Gears of War

Everyone has talked about Gears of War's jaw-dropping graphics. If you haven't seen them yet, you're missing out on an incredible achievement in art and technology. The post-apocalyptic landscapes and the ash-shaded, world-weary faces of the characters are better than realistic - they exist in the hyper-reality of imagination. The soundtrack is operatic, tightening the drama and tension of the plot, which, while it could have fleshed out the characters with more detail or provided more back story on the invaders, is still interesting and relevant. The seamless integration of action and narrative is a rare accomplishment and I love that while playing Gears, I never feel like the exposition is tacked on to move me from one point to another like a puppet on a string. The gameplay is tight. Seriously. The controls are intuitive, precise and near-flawless in their application. After a few minutes of mucking about in the training area, you'll stop thinking about them altogether and that's the highest compliment I've got. When the mechanics of the game fade to transparent as you experience your way through the game, then someone behind the keyboard was really, really good at her job.

But all of this has been said before, by the near-3,000 gamers who have posted reviews, so all I have to add is my own experience. Here it is:

I bought this game for my partner for the anniversary of our first date. It was supposed to be a way for him to blow off some steam at the end of a long day. He booted it up and I turned on my reading light and opened to my bookmarked page. But about 10 minutes later, all thoughts of my book were forgotten. Gears of War is fascinating.

From the moment you break out of prison, you're on the move. Each chapter presents you with a slightly different problem, and each solution is a slightly different variation on the theme of "find the right weapon - blast bad guy to bits." It seems pretty boilerplate. But it isn't . Thanks to it's mind-blowing graphics, soundtrack, storyline and gameplay, Gears turns out to be anything but run-of-the mill.

I play with my partner and I think that's where Gears really shines. This game was made to play cooperatively, with people across the couch and people across the country. In a rare blend of reality and escapism, I find the truncated, action-fare dialogue both amusing and appropriate. Soon you'll be high-five-ing over the coffee table and mimicking the grunts and jeers of your AI teammates as you blast away at a wide variety of armed-to-the-teeth aliens. If one gets too close, just fire up your chainsaw, but be prepared to find yourself soaked in bug guts. This game is bloody, gory and really messy. And it's seriously fun.

Gears has a few oddities. Joining and exiting a cooperative game is a little bumpy. It seems odd to have only one active save per gamer - we're used to having his save, my save and our save - so it's a little but of adjustment. I do think the narrative misses some opportunities to develop the characters and the enemy. All in all, I find myself reaching to come up with something to criticize. So, I'll just stop here and say: you've got to play it. Go. Now. Play it now.