Gears of War

[Roland]

Game literature and reviews all mention the use of cover during battle. There's a good reason for that: if you try to barrel recklessly into the fight because you think you'll be able to withstand the punishment, the game quickly reminds you that here, just like in real life, you don't have hero-level hitpoints! It takes just as much pepper to drop you as it takes you to drop any of the enemies you battle with. Offsetting this, however, is your regenerative health (enemies appear to have the same) and having lots of cover available (for all the tactical realism, I blink at the thought that a couch can effectively stop high-power bullets).

It should be noted that, with enough bullets (and it doesn't take much), that couch will rapidly disintegrate into splinters, leaving you utterly exposed. Be wary of that. You can use that to your advantage, though, especially when you hit the Fenix Estate.

Reloading has its subtle touch. On the bottom of the ammo counter is a scrolling strip that marks how much time it takes to slam in a new mag (normally two or three seconds). This also opens up a mini-game where you can attempt to speed things up by hitting the reload button a second time: there's a small window of opportunity where, if you hit it, you can end the reload cycle early (say, in one second). But if you attempt and fail the mini-game, you pooch the lock and end up spending an extra second trying to clear a stuck cartridge.

Not to mention that if you time it JUST right, you get a small damage boost for a short duration. That really pays off.

I'm currently at the point in the story where the squad's trapped inside the Tomb of the Unknowns with a Locust Berserker stalking them.

One of the scariest "chapters" in the whole game. I left that one with my heart pounding and my palms sweating. I was holding my breath the whole time through. When it was finally all over, I had to sit back, breathe a sigh of relief, and let the moment sink in. Truly a riveting experience.

I will say this about the game (some spoilers):
1) The graphics are astounding. The immersion factor is stupendous in this game, and the environments are so crisp and realistic, it really looks like it could be our future. They did an exemplary job.
2) The musical score is great. It really adds something to the game, in the same way Diablo's music did. I love it.
3) The story throughout, while littered with humor, the occasional wit, and plenty of profanity, plays out like your average summer blockbuster action film. The backstory never gets into any greater detail, but going through the game is an experience (a positive one, IMHO).
4) The fast-paced action combined with the tactical gameplay (Doom 3 meets Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter with prettier graphics and better backgrounds) make for a superbly entertaining, riveting, pick-up-and-play shooter. It's well worth a look, even if "normal" FPS games aren't quite your cup of tea. Oh, and the horror elements are very well-done, not too over-the-top, and certainly not as scripted as some points in Doom 3. It's what I imagine Resident Evil games to play like, although with more action, and less horror.

Ok, now the gripes.
1) The game is short. I mean, 3-days of maybe 2 - 4 hours per day short. It's a 7-hour game, on Casual difficulty. This isn't entirely bad, and it's especially not so rough when you expect it, but don't expect a huge game like Oblivion. Even Doom 3 was longer, although probably the same amount of story. What makes it all palatable is that everything just lines up: it's short, but fast-paced; little story, but it flows quickly and smoothly. To sum it up: it's an action film that you play. I loved every second of the thrill ride, but just like a roller coaster, it's over too soon (just soon enough to make you want to rush back and do it all again, though).
2) The story could have been fleshed out just a bit more. What's there is great, and it flows very smoothly. The character development, while "short and sweet", works beautifully. But I would have enjoyed more backstory, at least in the manual if nothing else. EVERY game these days has a pittance of a manual, with half a page of backstory, at best. We've gone from Contra to Diablo and back to Contra again.:P

So, to sum my feelings up on the game, it's a GREAT tactical shooter that blends fast-paced action, tactical gameplay, and a strong enough story to suit the environment, wraps it all up in a pretty little graphical bow, and throws in some very good musical score that suits the game wonderfully. There's just enough of everything to make it a truly good game to play through, at least once. It's short, and so very, very sweet. Definitely a good fix for ANY shooter needs. I just wonder about the replayability factor, but it's way too early to tell at this point.

If you like FPS action, but prefer tactical gameplay to just run-and-gun, this is your game. If you love yourself a good old-school Wesley Snipes or Sylvester Stallone action flick, this is your game. If the idea of ripping through organic monstrosities with a CHAINSAW on the tip of your assault rifle, THIS IS YOUR GAME! It's a great game for what it delivers, and it delivers plenty, compared to the dearth of good games thus far. Just remember that it's short, but it's designed that way.

***SPOILERS***










































The ending practically came out of nowhere. One minute you're beating pavement, rushing to get the ever-important data to end the war, and the next you're on some random train with the Lightmass bomb that hasn't been mentioned since the first Act! It just struck me as disjointed a little. That, and the ending overall seemed... tacky. The whole game acts and plays like a great summer action flick, but the ending was just too over-the-top for my taste. It didn't jive with the rest of the game. Whereas the game flowed beautifully, and everything just "fit", the ending seemed... overdone, not as polished, just didn't fit as nicely as I would have thought it should. Maybe I'm being picky though.

And again! The utter lack of backstory ties in directly with the ending, thus further complicating things. I just wish they had told us at least a little more.