Dave Donaldson

Gears of War Is As Good As Advertised

Tuesday, December 05 2006

I told myself I would wait, but I was wrong. I told myself that I would first finish Oblivion and Call of Duty 2, but I was wrong. I told myself I was strong enough to resist the temptation that is Gears of War, but I was wrong.

Last week while we were out Christmas shopping I picked up Gears of War. I just couldn't hold out any longer; the hype for this game was killing me and early previews looked like the game would live up to the hype. I've been following its development progress for quite some time and after reading all the rave reviews I just had to have it. I gladly shelled out my $60 and can report it's worth every penny.

So far I've made it passed Act 1 and am about halfway through Act 2. Here are my thoughts so far:

• Graphics: The best so far on the Xbox 360, but not by as much as many people are making it out to be. Oblivion set the bar for graphics on the Xbox 360, but Gears of War does do a better job with how the actual people look, both in human form and in Locust form. And as expected, the level of detail that went into every graphical aspect of the game is as impressive as early reports indicated.
• Duck-and-Cover: To be honest, I was worried about how I would fare with the duck-and-cover system that you have to master in order to play Gears. But after the first 10-20 minutes, I was very surprised to discover how well I was doing and how *natural* it felt. I'm definitely more comfortable with this than I am with the gameplay of Halo (I stay alive longer in Gears). For those of you thinking you can play Gears like you play Halo, you got another thing coming. You'll be dead in 5 seconds, if that.
• The "A" Button: The "A" button controls most everything, and is context-aware. Meaning, depending on where you're at, what you're standing next to, and how long you hold down the button, you'll perform different actions based on that type of context. For instance, sometimes you need to haul ass and do a roadie run. Other times you need to take cover behind a car, or perform a tuck-and-roll, or nudge up against a doorway. All of these types of things are controlled by the "A" button.
• Language: I believe this is where Gears shines. You and your squadmates drop f-bombs and say shit alot, call each other assholes, dickwads, and other unmentionables, which is *exactly* how you and your team would talk if you were in the middle of a bizaar war fighting horrific creatures.
• Berzerkers: These massive, monstrous beasts are blind so they can't see you, but that's the only advantage you've got because they can still hear and smell you (and if you listen closely you can hear them sniffing the air trying to find you). The catch with Berzerkers is that you have to abandon all instincts when fighting them. Meaning, your natural instinct is to first run away, but that won't work because they can hear you and they run fast and through anything in their path. It's almost nerve-racking when facing a Berzerker because you constantly have to tip-toe and use the tuck-and-roll move to stay out of their way. But the "best" part about the Berzerkers? They are all female. Oh, and when you see them knock down walls and then flex their muscles, you know you're dealing with a badass.
• Soundtrack: The sounds and music you hear in Gears is a huge factor in making the game as engaging as it is. It's a perfect mix of spookiness, eerieness, and dread. The background music and noises setup the mood of the game perfectly. Hearing the Locust try to flank you in full surround sound is so freakin awesome.
• Multiplayer: I haven't played Gears in multi-player yet because I'd like to finish (or get close to finishing) the single-player campaign first, but early reports are that it doesn't disappoint.
• Squad-based Play: I haven't played many games that are squad-based (i.e. Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six), but Gears does a great job of this, even in the single-player campaign. In fact, most times you are extremely happy to have guys fighting alongside you and taking out the baddies. And having your team split into two groups to flank Locust from opposite sides is a thing of beauty.
• The Chainsaw: It'll be a moment that will live with you forever - the first time you cut up a Locust with the chainsaw. See, the chainsaw is attached to the end of your weapon of choice, the Lancer Assault Rifle, and when a Locust gets too close, you can hold down the "B" button and tear the ugly dude to shreds. Blood splattering on the camera and massive dismemberment follow. It's one of those all-time great gaming moments.
• Storyline: Admittedly, the back story of Gears is lacking. The game teases you with little tidbits of information, but never really addresses any of them. This is almost the complete opposite of Halo, which has a very deep back story to go along with the gameplay. It makes me wonder if this was intentional, as I'm sure a sequal is already in the planning phase, or if it was simply a lack of good storytelling.

One last thing: this one isn't for the kiddies. I don't even put the game disc in the console until after the kids are in bed. Well, that about does it for now. If you're a gamer, definitely put Gears of War on your Christmas list, although if you *are* a gamer it probably already is.