Gears of War

Utilizing elements of survival horror games, first person shooters and tactical squad-based shooters, Gears of War is a spectacular action game that defies being categorized in any of these genres while simultaneously setting a new high standard for each of them.

Gears puts you in the battle-scarred boots of Marcus Fenix, a former soldier for and current captive of the Coalition of Organized Governments (or COG...get it, Gears, Cogs?) Your journey begins with a prison rescue facilitated by your ex-partner Dom, player 2?s character in co-op campaigns. After some brief tutorials you meet up with the rest of your crew and are quickly thrown into the intense, visceral combat that is the signature of this game as you make your way across the colonized planet Sera.

Your chief adversaries are a monstrous subterranean race known as the Locust Horde. It seems humans failed to notice these creatures when they colonized the planet, and were almost completely wiped out when they attacked on Emergence Day. Most of the Horde are pale, hulking semi-humans, but there are also plenty of crawling, flying and leaping critters to blow away, which you?ll do in delightfully diverse ways. You can carry up to four weapons at once, including grenades and a pistol. The Lancer will be your standard machine gun at the beginning, and will probably get the mot usage throughout the game due to the grisly fun that is the front-mounted chainsaw. You?ll also have access to the usual assortment of shotguns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles and grenade launchers, as well as the game?s uber-weapon, the Hammer of Dawn. This devastating orbital cannon is intended for use against larger boss characters, but can occasionally be used to wipe out large groups of Horde enemies, which is more fun than my humble words can capture.

Regardless of your weapon choice, you won?t be running and gunning and circle strafing through your enemies. Your characters move like the 300 lb. tanks in heavy armor that they are, and most of your combat takes plus from a distance and behind cover. Taking cover behind concrete slabs, burned out cars and bullet-riddled doorways is essential in this game. The A button performs all of your context-sensitive actions, like taking cover, vaulting over obstacles and dive rolling. Holding it while moving will perform a crouch-run, complete with a documentary-style low-angle shaky camera. Touches like these succeed in giving the player the feeling of being an unstoppable killing machine while still fearing for your virtual life. Needless to say, the combat is the focus of this game, and it is nothing short of exceptional, both in the campaign and the online 8-player matches.

Simply put, Gears of War is the best looking game on the 360, and quite possibly the best looking console game period. The vaunted graphical power of the Xbox 360 is put to good use in this game. Character models are big and intricately detailed, showcasing the 360?s considerable texturing capabilities. All of the compulsory lighting and particle effects are present as well, and are well implemented, especially the blood splatter from chainsaw attacks. Frame rate issues are extremely rare, mostly occurring during the pre-rendered cut-scenes. All this technical graphical goodness is complemented by excellent art direction at every level, from weapon design to character movement to level layouts. No two buildings in the game look alike, but all look like they belong together. The effect is a feeling of fighting your way through a war-torn city, and not through a series of video game levels. Sound design in Gears is top-notch as well, providing satisfying weapon sounds as well as a memorable dramatic soundtrack. Even the voice acting, while read from a somewhat meatheaded script, is well done.

For a game with such high production levels, it is a little bit surprising that more attention was not paid to the story. The only real mention of the back story is found in the instruction manual, and the cinematic cut scenes, while well done and often quite dramatic, offer very little exposition. Perhaps this is for the best, as these characters are not exactly the type to sit around chatting, but a little more background info would have been nice. There are also some enemy AI issues: Opponents are smart enough to flank your troops and make good use of cover, but will sometimes ignore being shot while partially behind objects. None of these issues should be enough to discourage any gamer from a purchase.

With all the Hype around Gears of War, Microsoft and Epic Games had a lot to live up to. They have done that and more, crafting an innovative and intense action game that succeeds on every level and sets the bar for future next-gen shooters.