The Gears franchise has taken steps forward with each game without ever compromising or losing its essential elements. So, Gears 3 is the best yet. It's a great couch game not only for co-op campaign but co-op game modes like Horde and Beast modes.

Whatever reasons for the delay, Raam's Shadow proves worth the wait.

Good portioned slice of campaign that doesn't feel like its from Gears 3's cutting room floor

The MP extras - skin packs and characters; add little to the package

A natural wonder

Great maps; Fun weather dynamics; Elemental Cleavers; Value for money

Tweaks may annoy purists

Time to gargle some boiling oil & get your man voice on! Gears of War 3 was amongst the most anticipated titles of this year, and with good reason! The Gears franchise both reinvented the way that players view the classic third person shooter genre, and prompted developers to up their game when it...

Small refinements make for a much smoother gameplay experience; Graphics which outclass most of its contemporaries; Excellent & varied multiplayer modes

Doesn't introduce many new gameplay elements; Feels somewhat familiar in places; Slightly underwhelming ending given the epic scale of the overall story

Gears 3 is Epics swan song to a series which came from nowhere in 2006 and shocked the gaming world with it's high fidelity graphics, it's cover mechanism and it's unashamed approach to violence.

Excellent detail; Emotionally charged story; Amazing multiplayer

Friendly AI can be a little too good

Gears of War 3 is undoubtedly the ultimate in the series, made especially for the fans with the formula, story and characters they've become to love grown and polished to brilliance.

Undoubtedly the best Gears to date; Four player co-op; Expansive multiplayer modes

Graphically limited by the hardware; Difficulty of four player co-op can be unnerving; Beast mode could have been much more

Chainsaw bayonets have been a secure staple in the Gears of War series ever since the first game and they still haven't changed. And why should they? Viciously ripping your opponent in half, reducing them to a puddle of chunky horror is the ultimate way to ensure an enemy isn't playing dead.

In Gears of War 3, players continue fighting as Marcus Fenix, the grizzled leader of Delta Squad. 18 Months after the fall of the last human city, the war against the Locust rages on. Meanwhile, deep beneath the surface, a fearsome new threat is infecting the planet from within.

Being a big fan of Gears of War franchise, it was with great anticipation and trepidation that I began to play through the campaign mode. I was fearful that EPIC may have taken the franchise a step too far and perhaps diluted the raw gameplay of the previous two award winning titles.

+ Great Storyline; + Polished graphical content; + Copious amounts of violence; + 4 Player co-op; + Refined Multiplayer; + Ties up all of the loose ends of previous games

Finally the last chapter to the epic trilogy of Gears of War is coming to an end. Since the launch of the series way back in 2006, gamers have fell in love in the story of lead character "Marcus Fenix" and his friend "DOM" as they save the universe from Locust.