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.
