The Gears of War franchise deserves more credit than it gets. Understandably, people focused on the macho posturing, the chainsaws attached to guns, and the extremely brown palette. The first trilogy of Gears of War games were bloody, brutal, and often, pretty disgusting. Yet the overall arc of the first three Gears of War games - and especially Gears of War 3 - is a story about loss and what these soldiers have had to sacrifice due to war. Gears of War 3 doesn’t end with celebration over defeating the enemy, it ends with our main character stripping away his past, wondering if all the fighting was worth it. Gears of War 3 could’ve easily been a mindless shooter, but instead, Epic at least tried to make it something more, and that’s admirable.
I was particularly impressed with how each act of Gears of War 3 is centered around an individual’s loss and what they’ve given up over the years. The first act shows how Marcus lost his father, just the first of many losses he will incur as war rages on. The second act gives us a glimpse as Cole’s former glory as a star athlete. For this entire series, he’s put on an air about himself, gleeful even in battle. But here, we see that deep down, he feels the version of himself that he once was has died long ago. In the third act, we see how Dom tries to move past the death of his wife and children, thinking he understands his grief, only to show that he’s still trying to deal with this loss.
This isn’t some performative aspect of this franchise. It’s the core of it. So many of Marcus’ story here revolves around his pain. We can hear his voice sink in the later levels of the game, and we can see the disappointment in his eyes when he loses loved ones. Nowhere is this better shown than in a moment halfway through the game, a moment of battle that leads to the biggest loss in the entire franchise. Epic shows that they can pull off emotional stakes and pain beautifully, soundtracked by “Mad World,” wisely using an instrumental version that reminds of how this series began and Gears of War’s first trailer. It’s as if Epic is showing us how far we’ve come and how little has been accomplished by this war we’ve fought for three games.
I’m genuinely impressed with how Gears of War 3 pulls off that loss in what looks to be a massive gory shooter. It blends the two ideas into a game that is smarter than it gets credit for. But not only that, in playing these first three games back-to-back, I’ve seen how elegantly and smartly this game has steadily improved its core mechanics. Shooting, reloading and maneuvering this world all feel slightly better than the last game with each new iteration. There aren’t major changes being made, just general upkeep that keeps this game more fun. A certain gun might fire better, or an enemy might explode in a satisfying way. It’s small, but the difference can be felt.
I often feel like I’m very good at Gears of War when I’m playing it, yet I wonder if that’s part of the charm of Gears of War, that Epic has found a way for me to think I’m better than I really am. I feel like a great warrior, as I swap between weapons on the fly, hide behind cover, plant grenades, then jump away, all within a matter of seconds. Gears of War 3 is so accessible and genuinely fun to play, even when you’re killing the same enemy for the thousandth time. I don’t know if I’m great at Gears of War, or if Epic knows how to make everyone feel that way.
Gears of War 3 is probably my favorite game in this original trilogy, and because of that, maybe my favorite Xbox 360-exclusive title. Again, it’s making improvements with each new installment, and it’s been a lot of fun to see how this series got better over these first three games. Combat is more fun, the emotional moments hit harder, the game still looks gorgeous even a decade later, and the grungy tunnels of the first two games have been largely replaced by sun-soaked new locales. It’s all learning from the past to improve the future.
Which I think maybe should be Gears of War’s legacy, or at least the legacy of these first three games. Instead of just phoning this franchise in and being the obvious shooter, it tries to add layers to what a game like this can be, and give at least some narrative arcs to these characters. This isn’t Shakespeare, but it is at least attempting to be something greater than just a standard fighting game. Gears of War is one of the first major franchises I can remember that truly tried to move the player with its story, and that’s extremely impressive for a series that also introduced the chainsaw gun to the world.
