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'THE best action shooter for 360 has arrived !'
 Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Microsoft
Category: : FPS
Official Site
Platform: X-Box 360
Might look like: /
Date posted: 24 January 2007 (Update! included new MP Maps)
Written By: Nate
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It's HERE and it ROCKS !
The wait has finally come to an end.
After years of hype and an onslaught of tantalizing previews, Epic game’s Gears of War is finally on store shelves and just waiting to be picked up and played.
Since the beginning of the Gears of War developmental process it has been deemed the must have game that would take advantage of the full power the Xbox 360 has to offer.
Plus with Epic Games behind the wheel, best known for their Unreal Tournament series, where could this game go wrong?
Though will Gears of War live up to its very high expectations or fall flat on its face as yet another over hyped next-gen game?
Emergence Day !
To start things off the first thing you will come to find out about Gears of War is that it is a very dark and gritty game. When I say dark I mean no hope I’m going to make it through the night dark.
This is due in part to the very ominous storyline that is at the very core of Gears of War.
First of all, the story takes place on the Earth-esque planet of Sera, and all is not calm for the inhabitants of Sera. For many years the inhabitants have been at war with one another after the discovery of a new cheap source of energy known as Imulsion. The people of Sera fought each other endlessly in what would later be called the Pendulum Wars. Until one day they were faced with an even greater and more sinister threat than themselves.
This day would go down in Seran history as Emergence Day. On this day a monstrous race known as the Locust Horde rose up from underneath the ground and laid waist to a quarter of Sera’s population in only twenty four hours.
The death toll rose into the billions. Though most of the remaining survivors retreated to Jacinto Plateau. A place where the Locust are unable to burrow up through due to the thick granite stone it is built upon. When this was done the Coalition of Ordered Governments, formed during the Pendulum Wars, used satellite particle lasers to scorch the face of Sera along with many survivors to ensure the Locust Horde stayed in their underground caverns.
This also made it so a great portion of Sera became uninhabitable.
  
Name: Marcus Fenix
But enough with the history lesson though. Gears of War quickly starts you off fourteen years after Emergence Day in a prison of all places.
You play as Marcus Fenix, a heroic C.O.G. soldier stripped of his rank and condemned to jail time for disobeying orders and abandoning his post. Though before you are able to live out that sentence you are sprung free by fellow soldier and longtime friend Dominic Santiago.
It turns out your character has been pardoned by the government along with everyone else in the prison as a means to find and recruit new C.O.G. soldiers to fight against the relentless Locust Horde. This could not have come at a better time for your character. After being sprung free and issued armor and guns from Dominic you are thrust behind the controls of Marcus Fenix. Though this peaceful moment is short lived, for the Locust Horde has overrun the prison and are quickly advancing on your position.
Immediately you are given a choice between two paths, one that puts you straight into the heat of battle fighting the Locust, or another that allows you to hone your skills and learn the controls.
This simple choice of choosing paths also pops up a few times later in the game to offer a bit more of diversity and replayability to Gears of War.
Though with this first choice you make it will mark the beginning of a very very long day for you and for Marcus Fenix.
GOW controls, something to master
Now to start things off, the first thing that will be discussed is something that you will have to master if you wish to survive through this game, this would be the controls. When it comes to the controls they are very simplistic and are easy to pick up.
The left trigger is used to aim your weapon while the right trigger is used for firing. The D-pad is used to change your weapons and the B button is used to melee enemies. Though the most crucial button to use is the A button. This is because this controls your character to seek cover behind anything bigger than you, and with this game you will need to use this in order to stay alive.
The A button makes your character seek cover and it also allows your character to sprint for your life as well as many other things. This is because the A button is case sensitive and changes depending on your position to objects and your movement.
When an option appears for the A button a picture icon depicting what action you can perform will appear on the bottom of the screen.
These actions range from looking around corners, jumping over obstacles, shifting between cover points, kicking down doors, and so on and so on.
Though a problem does arise from this. Since the A button is case sensitive you run into a couple problems when you press A to sprint and suddenly your character ducks behind cover. These problems are few but frustrating when trying to get through a difficult firefight with the Locust.
Though all an all the controls are responsive and simple in their own right. The execution of these controls is what will determine whether or not you will succeed or fail.
  
Tough A.I.
As you probably could already tell Gears of War plays from the over the shoulder third person perspective previously made famous by Resident Evil 4.
As said earlier on the cover system is an integral part of Gears of War.
Right from the start you will be darting between cover to cover as a means to try and shield yourself from the wall of bullets that will constantly fly at you, and this continues till the very end of the game. With the A button you can hide behind broken walls and pillars. All while staying protected behind cover and popping out to fire at the oncoming enemies at every instant.
Though the enemies do not make things that easy for you.
Instead they dart from cover to cover looking eagerly for a shot at your head or any other part of your body that is sticking out. The A.I. of the enemies is very well done.
At times they will circle around and try to flank your position, and at other times the enemy will hit you hard from all sides at once. The A.I. gets increasingly tough as the difficulty level is raised, so much so that getting through a level is a miracle in its own right.
This tension is only increased with the atmospheric level designs filled with dark corridors and a desolated feeling. Even when walking down hall ways at certain times things will pop out at you and further increase the tension and suspense of the game.
The Power of Xbox 360.
Now what can already be seen from screenshots of this game is that it has beautiful visuals. Gears of War truly does utilize the capabilities of the Xbox 360. Every single aspect of the graphics within the game is superb.
From beautiful scenery of the war torn cities to even the water effects during rain storms are stunning to watch. If it is even possible, take the time to enjoy the game’s surroundings while running and trying to find cover every two seconds. These visual surroundings effectively add to the overall feel of the game.
There have been many times when the setting of this game has been described as “destroyed beauty,” and that is very well the truth. Even though everything you see in the game is either dilapidated or partially destroyed it is still very beautiful to look at and play through.
The visuals directly help further involve the player into the story of Gears of War and make it feel as if it were really occurring.
  
To go along with the outstanding visuals there is a very well done audio soundtrack as well for the game. Through the game there are moments in which somber music is playing.
Allowing the player to appreciate their surroundings only to have the music intensify and become significantly more powerful when your character is in the heat of battle. This further increases the tension felt while battling merciless wave upon wave of Locust brutes and drones.
The voice over for the characters found within this game is superb as well. Each actor adds a sense of flare and dare I say ‘character’ to your player and his comrades. So much so that in the end you care for their well being and safety while taking on the Locust Horde in battle.
All these aspects of the audio help bring a sense of humanity to the game and add depth to the overall story and plight of the people of Sera against the Locust Horde.
Incredible Multiplayer
Now with developer Epic Studios at the helm there will undoubtedly be an incredible multiplayer aspect to the game, and with Gears of War there is no exception.
The multiplayer found within this game is very well crafted. Like that is any surprise from the creators of Unreal Tournament.
The Gears of War multiplayer consists of three modes Warzone, Executions, and Assassination.
Warzone is the typical deathmatch pitting a team of Locust and a team of C.O.G. soldiers against each other in a fight to the death.
The second mode, Execution, is the same as Warzone, but the only difference is that when a player runs out of health they fall to the ground and remain alive. Once a player falls to their knees they must be dealt with in three ways. These are executing them with a headshot, performing a melee attack, and my favorite chain sawing the player to pieces with the saw attached to your rifle. If none of these actions are taken to truly kill a player when he is down, then the player can revive them self and continue on in the match.
The last multiplayer mode is Assassination. The goal of this multiplayer setting is to kill the leader of each team. This is because the leader is the only one able to pick up weapons in which the remaining team members are then able to use.
With all three modes and the fact that each one can be played on a beautiful map, this all makes the multiplayer mode one of the best aspects of Gears of War. Therefore it is no surprise it is currently the most popular multiplayer game played on Xbox Live.
Though the only setback is the slightly slow loading time it takes to join a game, but other than that the multiplayer is outstanding.
Two NEW Multiplayer Maps released !
Just when you thought the multiplayer in Gears of War could not get any better Epic Games went ahead and released two new maps, “Raven Down” and “Old Bones.” These maps are now available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace for free. The wonderful price tag is due in part to Discovery Channel who sponsored the new map pack as part of a promotional event to bring attention to the new season of their show Future Weapons.
The two maps add an extra flair to multiplayer with a nice change of scenery. On the map “Raven Down” your player will traverse down a narrow streets with cars and trucks littering every two feet as well as many other obstacles. Making sniper fire a little more tense, and allowing the target to move more easily and effectively. At the center of this map lies a dilapidated downed King Raven helicopter, thus giving the map its name “Raven Down.”
The second map “Old Bones” takes place in an abandoned museum during the night. With this map you get the best of both worlds. The museum interior is perfect for close combat while the large courtyard outside is perfect for snipers and long range fire.
These two maps are very effective as well as very entertaining to play in. Hopefully Epic Games releases more maps like these to further expand Gears of War’s amazing online popularity.
Conclusion
With all said and done Gears of War has got to be one of the best Xbox 360 games out right now and possibly in the future as well.
This game delivers on all fronts and has successfully lived up to the enormous hype that has been placed upon its shoulders.
This game has it all; great sound, great visuals, and a great story. What more can you ask for?
If you haven’t already gone out and picked up this game, I advise you go and do it right now. Go. Go Now. You have to pick up this game, for I assure you will not be disappointed with it.
Plus it will help you bide your time while you are waiting for Halo 3 or possibly Gears of War 2. One can only hope.
-Nate
Ratings
Manual:
95 % |
Graphics:
97% |
Music & Sfx:
94% |
GamePlay:
92% |
|
This game scores
on our 5-point Rating System
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