By Brett A. Mejia ’13
THE ROUNDUP

Gears of War 3
9.0

With the conclusion of the Gears of War franchised, its third installment strives to wipe out the competition with an upgraded campaign and multiplayer.

Developed by Epic Games, “Gears of War 3” is a third-person shooter created exclusively for the Xbox 360.

They look to make the slogan “Brothers to the End” come true.

The single-player campaign manages to produce a fresh feel to the game while keeping parts of its predecessors intact, while the multiplayer introduces new features and easier ways to connect with friends.

The story of “Gears of War 3” takes place 18 months after “Gears of War 2,” which left main character Marcus Fenix, leader of Delta Squad, on a mission to wipe out the eight-feet lizard-looking creatures called the Locusts.

The Locusts that survived the battle between them and Delta Squad were exposed to a toxic liquid that created a mutated creature called the Lambent.

“Gears of War 3” begins with the player controlling Marcus wandering through his battleship, who is soon greeted by fellow Delta Squad members, and then all of a sudden the ship is rocked back and forth violently by a huge creature as big as the ship.

Marcus and his squad react quickly to the attack and the quest to finally taking back their planet has now erupted in the never ending war with the Locust and Lambent.

The Lambent look just like the Locust, except that whatever toxic liquid they were exposed to is now their blood or fluids that controls and keeps them alive.

Throughout the campaign, I got pumped up every time I fought a huge wave of enemies because of the always favored Lancer.

The Lancer is the franchise’s legendary gun that has a distinct add-on to it: a chainsaw. Along with being able to shoot enemies with at a fast rate, due to the gun being an automatic, there are times when I just charge an enemy, start up the chainsaw and the rest is history.

“Gears of War 3” displays fantastic visuals with updated graphics that make every detail look clear and crisp. The detail of the characters is amazing and even includes facial reactions to different situations.

There are times, however, where it seems like there is a non-stop hoard of Locust and Lambent, which got old and gave my trigger finger a workout.

Throughout the game I felt like I got my money’s worth because the campaign offers at least 10 hours of play along with the numerous achievements and COG tags one can earn.

The gameplay is very well laid out. The controls feel smooth and the music goes along well with the campaign story.

Overall I would rate “Gears of War 3” 9 out of 10.