Gears of War 3
I played it using emulator because I don't have an xbox 360. I'd say that Gears of War 3 picks up the best from Gears 1 and 2. In comparison to the previous title in the series I'd say that the previous was smoother. Gears 3 didn't feel it had the same smooth transitions between acts and levels as in Gears 2.
To better explain why I consider Gears of War 2 a bit better in some aspects I'd begin by saying that in Gears 2 they made the experience smoother. The transitions between locations and missions was smoother. In Gears 3 there are more abrupt changes from one location to the other. Gears 2 felt one dramatic mission, a fantastic journey that visits fantastic alien worlds. In Gears 3 the progression and storyline felt a bit dragged. Gears 2 was more cohesive so to speak. To give an example: In the Anvil Gate in Gears 3 you defend it, then you go out just for the mission to fail right away. Retreat back and for some unknown reason the Berserker is back and resists the Hammer of Dawn. Who wrote the story for this? The journey to the secret island at the end of the game is done underwater. It's visually stunning, but why not fly with one of the balloons that they showcased in previous levels? There are also heavy weapons that make the character slower and they placed barriers that you force you to drop the heavy weapon to pass over the obstacle. Another example: there is a sequence in a highway that is suddenly interrupted by a giant crater in the middle of the road. This is why I felt that the progression in Gears 2 was smoother than in Gears 3. This detail may be too nitpicky from my part: I don't know why the game begins with realistic lighting, but after the ship part the screen filter reverts back to the desaturated visuals of the previous games. It felt an abrupt change that contributed to me feeling that Gears 3 wasn't as smooth as the previous.
The opening scene of Gears 3 was spectacular. The level design of the ship was really well done. It's realistic, has enough room to move around and the destruction is cinematic. Some places are revisited later on, but you have fire, new waves of enemies and a big leviathan. After finishing this part you follow a second squad, back in time, following the same events of the ship from another perspective. This reminded of the same thing done in Max Payne 2. In that construction site that you get to play as Mona. It was a creative way to add a twist to the game's storytelling.
Gears 2 focused on a grandiose spectacle with awesome cinematics and dramatic moments. They wanted to expand upon the cover after cover gameplay of the first. In 3 they toned it down and the combat feels more strategic. They added combat scenes in elevators, siege catapults, mechas and other common stuff that games of this type add to avoid repetition of the same combat strategies everywhere. For ex: there is a level in Gears 3 where there is a turret and to destroy it you have to push a cart with a bomb to blow up the turret without having to fire at it. There are sections with enemies with grenade launchers, a long blade and even stealth gameplay. In Gears 2 many sections were on rails where you don't have control over the direction or the speed at which you travel. In Gears 3 those sections were shortened. I think that the underwater section was added because the series have already explored different landscapes, battles in the sky and underwater was what was missing.
The IA department was really good. I didn't see bugs with pathfinding and the NPCs always come to your rescue if you need them. I can see a clear evolution in combats from the first game to the third. The bosses for instance. The boss battles in the third are better executed and have clearer indication of objectives. Some weapons in the previous game had too much ammo. They balanced it in the third.
The storytelling has clearly evolved when compared to the previous games. I see better dialogues, better soundtrack and feminine characters to offset the exclusively man-only story of the previous games. Better graphics. Better UI. Better accessibility.
This particular chapter was really emotional:
Compared to a similar scene from F.E.A.R. 2 I was flabbergasted:
