GEARS OF WAR
Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Microsoft
Systems: PC
INTRODUCTION:
Two years in the making, and the shiny new Unreal 3 engine powering it, GEARS OF WAR is the XBOX 360’s first killer app, bar none. 1 million sales in the first week, alongside $100 million in pre-orders, the hype machine did it’s job. But really, did it need to? With HALO 3 a no-show for the time being, Epic has successfully taken Master Chief’s FPS throne and made it it’s own, and for good reason. Lock and load, it’s curb-stomping time!
GAMEPLAY:
GEARS OF WAR takes place over the course of 36 hours on the planet Sera, which was once home to a glorious civilization. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the populace, a race of creatures known as the Locust Horde was lying in wait underground to strike. And they did, squashing a quarter of Sera’s inhabitants and overrunning every major city on the planet. Enter the soldiers of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, or COG. Though the soldiers fought valiantly, is was too late. As the battle slipped away, COG soldier Marcus Fenix (aka you) defied orders to try and rescue his father. Unfortunately, Marcus was caught and subsequently imprisoned for his insubordination. Fourteen years passed, and the Locust have closed in on the prison holding Marcus. An old friend, Dom, opens the cell door, gives Marcus a gun, and asks him rejoin the fight.
There’s more to the story than what’s here (what little there is), but it’s a shooter, not an RPG, folks. Correction, it’s more than a shooter. It’s along the lines of games like FULL SPECTRUM WARRIOR or KILL.SWITCH, in that cover plays an essential role, since you’ll be bombarded like crazy from the Horder. Don’t think of pulling a TERMINATOR moment and charging into battle, since you’ll be on your back pretty quick. Luckily, Epic provided sweet controls for shooting and defence. You can either take your time and plan your shots, or do a blind fire from behind cover. For the defensive types, expect to execute SWAT turns and rolls to avoid fire, as well as a ‘Roadie Run’, which is just a quick sprint but with a neat twist: The camera pulls back a bit and bobs with every stride, as if Marcus was being followed by his own cameraman. Very cool!
Indeed, the gameplay is both a blend of an arcade shooter and a squad-based game, since you also command a group of soldiers who will lay down suppressing fire, flank and do your basic regrouping, defensive and aggressive maneuvers. Well, almost. Your squaddies will sometimes waltz into a hailstorm of bullets or stand around doing nothing, but for the most part they do the job well.
Weapon-wise, you start out with your trusty Lancer Assault Rifle, complete with a chainsaw attachment. If you manage to sneak up on an unsuspecting Locust warrior, rev up your chainsaw and gut the bastard, complete with blood spraying the screen! Other weapons include a sniper rifle, grenade launcher, pistols, smoke and frag grenades (a fave of mine, since you can run up, jam the frag into the baddie, then run away as he disintegrates). Unique weapons come in the form of the torque bow, a Locust weapon which fires explosive arrows (another juicy weapon, if you do it right), and the Hammer of Dawn, which echoes the Phoenix target painter from UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2004.
Basically, it paints a target with an infared laser, which is caught by an orbiting satellite that in turn blows the crap out of the area. One interesting addition to every weapon is the Active Reload, where a meter will appear with a sliding reticule. If you time it right, you will reload faster than average, and possibly even get a boost in damage. Mess up, and the weapon jams, causing you to reload slower. Thankfully, for those not down with the system, it can be turned off.
Moving on to multiplayer, the game shot up the XBOX Live rankings for a good reason. Co-op mode is probably one of the best things in this game. Playing with a buddy can be done via split screen, system link or over XBOX Live, and this is where you’ll see that GOW puts HALO to shame. You really do have to work together, using suppressive fire or flanking maneuvers to get the job done. Sometimes your paths will split, and one player (Marcus) will take either Baird or Cole while the co-op player, Dom, takes the other. Usually you will be able to see your partner through a window or on a platform above, and you can supply backup as needed. However, the main portion of the game is done with the duo.
If running through the campaign isn’t to your liking, you can enter versus mode, where you can have your basic 4-on-4 team deathmatch (aka Warzone). With Warzone, you can have two variations: Execution and Assassination. In Execution, you have to get in close in order to finish off opponents. Instead of a kill, enemies are stunned and you have about 30 seconds to rush in and snuff them with either a melee attack, a bullet to the head, a chainsaw or a curb-stomp, whereas in Assassination, the round is over when the captain of the team has been eliminated.
With all this good stuff coming your way, there are some things in need of improvement in the game. The A button does perhaps too much at times. Since holding A triggers the “Roadie Run”, you may be sucked into a piece of cover against your will because you are holding down the button, but you do get used to it. Up-close combat can feel a bit strange as the aiming is a bit slow, even with sensitivity turned to high. As well, the singleplayer campaign is over all too quickly on the lower difficulty settings, and despite some variations in multiplayer, it would’ve been nice to see more modes and models tossed in. Then again, there’s always downloads. Also, the story could’ve used some tweaking, since it does pull a HALO 2 on us (you’ll see), but then that’s what sequels are for, kids.
Gameplay: 9/10
The most fun to have on an XBOX since DEAD RISING, and while there are small issues with control and singleplayer length, the multiplayer more than makes up for it. 1 million gamers can’t be all wrong.
GRAPHICS:
Visually, GEARS OF WAR is stunning. Bar none. The environments are huge and diverse, and just plain gorgeous. Attention to details like gargoyle statues on the top of a skyscraper or the scarring on player models makes you see just how powerful the 360 is. The Unreal Engine 3 powers GEARS for a reason. It is simply a visual feast that even on my basic standard def television looks amazing. For those folks who have seen the commercials and wondered if the action looked just as good in-game, wonder no more. Gore fans will be pleased to have blood flying everywhere when you start up the chainsaw, and will be screaming in their pants when you first pull off a curb-stomping…
If there was something that could be held against the graphics, I couldn’t find it. Simply amazing.
Graphics: 10/10
You want to see what HALO 3’s graphics will have to live up to? Pop GEARS OF WAR into your console, turn it on and get ready to see everyone’s jaw drop. Wonderful textures, great character models and amazing lighting effects put this puppy above and beyond the competition.
AUDIO:
Gears has an amazing soundtrack. The music swells with the action and easily creates the perfect mood in the game. The only downer is that while the first act has the perfect music score, and while rest of it isn’t bad (it’s actually really good), it isn’t as good as what the first act had to offer. Voice acting has a slight hint of B movie cheese to it, but it’s not something that you would lose sleep over. The rest of the sound effects are top-notch as well. Growls and hisses from the enemy are key to help figure out where they were going to pop up next. Weapons sounds also fit the bill, even allowing you to anticipate when rockets are heading your way for you to dodge them. Don’t forget the dismemberment sounds, as it truly sounds like something from TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE when your chainsaw goes to work and the blood starts flying.
Audio: 9.5/10
GEARS puts the ‘symphony’ in destruction perfectly. Amazing audio cues and a great musical score fit the violence onscreen perfectly. Voice-acting from Marcus and company may border on B-movie quality at times, but when you’re pulling a ‘Leatherface’ on a Locust drone, it’s a small thing in a humongous ship.
FINAL VERDICT:
If you’re still reading this and haven’t gone out to buy GEARS OF WAR, you’re either stuck without a car, or have no idea what the definition of ‘awesome’ is. It’s been said many times before, but GEARS OF WAR is the reason to own an XBOX. It doesn’t matter if HALO 3 comes out and blows everyone away, because GEARS OF WAR has already done it. Epic has done it again thanks to the power of the Unreal engine and the years of work put into this gem. Bring on the sequels!!
FINAL SCORE: 9.5/10
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