Gamos
17 Dec 2006, 10:16
finally finished Gears of War last night (yes, that little Unreal Engine 3 game on X360) and in the end it was a bitter-sweet victory. Sweet, because it was possibly one of the best action shooters ever created but bitter, because it all ended so quick without much warning.
Gears takes the FPS genre and turns it on its head. Gone are run and gun tactics and dodge jumping, and in is a new cover system that makes all other shooters feel broken. It is a very simple concept, but done remarkably well. Press A on the controller to sprint (with and excellent desert storm like war cam effect) and if you are close enough to cover, you character will slam his back against it and can either take blind shots, or get up and aim at the enemy.
The mechanic is pretty similar to Halo actually. You have no health bar, just a certain amount of punishment you can take before you die. If you reach cover in time, you will recover health and continue on. It might sound simplistic, but it keeps the action fast paced with no down time or hunting for health kits. You also only carry 2 two handed weapons at a time, one pistol and a few grenades. If you find another gun on the battle field, it is sometimes a hard choice to decide to swap your weapons around. Do I want a sniper and a shotgun, or drop the sniper for a gun with faster rounds, but lack the ranged punch? It is very simple in concept but works.
You spend the entire game with at least 1 team mate at your side and AI from the team (and the enemy) are really good. Not once did I shout in frustration, and even when the messed up, you can go resurrect them. It is not a squad type shooter so don't expect intriquate order commands, it is an action marathon with another buddy delivering punishment next to you.
Then of course the graphics, the glorious-glorious graphics. Cliff and his team sure made a great advertisement for the Unreal Engine 3. Not only are the models detailed down to the scars on their faces, but little subtle effects makes it great to look at. Heat haze from the gun's nozzle, dust blowing up when you slam your back against cover, windows breaking, proper rain, beautiful water - you have it all. The last stage you find yourself on a train that instantly reminded me of an Assault map in UT2004. Except 10x prettier, more grimy, and essentially proof that this engine will power UT2007 and other games with the same graphics splendor.
The action is frequently interrupted by in-engine cut-scenes and they are perfect to set the mood, and does have a kind of Hollywood block buster flair to them, especially a scene where a chopper comes crashing to the ground and your team are forced to shoot their way to safety. It is done very well.
All isn't just honey and roses however. The game does become a bit samey at places. Checkpoint, cover, mow enemies down, checkpoint, cover, mow enemies down - it gets tired at stages, especially in the almost filler stages "the long road home". It doesn't help either that there are no more than a handful of enemy types. There are enough cut-scenes and variations on the theme (especially the brilliant driving stage), but some more enemies and variation would have kept it fresher for longer.
The ending also comes way too quick. After trying numerous times (must have been 20 retries) to kill a particularly hard boss, I Googled the solution only to discover that it was in fact the last boss. What? But...but...I am not done yet! The fight is far too quickly over where those familiar cut-scenes basically finish the story from that point. It is a satisfying story, but felt a bit quick.
I haven't touched multiplayer, but you can do the entire single player game in either split screen, system link or Xbox Live. There are also standard DM modes and few others. It seems Epic even has a surprise for Xmas ever this year. Perhaps new maps?
All in all a title the X360 can be proud to call its own exclusive. It is a remarkable game that takes meat and potatoes simplicity and give you some chili to spice it up.
9/10.
Gears takes the FPS genre and turns it on its head. Gone are run and gun tactics and dodge jumping, and in is a new cover system that makes all other shooters feel broken. It is a very simple concept, but done remarkably well. Press A on the controller to sprint (with and excellent desert storm like war cam effect) and if you are close enough to cover, you character will slam his back against it and can either take blind shots, or get up and aim at the enemy.
The mechanic is pretty similar to Halo actually. You have no health bar, just a certain amount of punishment you can take before you die. If you reach cover in time, you will recover health and continue on. It might sound simplistic, but it keeps the action fast paced with no down time or hunting for health kits. You also only carry 2 two handed weapons at a time, one pistol and a few grenades. If you find another gun on the battle field, it is sometimes a hard choice to decide to swap your weapons around. Do I want a sniper and a shotgun, or drop the sniper for a gun with faster rounds, but lack the ranged punch? It is very simple in concept but works.
You spend the entire game with at least 1 team mate at your side and AI from the team (and the enemy) are really good. Not once did I shout in frustration, and even when the messed up, you can go resurrect them. It is not a squad type shooter so don't expect intriquate order commands, it is an action marathon with another buddy delivering punishment next to you.
Then of course the graphics, the glorious-glorious graphics. Cliff and his team sure made a great advertisement for the Unreal Engine 3. Not only are the models detailed down to the scars on their faces, but little subtle effects makes it great to look at. Heat haze from the gun's nozzle, dust blowing up when you slam your back against cover, windows breaking, proper rain, beautiful water - you have it all. The last stage you find yourself on a train that instantly reminded me of an Assault map in UT2004. Except 10x prettier, more grimy, and essentially proof that this engine will power UT2007 and other games with the same graphics splendor.
The action is frequently interrupted by in-engine cut-scenes and they are perfect to set the mood, and does have a kind of Hollywood block buster flair to them, especially a scene where a chopper comes crashing to the ground and your team are forced to shoot their way to safety. It is done very well.
All isn't just honey and roses however. The game does become a bit samey at places. Checkpoint, cover, mow enemies down, checkpoint, cover, mow enemies down - it gets tired at stages, especially in the almost filler stages "the long road home". It doesn't help either that there are no more than a handful of enemy types. There are enough cut-scenes and variations on the theme (especially the brilliant driving stage), but some more enemies and variation would have kept it fresher for longer.
The ending also comes way too quick. After trying numerous times (must have been 20 retries) to kill a particularly hard boss, I Googled the solution only to discover that it was in fact the last boss. What? But...but...I am not done yet! The fight is far too quickly over where those familiar cut-scenes basically finish the story from that point. It is a satisfying story, but felt a bit quick.
I haven't touched multiplayer, but you can do the entire single player game in either split screen, system link or Xbox Live. There are also standard DM modes and few others. It seems Epic even has a surprise for Xmas ever this year. Perhaps new maps?
All in all a title the X360 can be proud to call its own exclusive. It is a remarkable game that takes meat and potatoes simplicity and give you some chili to spice it up.
9/10.