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Absolutely awesome!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best games I've ever played. The graphics must be seen to be believed (especially in 1080i), the sound is terrific, the gameplay is tight and well thought out, and most importantly it's ridiculously FUN!!! The campaign is a blast by yourself, but truly transcendent in co-op with a friend. As for multiplayer, a one on one, split screen "versus" match of GOW is more fun than I've had with Halo 2 online in, I don't know, ever. If you own a 360, you MUST get this game. If you don't own a 360, you MUST get a 360 and this game.

Best Game ever. Period.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well, what else can be said about Gears of War. This game has set the bar for all next-gen games to be measured to. While the game had originally been set for a launch release with the 360, I can only say that the delay was very much worth it. This game is simply above anything else that has come before.

Lets all start off by saying that this is not a Halo game. The mature rating on this game will prevent it from being the next Halo for the 360. With that said, in my honest opinion it is a much, much better game that Halo (1 & 2) could have ever been. The mechanics in this game are much more realistic. This game does not allow you to run and blast your way through, you will be chopped to bits in an instance. You have to be strategic in your approach. There is a lot of cover and shelter in the game and you learn early on that to survive, you must use the cover. A great feature of this game is that it is very much a simple game to play in that you can pretty much use one button to do most of your moves. The story line is well laid out and while the game play in a very linear line, there is enough variation to keeps things interesting. The first thing that anyone will notice is the incredible graphics of this game. Even more so on a HiDef TV. This game is simply incredible in the presentation, the clarity and the framerate. I only noticed a couple of spots where the framerate slowed but it wasn't anything too bad. I have beat the game and am replaying it on the hardcore level. There are several times in the game where you will have to choose a path to go, which does allow for some replayability in the single player campaign. I also have to say that this is simply the best game for use of a chainsaw ever. Doom doesn't have anything on this chainsaw/rifle combo. Start your saw and lay into one of the locust and enjoy one of those guilty pleasures that Gears can offer. This is a very gory game. Blood splatters very realistically and you can blow your enemies (and they you) into many small pieces.

I have only been able to play a small amount of the multiplayer on Live, but what I have played is very addicting. There are several different modes and they all allow for a good variety in gameplay. This will suffice nicely, atleast until Rainbow Six Vegas comes out and rules Live. The voice over acting is done nicely. The main character, Marcus Fenix, carries the game along with his compadres Dom, Cole and Baird. I was floored when I found that the guy who does Marcus's voice also voices that loveable robot on Futurama, Bender.

If you own a 360, you simply must have this game in your library. No other game has the intensity or the beauty that this game offers. While MS hasn't confirmed a sequel, one can only expect another Gears to come out. This game all but confirms it at the end. No spoilers here. I can say that I am halfway through playing it a second time and I am still picking things up about the game that I missed the first time through. While this won't be the next Halo, I think it can ring up it own's little title all it's own. It is definitely a system seller. Enjoy it and if you don't have it now, do yourself a flavor and buy it now.

Halo what?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Many of my school friends have raved about how good the Halo series is. Many people said that Gears of War is the "halo killer". Now when Halo was an award winning game that many consider the best there is. Now when there is this much hype over this game, its going to such of a dissapointment. But after playing the first frenetic levels of Gears, I immediately was in love with this game. The graphics are beutifal, even rivaling those of GRAWs and the gameplay is the best ever. The controls are simple, and the a button does everything. Everything about this game is great, and the story is perfect, just like a sci-fi great. But the greatest part of Gears is the chainsaw. On yor gun is a chainsaw bayonet. No other game is like this oe. You dont jump out in the open. In fact, the game is all about hiding behind cover. Boring? Definately not. With the great A.I. always trying to kill you, you are always on the move, and nothing is boring.

A must have for every 360 FPS fan

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well the title says it all, this is the best FPS available on Xbox 360.

Get it!

Nuff said!

Good graphics, boring campaign

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Why is this game rated so high? There's only about five guns, and three of those guns basically suck. The shotgun and sniper rifle are the best guns.

The campaign is boring, and the enemies annoying.

Cole Train is a very annoying character, too. The last thing you want to hear while playing a TPS with aliens is some guys' football career or whatever.

Co-op makes the game funner, because two people are playing it. Xbox Live with 8 people is as fun as it gets.

Rent first.

It's OK. But I don't like it...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 30
Date: November 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First I'm not a fanboy. I own a 360 (21 games) an original XBOX (61 games) games) and a PS2 (49 games). I had always gamed on my computer, but purchased a PS2 so I could play GTA-Vice City, then about a year after that, got my XBOX; and then this summer, my 360 (purchased so that I could play Saint's Row). I like all kinds of games, and I have most of the major releases, for all 3 platforms for about the last 3 years. I also will admit for a few of my most favorite games, I will buy other versions, to get other content, etc (I own all 3 platforms of Godfather, the game, lol). I do want to get a PS3 when they are more widely available, probably will wait till the summer like I did for the 360. Plus there will be more games for it then, I'm sure. With my boring background out of the way, here's my review:

Last week I picked up a bunch of new games for my 360-Gears of War was the first one I tried out. OK well, I wasn't that impressed. Visuals were pretty good, but it seemed like the couple-of-humans-trapped-in a small area-by huge aliens-type story like Alien or things like that. I don't like the fact you can't control your crouching/wall cover more; although I guess with time I could get used to the movements. One thing I noticed everyone else say was, hey you can't jump...myself, I think they made it like that on purpose--if a human soldier was carrying all that equipment (in real life it would be at LEAST 150lbs of pack/weapons/armor), obviously, he wouldn't be able to jump very high, lol. In fact, quite honestly I always thought the fact you COULD jump like a jumping bean in HALO, with that armor/enviro suit on, was kind of silly, but, that's just me I guess.

Anyway, maybe part of the problem is, it's me, i.e. I'm not too good at this type of shooter, i.e. the quake/doom/unreal type game rather than the GTA/Saints Row/Godfathe type game. It was frustrating to be stuck in the same place (where the enemy species is cutting through that door), and, even though I'm taking cover, etc, being killed in like 10 to 15 seconds. The weapons you have at this stage don't seem to do too much damage to the enemy either, or maybe I'm not hitting them in the right places. I read somewhere, take their knees out first becuase their thorax is heavily armored, tried that, still got killed. Maybe once I got the machine gun with the saw bayonet I'd score more kills, I dont know. To me, right now, this game seems too frustrating-the enemies are too strong and the weapons are too weak. Again, this could just be my poor skills, just my opinion, but I don't think I'm going to spend too much time on this one.

Great game...but maybe not for everyONE

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Every Xbox 360 owner (of age) should buy/rent this game just to see how amazing it is!

Offline play is solid and action filled, what you will come to expect from true next-gen shooters. But the game really shines online--and that is where I feel a few problems lie.

Online, this game is about teamwork. There is no "every man for himself" mode. You are always on a team. So if you aren't a team player...

And if you have a thin skin, this game might not be for you either.

The skill matching system is basically nonexistent. First-time players are thrown into games with seasoned vets. While good in some ways as a learning experience, because of the intensity of the gameplay, there can also be vicious comments from your team members when something goes wrong. I've witnessed this both as a target and an onlooker.

And as a Live user, you know language can get extreme, regardless of what Xbox 360 "zone" you're in.

Again, I recommend that all buy/rent just for the offline experience.

But if you're younger or have self-esteem issues, online play might not be for you.

Frustrating game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game a few days ago. I had read reviews which stated the game was the best and had won many accolades. So, I expected a game which deserved that title. Before I had played this game, I had played Bioshock, Halo 3 (which I didn't like and traded for Fear), Fear, and the Orange Box on the XBOX 360.

My first feeling when seeing the landscape for this game is that this is the drabbiest game I have yet to play. Everything is muted with a strong emphasis on grey. Even the water is ashen. It doesn't help when you attempting to distinguish friend from foe when you're in a combat situation. There were times when I committed friendly fire.

Then, my second feeling when playing the game is that there is little or no story. Very little is explained other than that there is a war between two species, and the character I played was a former soldier tried by his peers in a public trial. (Like the Halo series, if I needed to know more, I had to go outside the game and obtain written material. I don't like this approach. The game should tell me what I need to know.) This is a game of connecting the dots - do a, go to b.

After playing the different weapons, I must say that these are some of the worst weapons I have yet to play. There are two I have in mind - the sniper rifle and the torque bow. Both fire one shot before needing reload. And in the case of the sniper rifle, they appear to do minimum damage. In one instance, I shot an enemy AI while he was standing still three times directly in the head before he expired. Mine you, this enemy had no helmet.

That leads to the next area of issue for me - the AI. There is a character named Dom. Throughout the game, Dom is usually paired with Marcus Fenix, the character you play. I see him as Gears equivalent of Alyx Vince from Half-Life 2. Unfortunately, the similarity ends there. Dom, unlike Alyx, has a very bad habit of dieing far too easily. This complicates matters further on in the game, especially in the final boss battle.

The final boss battle is where the game lost me. After repeatedly attempting to whack the enemy, I became frustrated with the game and quit the Gears of War. When I was faced with Dom dieing constantly, which resulted in the villain quickening his pace, or the constant delay in reloading the torque bow, or the fact that I was limited by where I could travel before being set upon by bats with glowing yellow eyes, or that I needed to constantly pump the lancer into the villain, the game grew increasingly frustrating. Finally, after an hour, I said enough.

Impressive....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This had been my most anticipated game when the Xbox 360 came out last year. However, it was delayed a year later until now. The graphics are superior and quite realistic. I like how this game is not just another first person shooter, but Microsoft Studios made it a third person shooter which is awesome. The story line is quite interesting and the amount and creative enemies are massive. Most of the game play is within a torn down city in which you play your mission along with cinematics to help the story line along. This is a great game, the only thing I find a nuisance is the leaning up against the wall or something. It takes a while to get use to and sometimes you roll to another wall when really you just want to get away from the wall and shoot some monsters. Another thing I didn't quite like was the running. It seems like you don't have much control of the direction of where you run, except if you are only going straight...it's hard to turn when you run and the running scene may make you dizzy.

Other than that, the game is a great game to play with your friends at home or online...you'll enjoy it if you like shooters!

PC Gamer Perspective

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Being a PC gamer, I venture into console games from time to time in order to up my selection and to experience the best they have to offer. GOW was the first on the Xbox 360.

I have some problems with console games, usually, attributed to the following -- with comments for GOW.

1. Gamepad joystick controls often seem unwieldy and imprecise. In addition, moving a specified position is slower (than a mouse).

After a bit of time with the game, GOW controls seem manageable - definitely better than some. The joystick sensitivity adjustment seemed too be too coarse in the beginning but later max sensitivity seemed controllable and necessary. Now, how do I select the mouse option?

Your control while running is poor.

2. Console games adore being in 3rd person - even shooters.

GOW uses some fresh or interesting game-play elements including using cover and blind-fire. 1st person mode would limit the usefulness of this unless ... one switched to 3rd person or to a gun mounted camera.

3. The field of view is often limited and/or your person in 3rd person games blocks your view. In addition your neck is stiff and if you wanted to look around, you could only do so slowly or would be othwerwise impractical (especially in combat).

In GOW, this is only somewhat of a problem. (Yet, you are kinda big and have a thick neck.) I would often like to use aim mode perspective but it is also tied to slow movement and this is a killer in many situations.

Note, a person has a pretty wide FOV and their eyes and neck can easily move a limited amount fairly quickly - thus games often present a real FOV limitation. In GOW, this is a problem in hectic scenes. A widescreen tv might help.

4. Controls are often overloaded. This overloading based on context and recognition of this context often seems to involve position and/or some time delay (hysteresis). This often results in me executing the wrong action - some might say skill is involved here, but it isn't the kind of skill I think is fun.

In GOW casual difficulty, control overloading is easily managed. On harder difficulties, it is a problem as I have to manage this aspect when needing to make quick movements and related actions - i.e. run to wall and take cover (the take cover might not take effect).

5. Overuse of cut-scenes and/or the use of control-pad icons on-screen (esp. in center of vision) break immersion. If they are not used I suppose the developers would be picked up and we would never see them again.

GOW uses control-pad icons. This does help you make sure a context will fire but it only helps if you want to wait until you see the icon (casual difficulty). The semitransparent damage/dying icon/indicator takes some getting use to and is an icon when less transparent.

6. There are fewer options to tweak - some important ones are omitted.

There seems to be an always on depth-of-field blur or general low texture resolution in the distance. I don't need a next-gen console to see blurry stuff. Ok it might be cool for a few minutes after you start it up the first time. Your eyes dont effectively have a significant depth-of-field blur because they refocus on whatever you looking at.

General number of options is low. Option testing can't be that bad - PC people do it. Is it too complicated for (us) console people or is there some kind of achievement/on-line "cheat" worry -- sheesh.

7. Game contains some unreasonably hard or frustrating foes/gameplay elements that are not fun to overcome ... that are there to prove that this game isn't too easy.

Even on casual difficulty, the last foe/battle is a bit strange. Seems a bit hard to avoid damage and how many dynamite arrows to the head can any humanoid-looking thing take? If it was an android with a titanium "skull" (case) - well maybe.

There are a few timed sequences but only a few - I'm glad. A few more seconds would have nice and would have prevented me from removing all opposition (actually more than a couple) before reaching the goal. What use is a timer when you don't know far the goal is? Run as if the the wind had feet.

On harder difficulties, there are some enemies that will rush (jump over cover/barricades etc.) that will require, for example, 3 shotgun blasts to kill while you take one. If I can learn some defensive maneuvers to counter this, then good.

There are some semi-invulnerable enemy sequences that seemed jarring from the normal game-play but familiarity with your movement control and the enemy ... ends up being ok on replays. Actually the second and last were interesting.

In many areas, enemies can appear without being present initially. In general, this is a game-play gimmick that can quickly go from amusing to bad to worse. In GOW, the situation isn't too bad because the enemies usually appear far enough away from the player and one can hear that will be occurring. It fits the story.

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Overall:

GOW's general combat is greatest part of the game and provides good replay value. Weapons and pacing are good. Ammo level requires some attention but isn't usually a problem - but wasting ammo when there are many enemies in the area can lead to being down river without, um, ammo. Enemies use tactics - like some use of cover and can have hang back or advance modes - but are not exactly clever. A.I. is better than most. In hectic battles in open areas with many enemies (at harder difficulties) you can be easily be overpowered without managing cover and otherwise having good offensive and defensive tactical skills. GOW provides great gameplay in general combat with good sound and quality artwork.

How about some bot support or instant action?

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