Let me just start out this review with a statement: Gears of War is NOT the second coming of Christ. As much as you’ve read and as much as Clffy B wants you to think so, Gears of War is not going to make the world a better place and it doesn’t cure the world of hunger or fill up your car with cheap gas. What Gears of War does do, and very well I might add, is give you a fun and fulfilling third person shooter experience. While not the end all of the genre, Gears provides one of the better games you’re going to be playing on the 360 this year.

First of, this game is gorgeous. I can’t talk about this game without commenting on just how fucking good this game looks. If you’re one of the fortunate souls who owns an HDTV, then you have the showcase game to help demonstrate to your friends just how big your high definition dick is. Not only is the level of detail second to none but the art style really pulls you into a whole fleshed out world. Having a decided “shit went very wrong here” look to it, Gears mixes a post apocalyptic burnt out feel with the remnants of some grand civilization’s architecture. It’s this mix of old and new school that has given countless sci-fi epics their visual power and the folks at Epic Games were smart to use this to full advantage. Seeing this game in motion is a real treat as well and in the heat of a huge firefight (and there are many) you really get pulled into the action on a visual level. Character models are ridiculously detailed and the backgrounds are so well done that you have to stop and stare at them just to take them all it.

Okay, enough of the graphics, let’s talk gameplay. You play as Marcus Fenix who is the Space Marine DuJour this time around. While being hyped by the Epic folks as a redefinition of the genre character type, the bottom line is “who cares”. Marcus is a hulking brute who shoots a gun and is a bit of a bad ass. That’s absolutely fine by me. Shooting and trying not to get shot is really what the whole game is about. Presented in a third person perspective, you run Marcus Fenix through a bunch of set pieces and kill all the enemies ( which are called Locusts this time around) with your awesome arsenal of weapons. When you’re done with that, you get a bit of story and move on the the next set piece and do it all again. While not particularly deep, Gears of War does do it up right and gives you plenty of great moments. Enemy Locusts come up out of the ground in various places throughout the board and you have the choice of offing them all as they emerge or throwing a grenade into the hole they crawl out of in order to stop them. It’s a pretty dramatic presentation, if not wholly original, that works fairly well.

One of Gears of War’s greatest mechanics is the cover system. By simply pressing A, your character hugs up against the nearest point of cover. Getting out of cover or jumping from one cover spot to another is all done through use of the A button. This takes the task of getting out of the way and makes it as intuitive and natural an experience as you’re going to get in a third person shooter. It’s very well done, responsive and works like a charm in getting you from point to point with as little damage as possible. And believe me, you need to stay in cover as the enemy AI is pretty damn relentless in this game. Stay open for too long and your game is over fast. This brings up another point in that the game, especially in the Hard and Insane difficulty levels, is really tough. You die often and your ability to use cover effectively is put to the test.



Your arsenal of weapons is pretty standard with a machine gun, sniper rifle and shotgun all part of the mix. One of the cooler weapons is the chainsaw attachment that is on your standard machine gun. Hit the secondary weapon button and the saw revs up and cuts your enemies in half in a gory mess that has become the pwnage kill for online players. A unique weapon in the game is the Hammer of Dawn, a gun that basically plants a target on your enemy that a satellite reads and shoots down a devastating beam from the heavens. While being supremely powerful it is balanced by the fact that you have to be under open sky and standing relatively still in order to use it.

Multiplayer in Gears of War is the game's greatest asset. Destined to become an Xbox Live staple for months (at least until Halo 3 arrives) the multiplayer section of the game is filled with features that multiplayer fanatics will enjoy. First up, you can play the entire single player campaign via local or Live co-op. This is a great feature and I’m really glad to see Epic include this. Many folks who won’t go in for the deathmatch style multiplayer will really dig into this and it helps to have a friend go in with you to clear out some of the tougher areas. However, if co-op isn’t your game style of choice, there are plenty of ways for you to destroy the other guy in Gears. With a full complement of features from capture the flag to deathmatch, the game supports 8 player matches and the games play flawlessly. Very little lag and very well designed maps help make this a great multiplayer experience. Of course, with multiplayer come the douche-bags that live for ranked matches. Luckily you can play unranked just as easily but the downside is there are no Achievements for those who don’t play Ranked. Very sad. New downloadable content, I'm sure, will help enhance this already robust online feature set.



Now for the bad news: While being a powerhouse graphically, the gameplay can get pretty damn repetitive. There is only so much cover-shoot-repeat that a guy can do before you start looking for more variety. Second, the online matchmaking system is flawed in that each time you’re done with a game, you get booted to the main multiplayer screen. Meaning you can’t just create a game for you and your friends only. I’m not sure why this is but it’s something that puts a serious damper on you and your friends having a great time online. Lastly, the story leaves something to be desired. While I realize it’s simply window dressing it would be nice to have something to really hold your attention rather than “Let’s go kill some more bad guys”. Anyone remember Half-Life? Anyone?

However, even with some minor faults the game will stand as one of the best on the 360 titles on the console and it’s highly recommended .










Article By: Hilden