of Guardian on each of the five “Forces of Nature” maps.

You can take on the “Forces of Nature” for only 800 Microsoft Points ($10). Check out the slideshow on the left to see screenshots and images from the DLC.

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The author of this article is a Video Game Examiner in the Greater Boston, MA area. You can read more of his articles here.

Article source: http://www.examiner.com/video-game-in-boston/take-on-forces-of-nature-with-new-gears-of-war-3-dlc