Anyone who beat the first Gears of War is likely to remember the name RAAM. This lumbering Locust general served as the tough end boss of the game that launched a franchise, and now he's back as the primary antagonist of the first downloadable campaign for Gears of War 3 , RAAM's Shadow.

Playing as RAAM provides some gruesome thrills; Series' signature combat is in fine form

Locust levels present little challenge or diversity; Human characters aren't very appealing; Slow sections diminish excitement

I highly, highly recommend this game to anyone. With all the modes and variety, you won't be bored with Gears of War 3 for a long time. Casual or hardcore gamers will be impressed and in love with this game. I hope you enjoyed reading my first review and I plan on making many more so keep in touch!

The superstar Gears of War franchise, famous for its thick, rich bro aroma and for mounting a chainsaw on the underside of an assault rifle, has now come to a close with the subject of this review.

The Cole Train runs on whole grain!

Marcus's uber-meathead actions at game's end

Gears of War 3 iterates and polishes on everything that was present in Gears of War 2 and the folks at Epic still had time to add new modes, new weapons, and new enemies. Nothing feels like filler here, and the Gears of War 3 disc will have a reserved spot in my 360 for a long, long time.

Polished gameplay; new modes

It's still Gears; if you don't want that

Of the great many pock-faced star warriors of the Locust horde, none could make for a more enjoyable playable antagonist than General Raam: nine feet tall, mute (which, when you have Epic's writers putting words in everyone's mouths, is a significant bonus) and wielding a serrated sword and a swarm...

The Gears universe is built on an interesting premise which doesn't feel like it has been properly explored. Replaying the first game, it's difficult to get a handle to the narrative that offers barely an excuse for all the brutal violence on screen.

Format: Xbox 360 Developer: Epic Games Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Release Date: 20th September 2011 (Out Now)

Gears of War 3 is a spectacular and polished send-off for Marcus Fenix and the Delta Squad, writes Simon Parkin

The final instalment of the Gears of War trilogy was released by Epic Games in September this year and I'm finally writing about it. It's testament to its quality that every time I've tried to sit down at my desk I have ended up playing it instead.

Gears of War is back and after a short recap of what happened in the first two games we're quickly surprised, astonished and totally immersed in the o so well-known but still addictive gameplay.