I went to the launch party at the Microsoft store in the Galleria last night. It was slightly disorganized (I mean it's a new store and a new event, understandable) but overall it was very well done. We got to play the game a couple hours early which was nice as well. They had the screens that wrap around the store (on the wall) with multiple animated Gears 3 logos and what not. In several areas on the wall they had people playing the game, which was very awesome. Bun B made a cameo and I got to talk with him for a bit about Gears/CoD/Halo etc. Very cool dude. We came away with a lot of cool swag, $5 off the game and a $25 gift card for preordering. Plus they fed us and what not. All in all it was very nice. They're going to have launches for Battlefield3/MW3/Halo: Anniversary. I'll definitely be there for MW3/Halo (not buying battlefield). As for the game itself, I wasn't all that hyped about it until I replayed Gears1/2. With that said, I was extremely impressed by the graphics, they blow away the last 2 games. Horde was extremely fun. The campaign with 4 player co-op is chaotic, but very cool so far (Act1..chapter 3 or something). Multiplayer was my big issue, it was terrible in the first two games. I haven't had a ton of play time with it yet, but it definitely seems improved. I don't know if it can unseat Halo/MW for me, but so far I like it a lot.
Just in case people don't want to be spoiled by this: Spoiler I'm pretty sure the fans voted to save Carmine this time
I want him to survive simply because he's the only video game character I know that shares my name. Anyway, I've been playing for about the last 4 1/2 hours (on Act 3, Chapter 3) and am really enjoying it thus far.
I know it's here to stay and not just GoW, but am tired of buying games so that I can buy the rest of the game.
Beat the game. Played it through in pretty much one sitting. Very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
Damn, how long did that take you??? On average whenever I play a video game I can only endure maybe an hour of it before I need to take a break...
I usually play in hour spurts as well, but if it's a new game I'm excited for, I'll just keep playing. I remember playing Assassin's Creed II for 26 hours straight until I finished it. Gears 3 took me about 9 1/2 hours. It's the longest campaign of the 3 but not a long as a lot of other games. I took small breaks, but nothing longer than a couple of minutes.