In Gears 3, the Earth stand-in, Sera, plays host to three separate factions all fighting for survival and dominance: Humanity, the Locust and the Lambent. This month alone had another very similar themed game in Resistance 3 for the PS3, and it won’t be the last this year. You could probably name five games with that plot off the top of your head. Even if it isn’t our world, they hate it and love to see it on the brink of total collapse. There are a few little imperfections that bring the score down a bit, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking up what is easily the best 360 exclusive this year, and one of the best games of the year. Even if every one of the upcoming titles sends you to a magical happy place, that won’t change the fact that Gears 3 is an amazingly well-polished game with a ton of content to keep players involved for months, even years to come. There is plenty of gaming still to go this year, but that shouldn’t take away from Gears 3.

The only asterisk attached to calling it a game of the year contender is that October and November are so ridiculously packed with ambitious big name games that it would be like printing a Super Bowl championship shirt for a team after week one.

Gears 3 is a fantastic game, one of the best of the year so far. I want that clear before delving into my Gears of War 3 review, mainly to make myself feel a bit better for not giving the game a 10 or 9.5, which in my heart it deserves. It could change the gaming world forever, but you still have to see and note the little problems, glitches and things that were off.įor instance, having repetitive and bland dialog won’t make a game any less fun to play, but it means the title isn’t perfect. One of those is that when playing certain games, you have to put aside personal feelings and look at a game through an extremely critical eye. While being a game critic has its definite advantages-the pants off dance off parties, the jet-setting lifestyle (between work and my house) and the ability to taunt my friends by sending them online game invites to play titles that aren’t out yet - it also has a few disadvantages too.

Gears of war lambent