Gone Fishin’ (Gears of War 3)
The Gears of War franchise prides itself on stupid, action packed fun. There are some moments where one could reasonably think Robert Rodriguez was at the helm, and despite the series mostly playing it straight, there’s no denying they’re all kinda dumb and funny in a way that you can’t really hate. Just when you thought the franchise couldn’t get any sillier, Gears 3 kicks off with fighting a giant, glowing fish that’s eating your ship as it’s going up in flames. No seriously, this is the thing that kicks off the plot to Gears 3. It’s crazy, it’s batshit, it’s stupid, even by Gears standards. It has no real reason to exist besides wanting to give players a more action packed opening than the assault on the Locust base in Gears 2. And yet, it’s totally freaking awesome.
Okay, let’s back up. Gears of War 3 picks up a year and a half after the last game, with human survivors of the Jacinto flooding on the island of Vectes. Delta Squad is on the CNV Sovereign carrier, and after some standard tutorial stuff, the shit hits the fan. Lambent Locust storm the Sovereign, everything’s exploding; and then the Leviathan shows up. This big, glowing Lambent fish tearing the ship to shreds, and the only way to stop it is with Silverback mechs aboard the ship and using explosive Tickers on the bridge above the Sovereign. I can’t imagine how this was pitched in the design room, but I’m sure as hell glad it exists. Giant glowing fish, man.
Brothers to the End (Gears of War 3)
The dynamic between Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago has been the ultimate emotional core of the Gears of War franchise. Even if you haven’t read the expanded universe books, the games do a great job of getting their relationship across, whether it’s in story beats or simple acts like one reviving the other. Dom did everything in his power to get Marcus released early from prison, and when things hit the fan, Dom immediately went to bust his buddy outta the slammer. Marcus has always done what he could to help Dom find his missing wife Maria.
In Gears 3, Dom is a broken man. With his entire family gone, he’s grown out his beard and taken to growing plants and accepting death whenever the opportunity comes. Dom finally gets his wish when he leads the squad to Mercy, the town where his wife grew up and home to an Imulsion filling station. The Imulsion’s turned the citizens into Lambent, and they’re swarming the squad. With no other alternative in sight, Dom rams a truck into a tanker and sends the Lambent exploding. It’s a well done moment, backed by a well timed instrumental version of “Mad World” that the series used in its debut trailer. Whatever route the series takes next, it won’t shine as bright without Dom by your side.
Skorge of the Earth (Gears of War 2)
The original Gears of War had a pretty imposing villain by the name of General Raam. A man–er, Locust–of few words, his presence was felt throughout the game with very few appearances. All he had to do was step into view and you knew shit had gotten serious. Why else would Delta straight up bolt the instant they locked eyes with the dude? Unfortunately, he was killed at the end of the game, so his role had to be filled by someone else. Enter Skorge.
Gears 2 introduced many new enemies to the Locust Horde, one of which was the Kantus. These guys are like the priests of the Locust, communicating with soft droning chants and using their howls to revive downed Locusts. They’re basically the Pope’s disciples with ink grenades and some healing screams. Formidable for sure (seriously, kill them first), but they don’t compare to Skorge. He’s basically the Locust Pope, and the only one to communicate with and see the Riftworm used to sink cities. Delta finally faces him in the Locust Queen’s chamber, where you get into a Lancer vs. chainsaw staff duel. It’s frightening to see him spinning that thing and leap into the air, gunning for your ass. Just be sure to have your Lancer already armed, or you’re boned.
Brumak Rodeo (Gears of War 2)
In the Gears of War universe, the Brumaks are kinda like the Godzillas of the Locust Horde. They’re big, ugly monsters with a ton of eyes and razor sharp teeth that stomp around and take out anything in their path. To make matters worse, their heads have machine guns, and one arm has a rocket launcher strapped to it. That could only be more unfair if the tail was a sword or they breathed fire. When one showed up in the first game, Delta straight up ran away from it because it was too much to handle. PC players actually got a chance to go up against the Brumak and defeat it, and Xbox One players later got in on the experience with the Ultimate Edition.
Gears 2 just decides to throw the Brumaks in your face and let you go up against them. Whether by mortar or by turret, you end up turning plenty of the beasts into bloody pulps by the time the campaign is over. The tipping point is during the final act of the game, where Marcus and Dom have to make their way to a cave to help the rest of the COG plant a bomb. With no other alternative, Marcus decides that he and Dom have to ride a Brumak. “If they can ride em, so can we,” he declares. Playing as the Brumak is simple and rewarding, and it’s hard not to feel like you’re controlling a Megazord. Certainly worthy of being called badass.
Wormtastic Voyage (Gears of War 2)
As Gears of War 2 starts, entire cities are sinking. No one knows what it is, only that it’s allowing the Locust to get deeper into Jacinto. The COG decide to launch a full scale assault on the Locust to wipe them out once and for all. Marcus and Delta squad manage to get below the surface of Sera, and after cutting their way through plenty of Locust, they discover the source of the sinking cities. A worm. A giant, bigass thing called the Riftworm. To make matters worse, Delta eventually gets eaten by the Riftworm midway through the game.
This isn’t the end for our heroes, though. The gargantuan beast still needs to be stopped, and what better way to do that then from the inside? The giant teeth, the creatures inside its body, and its own digestive system nearly did the squad in (RIP little Ben Carmine). They were able to cut the arteries to pieces, then the three (yes, three) hearts and finally kill the thing before cutting out of it to avoid drowning in its own blood. Yeesh, talk about war being hell, right? Remember the Meatcube video? That’s got nothing on the fantastic voyage of a worm.
COG vs. RAAM (Gears of War)
Despite the fairly straightforward and paper thin plot, the first Gears of War game had a pretty badass villain by the name of General Raam. We already discussed a few pages ago how he just showed up and you instantly knew he was someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. Seriously, if watching him gut Lt. Kim in slow motion didn’t make you a little afraid of the guy, maybe him surrounded by Kryll will. Even playing as him in the Raam’s Shadow DLC for Gears 3 makes you feel threatened by the sheer ferocity he possesses.
Marcus and Dom finally meet the big guy himself in the final act of the game. He’s the only thing standing in between them and the Lightmass bomb. Someone’s gotta die, and the bomb’s no wasting anytime reaching its destination. Raam won’t make it easy to kill him, though; he’s swarmed by plenty of Kryll ready to tear you to shreds and a heavy machine gun. He moves slow, but he’s got plenty of fire laid down on you to make you never want to just kick back and take it easy. On the higher difficulties, Raam is even more difficult to defeat, and there’s no greater satisfaction than taking him out on Insane difficulty by yourself or with a friend.
Like our list? Disagree? What moments define the Gears of War franchise for you? Let us know in the comments below.
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