Gears of War Review

Overall Rating

Graphically exceptional. You'll need a large HD compatible screen to appreciate it.

Exceptionally smooth game engine. Charters and backgrounds scroll seamlessly under all conditions.

For now its Xbox 360's biggest hitting game. And it hits hard.

Annoying control system could have been better.

Online Multiplayer mode limited in some ways, ie. 4 players per team maximum.

Campaign mode too short.

Had Microsoft not publicly beaten their chest to a pulp over this game it would have been a marvellous discovery for us gamers. Indeed the television ad alone with its glorious graphics and that atmospheric rendition of 'Mad World' would have caught the attention and imagination of Xbox owners around the world, and left them chomping at the bit to purchase this game.

However, Microsoft didn't allow us to develop our own idea of what this game would be like, choosing instead to brainwash us with the ridiculous notion that Gears of War will be the best game of modern times, if not of all time. This is where Gears falls down (briefly), and could have stayed floored, killed by its own creator's hype. Let me explain.

At every given opportunity over the last year, Epic games and or Microsoft have given clear indications that Gears of War would be the ultimate on ALL fronts of next generation gaming experiences. Well, this is simply not the case. Graphically the game is awesome; however, delve further into the promised 'highly interactive world' and you find that the interactive ability is somewhat limited to the odd movable car or kickable door. Furthermore, at times the games backdrops look like a beautifully rendered painting, complete with a distant 'impassive stillness' that many paintings impart.

Next there's the game play... Outrageously the game engineers chose to use a simplified charter control system; in this case button A. (Apparently gamers don't want to learn complicated control systems any more). That's all very well until you find yourself holding button A (A button to run) in an attempt to flee advancing foes, but instead attach yourself to the nearest wall while remaining fully exposed. Ditto if you do manage to break into a run and stray too close to any object; BANG you're glued to it like a fly (A button also takes cover).

MS/Epic have also made Grenade usage overcomplicated in an attempt to try and simplify things for this unspecified new bread of player. The game gives the player an arcing beam to illustrate exactly where the nag will land, but you need FOUR buttons to do this:

(1) Dpad up to select nag
(2) LT to swing nag and engage said beam
(3) Right analog stick to aim (whilst holding LT)
(4) RT to throw nag

As a result, you tend to only use explosive nags in close quarters when you can throw them adhoc, or to attach them directly to your opponents body; because with the time it takes to do all the above in the middle of a fire fight, you'll find yourself being shot to shreds.

Many of these faults are minor, and some are most likely a result of choosing a 3rd person perspective game engine, as opposed to the usual 1st person shooter. But these faults took their toll on my initial first encounter with the game. Almost immediately into the game the experience only felt 'ordinary' as opposed to the blow your mind stuff that Microsoft promised.

Now three weeks into game ownership, Gears of War still feels 'ordinary', but it's a great ordinary. The game is without a doubt the smoothest I've played online/offline. The graphics (especially charter features) are second to none that I know of, and the maps are wholly acceptable. There are a few moments of intense gore, like your first close up of a Berserker (the female locust and freaking ugly), and of course exploding bodies. However, the campaign mode ends fairly quickly, with a clear-cut indication of a second game.

To summarise, for what it is, Gears of War is a superb game, and arguably the best currently available for the 360. I am impressed and fairly happy with what I got for £50 (collectors edition)!

In addition, 95% of the thing this game does, it does extremely well. But for me, it just doesn't live up to the hype its makers spread across the Globe during the whole of 2006. So, although new game technology enables the game to run incredibly smoothly no matter what is happening on screen, to me it's still a fairly standard gaming experience, that would have been far far better, if only Microsoft and Epic had left the shoddy propaganda at home.

Members' Comments onHarmonica's Review

• jpshelton on 6th Feb 2007

  Gears of War certainly lives up to all the hype, and if you have not got an XBox 360 yet, then get out and buy one, and make this game your Number 1 choice.

• Harmonica on 8th Feb 2007

  Thanks for your comment. After owning Gears of War from the day of release, to date, I cannot fully agree.
  
  Graphically, the game is an experience in itself. The game engine as mentioned before is outstanding; remarkable even, but the playing experience is not as awe-inspiring, and certainly not representative on the hype that preceded the game release.
  
  I’ve played practically nothing else since purchase, because as you rightly point out, this is the best game on the 360 bar none. However, my original review was a in-depth, and a true reflection of gaming, both with Gears of War and multiple preceding 1st person and 3rd person perspective shooters on multiple platforms. As such, if you have less experience of games from SEGA master systems right through to 3DO & PC, I can fully understand your stance with Gears of War. It is a great game!
  
  Yet to this day, the control system continues to annoy and frustrate me, while the online multiplayer experience has gone from great, to good, to at best average in this time, as Epic’s ‘compulsory’ downloads/upgrades have ruined the menu system, introduced multiple connection problems (the online game crashes on average 1 in 3 games without fail), reduced the points awarded ratio, AND perhaps most annoyingly, reset the power and range of the shotgun.
  
  Since the online game has turned from strategy and skill, to a continuous blasting frenzy, as no other weapon can compete with the shotgun from medium to close range, gun butts have been rendered useless, as has machine and hand gun trades against another player using his shotgun.
  
  Please do not suppose I’m just a ‘poor player’. My current rank on Gears of war is 11,000 out of 600,000 + players worldwide, who have entered Ranked Warzone at some point.
  
  However, as recently as last night, I found myself simply switching the game off out of frustration due to these Epic changes that make for a poorer quality online experience, than the one they delivered back in November 2006.
  
  Admittedly, this is the first in the line up of Gears of War titles, just like Halo 1 through to 2, so the next Gears of War should be the near perfect article, and I must reiterate that this game is without a doubt among the best available anywhere on any format at this moment in time. But for me it falls short in the areas mentioned.

• jpshelton on 8th Feb 2007

  Having read your review, I can see your frustration with Gears of War online. I have not had the experience of online gaming. And to be honest, with what you say, I hope in future and for future titles these blips can be erased. That way good games will maybe become great games, and certainly Halo 3 promises to be the best title coming our way (on and offline) - well, let's hope anyway.