User Reviews (41 - 51 of 405)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

A Must Have

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: November 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been skeptical about spending so much money on a "next-gen" console, particularly with the 360 because of all the issues regarding crashing and the "ring of death." I finally broke down and got the 360 in large part because of this game. I vist IGN all the time to keep track of how systems are progressing. Yes, I'll be missing out on my beloved Final Fantasy by not going with the PS3, but man is it expensive and hard to come by. I'll be missing out on Zelda by not going with the Wii but with the exception of that one game it looks like Nintendo is still following the "family-oriented" route with most of its games (Rayman: Raving Rabids?! Come on, already!).

So far I'm incredibly happy with the 360 and Gears of War is simply amazing. This game is next-gen, folks. It reminds me a lot of Winback for the N64, the first 3PS to use a cover system. The numbers alone speak for how great of a game this is-- it's sold over a million copies already. Everyone's already commented on how great the graphics are, etc... Gears definitely lives up to all of the hype, it is an absolutely incredible game. The chainsaw-bayonet I'm sure will be in the top-5 most ingenious wepaons in videogame history.

Get this game, it is worth every penny.

best 360 game yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: December 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

i've been playing video games all my life, starting with the orignal nintendo all the way through the ps3 now. if you like halo or halo 2 then you'll love this game. i have to say this is one of if not the best game i've ever played. at first i thought all the talk of this being the best game for next gen consoles was all b/s.. but i was wrong. if youre getting one game for an xbox 360 this should be it. the campaign mode is very good, but my favorite part is the xbox live experience on this game. very addicting indeed. the graphics are superb. this is probably the only game i've played worth 60 dollars.

Gear Up!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: December 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Gears of War is the best third person squad shooter ever. The only thing that came close in terms of the fun factor was Brute Force, a game that I think didn't get enough props. Gears of War works very well as a balls-out shooting match. You don't really have to think your way through it, you just shoot your way through it. It's the first cover game I've played and speaking as a Halo and Rainbow 6 guy, you pick it up right away. It feels very natural, a lot better than I thought a 3rd person could be. It does transform the genre.

The environments are as detailed and immersive as can be but not overwhelming. You don't feel as if you have to stop and look around and marvel at it. It doesn't freak you out like the stuff in Prey. Instead, the detail just adds to the gritty feel of the game. There are battles where you sometimes just wish the opposition would run out of ammo, because you're pinned down behind a block of cement and can't move.

There are some monsters in this game that are truly frightening. Very much like Halo, dealing with the various types of enemies, and in combination, force you to change your fighting style. The gameplay is flawless. The feel of your character's movements are as smooth as Halo and Half-Life. The AIs are competent whether they're fighting for your or against you.

What's great about GoW is that within 15 minutes you simply disappear into the game. After the first hour it feels like you've been playing this game all your life. The controls are that simple and natural. But because there are so many different weapons (frag grenade, smoke grenade, boom shot, sniper, chain gun, assualt rifle with chainsaw, shotgun, crossbow, pistol and magnum revolver) and so many enemies, you will find, over time, various combinations and strategies evolving, very much like Halo.

There are unique touches to this game that are subtle and some are profound. For example, reloading has become an art. If you pay attention, you can reload quickly, if you screw up, it will cost you precious seconds. It's something that, once mastered will give a strong advantage. There are very few 'circle dances' in this game, as with Halo, somebody will drop within two or three seconds.

Some of the cut scenes are annoyingly long considering the real lack of a backstory, however you won't likely be repeating any levels, so it's not a problem. You're just there and you shoot. And you never repeat a level over and over, well until you get to the final boss.

The online games are stellar. If you're like me, you hate to hang around in lobbies. You want to get right to the action. This game is perfect for it. Because there is no single player deathmatch, Gears forces you to communicate and although many of the squads don't, they get squashed. The ability to concentrate fire and flank enemies are two very powerful tactics. Teams that get those things right generally become invincible. It's not about weapons so much as it is about tactics. There is no weapon that is outsized and highly contested like the sword in Halo and they are pretty well balanced. The decision to make this a squad based coop game through and through is a very distinguishing mark and a good risk, I think. But in the single player I haven't found the directions to the squad as detailed (or onerous) as with Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six. You have to develop this on your own.

I've not been able to get into many ranked matches. People don't seem to be going for it rather in the same way people seemed to be avoiding it for PGR3. I don't know what's up with that - I sit waiting minutes to get into a room and then it immediately times out. Very frustrating and much inferior to Halo 2 in that regard. That's too bad because the point system for scoring matches is very well thought out and like Call of Duty 3, you get points for reviving teammates, which is an interesting turn in shooters I think all the better ones are adopting.

I haven't seen the strategy guide but I can see tactics evolving. Each map, all of which are exquisite, has unique features that make them interesting. But each of them invites close combat. Matches can be over in 20 seconds when the action gets hot and heavy. You don't respawn in this game. Once you're dead, you sit out the round. The spawn sites are very predictable so I don't think that will change going forward.

All in all, there are a limited number of ways you can play online, but it's focused on the most action packed way of all, medium sized maps that encourage close combat, small squads, deadly weapons and quick motions. I should also say that unlike with Halo there are no circle dances where you unload a whole clip into an enemy reload and start again. You will be dead in short order, make no mistake.

--

So here's what I don't like about the game. I already mentioned that the lack of ranked game availability sucks. I don't know what to do about that but I've heard other people complain too. I would have liked to see some average of my match scores kept track of, it might be there I just can't get to it in the ranked matches.

Second, there's a bug in which sometimes late joiners to a room can't be heard. This is a real handicap if the person is on your squad.

Thirdly, it's annoying that you can't change the configuration of your hosted room once you set it up. I know it adds to the amount of gameplay, but sometimes you do wish you could mix it up a bit.

--

Here are the things I've noticed that impress me.

I've seen a few times when I spawn and start running to wherever, that my skin detail isn't fully rendered. The fact that the designers anticipated system capacity and knew what to leave off is impressive. Same thing with raindrops.

Very little lag, and lag is always associated with a player that can be identified and kicked. Also very little mic echo although more than a negligible amount.

Recovery from a down is a great idea. How many times have we gotten hit by a noob and know that they were shooting completely random as they run right by you? In Gears, you can get back up and serve them.

--

Overall the game is truly excellent in just about every way. As a single player experience it's a little tiring. As a coop, it's great. There is a lot of richness, emergent tactics and lore associated with the game, and I can easily see this becoming a huge franchise. The Gears guys have done a great job.

Falls short of the hype

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 12
Date: January 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Perhaps I was influenced by all the hype this game received, but I truly believed this was going to be the game by which all next-gen games would be judged. If so I'm depressed.

First the graphics. They're certainly good but to me they appear to be crisp renditions of animated characters. The environment everyone raved about in reviews is again good but monotonous. How many burned out cars can you see? It just didn't overwhelm me as expected.

Now for the AI. I heard how "intelligent" the enemy characters were. Truth is they aren't. Not at all. Even playing on the hardcore difficulty level I tired of watching enemies run forward to hide behind an obstacle only to immediately stand up and start to back-pedal back to the obstacle they just left. If you don't eliminate an enemy quickly this same repetitive pattern of gaining territory and voluntarily and inexpliocably abandoning it occurs over and over. Occasionally the enemy will try a flanking move but so far its usually very obvious, easily defended, and once the flanking position is gained they'll give it up using the above mentioned back-pedaling retreat.
The only thing that makes the competition difficult is the fact that despite executing a perfect head shot the enemy somehow manages to continue to fight unfazed.
Your squad mates? Lets just say I'm tired of saving Dom over and over again.

Gameplay - tedious is an understatement. I find myself forcing myself to continue to play just to finish the game and be done with it. The game is completely linear with you running from one objective and one obstacle to another fighting essentially the same recycled enemies. Its call of duty without the realism or entertainment value.

Oh and there are plenty of glitches. I just turned off the console after one of the enemies climbed over a concrete barrier and remained suspended in mid-air, completely unresponsive and unable to be killed and thus unable to move on in the mission. I've also actually had to shoot a teamate to make them move out of the way of a doorway so I can continue the mission without having to turn off the console and start over.

Overall not worth the money and if this is next-generation without hope of improvement I'm depressed. I'll keep playing and see if the game improves figuring with all the hype I must be missing something, but somehow I doubt it.

Impressive but not perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

1. The graphics and physics are amazing.
2. The single-player/co-op campaign is great, but a little short. A friend and I are on Act 5 (the final level) after about 6 hours of play.
3. The chainsaw is hilarious and is much more satisfying than a knife or fist (though Half Life's crowbar is close competition...).
4. The variety of weapons (or lack thereof) is disapponting. You will spend much of the game with the assault rifle and/or shotgun, both of which are found within the first few minutes of the campaign. The other weapons are cool but are usually very limited in ammo or can only be used in certain situations.
5. The multiplayer matches are a little bland due to the lack of variety. Gears of War offers three multiplayer modes that are almost exactly the same. Multiplayer also suffers from the same lack of weapons that the single-player campaign does.
6. I personally can't stand not having a crosshair. It is not a problem in the single-player campaign because you spend more time in cover, but in multiplayer matches you often find yourself in a close-range shotgun match with 2-3 other people. If you try to zoom in and hit them with your crosshair then you will lose mobility and die every time. You have to rely on guessing where the middle of your screen is. Maybe I will just tape a crosshair to my TV. :)

In the end, Gears of War is definitely an enjoyable game and is worth picking up at your favorite game store, but I think it is probably a little over-hyped. I would like to see more weapons and multiplayer modes added to future installments of the game.

This game is wicked sick!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I just bought the 360 just to play this game. As everyone else has stated, this game is super intense and non-stop. Control of your character is intuitive and easy to pick up. You can carry multiple weapons , which are are all sweet. I don't have an HD TV, but the graphics still look great just using the component setup. Frag on!!!

For the Love of All Things Sweet & Good in this World!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

There are plenty of reviews here that cover the way this game makes everything else for sale look like a travesty and a sham and a mockery. Yes, a travishamockery. Go ahead and give your mouse a little tappity-tap and buy it NOW. If you have a significant other or parental unit that is advising against this purchase, buy GOW immediately anyway because with this game the only human contact you'll be needing for a very long time will be over Xbox LIVE playing until your thumbs are quivering masses of protoplasm.

Never thought it would be this awesome.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I saw all the trailers, read all the hype and I was skeptical. So much so that I didn't even bother reserving this game. I never got in to the Halo games. I'm more of a GRAW and Rainbow Six fan myself.
After consulting some friends who bought it on opening day I went and bought it. Boy am I glad I did. This game totally rocks.
Yes the solo campaign is a little shorter than expected but it doesn't lack content by any means. Besides the best part of this game is playing the Co-op campaign with a buddy.
I've beat the game twice in the first 4 days I owned the game and I still can't stop playing it. It's that fun.
In my opinion the Co-op play is what makes this game better than any other shooter available today. The weapons in this game are fabulous and make for really fun gamplay.
The online versus play is awesome too. You can play as a human or as a locust in teams of up to 4 on each side.
Running up to a player and ripping them to pieces with my chainsaw made this game worth the $60 I spent on it.

An amazing game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Most of the people here have already said all the good and bad things about this game. All I can do is enforce their opinions in that this is a very worthwhile game to buy. Every aspect of it is very worth it.

Made me stop playing Halo2 online!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

For all you parents out there, DO NOT BUY THIS FOR YOUR KIDS! For the love of God, DO NOT!

Anyhoo, I've been on the Halo bandwagon for a long time now, many other games just never seemed to keep my attention and become boring or nostalgic after a short time. I decided to give this game a try after I viewed the 'Mad World' trailer. I went and picked it up on opening day hoping it would deliver on the hype. It did, I threw the game in and honestly, it has not left the 360 since. The detail is quite spectacular on a HD TV. I didn't think a third-person shooter could be this exciting to play. Diving all around, evading the enemy, flanking the enemy, and killing the enemy are all superbly done. What pulled me in first is the story, It grabs you and does not let go and if your diligent about pressing the cinematography (Y) button, it really does feel like your playing a movie. It's been a long time since a video game got my heart pumping out of my chest, it literally felt like it was going to explode as I ran for my life from the first berserker.

Pros: (Other than the obvious graphics and sound)
Easy to learn, hard to master.
The fact there is no center aim when your not zoomed in makes it that more life like. Your kinda guessing in close quarter combat
Every gun can zoom!
Tactical thinking - Critical thinking - Not just a 'Run and Gun' mentality.
STICKY GRENADES! yes! and you have to run up and stick it and then jump away before you both blow up, very brutal.
Chainsawing enemies in half and actually watching the body split in two while still making out some internal body parts is a plus.
Fun multiplayer matches, one life, makes coordinating tactics with others a must.
Cooperative online game play - two can play the story mode over the web.
Health meter is invisibly placed in the center of the screen and becomes red when your hit and the redder it gets, the deader you are.

Cons:
Since A is the only button to use, unintentional things do happen.
Jumping off of ledges is glitchy, hoped to be fixed with an update.
Online multiplayer matchmaking can be quite confusing at first to use, (This is why EVERY game out there should adopt Halo's matchmaking style) but once your in an ongoing match, (Which lasts for hours) It's all-good.

Overall It's become one of my favorite xbox games to play. And please DO NOT BUY THIS FOR YOUR KIDS. MATURE MEANS MATURE! GERMANY BANNED IT! SERIOULSY!

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions