Gears Of War

If you love sci-fi Halo type shooter games then you'll love Gears of War.

On the other hand if you love shooters like Call of Duty or the realistic Tom Clancy series like I do, then you won't love Gears of War. This is where I fall into and that's why I give it a 3 of 5 for the fun factor, but a 4 of 5 for the entire game as a whole.

Gears of War was a very well executed game. Graphics are stunning, giving the game a realistic feel. The story line is kinda far fetched but it gave new twist to the FPS/TPS genre. The idea of being able to take cover is awesome and makes the shooter extra cool. Unlike a few other FPS games that i wont get into.

The controls are easy. The "pick-up-and-play" style make it easy for Super Gamers and the casual gamer to enjoy. Also, the fact that when you reload faster to you get a quick little damage buff. I dont know many other FPS/TPS that do that anymore. It's like a little mini game to play when your in the middle of battle.

Overall, Gears of War is an Outstanding game for anyone that enjoys the shooter genre. the storyline will blow your mind, along with everything else the game has to offer.

I easily Give this Game 555555 out of 55555

It's what I thought it would be, just awesome. Everything...just great! ONLY THING...story mode/Co op too short. Co op is really fun on this game since it's the same as story mode. Anyway, haven't played the second one yet, but I plan to!

Ever wanted to play "Starship Troopers" or a Michael Bay movie? Well for the zero of you that wished that now you have your wish

The game starts 14 years after "E Day" and we meet our main man Marcus Fenix who is voiced to perfection by John Dimaggio *aka Bender from Futurama* sitting in jail and rescued by his teammate Dom. Soon after we break out and get to know the world of "Gears of War" and get familiarized with it's cover and fight game play, it's raw in your face attitude, and it's never ending horde of various baddies dubbed..... "The Locust"

Visually the game is something to behold. It has this grey almost black and white look to it, and in fact if you pause the game or try to give command to your squad it does go black and white for a second. The creatures, the characters, the expansive environments as well the weapons all have a sharp quality to it that makes one feel like they were watching a live action movie. I only have a standard TV and looked this good so I can only imagine how it looks like on HD. I read this game was responsible for the 360 having a 512 ram and it takes full advantage of every bit of it. Amazing looking game.

Only slight complain about the visuals is that when you first start to play the game it's a bit difficult to tell who you're suppose to be shooting at since the baddies look identical to your teammates. I have that same problem with the "Call of Duty" games. Yeah you get use to their sight after the first couple of levels, but overall when there is a big battle going on it becomes very difficult to know who is who till they start biting or shooting at you.

The cut scenes in the game are a lot of fun to watch mainly for the over the top characters and their cliched demeanor. My personal favorites are the opening one in which after Dom tells Marcus; "Welcome back to the Army", his response is "S**t" and another favorite is the very last cut scene with The Queen making a dire warning to mankind.

My problem with the cut scenes is that I wish they had let the player actually play most of the cut scenes instead of just putting the controller down and watching some of the lengthy well animated scenes. A great example would be the last level in which you just watch the climatic ending. It would have been great to have played that cut scene instead of watching it but hopefully that problem will be fixed with the many sequels I'm sure is to come. "Half Life 2", "Resident Evil 4" and "Prince of Persia" all actively involve the player in the cut scenes and that makes them unique. Makes you feel like a part of the world

The audio goes hand in hand in hand with the excellent visuals and delivers a blistering track that stays very busy. The gunshots have a nice low end effect to them when you fire them that coupled with the shaking of the controller makes for a very satisfying shooting experience. The howls and screams from the creatures fills the speakers quite nicely and the "boom" from the Boomers gives the already busy subwoofer some work to do.

The music however is terrible in the game and I can now understand why they went with Jablonsky for the 2nd game. This is a game that plays and feels like a Michael Bay movie and yet the music is just lazy brass and a lot of non melodic noise. I actually had to turn off the music from the menu screen because it got too distracting but glad they have someone on board to get that "Media Venture" sound that the game called for.

There are lots of clever level designs in this game that require clever thinking and planning. The level with The Berseeker is a great example of this. Here is a level in which you have to be quiet because if this beast hears your footsteps he'll run at you and rip you to shreds, but on the other hand you need him to run at you so he can break open a hole in the wall for you. It's probably my favorite level in the game and I had to play it quite a couple of times to finally beat the guy.

The level with the birds that kill you in a heartbeat if you step in the dark is also a clever one. It forces the player to think before they move which is a welcome notion for me. You just don't run, shoot and cover, but you to apply some strategy here and there if you want to make it to the next chapter.

My big complaint and what keeps me from hailing this game as a masterpiece is that it's pretty much the same thing on every level and gets a bit tiring after a while. The first time you play it's great but the 2nd time it gets a bit tedious, but that's what multiplayer is for I guess. Where the game lacks in replay value for the single campaign, it makes up for with Co-Op play and online play, but it still would have been nice if the game offered a bit more in terms of what you had to do on every level.

It's a very short game with great visuals, great sound, and some occasional clever level designs. May not be the greatest game ever made, but it sure is a lot of fun

A must have for all 360 owners

I love this game. I beat it so quickly because I couldn't get enough of it. It's pretty to look at and very realistic. Makes you feel like a child with a cool toy. The online wasn't great, though.