Many people try to get a chance to be a part of the RH/JD team, and almost no one makes the cut. We are a lucky to have this gentleman, plus his aunts sister is my mother.

Enjoy the man the myth the legend.

Mr. Stephen Dunlap AKA Step Rocket

So at long last the third and final installment of the Gears of War franchise has been unleashed to gamers everywhere.  Nearly 3 years after the last “Gears” game fully disappointed its loyal followers, it was time to wrap up the saga.  This final game was critical to see if it can win back its core audience that once lived by their Lancers and died by their Gnashers.  But one must ask himself (and yes I chose to say himself, because 99% of gamers are dudes).  Can a 3rd person shooter like “Gears” still compete in a world of much more popular shooter franchise like “Call Of Duty”, which has become the standard???  I would argue, AbsoF’ingLutely!!!

The developers took their time with this game.  Often times, sequel games can be rushed because the game companies see dollar signs after a successful first.  This being the case with Gears 2, the developers weren’t going to let this happen again.  The original release of Gears of War 3 was set for April of 2011.  They were unable to hit this mark and didn’t want to hurry their final product, so Epic games decided to release a multiplayer Beta version instead.  This bought them time and gave the users an opportunity to give feedback to strive for a better product.  Since I feel that most first person shooter are now purchased primarily for their online play.  That is what I am going to focus on.  Gears of War 3 was released September 2011 to play its swan song.  And here are The Rockets thoughts.

Graphics:  The graphics are sick!  They were able to retain that grittiness from the first “Gears”, while polishing the colors, shadows and contrast.  They added maps that have daylight so when you play for extended periods of time you don’t feel like you’ve been locked in a cave.  The gore is uber clean, detail is off the chain, and there isn’t’ any kind of pixelation or hiccuping with how fast it plays.  There are tons of “skins” for your weapons in “G.O.W. 3″.  The customization makes your weapon and player unique and looks just brilliant.  I for one, am using a custom pink Hammerburst, with a flowing rainbow colored Gnasher as my weapons of choice.  I know…very chic.

Sound:  The sound as usual is very high quality.  The guns really “pop” when you shoot them.  If you have a quality sound system, I recommend cranking it up!  The Gnasher shotgun is very bass heavy along with its sawed off counterpart.  The Lancers and Hammerburst add to the intense firefights while you hear bullets whizzing by your dome.  Your heart beats fast and out of rhythm with your avatar counterpart, just before you are downed and see red.  The developers also scored the original “GOW” map “Gridlock” with the
song from the “GOW 1″ trailer if you can remember back that far.  Some might grow tired of hearing shotguns blast, heads pop, flesh tear and Locusts grown…but I do not.

Gameplay:  F’ing Rad!  And I’m not just saying that.  This game plays quick and accurate.  Gnasher battles are back!  The developers truly fixed everything that they ruined in the second game, and improved upon everything that was right with the first.  All of the classic multiplayer game modes are back:  Warzone, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader, King of the Hill, Wingman, Horde and my favorite Execution.  They introduced a new game mode called “Beast” as well.  This mode is similar to Horde, but you play as a variety of Locusts, battling an ever-growing number of COG squads.  Fun game mode to mix things up.  Coming back to Execution mode…There are plenty of them.  You can still curb stomp an enemy, punch his face off or saw him in half with your Lancer if you’re feeling old school.  Now you can also rip off an opponents arm and beat them with it and Lancer someones chest open.  It is these little touches that make the game really shine.  The small five on five squads are great for using the headset if you like working as a team.  And the small teams also add a very intimate quality to the first person genre.  In addition, I still love the paintball style cover and thoughtfully laid out maps that we have come to know with Gears of War.

Overall, I give this game a 4.8 out of 5.  This game is all that and a big bag of replay value!!! I could explain further, but if i did i would be doing the game an injustice.  Just buy it!

A Game Review by, Step Rocket

You saw it on http://jd247.com

Gears of War 3 Ashes to Ashes Trailer [HD]
Developer: Epic Games
Release: 4/2011
Genre: Action/Third-Person
Platform: X360
Publisher: Microsoft
Website: http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/

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