[BabeSlayer]

Gears of War review by WelshDragon360

So, here we are. The most hyped game on 360 yet is finally out. Is it worthy of the hype? Is this 'Halo Killer' another good, but average attempt to topple Xbox's king?

You play as Marcus Fenix who is in jail for unknown reasons. You get freed by your friend Dom whom askes for your help. On the fictional planet of Sera, humans have been in a bitter war with monsters known as the Locust for well over a decade. You, an ex-marine (or COG, as they call you), are now needed to help them fight the good fight.
This is all you know and nothing else is really explained to you throughout the game about the back story. This really doesn't matter, though, as every cutscene and section of dialouge really makes you connect to the characters who have TONS of personality. The story isn't the strongest in the world, but the stuff that's in there is very entertaining.

The first thing you'll notice is just how goddamn great this game looks. I'm not one to be a graphics whore, but this game gives me the urge to get slutty and bang the hell out of it. The visuals are seriously that good. Whether it's blood dripping off a nearby pillar, the sun shining on your armor or a building that's been blown halfway to hell in the distance - everything looks as sharp as humanly possible. I did look for flaws, I really did, but I failed to see any fault with the look of the game in the slightest



As you make your way through the prison you quickly realise how this game works. You simply cannot run and shoot, you'll be on the ground losing a lot of blood before you know what hit you. My personal moto for this game was 'Duck, cover and pop'. Meaning that you absolutely must use cover at all times. The health system works very much like in games such as Call of Duty. You have a gear appear on screen that gets bigger everytime you're shot. If the gear gets a certain size you die. If you take cover, it decreases in size until it leaves you fully healed.

Luckily, taking cover is as easy as 1-2-3. By simply pressing the 'A' button near an object/wall you'll push up against it instantly taking cover. A good 80% of everything in the game are able to be used as cover so you'll never find yourself in a situation where you can't find some shelter. You run using 'A' also, so by simply charging straight into something makes you use it as cover instantly. It makes it extremely seamless and easy to do. Very handy when a wave of bullets are heading your way.
Whilst using cover you can do a number of things by yet another simple press of 'A'. Diving from cover-to-cover is your main move, which is exceptionally handy when you need to get away from an incoming frag and, just as importantly, it looks extremely cool.



The enviroments in which you fight in are extremely varied and rich in detail. This is mostly because of the immense graphics, but also because of the sheer size of them. Sure, it's quite linear at heart. Most times there's one route to go and that's it. But who really cares? Resident Evil 4 was the same and that was the best game of the last 5 years. This is very much the same in that respect. It doesn't try to be incredibly open ended in the slightest, but it's got such good design and variation in the levels that it doesn't need to be.

The game is split up into 5 Acts and on each Act you'll be in a considerably different enviroment from the last. Whether it's the wrecked streets, underground cave lair of the Locust or a speeding train - it always stays fresh. I was not expecting much variation in the envrioment at all, and I think the fact I got some of the best level design I've ever seen is one of the best things about this game.

The Locust themselves are pretty mean bastards. From the start you have an option of playing on either 'Casual' or 'Hardcore'. I went with Hardcore, so I can't comment on Casual that much. On Hardcore, you have to watch yourself extremely closely. One rushed corner and you have a chainsaw ripping through your throat. Some bits take a lot of patience, and luckily the checkpoints are in great numbers. You'll seldom have to go through a big part over and over again because the game saves before any big fight which it knows you may die in. This may make it sound easy, but trust me, you'll be thankful. I died a good 5-10 times in some places, and not having to do a shitload to get back to that point was awesome.



Your enemies and guns are all extremely well designed and meaty. Granted, none do anything new that you haven't seen before, but they fit the game exceptionally well.
The Locust are extremely ugly and sound terribly scary, which is just what you want from them. The guns are extremely big and pack a helluva punch. When you shoot someone, you know about it. Trust me.

Which leads me onto the gore. Oh boy. This game is terribly disgusting. It ranges from shooting off limbs with your assault rife, to shooting them in half with a shotgun and, get ready for it, cutting them up with your chainsaw at the end of your assault rifle. Yes, you have a chainsaw on your gun for all that close quarter combat. It's as fun as it sounds and then some.
The detailed blood and guts is so, so sickening, but at the same time so fucking pleasurable. I have far too much joy out of watching one of the Locust get cut up with the chainsaw. Hell, I don't even mind being cut up with it, still fun to watch!



Going through it on Hardcore will probably take the best part of 12hrs. Yes, it's not the longest game in the world, but you really won't mind. It will be some of the most fun 12hrs you ever have.
Then you have Insane difficulty which is unlocked after completing Hardcore. To say this is hard is an understatement. I've only played a little bit by myself and I got destroyed.

Your best bet is to do it via co-op. Co-op? Didn't I mention this gem? Darn! Ok, here's the low-down. You can play with a friend at anytime. They can jump right in the game with you and you continue from where you are. No seperate game, no seperate save, they can help you on a hard bit then jump right back out leaving you on your way. How cool is that?
Even cooler is the fact you can also do this online with someone halfway along the world. Loners with no friends rejoice!

Online is where the lifespan of this game really gets bumped by a good oh...few hundred hours though. Let me just say I am not an online gamer at all. I play online sometimes, but for the most part it doesn't interest me. This game, however, is so fun online I can't stop. I've already played a good 15hrs online in the 3 days I've had it. Yes, I know, I'm already losing my life to it.
There is seriously nothing as good as getting in a game with a few mates and blasting each other to bits.



It 'only' supports up to 8 players for 4v4 action, but this is great. It's not the type of game where you want 22 people running around at a time. It's a game of tactics and teamwork. You stay in groups, take cover together, and try and take out the other team the best you can. You simply wouldn't have this sense of teamwork with more players. The wide choice of maps are all rather small, but this is a good thing for the same reason. You're never more than 10 seconds away from an enemy.
The game types online are rather varied, though to be honest I've not really ventured outside of deathmatch much. Most of them are your basic formulas spiced up a bit.

This game was branded a 'Halo Killer' months before it was out. Even moreso now that it is out. Is that justified? Ha! Halo doesn't deserve to mentioned in the same breath as Gears of War. This is next-gen gaming defined. You have intense action, in varied and detailed enviroments, with kick ass weapons and enemies, with solid online play that will keep you hooked for months.
This is the new benchmark for games. Trust me when I say I think it will be a long, long time before it is matched. Zelda will have to be VERY good to take Game of the Year away from this game.

Just get it. Now. Go.

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