What a great game. I basically finished it in one sitting tonight.
For as much as people mock the "ten shitloads" dialogue and how dudebro it is etc, it's kinda amazing the range of emotions I felt throughout this game. It doesn't have the best writing, it's not Citizen Kane and it definitely won't evoke the same feelings in everyone, but over the course of the three Gears games I've become really attached to a lot of these characters. Moreso than that, I've really fallen in love with the planet of Sera - the fact so many areas are beautifully constructed, with intricate architecture and a somewhat gothic atmosphere, just makes it more sad when you look at what the last seventeen years of war have done to the planet. I loved in the first chapter when you switch perspective to Cole you get to take in all of the abandoned buildings, playgrounds and streets. It really set the tone and several other moments throughout the game capitalised on that.
I really like how all 3 games have had a pretty drastically different direction. The first game was all about learning about the Locust, defending the last pockets of civilisation and trying to put an end to one single threat. The second then focused on the humans bringing the fight to the Locust, invading their home and learning a lot about their civilisation whilst expanding the threat somewhat as the Lambent are introduced. Now, in the third, all of that seems somewhat trivial. It's no longer about ugly humanoids attacking the entire race, you're literally seeing the planet being ripped apart by Imulsion and it does feel like the human race is going to come to an end.
I have to say the Dom death scene was really, really well done too. I expected Dizzy to eat a bullet when the "Brothers to the End" achievement popped up and I think it was really gutsy to kill Dom off, especially so early into the game. Very few deaths take me by surprise and it didn't feel out of place at all - he finally seemed at peace with himself and that's what made the death so meaningful. I especially liked the touch of having the music to "Mad World" kick in, also, as it was one of few moments that really did capture the feeling of that advert perfectly. I'd go so far as to say it's now one of my favourite cutscenes in gaming history, period. Furthermore, I loved that after his death, unlike in Gears 2 when Maria dies and you just go straight back into the action, this time you spend a good 5 - 10 minutes walking through this desolate city looking at these people in the postures they died in. It really kept the dark nature of his sacrifice going. I also liked that all of the characters took his death with them to the end of the game - I expected it to be almost forgotten by the final cutscene.
In regards to closure I think I was more satisfied than a lot of people judging by the posts I've skimmed over in this thread. I didn't need to know the origins of the Locust (I had just assumed they had always been underground) and I didn't want a "Marcus, I am your mother" moment, either. I am pretty curious about why the Locust Queen has such a human appearance, but I don't think it was a huge oversight not to explain that. Maybe it's better that it isn't explained. I thought that the fact there was such a relatively easy solution to kill all of the enemies was a bit disappointing, but I'm not sure how else you could wipe them out, honestly. I was hoping the CD that Adam gave to Baird would be explored before the end... they focused on that so I thought it would have some significant exposition on it.
I think the closure for me is provided mostly by the COGs. Dom is dead, Marcus has seen his father again and has Anya, Cole has revisited his past and had one last moment of glory, Baird and Aussie chick have something blooming, etc etc. I didn't want to see a cutscene a decade later showing Sera re-built, I was happy with the knowledge that the characters I've spent time with over the last three games just had a potential future, as Adam points out. There was a lot of restraint there for Epic to end it and not throw something in after the credits.
... and this is just the story/environments I'm talking about. There's also the fact it's one of the best paced, balanced, exciting and varied action games I've played outside of Uncharted. You're constantly being pushed into new encounters with new enemies, using different weapons and tactics, rewarded for experimentation etc etc. There was basically no moments in the game I felt bored, perhaps other than the submarine segment which lacked tension and was too long. That's it, though - one sequence in a 6/7 hour game. Better yet, there was absolutely zero driving sequences. I'm so grateful they actually listened to the people who called those moments in 1 and 2 shit. I suppose this isn't really the thread for that sort of discussion, though.
I don't know where I want them to go for a Gears 4 as I definitely feel that re-visiting Sera after this moment would be a bit problematic. You could always have pockets of Locust survive, I suppose, but would that be exciting now? I don't think so. The people have been pushed to the very edge of what they can survive and for another threat to pop up just seems too much. The obvious choice would be a prequel, but again I don't know if that could satisfy, either. The Pendulum Wars was just a war between humans, correct? It would feel odd fighting other humans in a Gears game and I don't think it would be nearly as exciting.
Since Gears has been one of the best new IPs to come out of this generation I would trust Epic and Cliffy to do that again, to be honest. Start fresh - new characters, new world, new enemies. I don't think that's likely since Gears is such a massive brand, but hey.
Regardless, 1-3 have been so good I have faith that they'll do any future titles right.
Bit of a rambling post but I had high expectations and it blew me away. Can't wait to play it again on Insane in co-op!
