Incoherent thoughts on Gears of Wear 3, presented through the medium of bullet points, interspersed with images of Pierce Brosnan.
The single player is bloody good.
The run-cover-shoot mechanic was at risk of being stale. After five years of Gears games, and many imitators on the market, it managed to feel fresh.
That freshness is due in part to the new enemy types and well thought-out level design. Its linear as fuck, and when you walk into an arena full of ammo and low-lying cover, you know whats gonna happen but it still works. Firefights feel like theyre the most dynamic theyve ever been in the series, with an almost Halo-like level of flexibility to how each confrontation can be approached.
Its kinda easy. I should have played it on hardcore first time around.
The friendly AI is good. Too good, almost. Squadmates will more than hold their own against hordes of enemies, and many sections of the game can be completed with minimal input from Marcus.
Always having squadmates around to revive you means that the player never feels at risk of dying throughout the entire game (on normal at least). Ill need to play on Hardcore to see if that differs.
Conventional turret sections (ie: gattling guns with infinite ammo) are a bore but kept to a minimum.
Artillery sections are shallow, but hey, cool explosions.
Cutting dudes in half with the Lancer is boring now.
Sniping Locust in the face with the longshot is NEVER boring, even after five years.
Australian accents lol.
The story is stupid, but perfect for this kind of game. Characters die, and even though the player will feel minimal emotional response to their passing (lol, its Gears!) the way in which the scenes are presented are effective and fit the dopey bombast for these kinds of shooters.
Its surpisingly cutscene heavy, especially towards the end.
Its dudebro as all fuck. I listen to the Decemberists and Sleater-Kinney, wear designer glasses and drink tea from a fancy teapot with an Argyle tea cosy, but that doesnt mean I cant enjoy Gears.
Its the best single-player Gears game, easily. Im worried it got lost in the mix this year and that people would be tired of Gears by now. Do yourselves a favour and play it.
