Let's not mess around and just review two awesome games! One full release and one arcade release.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2011
Released: 2011
Let me first explain why I've always loved the Gears of War series. In my opinion, and probably a lot of reviewers opinion, is that this generation of consoles sort of began with the first Gears game. It combined next-gen graphics with precise and original gameplay, introduced a cover mechanic as a main gameplay factor and integrated it very well. The combination of atmospheric environments, dark and gritty fighting and nasty monsters help build a universe I really appreciate.
I've enjoyed how the series has progressed through the three games. The first game felt like a fairly small scale, dark and quite creepy in parts. The second was on a much larger scale, more varied environmentally and this third release is on an even bigger scale and extremely diverse in its locations. In fact, Gears 3 is diverse in every department. There are more weapons, locations, types of enemies and characters than ever. It makes every fight and place you take place in varied and refreshing.
The story is about Marcus finding out his dad is still alive and he needs to find him. The travel there is long and the feeling of humanity crumbling under the Lambent infection really shows, even the Locust seem to be falling under the Lambent infection. This fight, between three types of species, makes Gears 3 even more exciting and the outcome so unpredictable.
Gears 3 gives more depth to the main characters this time around too. You get to learn more of their background stories and personalities. It also adds a couple of female characters just to tone down the macho appereance of the earlier Gears titles. The story will keep you guessing right up to the end, and will the third Carmine brother survive this time?!
Gameplay in Gears 3 is very familiar for those who have played the former games, but veterans of the series will definitely feel the more precise and smoother controls this time around. Combine that with the even better animations and easiness of entering cover. Gears 3 probably is one of the absolute best third person shooters in the control department this gen.
Gameplay in Gears 3 is very familiar for those who have played the former games, but veterans of the series will definitely feel the more precise and smoother controls this time around. Combine that with the even better animations and easiness of entering cover. Gears 3 probably is one of the absolute best third person shooters in the control department this gen.
The shooting feels heavy and different with each weapon, the active reloading adds such a simple yet great feeling of skill and the sheer variation in enemy types just makes Gears 3 so amazing! We have normal Locust drones, we have mutating Lambent creatures, zombie-like fast moving enemies, huge bosses and small creepy spider like creatures to mention a few. I don’t think many games have so many different enemies!
Technically, Gears 3 is almost unsurpassed graphically by other games, besides Bulletstorm and Crysis 2 you'll find it difficult to find a prettier game this year on consoles. Everything from the environments on board a ship, to deserts, to bombed-out cities to tropic islands to impressive and stylish indoor hotel environments will make your jaw drop.
Technically, Gears 3 is almost unsurpassed graphically by other games, besides Bulletstorm and Crysis 2 you'll find it difficult to find a prettier game this year on consoles. Everything from the environments on board a ship, to deserts, to bombed-out cities to tropic islands to impressive and stylish indoor hotel environments will make your jaw drop.
The lighting is fantastic, probably the most colourful and bright Gears game. Some may miss the gritty look of the previous games, but I think it's good they change it up. This is what makes Gears 3 such a pleasure to play, it may not drastically do new things, but it evolves and never recycles ideas from previous games.
Multiplayer is also fantastic, with many different modes to choose from. Proper competitive, close-combat style, gameplay. Dedicated servers have been added for the lag problem that bothered Gears fans on the previous games. There's also an improved Horde mode, with the ability to build fences and turrets to stop each horde and every tenth level has a boss! Add the beast mode, where you swap the roles and fight against humans, and the multiplayer package is huge.
Multiplayer is also fantastic, with many different modes to choose from. Proper competitive, close-combat style, gameplay. Dedicated servers have been added for the lag problem that bothered Gears fans on the previous games. There's also an improved Horde mode, with the ability to build fences and turrets to stop each horde and every tenth level has a boss! Add the beast mode, where you swap the roles and fight against humans, and the multiplayer package is huge.
Did I also mention that they made the campaign four player coop?!
There are some minor glitches, like achievement unlocks and buttons getting stuck after dyeing in singleplayer. I would've liked the vehicle section, with the speeding cars, to have been slower and more engaging. It simply was chaotic and over too fast. These, though, are minor faults in an otherwise fantastic game.
I'll be back soon with more reviews!
There are some minor glitches, like achievement unlocks and buttons getting stuck after dyeing in singleplayer. I would've liked the vehicle section, with the speeding cars, to have been slower and more engaging. It simply was chaotic and over too fast. These, though, are minor faults in an otherwise fantastic game.
You may criticise it for taking a new direction from the more dark Gears titles. Especially, the scary parts of Gears 1, but I think that was explored in Gears 1 and I like the fact that Gears 3 does something completely different from the previous ones, without letting the fans down.
To sum up, Gears of War 3 is in my opinion the best in the series. Epic Games have evolved the series to the height of my expectations. The singleplayer is fantastic, an exciting story, combined with good voice acting and colourful characters. The gameplay is smooth and very fun to play, you'll be hard to find a third person shooter which even comes close. The variety of environments and sheer quality of the graphics is breath taking.
Probably one of this generation best releases, with a huge lifespan both in singleplayer and multiplayer. The competition doesn't come close to the quality.
To sum up, Gears of War 3 is in my opinion the best in the series. Epic Games have evolved the series to the height of my expectations. The singleplayer is fantastic, an exciting story, combined with good voice acting and colourful characters. The gameplay is smooth and very fun to play, you'll be hard to find a third person shooter which even comes close. The variety of environments and sheer quality of the graphics is breath taking.
Probably one of this generation best releases, with a huge lifespan both in singleplayer and multiplayer. The competition doesn't come close to the quality.
Update: Gears 3 has been added to backwards compatible program and updated to either 4K@30fps or 1440p@60fps on the Series X and 1440p@60fps only on the Series S, versus the original 720p@30fps on the Xbox 360.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2011
Released: 2011
"He double-clicks on the Word icon. He wants to start writing the Bastion review, but the words aren’t there. What shall the boy do?"
I hope you read that last sentence with the Bastion narrator voice! The awesome voice that narrates your every move and story progression throughout this fantastic RPG on Xbox Arcade from the very beginning!
I hope you read that last sentence with the Bastion narrator voice! The awesome voice that narrates your every move and story progression throughout this fantastic RPG on Xbox Arcade from the very beginning!
The game literally starts with you get out of bed and explains that the Bastion has been destroyed and needs rebuilding. The Bastion is a sort of city floating in the air, which protects its inhabitants from the world around it. Your journey is to rebuild it piece by piece after the Calamity destroyed it.
Each building needs to be resurrected with a crystal found around the games levels. Once you build one you get to choose what it is. Anything from an armoury, to a place where you add abilities to your character to even a shrine which lets you put extra difficulties to the game to make you level faster and more of a challenge.
Bastion is viewed from an isometric point of view and features beautiful hand drawn environments full of colour and variation. The levels sort of float in the air and it reminds me very of old-school JRPG’s from the 16-bit or PS1 era. The combination of the beautiful soundtrack, the artistic and somewhat psychedelic look of the visuals and the fantastic narrator, is just something that has to be tried to be appreciated! It’s such a breath of fresh air from other titles.
Gameplay is fairly quickly to get into. You have one melee weapon, and one firearm and a button for shield and one for a special attack. Along the way you can upgrade your weapons, buy new special attacks and level up your character. Various weapons will have various effects on the enemies on each level.
I like how the game forces you to try out each new weapon you find. Often the level they are found in are best suited for the enemies inside them. There are even levels just for weapon challenges and wave levels with wave after wave of enemies to fight and survive.
I really enjoyed Bastion it’s a beautiful game in every way and an artistic approach to achieving a fantasy world without the high tech 3D graphics which all games now contain. The game introduces new elements and has a large number of levels to keep your attention from dropping throughout the game, I would've liked the story to have been a little more explained, maybe in some more animated cutscenes and maybe had a tad longer lifespan.
Overall, Bastion is absolutely one of the best games I have played this year! It’s even fun the second time around.
I'll be back soon with more reviews!