[12/19/07] Gears of War

[BlackKnight]

Gears of War

for XBOX 360

 

 

Game: Gears of War

System: XBOX 360 DVD-9, PC DVD-9

Release: November 2006 (XBOX 360), November 2007 (PC)

 

Every so often circumstance and syzygy allow a game to be made that stands head and shoulders above its competition. For the here and now, or at least for this time last year, Gears of War is that game. An almost flawless masterpiece, Gears brings best-in-league visuals, refined gameplay and addictive multiplayer options to the table while striking its own unique path through the swathe of shooters the XBOX 360 currently harbours. What it little it lacks in ambition is overwhelmed by an undeniably masterful execution. It’s a hard game to put down and an even harder one to fault, but an extremely easy recommendation to anyone with a 360 in their home.

 

Gears’ unique approach to combat involves a lot of taking cover.

 

Gears of War’s story involves soldiers, aliens and an invasion of Earth. Granted, the eponymous ‘gears’ aren’t space marines, the Locust enemies aren’t aliens, and the planet isn’t Earth, but Gears’ story may as well be your run-of-the-mill sci-fi scenario. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, an ex-COG sergeant who breaks out of prison at the game’s onset and walks right back into active service as a member of Delta Squad. Delta’s mission; use the Resonator to map the Locust tunnels that honeycomb the planet’s crust and then deploy the Lightmass bomb to destroy the enemy presence. Why Marcus was in prison, who the Locust are or where they came from and even why their war with humans rages on are questions either left to the instruction manual or left unanswered altogether. Although the backstory is vague, events within the game’s timeframe are well established and conveyed through in-game conversations and in-engine cutscenes. Marcus, his friend Dom and hangers-on Baird and Cole are all bursting with smart ass grunt personality and all voice acting involved is top notch. Also, despite their being an unknown quantity, the Locust hierarchy, from skittering Wretches to mammoth Corpsers and Berserkers, are an intriguing bunch and present a cohesive enemy faction to war against. You might recognise the Corpser from the ‘mad world’ trailer... yes, you get to fight that.

 

All cinematic sequences are rendered using in-game assets, leading to some awkward shots of your buddy, Dom.

 

The mechanics of war in Gears are its most distinct feature and may take a little getting used to. Unlike other more frenetic shooters or war sims, Gears attempts to capture the raw essence of a firefight. It does so in three main ways. Foremost is the use of cover. Movement, shooting and all other aspects of combat are governed by the placement and use of obstacles, such as rubble, pillars or furniture, to avoid enemy fire. During an engagement you won’t be freely moving so much as quickly jumping between cover points. The second aspect is the over-the-shoulder camera for increased awareness, similar to what was popularised by Resident Evil 4, and last of all is the carefully designed weaponset that provides the tools to eliminate foes at various ranges with varying efficiency. The result is a system that makes the player feel as though they’re in the heat of the action. Cover may sound mundane in writing but is implemented surprisingly well- when near anything that can pass for a temporary shield Marcus can slide over to and get in firing position at the touch of a button. Weapons can all be ‘blind fired’ without a targeting reticle, or aimed first, the latter of which requires exposure of the head to damage in exchange for a zoomed-in point of view and a much higher degree of accuracy. Knowing how to expose oneself is one essential skill in Gears since weapons like the Longshot Sniper Rifle, or Torque Bow can inflict head shots and explosive 1-hit kills while being common amongst the Locust arsenal. Another essential skill is placement in combat. Bolo Grenades will frequently be used to flush the Gears out of their hiding spots and the chainsaw mounted on the standard issue Lancer renders flanking an important offensive and defensive consideration in any encounter. Instant death can come from any angle, at any time, and so an awareness of surroundings, enemies, and an understanding of their tactics are ultimately the player’s best friends. Although its intricacies are difficult to summarise in a single paragraph, Gears’ unique take on armed combat is really what makes the game and is what will bring you back time and again once you’ve got the basics down.

 

Copious amounts of blood finds its way onto the lens with surprising regularity.

 

Graphics, however, are what will bring players to the game in the first place (apart from the unavoidable waves of hype). Gears of War is a gorgeous synergy of solid technology and breathtaking art. Released in 2006, it has taken the XBOX 360 a full year to show off games that are of this visual calibre. Set in Empyra, the fallen ‘classical’ capital of Sera and last bastion of human strength on the planet, the game charts ruined cityscapes, dilapidated buildings and the subterranean Locust Hollows. Its visual design is a class act all around that challenges the player to spot muddy textures, clipping or any other graphical shortcomings at every step. Textures are streamed off the disc both eliminating load times and creating the odd moment of blurriness but the rarity of this phenomena is excusable. Running at a steady clip of thirty frames per second, there will be plenty of time to survey the ruins for hiding spots or just for the sheer fun of doing so. To make sure you don’t miss anything, the Y button is wholly dedicated to shifting your view to whatever is contextually relevant when pressed. Whether that is a significant switch, a King Raptor chopper overhead, or a new emergence hole of Locusts, you’ll appreciate the touch. Some of the finest visual touches are the blood effects that have since been replicated in Unreal Tournament III as something of an engine trademark. Whenever a shotgun gibs a Locust up close or whenever the chainsaw bayonet eviscerates someone, blood splashes the screen. Even peppering the enemy with machinegun fire draws delightful trails of the thick red stuff through the sky and really gets the bloodlust going. In short Gears rivals anything on consoles in the looks department and is easily one of the prettiest (assuming carnage and ruin are ‘pretty’) things out there.

 

A Corpser- the largest boss in Gears.

 

Most complaints concern the length of Gears’ single-player campaign and admitedly no one will feel it’s long enough. On the way to the detonation of the Lightmass, Marcus will encounter some interesting challenges. There are kinetic puzzles, times when you have to avoid the darkness at night (you heard me) and a vehicle stage but the highlights are easily the bosses. With only three major boss encounters Gears is lucky that they are all impressive. The Berserkers are fun to toy with and the Corpser, a gigantic spider-like Locust, will keep your heart in your mouth until you realise what you’re meant to be doing. Let me just say that General RAAM, Locust boss and set piece final battle, is not anywhere near as hard as people make out, although it can become an annoyance as the fight itself is hard to figure out if you pay attention to everything going on. A very disappointing realisation is that a number of apparent ‘bosses’ are not implemented. Several times Marcus will encounter Seeders. Like most Corpser appearances, Seeders are NPC enemies that are usually dealt with by the superweapon, the Hammer of Dawn. Unlike Corpsers, there is no chance to take one on, or the Brumak from Act IV for that matter, face-to-face. That aside, the campaign is short but paced well. Except for a certain encounter with Theron Guards in Act III. You’ll see what I mean. Life is not a commodity in Gears of War and instead borrows heavily from the shield systems in games like Halo. While sustaining damage a ‘Crimson Omen’ (that thing on the game’s case) will burn itself into the screen. When the insignia completes itself, you’re dead. Staying out of trouble however, will cause it to recede. This means there is no downtime between one fight and the next, and no need to hunt down the pesky health packs three stages behind you because some lucky punk scored a gutshot with the Gnasher. Between this feature and the checkpoint system, which is very efficient at what it does, there will hardly be any backtracking at all. It’s great but, like the unfinished bosses, doesn’t do any favours for a game already on the short side.

 

Split-screen co-op is an unexpectedly charming feature.

 

Strong multiplayer offerings help alleviate the game’s abrupt conclusion. The entire campaign can be played co-op locally or via XBOX Live, with one of the players assuming the role of Marcus’ partner Dominic Santiago. Only after playing through this mode will you realise how much effort went into designing the game around two players working together, and how many new formations and strategies only come into play when there is one person drawing fire while the other sneaks up from behind. Competitive play boils down to variations of two common shooter games; Deathmatch and Domination. On the Deathmatch side there are gamemodes Warzone, Elimination and Execution, the differences bearing down on how players ‘die’. Normally death isn’t final- a nearby teammate can step up to an ailing foe and resurrect them on the spot. While you only get two resurrections per round, the onus is always on gibbing the enemy or moving to curb-stomping them to consolidate the kill. Domination modes Annex and King of the Hill were added post launch and since they’re not on the disc require a Live connection to obtain (why would you want to play these split-screen anyway?). Points in these games are awarded for control of a predefined area of the map. On their own these modes might sound stale but are really personified by the way Gears does business. Reflexes, aim and quick thinking are no more important than teamwork and planning- teams are the basic unit of play in these modes. The standard fare is four on four, but all the maps accommodate this number perfectly. Their design deserves special mention as well, from the Tyro Pillar train that rushes through the ‘Tyro Station’ map to the Troika emplacement gun in ‘War Machine’, each element of the maps have their own rationale and play is largely dictated by their layout. Combined with its already tight gameplay, Gears’ online components are strong enough to demand a Live subscription on their own. The multiplicities of strategy and cooperation mean these modes will never get old, and there is always the vague hope of further DLC being added down the line.

 

The crafty Theron Guards will prove to be infuriating adversaries.

 

Achievements have been portioned out evenly across the online and offline games. Finishing off the campaigns and bosses net a few hundred points, as does retrieving COG-(read: Dog) tags scattered throughout the world. Pulling some perfect active reloads and playing through certain sections as Dom offer a few more gamerscore and leave the remaining 400 or so to the Live arena. Headshots, certain weapon kills and various other things have their own recognitions but note that most are only attainable in Ranked Matches. Downloadable Content includes two map packs and as of writing both are free. Bradygames will charge you for videos of COG-tag hunts at 100 Microsoft Points per act (ouch) and a couple of exclusive bits and pieces are on the Video Store as well. Gears of War has a pretty standard Achievement distribution and 1250 (with the DLC) of points to its credit.

 

Annex involves controlling the area inside the coloured circle.

 

While the King of the Hill gametype found its way into the XBOX 360 version of Gears (in one way or another), the other additions to the recent PC port have not. Apart from the ability to manage high-quality assets and run at obscene resolutions, the PC version features five all new chapters and new single-player content totally roughly 20% of the original game. These extensions would be far more palatable if they did not include the Brumak battle that was relegated to an anti-climactic end-of-act cinematic on the console. Since a Windows Live account and all its trappings offset the excitement of a new boss somewhat, the PC version is not a clear recommendation to those who own a 360, but a pleasant novelty to staunch fans of the game or hardware junkies nonetheless.

 

The Brumak battle is one of those things exclusive to the PC version.

 

Gears of War has a trite storyline, multiplayer modes that don’t break new ground, a short single-player and is ultimately a shooter at heart. Now that those are out of the way, everything else is as polished and refined as any game could hope for. Gameplay is tight, original and intuitive. The campaign is well paced and well acted. Online modes are simple but addictive. Its graphics set a new standard and the gameworld is awe-inspiring. While it borrows some mechanics from other games, Gears appropriates and perfects them far beyond their original uses. In fact everything it attempts to do, it nails. Since it plays unlike anything before it, getting used to its handling may take a while and may feel initially awkward. Give it time. Once you get the hang of things you’ll be trying Insane difficulty and spending late nights online before you know it. The controls may have a steep learning curve but the game is so much fun that if you don’t give it a chance early on you’ll be kicking later when its majesty properly dawns on you. And it will, because in spite of its few minor shortcomings it does so many things so well. Gears of War: a must have for anyone with a 360 and the closest thing to a ‘perfect game’ that I have played in a long while. Highly recommended.

 

Story: 8/10

Gameplay: 10/10

Graphics (Artistic): 10/10

Graphics (Technical): 10/10

Presentation: 9/10

Multiplayer: 9/10

 

Overall: 9.5/10

 

Grade: A+

 

 

If Wii and DS games get a few points for innovating and shaking up the industry, Gears deserves undivided acclaim for taking the status quo in gaming and making it perfect. And I mean perfect. Epic have outdone themselves and every gamer, serious or casual, owes it to themselves to try Gears of War. I can’t recommend this game enough. Normally I would fight tooth and nail to put a negative spin on hyped up games... but to hell with that- Gears owns.

[Wizard]

Innovator? No, not really, didn't consider it as one, beyond the gameplay was just good. Happen to refine what RE4 started? Bravely so.

[Reaper man]

you forgot

 

Control: 0/10

 

stupid flocking lame ass dual analog control

[BlackKnight]

you forgot

 

Control: 0/10

 

stupid flocking lame ass dual analog control

 

Really? I thought the controls were what really made this game work... and why I don't think it'd be that great on a keyboard + mouse combo.

 

My only problem was the A button. Should have mentioned mapping roadie run and cover to the same button was a bad idea.

[L.S.D]

Lol, i thought you hate this game after some veteran screw you online?

[Smilee]

I really envy those who have the PC version of the game, always wanted to fight the brumak but thanks to Epic and time constraints it didn't happen on the 360. Good review, the game held me for a few good months until all the exploits and glitches online pretty much ruined a fun experience.

[BlackKnight]

Lol, i thought you hate this game after some veteran screw you online?

 

I hated this game for a long time. The online was just one issue- on top of learning what to do you, you have to put up with trash talk from punks the whole while. But like I said, once you get the hang of it its a lot more fun than it is at the beginning.

[Wizard]

OH SNAP.

[BlackKnight]

You could have at least linked to a music video or something.