Weak Addition to Long Standing Series
The controls are the thing that impressed me, if you could even say that. The controls are always very polished in a Gears of War game, since there is little else to bring you to the series. The controls haven't changed greatly since last year's entry, but at the same time, that familiarity helps you understand the mechanics and ways to take advantage of the way the game is designed. Once again I found myself not using anything other than the Lancer or Longshot, something for close combat, something for distant combat. I've never been a fan of the other weapons, the variety isn't lost on me, but the control is. I like to stick with what I know and those two weapons are my go-to weapons for Gears of War.
The voice acting was passable. The actors sounded exactly the same as they always do. With a beef cake style story, there isn't much for them to do, I imagine. The story was meandering, at best. The unlockable Aftermath was the height of pointless, adding nothing to the series. While I am happy to see another game in a long-standing series, what I don't like is something that feels like an add –on, an afterthought, and that is what this entire game felt like.
The sound and graphics were on par with other Gears games. There were no great strides forward in either, the backgrounds were decently detailed, but nothing blew me away. At rare times I did suffer some slight screen tearing and visual inconsistences, AI going through walls, but otherwise, nothing I can complain about.
Overall, the game was decent. If you ask me honestly, it isn't worth $60. The game was too short and suffered from feeling like I'd played it before. I think new entries in series should add to them in a significant way, not just be made for the money, which it is clear that this game suffered from. Even the most die-hard of Gears fans might feel jilted by this paltry entry.
I will fully admit I didn't get around to playing the multi-player, something that Gears is known for, so I can't comment on that and my score doesn't reflect that. However, I will say I have heard great things about it and expect it is as good as it has previously been, at least.