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the gears of HYPE

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: March 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

i admit it.. i believed the hype. i was pretty sure gears of war would be a fun game. i stand corrected. first of all, i'll start with the controls. i could argue a FPS is only as good as its controls. and if that's the case, gears of war is bad. precision in the controls is very lacking. whether that's the xbox controller's fault or the game's fault, i don't know, but it's not good. i can easily name three ps2 FPS's that have much better shooting controls - timesplitters: future perfect, urban riot response and resident evil 4.

graphics - nothing but hype. sure, duh, the graphics are going to look better than an original xbox or a ps2. does that mean they're mindblowing, artistic, or better than typical modern PC games like, say, call of duty 2 or far cry? HELL TO THE NO. for one thing, the color is.. well, THERE IS NO COLOR. just look at the screenshots! they might as well have just painted the whole game gray. it looks terrible. if that's good graphics, i'll pass on good graphics, thank you very much. dead rising has better graphics, but it's not getting hyped for it.

gameplay - not good... not good. the cover idea is just a cheap silly gimmick, a selling point. i've been using cover, flanking, popouts, proning, sprinting etc. for years with the call of duty series. i'm not impressed at all. weapons? nothing special. painkiller for PC has tons of more fun and innovative weapons.

story? well, i wasn't expecting an RPG or anything, but this feels like starting to watch a movie in the middle of it. story isn't terribly important in a FPS, but it wouldn't hurt to make the player care about the characters or their mission.

i would take so many FPS's over gears of war. i don't care how many people say it's great or how many great reviews it gets. hype hype hype. i would say "graphics don't make a great game," but considering the graphics aren't that great, i'll just say "hype doesn't make a great game."

Great game and maybe the best ever.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Of all the videogames I've played in my life, and I've played hundreds, this game was the best combination of gameplay, graphics and sound that I have ever experienced. I was a little worried that the cover mechanism would feel gimicky and unatural, but it turns out to be a crucial and fantastic element of the gameplay. I don't have much experience with using cover in games and when a game does include it I only use it sparily, preferring to run and gun. But in this game where using cover is crucial to surviving, it feel instinctual. Using cover becomes a instant reaction that feels natural.

The graphics in this game are hands down the best ever. Period. End of discussion.

Obviously many people will compare it to Halo and it is a fair comparison, but do not expect an identical game experience. I loved Halo and I think the two things that elevate this game above Halo are the cover mechanism and the graphics. With the cover mechanism the gameplay is significantly different than Halo. The pace of the game is changed and is more brutal but less frantic. It is not a matter of just outshooting and outgunning the opponent in this game. One must learn to keep his head down and use the environment to his advantage.

Overall this game show what the next-gen hardware can do. It will raise the stakes for games in the future and hopefully is an example of what is to come.

A war to die for.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: November 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The Xbox 360 killer app. Cliff Bleszinski's pride and joy. The Halo-killer. Whatever it is that you want to label Gears Of War, rest assured it's accurate as long as it's the most positive thing that's come off of your tongue in recent times. If it's not, well, you're just plain mistaken.

Gears Of War isn't just finger-lickin' good. It's your-fingers-are-soaked-and-dripping-with-insert-your-favorite-food-here good. The interesting part is that nothing is particularly innovative or creative. Gears Of War is your standard third-person shooter that emphasizes cover mechanics and tactical-but-quick gameplay. It's not the twitchy Unreal or the slow-paced Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. It's a perfect mix between the two. The game feels like a blast to play and because of that it simply is.

Credit the level design and intelligent A.I. for that as well. On Hardcore and Insane difficulty settings, the enemies will simply spank your rear if you sit there and let them. They'll flank. They'll lay down surpressing fire. They'll roll behind obstacles and jump over barriers. They'll do anything they can, including ripping your body to shreds with their chainsaw bayonets, to survive.. Of course, you can return that chainsaw pain, and it's sweet.

Story-wise, I think Gears Of War will earn comparisons to Halo. The story is simply a set-up, and without any intentional spoilers, Gears Of War 2 simply has to be in the front of Bleszinski's mind. The story revolves around a war between humans and an alien race known as the Locust, and more specifically Marcus Fenix, an ex-military man rescued from prison. He quickly joins up with Delta Squad, and as part of the squad, his mission is to plant a bomb deep inside the enemy Locust territory and end the war once and for all. Unfortunately, the story isn't much deeper than that. Gears Of War doesn't explain why the Locust are attacking the humans and barely gives any sort of background on Marcus and his squad mates. As I said, Gears Of War 2 is inevitable and hopefully the story is fleshed out with it.

The single-player campaign is broken up into five acts, and each act clocks in at about an hour to an hour and a half on the standard difficulty setting. Of course, you'll finish the game quickly, so attention must be focused to the multiplayer. Quite bluntly, Gears Of War has the best online multiplayer I've ever experienced. Ever. It's got cooperative Xbox Live play. It's got three (yeah, only three for now) different game modes to play, and the maps are simply brilliant. Each map is on the small side, but with all of the matches being 3-on-3 or 4-on-4, they're a perfect fit. The maps are also very symmetrical, so getting lost isn't much of a problem and learning the maps is an easy affair. After completing the single-player game in about 7 hours, I clocked in more than 35 hours of online multiplayer in the first week of the game's release. Of course, I enjoyed watching my excessive play's effects on the Leaderboards as I climbed from about 100,000th to 1,000th place on the boards.

Visually, there isn't a more beautiful game out there and there never has been. There weren't any shortcuts taken in Gears Of War-the environments are so loaded with detail that it takes a keen eye to spot some of the smaller touches. I could stare in the same spot for two minutes and still find new details to look at. The animation is fluid, with humans and Locust alike diving and rolling between cover points. The gore, with enemies being blown into giblets, is supported by amazing smoke and explosion effects and particle effects that fly off the screen. The sound is explosive, with machine guns and shotguns tearing out of the speakers, Locust growling from behind cover, and squad mates shouting enemy positions at each other. The voice acting is decidedly manly, with the super-raspy and super-stereotypical military voices fitting pretty well. And don't let me forget the soundtrack, which makes the intense battles even more heart-pounding. There isn't a prettier or better-sounding game out there, and Dolby 5.1 users might shake pictures off of the wall while playing this one.

Gears Of War's only fault is that it ends. Honestly, the single-player could have continued for twice as long and I would have been more than pleased. However, after being absolutely crack-addicted to the multiplayer, I can't complain. The replay value is simply pouring out of this game, making it one of the most valuable games out there right now and one of the best that Xbox owners have had since Halo 2 came out in 2004. It's easily the best Xbox 360 game and it's quite the contender for Game Of The Year. Pick up Gears Of War as soon as possible, it really is the killer app.

Excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game in short is amazing. The graphics and sound are great and so is gameplay. But the single player has no storyline like Halo games and online get boring. But for sure is an excellent game and is a must have!

Great game with very few letdowns

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

*No spoilers*
I'll start out with the fact that despite all the hype over this game I was really skeptical. I had heard it was meant to tide people over until Halo 3, but after playing it I realize just how wrong I was.

As soon as I started the game I felt like this was about to be one hell of a rush. I was right.

Graphics: 10/10
The detail and effects were definitely what you expect of a next gen console. I did not notice much or any popup in the background or any other annoyances from ps2/xbox. Everywhere you look in this game someone took time on the little things which adds to the total effect tremendously. The blood from the chainsaw spraying onto the screen is a nice added bonus as well.

Sound: 9/10
The sound did a great job of keeping me in the right mood for the situation at hand. The constant communication between the team and people in another location of the game as you're playing gives a sense of urgency that might otherwise not have been there. I'd have to say everything sounds really good, but I don't remember saying, "wow this soundtrack is great" or anything, so I gave it a 9.

Gameplay/Controls: 9/10
I'll start with the nuances of the game. There's only 4 of them that really stand out to me.
First thing I noticed is when trying to take cover the character wouldn't always do as I wanted. IE accidently jumping over an obstacle instead of hiding behind it, or rolling past a corner when I wanted to peek around it. However, most of that is operator error and not the game's fault. I do think that they should have put the roll and cover actions on two seperate buttons or something, the 360 doesn't lack for more buttons after all.

The second thing that bothered me was the small selection of weapons available. Maybe that's just me, but more weapons would not have hurt this game at all. I'll admit though that the weapons in the game fill their purpose quite well and there isn't abunch of exact same weapons with just a different look. I think the aliens should have had their own versions though at least.

The third thing that I would have liked to see improved on is the grenades. There isn't really a good way to quickly throw a grenade because you only have one type, the bola grenade. Cool concept, but honestly, if you're in a warzone like that you aren't going to take time to swing this bola up to speed every single time... I'm pretty sure they'd have some conventional ones too for a quick clearing of the next room, etc. So, I would have like to maybe have normal grenades, or at least a way to not have the blue trajectory come up to aim the grenade and just chunk it real quick.

The fourth and final complaint would be dealing with the Hammer of Dawn. This weapon is vital in some parts of the game, yet it takes up one of your weapon slots. That's fine and dandy, but if you dropped it and you need it later you're kinda screwed... I won't mention why you need it because it contains spoilers but, just be sure if you see one on the ground, hold onto that sucker because there's a reason you found it...

With that out of the way I can get to the good stuff. From the very first little skirmish I was excited to be playing the game, you get right into the action if you pick the left path in the beginning. I played it coop for the first time and I could tell there was a big bonus to playing coop, not just extra enemies or something silly. Tactics and flanking play a very large role in this game.
For instance, have your teammate use cover fire to pin the enemy down while you gain the advantage on the field. Positioning can make or break you in this game, especially at higher difficulty levels. The controls are very intuitive once you get the hang of them and fit the game well. I don't recall a single instance of "uh, what are the buttons again?"
As for the story line, it isn't exactly real detailed and I won't get into details for sake of no spoilers, but I'll just say it really could use more substance to fill in the large gaps.

Chainsaw: 10/10
It deserves it's own section, it's just that good. I wont even say anything about it, just try it out for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
Hint: go for a double chainsaw attack with a friend! (I've only managed it once where me and player 2 were able to chainsaw the same enemy.)

Overall: 9.5/10
The 10 that almost was.
I'd love to give this game a 10, but the story was really short (beat it in approx 9 hours) and the end was rather anti climatic =/
So, the Achilles' Heel to this game? Not enough substance in the story line.
I feel maybe 2 more weapons so you had a more personalized play style couldn't have hurt, and perhaps more variety in missions would have been nice as well. Overall, if you're wondering if you should buy this game, then the answer is a definite yes.
My roommate, who hasn't played video games since SNES, absolutely loves this game, even if he's just watching. Even my friend's wife watched us play for 5 hours straight before falling asleep and that is saying something. Stop reading! Go buy!

Almost great

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

For beauty, especially playing at 1080i on my HD tv via my 360 Elite HDMI, I was blown away by the superb visuals. Game play at first was harder than I expected (thought I could handle HARECORE (medium) level right out the gate, but I couldn't). unfortunately, even though there are a few 'choose which direction you go' moments, it's a very linear game for one person. And eventually you know the enemy is arriving when your gun symbol pops up on screen. I haven't tried LIVE or synced games, which probably make this game 5 stars. Definitely worth the hype.

AMAZING

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I wish amazon had a 6 star rating because this game is amazing. The best 360 game out. Campaign is nothing short of perfect and multiplayer is superb. Me and my friends play online all the time. The maps are perfect in size and are fun. I have owned this game since february and am still playing it most of the time. This is my favorite game but I wish the game had helicopter missions. That would have made the game cooler but that is a very small complaint on a game this good.

Nits notwithstanding great game.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Halo 3 was just released. Bungie should have paid closer attention to Gears of War.

First of all, let me get out of the way that I never play online multiplayer, so I can't comment on that aspect and it's totally unimportant to me in games.

As to the game itself, I found it to be a shallow storyline, with a weak, undeveloped plot, that was highly linear (you don't get any choice about how to approach things) and would have been predictable if there had been enough exposition for there to be anything to predict.

But what it does well, it does really, really well, which is totally intense no-holds-barred action.

1. The graphics, which aren't terribly bright or colorful, are still fantastic. All movies don't have to be shot in bright daylight in easily-viewed scenes. Nor do all games. Most of this game occurs under cloudy skies or underground. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it made the game more gloomy and gave it a nicely-darkened feeling that impacts the emotion of the game. That said, the textures, the art, is all great. The buildings, people, bad guys, weapons, and especially the explosions and mayhem (and I mean that literally) are very well done. It's very intense. A lot is made of graphics and people sometimes rightfully point out that the graphics don't make a great game. That's true. But good graphics can add tons of positive atmospherics to a game and really immerse a player and I think this game did as good of a job at that as any I've played.

2. The sound is also brilliant. I loved the whistling bullets, screaming bad guys, etc. What I did not like was all the gratuitous swearing. Look, I'm sure to the target audience 16-year old high school hooligan, swearing about evil bad guys is, like, totally awesome, or whatever kids say these days. For the rest of us, it's stupid because it means we have to turn the volume down in our house with our wives or kids around, and it makes a video game unnecessarily crass. One occassional, whispered "Oh my God" can be a thousand times more impactful than a dozen "S%!t my weapon jammed!" over and over again. Anyway, just a personal thing but I wish these game companies would get away from the cussing. Sound otherwise is great.

3. The gameplay is the best thing about it, though. The cover system is highly intuitive; you run up against something and press a button and boom, the character model molds to the cover, and then can move around near it and fire over or around it, etc. The cover system is also useful in how it jumpstarts moving throughout the environment (such as switching from one piece of cover to another). Running is done by holding down a button, you can't fire while running as you put your head down and just go, but it looks very cool and realistic.

4. The game was short, but other people seem to be better at it than me since it took me twice as long as some other people. I think it took me a solid 18 hours, but I regularly read about people saying they beat it in 6 hours. I must just suck at these games. Anyway, still felt short to me.

5. The plot was weak not because it wasn't a cool plot, but because there were some gaping holes that didn't make any sense. For example, why was the main character in prison? How did that effect anything else during the game at all? Why was it interesting that he returns to the family demenses later on? Why does that matter? (Answer, it doesn't, because nothing is ever made of it in the game). What was that mapping thing? What was the sonar weapon? I think these games, and it isn't unique to Gears, need a very solid backstory/comic/short novel to be sold WITH the game that describes all this stuff -- perhaps to be read as you progress through the game? Because the cut scenes are cool but they just leave too many holes.

Overall, a fine game. Very thrilling and fun and intense. The weakly-explained plot detracts from a five star to make it a four.

Great Game w/ Very Good Replay Value

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is great. I had played it for 3 or 4 months before I actually bought it for myself. It never really gets old to me. I know it's personal opinion, but the online multiplayer is very enjoyable. It provides for hours upon hours of fun.

The story mode is actually pretty good, and can be scary at times. If you like third person shooters, with awesome graphics, and creepy monsters attacking you with shotguns, you'll love this game. Hands-down, my favorite game on the Xbox. I would suggest you rent it before you purchase, b/c every once in a while, someone says they didn't like it and the story mode was way to quick and easy. If you don't play online, this may not be the game for you. If you do, I'd highly recommend you purchase this game.

Killer Game -- Lives Up to the Hype

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: November 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

No game has had as much hype as Gears of War. I was worried I might be letdown, afterall...how good could a shootem up game be?

Wow. Now this is how you make a game! Fun, intuitive, and immersive with some amazing graphics.

The campaign mode is very cinematic. I can't wait to try out the Co-Op mode with a friend online.

Speaking of online, this is the best online game I've ever played. The 4-on-4 is just right. You end up really working as a team and watching each other's backs during the course of the game.

I haven't enjoyed a shooter this much since Contra! Buy this game. Buy a 360!

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