Gears of War 3 - Cliffy B., please get your shit together.

Hello there friends,

So the Gears of War 3 announcement hit a little early, not that we didn't already know it was about to be announced, and the people at Game Trailers decided to post a 'Wish List'. However, it seems that they are 'tip-toeing' around most of the major issues that Gears 1 and 2 suffered.

Now if you known some of my previous ramblings before this blog, you know I am one of the most forgiving consumers around. I look forward to seeing games improve over time rather than question if the sequel should be made at all. The only time I ever really feel at odds with change is when the whole direction of a game does so, which more than not is to make it sell more rather than build a better game.

So here's what I wish I could get across to Cliffy B and his team at Epic.

Multiplayer:

First off, your 'Hardcore' following, is multiplayer first, co-op second, single player third. These are the people you're selling map-packs to, these are the people playing your game long after release, and these are the people you're trying to appease. Now recognize that time and time again, the one thing Gears has fallen pray to is Host Advantage. I am sure you're not going to make dedicated servers, but at least build your net code to try and reduce this factor somewhat, find better ways to hide it, and stop making it the defining point of the experience of online Gears.

Yes, we're aware this host advantage is nothing new, but end of the day it's no where near as prevalent in Call of Duty or Halo, so why is it Host Shotty becamse godlike? This needs to change.

Secondly, dont be afraid to let the player community beta test your map-packs. Gears has been the worst for releasing map packs where only half the maps are not vetoed, and more often than not vetoed because only half the map was useful. To prove my point, look at maps like Bullet Marsh. Loved the visuals in this map, loved the concept of environmental changes based on player action, so why is this map often passed?

Well, flanking involves taking such a long route to go around that you often miss out on the entire fight, either your team has already annihilated the opponents or you are now on your own against the majority of the enemy team because your own was missing a player. You have enough of a player base to get large scale testing on maps, use it.

Co-Op:

So, the standard team is four individuals (Marcus, Dom, Baird, and Cole). There is a lot you can do. As suggested by Game Trailers, Call of Duty's 'Spec-Ops' is an idea that works very well for Gears current setup. Co-Op campaign can be a full four player experience, and we've already said Gears fan base is primarily multiplayer, so why not?

Single Player:

I'm just going to assume the writing will be consistently half-fast as it has been and you have no intention to change that. Fine. But at the very least, can we stop having scripted event boss fights?

Raam, the last encounter in Gears 1, was easily the most bad-ass boss you had... EVER. An encounter where the bad guy is shielded by tiny critters to stop taking damage, and is wielding a large turret where Raam is fully capable of taking everything that isnt hidden behind a chest-high cover clear off. Finding out HOW to damage him, while avoiding him killing thy ass became a bit of an issue, especially in higher difficulties where you really had little time to shoot at him before he responded in kind.

Now let's take a look at Skorge. His fight is nothing more than an interactive cut scene with very little to him. This wasnt a tense fight, it wasnt fun, it was a cinematic that you ran around in. And then we get to deal with an emulsion-infected Brumak that treats itself as the not-so dramatic conclusion, where you pop off a few shots with the biggest gun available in the franchise (The Hammer of Dawn, a satellite weapon that needs a guiding laser to 'paint' it's target). This was probably the most boring and unfulfilling ending you could have given to the sequel.

I could probably do an entire article on why Raam was a better encounter on the whole than Skorge, but we'll try to move on from that (For now....).

Another thing that got to me in the campaign, why is it that the A.I. cant seem to do anything beyond the direct approach. You have Smoke, Poison, and Frag granades. Torque Bows, Boom Shots, and the Hammer of Dawn. Are you honestly going to tell me that the A.I. cant be improved more than it's accuracy? Smoke the player's cover to move to a flank, shoot at the ground with a Boom Shot or Torque Bow just beside the cover, heck, bounce a Frag off a wall to fall behind the cover. There are many ways to flush a player out and make the A.I. more difficult and challenging than simply increasing the accuracy and damage, let us believe these opponents are actually intelligent beings who understand the technology they are using beyond point-and-shoot.

Here's another one: Bring back the Corpser, and dont make it a scripted fight. This thing is big, nasty, was prominent in Gears 1, and then when we faced it, the fight was a cop-out. Heck, make it an Emulsion Corpser was the one we fought in Gears 1 and it has a personal bone to pick with Marcus and Dom, I dunno, but just stop throwing away your good material to badly done cut-scenes and trigger-events moments.

Also, please bring back the Berzerker. Heck, experiment with a few more boss types that go beyond the "Run, hide, shoot". Game Trailers made a good point that it broke up the monotony of the game by adding in moments of tension.

End of the day though, the sad fact is you already have my money for Gears 3, and probably the first two map packs. I suspect I am not alone in this, and my only hope is that those in the high-end of the food chain in Epic will make an ending worthy of the mainstream title that has brought the XBox 360 to the height it is.

Until next time,

- Derek Leduc