Gears of War 3: RAAM's Shadow

It’s been 3 months since the conclusion of Marcus Fenix’s adventure in Gears of War 3. Now the first story driven DLC Raam’s Shadow is out and seeks to dive gamers back into an era where the Locust threat of annihilation was possible. Taking place 3 years before the first Gears of War Raam’s Shadow takes place in the still standing city of Illima. You take control of Zeta squad as they race to evacuate citizens before General Raam can blacken the sky and unleash the Kryll storm. Although Raam’s Shadow attempts to mix in some novel experiences by allowing players to take control Locust General and his squad it falls short of delivering the same atmospheric setting and thrills that is expected.

The city of Illima is a great setting to explore the Locust threat once again with crumbling buildings and baron environments. Spanning around three to four hours you will explore an array of new characters such as Michael Barrick and Alicia Valera to familiar faces such as Tai Kaliso, Minh Young Kim, and Jace Stratton. Raam’s Shadow provides a short back story for these characters including the personal conflict between Kim and Raam but never grows due to the short nature of the DLC. Those who played Gears of War will be able to predict most of the DLC and because of that loses a lot of its appeal. However at its core this is still a fun piece of content.

The developers have done a wonderful job with the voice-acting of Raam's Shadow. Returning characters such as General Raam, Minh, and Tai sound exactly the same with new additions like Valera and Barrick each are portrayed with distinctive personalities. 

Returning to a city before the intensity of the Locust invasion feels strange. As you travel through Illima buildings crumble, fires spread, and darkness creeps into the sky ensuring that the player is immersed into the atmosphere of the Locust invasion. 

The developers returned to the same formula that launched a franchise. Killing Locust, closing emergency holes, avoiding charging Berserker's, and nailing an active reload while using an assortment of new and old enemies and weapons has both a nostalgic and modern feel. Since this is before the Lambent invasion or Skorge don’t expect to find anything linking to Gears of War 2 or 3. However the Gears have control of the original Hammer of Dawn which works from a control station that allows players to see the action from the actual satellite and rein destruction onto the Locust horde from space. Outside the Hammer of Dawn the combat when playing as the Gears remains the same as the first Gears of War.

 The significantly new addition to Raam’s Shadow is the ability to play both sides. During certain portions of a specific chapter you will be able to take control of General Raam or one of his elite squad mates which consist of a Theron guard and two Maulers. These sections play as large massacres as you murder large amounts of COG soldiers to an attempt to deploy seeders to darker the sky and unleash the Kryll storm. General Raam cannot roll or take cover but carries a lethal blade and Kryll that blanket him for protection and can be used to shred COG soldiers.

However despite being varied from playing the bad and good guys Raam’s Shadow succumbs to specific flaws. Ambushes are hidden throughout the DLC but the Raam's Shadow makes it too apparent what and when the enemies are coming. Some might be thrown off by the overpowered nature of Raam and his squad but I found it more unfortunate that I wasn’t able to fight a decent battle with the Locust general. While playing as the COG I was pleased to find an assortment of mini-bosses before taking on the larger and predictable target.

Raam’s Shadow does a good job of attempting to convey a story prior to the original Gears of War story. However the reliance on predictable events and prior knowledge allows the experience to fall short due the new standards set by Gears of War 3. Although Raam’s Shadow shows that the series can exist within Marcus Fenix, however the small jesters of comradely stated throughout Zeta Squad is nothing compared to Delta Squad. This DLC does seem expensive at 1200 MS points but does deliver if you’ll looking for a new way to participate in the Locust war.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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