Gears of War
I wasn't too interested in this game when I first heard about it. The trailers were all browns and greys; the notion of a "chainsaw bayonet" struck me as sophomoric, as did the ability to curb stomp downed opponents. The story didn't seem very interesting. It didn't really appeal to me, and I said as much on a couple of forums I frequent.
*munch, munch*
I'm actually enjoying eating my words, because Gears of War is so good that I can hardly bear to put it down. In hindsight, I'm not even sure why the browns and greys in the trailers turned me off, given my professed love for Resident Evil 4. Epic cited that very game as a strong stylistic and atmospheric influence, and it shows. If I had to categorize Gears, or describe it succinctly, I'd call it a third-person tactical action shooter with survival horror elements that draws on a number of classic science fiction tropes.
It's also by far the best-looking game I've ever seen. When I got my 360, I was wowed by the visuals in Oblivion and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, but Gears makes both games look positively dated.
(Click the screenshot for a fullsize version. The shot is in-game.)
As I alluded to above, the story is a fairly standard affair, but it blends its myriad influences well rather than coming across as a tired rip-off of any one of them. The dialogue is rife with over-the-top machismo, which is reflected clearly in the main characters' stylized burliness, but as the game progresses it becomes abundandly clear that most of them are tired, beaten down, or scared out of their minds, and the macho acts are just a cover. This makes an interesting contrast with the game's environments: the buildings, which were once beautiful, are almost uniformly broken ruins. Between the disparate influences and excellent use of art style to create atmosphere, Gears has proven much more subtle than I initially gave it credit for.
Having said all of that, the gameplay is what really makes Gears stand out from the crowd. Like the other aspects of the game, it oozes polish; the controls, weapons, and terrain were clearly lovingly tested and balanced. All of it combines to create an experience that just begs to be played co-op, whether split-screen or via Xbox Live, and true to its billing, Gears features seamless drop-in co-op in campaign mode. It can be played single-player, but it was clearly designed with two players in mind. There is a very strong emphasis on the use of cover, and while playing with a friend you'll find yourself executing flanking maneuvers, laying down suppressing fire, and making tactical retreats. All of these stratagems work exactly as you would expect them to, particularly if you're playing on Hardcore mode rather than Casual. The latter is more forgiving, making it suitable for single-player; on Hardcore, the enemies can take more hits, but they also pop up from cover less often and for less time, and are much more apt to try to flank you even as you're trying to flank them.
This is a vast improvement over games like GRAW, where the closest enemies come to shooting from behind cover is lying prone. I complained about limited tactical options in GRAW, but while the combat in Gears happens in much closer quarters, the ability to duck behind pretty much anything and then dodge from one piece of cover to the next makes it a much more tactical affair.
Gears is not without its flaws. Versus mode multiplayer has a few bugs that pop up intermittently, such as some allied players being unable to hear one another in voice chat during the game*; the A button may be mapped to one function too many, which sometimes results in sticking to cover while trying to run. However, none are anything more than minor irritants, and it's a testament to the immersiveness of the game and intuitiveness of its gameplay that it by and large makes you forget them.
This is the best game I've played all year, and I think it's going to sell some Xbox 360s.
Title: Gears of War (Epic), 2006
One-line verdict: Game of the Year material.
Review Platform: Xbox 360
*2007-02-02 Addendum: The voice chat bug was fixed by a patch released in January 2007, along with a couple of balance issues. There are also two new multiplayer maps available free.
*munch, munch*
I'm actually enjoying eating my words, because Gears of War is so good that I can hardly bear to put it down. In hindsight, I'm not even sure why the browns and greys in the trailers turned me off, given my professed love for Resident Evil 4. Epic cited that very game as a strong stylistic and atmospheric influence, and it shows. If I had to categorize Gears, or describe it succinctly, I'd call it a third-person tactical action shooter with survival horror elements that draws on a number of classic science fiction tropes.
It's also by far the best-looking game I've ever seen. When I got my 360, I was wowed by the visuals in Oblivion and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, but Gears makes both games look positively dated.
(Click the screenshot for a fullsize version. The shot is in-game.)
As I alluded to above, the story is a fairly standard affair, but it blends its myriad influences well rather than coming across as a tired rip-off of any one of them. The dialogue is rife with over-the-top machismo, which is reflected clearly in the main characters' stylized burliness, but as the game progresses it becomes abundandly clear that most of them are tired, beaten down, or scared out of their minds, and the macho acts are just a cover. This makes an interesting contrast with the game's environments: the buildings, which were once beautiful, are almost uniformly broken ruins. Between the disparate influences and excellent use of art style to create atmosphere, Gears has proven much more subtle than I initially gave it credit for.
Having said all of that, the gameplay is what really makes Gears stand out from the crowd. Like the other aspects of the game, it oozes polish; the controls, weapons, and terrain were clearly lovingly tested and balanced. All of it combines to create an experience that just begs to be played co-op, whether split-screen or via Xbox Live, and true to its billing, Gears features seamless drop-in co-op in campaign mode. It can be played single-player, but it was clearly designed with two players in mind. There is a very strong emphasis on the use of cover, and while playing with a friend you'll find yourself executing flanking maneuvers, laying down suppressing fire, and making tactical retreats. All of these stratagems work exactly as you would expect them to, particularly if you're playing on Hardcore mode rather than Casual. The latter is more forgiving, making it suitable for single-player; on Hardcore, the enemies can take more hits, but they also pop up from cover less often and for less time, and are much more apt to try to flank you even as you're trying to flank them.
This is a vast improvement over games like GRAW, where the closest enemies come to shooting from behind cover is lying prone. I complained about limited tactical options in GRAW, but while the combat in Gears happens in much closer quarters, the ability to duck behind pretty much anything and then dodge from one piece of cover to the next makes it a much more tactical affair.
Gears is not without its flaws. Versus mode multiplayer has a few bugs that pop up intermittently, such as some allied players being unable to hear one another in voice chat during the game*; the A button may be mapped to one function too many, which sometimes results in sticking to cover while trying to run. However, none are anything more than minor irritants, and it's a testament to the immersiveness of the game and intuitiveness of its gameplay that it by and large makes you forget them.
This is the best game I've played all year, and I think it's going to sell some Xbox 360s.
Title: Gears of War (Epic), 2006
One-line verdict: Game of the Year material.
Review Platform: Xbox 360
*2007-02-02 Addendum: The voice chat bug was fixed by a patch released in January 2007, along with a couple of balance issues. There are also two new multiplayer maps available free.