Still playing catch up with the reviews from 2011, here is a look at the final (!?) Gears of War game on the Xbox 360 as well as the brilliantly dark Batman: Arkham City
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Epic games has managed to refine the balls-to-the wall game play renowned in this series, the tweaks see the battle between Cogs and Grubs escalate to a satisfying conclusion, but in a way that, despite the developers name, has less 'epic' moments than its predecessor.
Improvements are evident in the game-play mechanics, level design and graphical detail however, the action is fluid and frantic, with expanded layouts and buckets of gore as Marcus and the (expanded) gang kick some alien grub butt.
Environments are full of detail and the animations (including expanded array of executions) are smoother than ever. The Gears Of War cover system, and distinctive audio are both top notch and used as the benchmark elsewhere in the industry.
Though it is quite a short experience, it is evident that the writers on the development team have stepped up to the mark on this final outing. Delta team has added some new members for the final push to save humanity, including a couple of female Cogs to bolster the returning bro's of Baird, Cole, Dom and Markus.
The overarching tale follows Markus' attempts to track down his formally deceased (or so he thought) scientist father, the promise of a cure for alien induced sickness turning humanity into a shambling zombie hoard is also part of Delta team's motivation.
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