dogsounds reviews: Gears Of War
Originally written just after launch
There's probably very little to write in this review that hasn't already been said a million times before. There have been a lot of promises made about the 'next generation' of gaming, and in a lot of cases, across all platforms, these have yet to materialize. But in Epic's outstanding "Gears of War", we see the first real taste of what 'next-gen' really means. Now, it is important to note here that the glimpse of 'next-gen' afforded by this game really only relates to visuals. It is not inconceivable that this game could have been released on the last-gen Xbox, with the only major difference being the graphics and perhaps some of the size of the maps reduced. In terms of gameplay, nothing much offered by this game would have been impossible. Games like BLACK showed just how much of the Xbox's potential lay untapped for so much of it's five-year lifespan.
But that is not to detract from the game's worth. Aside from what you look at, the gameplay is such that you find yourself drawn in completely, and there is very little within the game that you can actually point at and say "that sucks". So, to the game. Much has been said of the game's story - or lack of. Although the story and characterisation in the game are not of the same depth and quality of something like, say, Halo, we are not talking irrelevant uncoordinated nonsense such as you would find in Lost Planet. What there is fits together fairly well and serves the purpose of the game nicely. However, although on first playthrough there seems little story apparent, the more you play it, the more you see little details that suggest a more considered and thoughtful plot. Admittedly, there is not that much revealed in-game - for example, Imulsion and its importance are not discussed greatly in the game context - but if you look hard enough around the game and the web, you can find it.
The game takes place on the planet Sera, a world colonised by humans. Life on Sera was pretty good, and judging by the scenery you see in-game, peaceful, democratic and artistic. This all changed with the discovery of Imulsion, a natural substance that cold be harnessed as a remarkably efficient fuel in such a way that all the planet's energy needs would be met. Sadly, those territories that had access to the natural reserves of Imusion were viewed jealously by those that did not, and conflict inevitably ensued. This conflict continued - by way of an allegory of modern-day oil-fuelled confrontations - until Emergence Day.
On that fateful day, the Locust Horde, a subterranean population of aggressive, warrior-like "ugly alien dudes" gathered under every major city on Sera, surfaced, and laid waste to anything they could find. Traditionally seen as myth or Boogeyman, the Horde were more powerful than had ever been previously assumed. It is assumed that the Horde are angered at the humans' mining of Imulsion and encroachment into their domain (although their true motivations are never explained). Previously warring factions came together as the Coalition of Ordered Governments, and now faced with little option and overwhelmed by a seemingly superior enemy, the COG have little choice but to cut their losses and instigate a 'scorched earth' policy - destroy their own cities and territories with weapons of mass destruction and orbital beam weapons, to prevent the Horde from capturing them. The survivors of this policy gathered in the one remaining safe harbor - Jacinto Plateau - an area of granite impenetrable to the Locust. However, now the Locust are upon the Plateau, and nowhere is safe any longer.
You start the game in Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary, and you are Marcus Fenix, A Gear (soldier of the COG) jailed for 40 years for dereliction of duty because you abandoned your post to save your father. Things are going badly now, and the COG has deemed that with numbers dwindling, all able bodied souls - jailed or not - should take up arms against the Horde. You are busted out of jail by your comrade in arms Dominic Santiago, and here the adventure begins.
Now, I feel I should discuss the gameplay first here. Like I suggested earlier, nothing in the gameplay is specifically new or 'next-gen'. Simply, you run through the levels moving from objective to objective, taking out alien dudes along the way. But what makes this game stand out and so enjoyable is the way the gameplay is implemented. Rather than a simple, tried and tested run-and-gun approach, Gears makes you use cover - all the time. Anything from concrete blocks, to cars and buildings can be used, and the mechanic is simple, intuitive and effective. Now, it is nothing new - games like kill.switch and Rainbow Six have used cover, but in Gears I feel you see the most effective use of a cover system yet. Had this been an FPS, it would not have worked, but as the game is played frm a third-person perspective, it works perfectly. And it takes all of ten seconds to learn, which is good, because if you don't use it, you are toast. Every time.
And the selection of weapons adds to the 'work for your money' ethic of the gameplay. Although they are nicely varied, if I am honest, there are only a small handful of weapons that you really need. The default Lancer assault rifle is usually your start weapon, and in most cases takes care of most enemies. And it also has the added bonus of having a chainsaw bayonet - a chainsaw! One of the most satisying things about Gears is the chainsaw attack - approach an unsupecting enemy and fire that sucker up. As your blade cuts through the poor unfortunate, blood and gore fly every which way - and even onto the camera, leaving blood spatters across your screen. It is one of the most satisying ways to take out an enemy I have ever come across, and because there is an inherent risk in doing it - you open yourself up to fire or melee attacks from the enemy - you feel a certain sense of achievement when you do it successfully.
Other weapons include the Locust equivalent of the Lancer, which does not have a chainsaw attachment, but does have a little more stopping power. However, like Halo 2's Battle Rifle, it fires in three-round bursts, which can be a pain when you are simply trying to put as much lead in an enemy in as short a time as possible. There is also a human Sniper Rifle, which is a bolt-action weapon, but offers one-shot kills. Grenades are interesting - rather than the standard fare, these are bolo grenades - the grenade is on the end of a chain, so rather than simply throwing them you have to wind up and hurl them like a slingshot. However, although you are given a handy aiming reticle to see exactly where they should land, more often than not the camera angle is such that you can't tell where this will be - so although they are useful, they are not perfect, and often there is a fair bit of luck involved in using them successfully. There are other weapons in the game, such as the Boomshot rocket launcher used by Locust Boomers, or the Torque Bow used by the Theron Guards - a sort of crossbow- energy-exploding-projectile-weapon - and a standard pistol. But as with most games you'll tend to find which work best for you and stick to those. I have to admit that despite everyone raving about the Torque Bow, I have never got the hang of it, and avoid it. I would much rather have the sniper, truth be told.
The one truly unique aspect present in Gears, and related to weapons, is the Active Reload on all weapons. In an interesting twist, Epic thought it would be an idea to take the usually simple act of reloading and make it into a mini-game in its own right. Basically, below every weapon on the HUD is a small bar, in the middle of which is a white hotspot. Simply put, when you hit the right bumper to reload, a line whizzes across it. If you hit the bumper again at exactly the right time and get the bar in the hotspot, you are rewarded with a quicker reload and a little more stopping power for a short time. Stop the line just outside the hotspot in the gray area, and you simply get a quicker reload. Miss the hotspot and the outer gray area altogether, and your weapon jams - giving you a longer reload, and usually eliciting profanities from Marcus. It sounds fiddly, but once you have done it a few times it becomes instinctive, and fun, and it even garners achievement points if you are particularly proficient. Enemy AI is great, and one thing to realise is that the Locust are just as keyed up about the cover system as you are. They will use it, and they will also take advantage of destructible objects that you may be hiding behind - by trying to destroy them. They will also flank you, given half the chance, whilst you are enagaged fighting others. You will fight against a number of different Locust troops, all big, ugly and hard as nails. The enemies are nicely balanced, stepping up in diffculty levels, from the basic grunts to the tougher Theron Guards, all the way to the awesome and totally pant-wettingly sweat-inducing Beserker - a blind, female behemoth who tracks you by sound, and whose method of attack is simply running into you like a Mack truck and smearing you across whatever surface is nearest - as well as taking out most of the scenery at the same time. She is that hard.
The AI of your teammates is also impressive for the most part, and banter amongst them is often funny and satisfying. The team all counterpoint each other, and bitch equally, like an old married couple - if a couple involved five people. You play as Delta Squad, which includes Fenix, Dominic, Baird and Carmine. You also pick up a member of Alpha Squad - Augustus "The Cole Train" Cole. One can only assume that Carmine is not quite the hard man of the team, as he keeps his helmet firmly on, whilst everyone else is obviously crazy enough to run around with heads fully exposed. The team dynamic is very good, and although the script could have used a little extra depth and complexity, it serves its purpose well, and keeps you entertained.
Missions within the game are nicely varied, although there is only so much variation to be had given the basic 'shoot ugly subterranean alien dudes' premise. At its heart Gears is an action game, not a thinker, so there should be no expectations of complex logistics or missions here.
A fantastic touch is added about a third of the way in as night begins to fall, and you get to deal with the complex little buggers that are the Krill. These flying devils (lifted straight out of Pitch Black, it has to be said) will add an extra dimension to your gameplay. They shun the light, and are creatures of the dark, atttacking anything stupid enough to enter the shadows swiftly and mercilessly, like flying pihranas. As you progress through the streets at night you are forced to plan your movements according to where the light and dark areas are, and often you are required to improvise light sources to open up a path that would otherwise be a pretty certain journey to join the choir invisble. On paper, this sounds like an idea that would definitely turn off the fun-tap, but in practice Epic have incorporated it perfectly.
Audio is excellent. From weapons fire to voice talent, from ambient environmental sounds to the ever-present screeching of the Krill during the night-time chapters, everything works together to give a satisfying aural backdrop. My only one quibble would be the seeming lack of any helicopter noise when the level Campus Grinder starts - you hear bullets whizzing off the metal plate, but the helicopter itself makes no noise. Oops!
Thankfully, Epic chose a "less is more" approach to the soundtrack, and you have to give them credit for this. What music their is is good, solid stuff, and fits very well with the bravado and action-hero machismo of the protagonists.
Now, finally, I turn to the visuals. Do I really need to say anything? Epic have given us what is most likely the best-looking game on the 360 to date, and although they will no doubt be surpassed by future games as the lifecycle of the console moves along, they certainly set a very high bar for which other developers must now surely aim.
Lighting and colors are incredible. The default color scheme has a washed out, Band of Brothers feel to it. Epic obviously realised that not all gamers would appreciate this, and that some would want some kick-ass colors to show off their new console and big-ass hi-def screens, so they included options to change the coloration to more intense levels. The design of the surface levels suggest perfectly the destruction and desolation left behind on Sera, but also, in a subtle way, they also create a feel for Sera that is very interesting - one of a lost, great civilisation of artists and thinkers. These are not just futuristic city streets laid to waste. In fact, there is almost nothing here that wold be out of place in eighteenth century Paris or Vienna. Instead we see great stone buildings, museums, galleries, conservatories. It is like looking at the ruins of ancient Greece or Rome, some lost city of noble thinkers and artisans. It is very effectively carried out, and a line on the rear of the game box further reinforces this: "Cties crumbling, Man's greatest works fallen". A very odd statement to make, unless you think that designers had a very specific Utopia in mind for Sera, which I think they have created, marvellously.
Characters are brilliantly executed. The Gears are big, thick dudes, with huge armor, thick necks, and suitably gruff expressions on their faces. Locust models are lumpy, alien, grubby and altogether repusive and look like they smell real bad. Everyone, human and Locust, is big. And, rather bizarrely, sometimes characters have a strangely pleasing ambient inner glow about them, as if we are looking at some tiny creature in an electron microscope. Wierd, but nice.
Cutscenes are brilliantly executed - take the cutscene where we first see General Raam - the composition and camerawork is perfect. There are a couple of areas that detract form the awesome images though, albeit minor. Epic have fallen foul of a familiar trick on the Xbox 360 that I have seen in other games such as Rainbow Six Vegas: when you are in the dark, it seems that instead of just being in the dark, they merely drop the color palette down to a 'Windows Safe Mode' effect, where only a few dark tones can be seen. I can't help thinking that this is a bit of a cheap, unsatisfying trick, given the amount of bang you get for your buck in other lighting conditions. Also, sometimes you can see that some grubby or matt textures are achieved by overlaying a transparent grainy map image on the object. Next time you get chance, go and look close up at the nose of a dead Seeder, and shift your view slightly over the leather-like armour on its head. You'll see the texture map move independent of the actual creature's head. Whilst this makes surfaces look fantastic from a distance, close up it is a bit dissapointing. Similarly, next time you are on the approach to the Imulsion mine, study closely the shimmering rainfall on pipes and silos. Here they seem to have used an 'Amiga palette cycle' effect - again, great from a distance, but a bit poor close up. FInally, although the effort expended on the Gears and Locust characters is fantastic, I can't help thinking that other characters in the game look a little poorly textured, often with low-res, blurry clothing and badly-animated body movements. Still, these are but small niggles, and do not detract from the gameplay.
Now, this is the difficult bit. Multiplayer. I have tried it once, and I know some people think it rocks, but I can only say this - my experience? It sucked.
I am used to Halo or Call of Duty. So after joining three games and defaulting to spectator mode right from the start, or starting a game, dying within 20 seconds and having to sit the rest of the game out in spectator mode? Not my bag. So I am afraid that is all I can offer on multiplayer.
However...there is the option of online co-op play. And I have to say, this is the best example of online co-op I have ever seen. Ever. End of. I seriously, seriously hope that most of the major developers out there take note and start implementing online co-op as a STANDARD in their games. There is nothing so cool as playing co-op with a friend but keeping the whole screen to yourself (and with my 37" LCD, that just rocks :) ) Drop-in, drop-out is seamless. One minute, Dominic Santiago is next to you. The next, it is your friend and you are chatting over Xbox live whilst you play. And the fact that on harder difficulty setting, co-op is kind of a must means that by the simple addition of online co-op, Epic have added a whole new level of replayabilty to the game, because it enables you to do stuff that, for most folks, would not be achievable. In most games, co-op just allows you to share an experience that you could do by yourself, but in Gears, completion of some tasks has the need for co-op built in. So, in conclusion, Gears Of War may only have two real, neat innovations - online co-op and Active Reload. And these aren't particularly next-gen. But when you take the package as a whole, with the awesome audio, graphics, gameeplay and immersion, you are given as a whole something that you could not have hoped to experience on the last generation of consoles.
And given that Xbox 360 games that we play in four, five years time will make games like Gears of War look like half-assed, easy rides for the systems' triple cores, you know what? I can't wait. Bring it!
There's probably very little to write in this review that hasn't already been said a million times before. There have been a lot of promises made about the 'next generation' of gaming, and in a lot of cases, across all platforms, these have yet to materialize. But in Epic's outstanding "Gears of War", we see the first real taste of what 'next-gen' really means. Now, it is important to note here that the glimpse of 'next-gen' afforded by this game really only relates to visuals. It is not inconceivable that this game could have been released on the last-gen Xbox, with the only major difference being the graphics and perhaps some of the size of the maps reduced. In terms of gameplay, nothing much offered by this game would have been impossible. Games like BLACK showed just how much of the Xbox's potential lay untapped for so much of it's five-year lifespan.
But that is not to detract from the game's worth. Aside from what you look at, the gameplay is such that you find yourself drawn in completely, and there is very little within the game that you can actually point at and say "that sucks". So, to the game. Much has been said of the game's story - or lack of. Although the story and characterisation in the game are not of the same depth and quality of something like, say, Halo, we are not talking irrelevant uncoordinated nonsense such as you would find in Lost Planet. What there is fits together fairly well and serves the purpose of the game nicely. However, although on first playthrough there seems little story apparent, the more you play it, the more you see little details that suggest a more considered and thoughtful plot. Admittedly, there is not that much revealed in-game - for example, Imulsion and its importance are not discussed greatly in the game context - but if you look hard enough around the game and the web, you can find it.
The game takes place on the planet Sera, a world colonised by humans. Life on Sera was pretty good, and judging by the scenery you see in-game, peaceful, democratic and artistic. This all changed with the discovery of Imulsion, a natural substance that cold be harnessed as a remarkably efficient fuel in such a way that all the planet's energy needs would be met. Sadly, those territories that had access to the natural reserves of Imusion were viewed jealously by those that did not, and conflict inevitably ensued. This conflict continued - by way of an allegory of modern-day oil-fuelled confrontations - until Emergence Day.
On that fateful day, the Locust Horde, a subterranean population of aggressive, warrior-like "ugly alien dudes" gathered under every major city on Sera, surfaced, and laid waste to anything they could find. Traditionally seen as myth or Boogeyman, the Horde were more powerful than had ever been previously assumed. It is assumed that the Horde are angered at the humans' mining of Imulsion and encroachment into their domain (although their true motivations are never explained). Previously warring factions came together as the Coalition of Ordered Governments, and now faced with little option and overwhelmed by a seemingly superior enemy, the COG have little choice but to cut their losses and instigate a 'scorched earth' policy - destroy their own cities and territories with weapons of mass destruction and orbital beam weapons, to prevent the Horde from capturing them. The survivors of this policy gathered in the one remaining safe harbor - Jacinto Plateau - an area of granite impenetrable to the Locust. However, now the Locust are upon the Plateau, and nowhere is safe any longer.
You start the game in Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary, and you are Marcus Fenix, A Gear (soldier of the COG) jailed for 40 years for dereliction of duty because you abandoned your post to save your father. Things are going badly now, and the COG has deemed that with numbers dwindling, all able bodied souls - jailed or not - should take up arms against the Horde. You are busted out of jail by your comrade in arms Dominic Santiago, and here the adventure begins.
Now, I feel I should discuss the gameplay first here. Like I suggested earlier, nothing in the gameplay is specifically new or 'next-gen'. Simply, you run through the levels moving from objective to objective, taking out alien dudes along the way. But what makes this game stand out and so enjoyable is the way the gameplay is implemented. Rather than a simple, tried and tested run-and-gun approach, Gears makes you use cover - all the time. Anything from concrete blocks, to cars and buildings can be used, and the mechanic is simple, intuitive and effective. Now, it is nothing new - games like kill.switch and Rainbow Six have used cover, but in Gears I feel you see the most effective use of a cover system yet. Had this been an FPS, it would not have worked, but as the game is played frm a third-person perspective, it works perfectly. And it takes all of ten seconds to learn, which is good, because if you don't use it, you are toast. Every time.
And the selection of weapons adds to the 'work for your money' ethic of the gameplay. Although they are nicely varied, if I am honest, there are only a small handful of weapons that you really need. The default Lancer assault rifle is usually your start weapon, and in most cases takes care of most enemies. And it also has the added bonus of having a chainsaw bayonet - a chainsaw! One of the most satisying things about Gears is the chainsaw attack - approach an unsupecting enemy and fire that sucker up. As your blade cuts through the poor unfortunate, blood and gore fly every which way - and even onto the camera, leaving blood spatters across your screen. It is one of the most satisying ways to take out an enemy I have ever come across, and because there is an inherent risk in doing it - you open yourself up to fire or melee attacks from the enemy - you feel a certain sense of achievement when you do it successfully.
Other weapons include the Locust equivalent of the Lancer, which does not have a chainsaw attachment, but does have a little more stopping power. However, like Halo 2's Battle Rifle, it fires in three-round bursts, which can be a pain when you are simply trying to put as much lead in an enemy in as short a time as possible. There is also a human Sniper Rifle, which is a bolt-action weapon, but offers one-shot kills. Grenades are interesting - rather than the standard fare, these are bolo grenades - the grenade is on the end of a chain, so rather than simply throwing them you have to wind up and hurl them like a slingshot. However, although you are given a handy aiming reticle to see exactly where they should land, more often than not the camera angle is such that you can't tell where this will be - so although they are useful, they are not perfect, and often there is a fair bit of luck involved in using them successfully. There are other weapons in the game, such as the Boomshot rocket launcher used by Locust Boomers, or the Torque Bow used by the Theron Guards - a sort of crossbow- energy-exploding-projectile-weapon - and a standard pistol. But as with most games you'll tend to find which work best for you and stick to those. I have to admit that despite everyone raving about the Torque Bow, I have never got the hang of it, and avoid it. I would much rather have the sniper, truth be told.
The one truly unique aspect present in Gears, and related to weapons, is the Active Reload on all weapons. In an interesting twist, Epic thought it would be an idea to take the usually simple act of reloading and make it into a mini-game in its own right. Basically, below every weapon on the HUD is a small bar, in the middle of which is a white hotspot. Simply put, when you hit the right bumper to reload, a line whizzes across it. If you hit the bumper again at exactly the right time and get the bar in the hotspot, you are rewarded with a quicker reload and a little more stopping power for a short time. Stop the line just outside the hotspot in the gray area, and you simply get a quicker reload. Miss the hotspot and the outer gray area altogether, and your weapon jams - giving you a longer reload, and usually eliciting profanities from Marcus. It sounds fiddly, but once you have done it a few times it becomes instinctive, and fun, and it even garners achievement points if you are particularly proficient. Enemy AI is great, and one thing to realise is that the Locust are just as keyed up about the cover system as you are. They will use it, and they will also take advantage of destructible objects that you may be hiding behind - by trying to destroy them. They will also flank you, given half the chance, whilst you are enagaged fighting others. You will fight against a number of different Locust troops, all big, ugly and hard as nails. The enemies are nicely balanced, stepping up in diffculty levels, from the basic grunts to the tougher Theron Guards, all the way to the awesome and totally pant-wettingly sweat-inducing Beserker - a blind, female behemoth who tracks you by sound, and whose method of attack is simply running into you like a Mack truck and smearing you across whatever surface is nearest - as well as taking out most of the scenery at the same time. She is that hard.
The AI of your teammates is also impressive for the most part, and banter amongst them is often funny and satisfying. The team all counterpoint each other, and bitch equally, like an old married couple - if a couple involved five people. You play as Delta Squad, which includes Fenix, Dominic, Baird and Carmine. You also pick up a member of Alpha Squad - Augustus "The Cole Train" Cole. One can only assume that Carmine is not quite the hard man of the team, as he keeps his helmet firmly on, whilst everyone else is obviously crazy enough to run around with heads fully exposed. The team dynamic is very good, and although the script could have used a little extra depth and complexity, it serves its purpose well, and keeps you entertained.
Missions within the game are nicely varied, although there is only so much variation to be had given the basic 'shoot ugly subterranean alien dudes' premise. At its heart Gears is an action game, not a thinker, so there should be no expectations of complex logistics or missions here.
A fantastic touch is added about a third of the way in as night begins to fall, and you get to deal with the complex little buggers that are the Krill. These flying devils (lifted straight out of Pitch Black, it has to be said) will add an extra dimension to your gameplay. They shun the light, and are creatures of the dark, atttacking anything stupid enough to enter the shadows swiftly and mercilessly, like flying pihranas. As you progress through the streets at night you are forced to plan your movements according to where the light and dark areas are, and often you are required to improvise light sources to open up a path that would otherwise be a pretty certain journey to join the choir invisble. On paper, this sounds like an idea that would definitely turn off the fun-tap, but in practice Epic have incorporated it perfectly.
Audio is excellent. From weapons fire to voice talent, from ambient environmental sounds to the ever-present screeching of the Krill during the night-time chapters, everything works together to give a satisfying aural backdrop. My only one quibble would be the seeming lack of any helicopter noise when the level Campus Grinder starts - you hear bullets whizzing off the metal plate, but the helicopter itself makes no noise. Oops!
Thankfully, Epic chose a "less is more" approach to the soundtrack, and you have to give them credit for this. What music their is is good, solid stuff, and fits very well with the bravado and action-hero machismo of the protagonists.
Now, finally, I turn to the visuals. Do I really need to say anything? Epic have given us what is most likely the best-looking game on the 360 to date, and although they will no doubt be surpassed by future games as the lifecycle of the console moves along, they certainly set a very high bar for which other developers must now surely aim.
Lighting and colors are incredible. The default color scheme has a washed out, Band of Brothers feel to it. Epic obviously realised that not all gamers would appreciate this, and that some would want some kick-ass colors to show off their new console and big-ass hi-def screens, so they included options to change the coloration to more intense levels. The design of the surface levels suggest perfectly the destruction and desolation left behind on Sera, but also, in a subtle way, they also create a feel for Sera that is very interesting - one of a lost, great civilisation of artists and thinkers. These are not just futuristic city streets laid to waste. In fact, there is almost nothing here that wold be out of place in eighteenth century Paris or Vienna. Instead we see great stone buildings, museums, galleries, conservatories. It is like looking at the ruins of ancient Greece or Rome, some lost city of noble thinkers and artisans. It is very effectively carried out, and a line on the rear of the game box further reinforces this: "Cties crumbling, Man's greatest works fallen". A very odd statement to make, unless you think that designers had a very specific Utopia in mind for Sera, which I think they have created, marvellously.
Characters are brilliantly executed. The Gears are big, thick dudes, with huge armor, thick necks, and suitably gruff expressions on their faces. Locust models are lumpy, alien, grubby and altogether repusive and look like they smell real bad. Everyone, human and Locust, is big. And, rather bizarrely, sometimes characters have a strangely pleasing ambient inner glow about them, as if we are looking at some tiny creature in an electron microscope. Wierd, but nice.
Cutscenes are brilliantly executed - take the cutscene where we first see General Raam - the composition and camerawork is perfect. There are a couple of areas that detract form the awesome images though, albeit minor. Epic have fallen foul of a familiar trick on the Xbox 360 that I have seen in other games such as Rainbow Six Vegas: when you are in the dark, it seems that instead of just being in the dark, they merely drop the color palette down to a 'Windows Safe Mode' effect, where only a few dark tones can be seen. I can't help thinking that this is a bit of a cheap, unsatisfying trick, given the amount of bang you get for your buck in other lighting conditions. Also, sometimes you can see that some grubby or matt textures are achieved by overlaying a transparent grainy map image on the object. Next time you get chance, go and look close up at the nose of a dead Seeder, and shift your view slightly over the leather-like armour on its head. You'll see the texture map move independent of the actual creature's head. Whilst this makes surfaces look fantastic from a distance, close up it is a bit dissapointing. Similarly, next time you are on the approach to the Imulsion mine, study closely the shimmering rainfall on pipes and silos. Here they seem to have used an 'Amiga palette cycle' effect - again, great from a distance, but a bit poor close up. FInally, although the effort expended on the Gears and Locust characters is fantastic, I can't help thinking that other characters in the game look a little poorly textured, often with low-res, blurry clothing and badly-animated body movements. Still, these are but small niggles, and do not detract from the gameplay.
Now, this is the difficult bit. Multiplayer. I have tried it once, and I know some people think it rocks, but I can only say this - my experience? It sucked.
I am used to Halo or Call of Duty. So after joining three games and defaulting to spectator mode right from the start, or starting a game, dying within 20 seconds and having to sit the rest of the game out in spectator mode? Not my bag. So I am afraid that is all I can offer on multiplayer.
However...there is the option of online co-op play. And I have to say, this is the best example of online co-op I have ever seen. Ever. End of. I seriously, seriously hope that most of the major developers out there take note and start implementing online co-op as a STANDARD in their games. There is nothing so cool as playing co-op with a friend but keeping the whole screen to yourself (and with my 37" LCD, that just rocks :) ) Drop-in, drop-out is seamless. One minute, Dominic Santiago is next to you. The next, it is your friend and you are chatting over Xbox live whilst you play. And the fact that on harder difficulty setting, co-op is kind of a must means that by the simple addition of online co-op, Epic have added a whole new level of replayabilty to the game, because it enables you to do stuff that, for most folks, would not be achievable. In most games, co-op just allows you to share an experience that you could do by yourself, but in Gears, completion of some tasks has the need for co-op built in. So, in conclusion, Gears Of War may only have two real, neat innovations - online co-op and Active Reload. And these aren't particularly next-gen. But when you take the package as a whole, with the awesome audio, graphics, gameeplay and immersion, you are given as a whole something that you could not have hoped to experience on the last generation of consoles.
And given that Xbox 360 games that we play in four, five years time will make games like Gears of War look like half-assed, easy rides for the systems' triple cores, you know what? I can't wait. Bring it!
