The third installment in the renowned "Gears of War" series is finally released

After three years of waiting, the fans of one of Epic Games' greatest creations and Microsoft's top series finally received some sort of closure. As one of the most anticipated video games of 2011, "Gears of War 3" was released on September 20.

Taking place a year and a half after "Gears of War 2", the final game in the series tells the story of Marcus Fenix, the head "Gear" (soldier), and his team of elite Gears, known as the Delta Squad, a major part of an army known as the COG, fighting off a horrifying new threat called the "Lambent." Most gamers who have played "Gears" before know there was already a war going on against a race of species known as the Locust, who successfully killed off a major portion of the human race. The war eventually becomes a three-way battle between the humans, the Locust and the Lambent.

The game introduces a ton of new things. For example, you can now play the "story mode" known as Campaign with four people via Xbox Live Co-op. In addition to the Campaign mode, there are tons of other new features in the game, such as Beast mode, which is the opposite of the Horde mode, a major feature in that you fight off "waves" of enemies until your very last breath. Each wave brings on more new enemies and tougher challenges.

In Beast mode, you play as the Locust fighting off the humans. They have also expanded Horde mode. You can now buy items such as tools to build a fort to protect yourself against the threats coming your way. Aside from Beast and Horde mode they have kept the multiplayer modes that everyone loves the same. As IGN (Imagine Games Network) puts it best "Epic's epic epic ends epically."

Although like most sequels and conclusions, the game will live in the shadows of the previous games, it still manages to do the job the game was meant to do. The company has set in stone what a true third person shooter should be like, graphically, sound wise and game wise. This game will last in the history of classic Xbox titles. "Gears of War" has been one of the most celebrated video game series of all time and though the journey of the Delta Squad ends with this last game, this certainly will not be the last time you see "Gears."

Gameplay: 4/5

Sound/Graphics: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5