Gears of War 3

The fall onslaught is truly in full swing now with one of the most anticipated releases of the year. It has been 3 years since we last played a new Gears game, and this one does not disappoint.

This campaign is the best Gears story yet. And it feels good to have a lancer and chainsaw enemies in half just like it always has. This campaign picks up a few years after the events of Gears 2. With all of the human cities destroyed and the COG dissolved, this game is personal. And it strikes hard and fast, with twists and turns starting from the get go to the last cut scene. And it delivers. It is possibly one of the most satisfying conclusions to any trilogy that I have seen. And  a first for Gears, there is 4-player co-op.  There is also a new Arcade mode which encourages friendly competition within the campaign.

As far as the multiplayer is concerned, there are 3 different options. The first is the classic Gears multiplayer with Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader, and King of the Hill. This is the backbone of the multiplayer experience in Gears. For those of you who played the Gears 3 multiplayer beta, you know what to expect, especially if you have played the previous Gears games. It is classic online multiplayer at its best. The maps are geared towards close quarters combat. There are also dozens of weapon skins that are available to unlock and purchase. The skins are available in various packs as well as individually for each weapon. If you want all of the skins, they are available for $45 or 3600 Microsoft points. There is also available for purchase on Marketplace, the Season Pass, which will give you all of the upcoming DLC which will be coming out for a 33% discount.

The Marcus Fenix statue that is included with the Epic Edition of the game.

In addition to the traditional multiplayer, there is also Gears' fabled Horde mode but in a re-imagined way, combing the traditional endless waves of enemies with a tower defense element. In addition to Horde 2.0 as it is called by Epic Games, there is also Beast mode. Beast mode gives players the opposite position, playing not as the Gears, but as the Locust. As the players earn more COG kills, they earn more money which will allow them to buy bigger and better Locust. And with each progressive wave, more and more Gears are added to the fray. And it is great.

In addition to the standard copy of the game, there are 2 special editions, a controller, and a limited-edition Xbox 360 bundle. The Gears console includes 2 wireless controllers, the game and special sound effects for the opening of the disc tray and power off & on of the console. The wireless controllers is one of the new Xbox controllers, with the new analog sticks and and transforming D-Pad.  All of these are available at your favorite retailer.

Gears of War 3 Console Bundle

Gears of War 3 Epic Edition

Gears of War 3 is the best Gears game to-date. And it is also the pinnacle of what it means to be an Xbox 360 game. With a fantastic campaign, great multiplayer and unique modes it is a compact and full package. I can not recommend this game enough and everyone who is a shooter fan and an Xbox 360 owner should have this game.

"Let's Finish This"

That is all. Carry On!

-Spieg89

Guild Wars 2: The Future of MMO Gaming?

First off let me start by saying that, about a year ago, I practically vowed to never play another MMO game ever again because I didn't want my life needlessly sucked away, and I really didn't have the time it takes to practically have a second life dedicated to an MMO anyway.

Then, after hearing a friend of mine rave on about Guild Wars 2 for a while, I finally took a look into it. After reading about it and watching some trailers and reviews, I was sold. Finally, an MMO that overcomes all the things that I view as "MMO killers", such as endless boring grinding for levels, enemies that just stand around waiting for you to approach them, battle systems that get boring fast, etc. I could talk practically endlessly about why I think GW2 is the next step in MMO gaming, but the videos I'm about to post are worth 1,000,000 words (yes, pictures are just worth 1,000 words :P).

Here's the first video you should see about GW2:


And here's the newest trailer:


And if you want to dig a bit deeper and get some more epic info and to see some action, here's a fairly long epic demo:


Now, I'm a casual gamer and I've always gotten left behind by my friends when playing an MMO because I don't play for a week and they end up getting 5-10 levels ahead of me or something. Every other MMO game I know of practically forces you to invest hours upon hours and you can't go a day without playing or you'll get left behind. But I want to do it on my own pace while not getting left behind. GW2 allows you to do this, and it's never lame for a high level character to join a low level character. In other MMO games, it's always sacrificing fun for the person with the high level character to go back and help build up a the guy with a low level. GW2 breaks that and strives to make it an enjoyable experience no matter what. There are so many awesome things about GW2, but my favorite things are: the beautiful and persistent world, the more co-op epic good feeling social aspect as opposed to the usual competitive anti-social feel, THE MUSIC IS DONE BY JEREMY SOULE, an interesting personalized story, no stinking subscription fee, and so many other things.

So what do you think? Is GW2 going to set the new standard of MMO gaming? I think I sense WoW (more directly, Blizzard) trembling in fear.