Defeat RAAM and Finish Gears of War

AntMag.NET

Alright, you've made it to the big one: General RAAM. This is it, the final showdown. If you've run out of grenades, don't sweat it. Switch over to the Torque Bow right away. You'll want to aim at the railing in front of you, NOT directly at RAAM, or you'll blow yourself up! Shoot the railing, and then immediately hit the Active Reload button. Keep firing at the wall near him, and he'll go down before you know it.

INSANE MODE NOTES: This fight is tougher on Insane, obviously. Stick to the same strategy, but be extra careful and evasive. Don't be afraid to hang back in cover and let your shield recharge. If RAAM gets too close, just run like the wind! But make sure you put something solid between you and his bullets as quickly as possible.

Co-op Tip: If you're really struggling, grab a friend to play co-op. Dom can actually be pretty useful in this fight when he's not just getting in the way.

The "Cheap" Way: There's also a way to cheese this fight if you're not against it, but we'll leave that for you to discover.

CONGRATULATIONS! You've officially completed Gears of War! Time to sit back and enjoy the ending.

The Ending SPOILERS!

Alright, now that the fighting's done, let's talk about how it all wraps up. This section is all about the ending of Gears of War. If you haven't beaten the game yet and don't want anything spoiled, turn back now!

The End

The game concludes as you land the final shots on General RAAM. He falls, and it's finally over. Revenge for Kim? Maybe, but Marcus is probably more focused on planting that Lightmass bomb. The bomb detonates, Marcus and the crew escape, and you get a hint that this isn't the end of the Locust threat, setting the stage for Gears of War 2.

Script of the Ending

Here's how the final moments play out:

Dom hops onto a Raven helicopter.
Marcus heads to the Lightmass bomb and works his magic.
The bomb starts charging. Marcus says, "Here we go."
Dom radios in, "Hey! On our way."
The train they're on speeds along, heading for a collapsing bridge over a pool of Immulsion. The Raven flies alongside to pick up Marcus.
Hoffman shouts, "Marcus! Let's go!"
Dom yells, "Hold still dammit! Move up! Let's go! Let's go!"
Hoffman warns, "Hey, we've got a problem!" as the train nears the bridge's end.
Hoffman declares, "This is it, Marcus!"
Marcus makes a daring jump to the Raven as the train plunges into the Immulsion. The Lightmass bomb launches tiny missiles into the Locust tunnels below.
We see Locusts underground, unaware, before the rockets rain down. A Corpser tries to escape but is caught in the blast.
Marcus is dangling from the helicopter, with Dom pulling him up. Hoffman reaches out, and Marcus grabs his hand, getting pulled into the Raven.
As they fly away, Dom asks, "So what are we doing tomorrow?"
Hoffman replies, "Earlier today your Gears successfully deployed the Lightmass bomb. We have destroyed the enemy stronghold. This war has exacted a heavy price from all of us. It has torn our world apart. But you have my word that we will rise again."
The Locust Queen's voice is heard: "They do not understand. They do not know why we wage this war. Why we cannot stop."
As the Raven flies off, we see a Locust on a Reaver.
The Queen continues, "...will not stop. Why we will fight and fight and fight. Until we win.... ...Or we die. ...and we are not dead yet."
The Reaver flies off into the distance.

Oh, and we can't forget the Cole Train rap song at the end! 😉

How this script was obtained: I beat RAAM, watched the ending, and typed like a madman. I also double-checked with a video.

Cog Tags

Cog Tags are the last remnants of fallen soldiers. Collecting them is a way to honor them and their families. You can get 60 gamerpoints for finding them all, but they aren't required to finish the game.

You'll find these scattered across every Act. They look like two blueish-white crosses on a necklace. Just stand over one and press [X] to pick it up. You don't need to reach a checkpoint for them to save; they're yours the moment you grab them.

Supposedly, there's always a red Gears of War sign painted nearby. I haven't seen one for every tag, but if you spot that iconic skull symbol painted on a wall, a Cog Tag is likely close by.

Thanks to nismojoe for his FAQ, which I used to help locate some of these tags. If you miss one, you can try to find it here or check out his excellent guide on GameFAQs.