...But Gears of War was one of the most entertaining games I have ever played, and really brings third person shooters to my attention.
I'm a die-hard First-Person Shooter Fanboy, and when I first picked up Gears, I really thought it'd be another "Brute Force". [An entertaining, but repetitive TPS for the original Xbox].
Upon only an hour of gameplay, I deleted my save file, and called over my bud to play with me. We plowed through Casual in just about three hours, then demolished Nightmare, and the next day, [yes, I invited him for a sleep over, solely to play Gears], we vanquished Insane difficulty.
After he left, I thought I was doomed to boredom, but much to my amazement, the Live modes were actually immensely fun.
This isn't something I've come to expect from shooters. Over the years, the only shooters I really enjoy Online/Live, are the ones on the PC.
Now, you need to realize that your go-to weapon for all of campaign is going to be your Lancer.
Good ammo capacity, awesome rate of fire, great damage, and a chainsaw bayonet to boot!
However, you'll quickly find out that the rules of engagement for Xbox Live Gears, pretty much requires skill with either the Shotgun, or Sniper-Rifle.
This disappointed me, seeing as how I was so attached to my precious Lancer, but I quickly caught on to the usage of the Shotgun, too.
It'll take awhile to get used to not holding L every time you see an enemy, but after enough practice, you'll be rolling around and blasting people into burnt-up bits in no time!
So.
If you're a Non-Live player, and you're looking for a Solid Campaign that you'll play through on every difficulty at least once, then definitely pick up Gears. If you're a Live-Only kind of player, chances are, Gears will pleasure you in all the right ways. If you're the kind of gamer who looks for good Live gameplay, and good Campaign gameplay, you're in for a big treat.
Either way, pick up Gears. I found no real immediate flaws, but you will occasionally run into one of two things.
1] The very occasional glitch, mostly found only on Xbox Live.
Or,
2] Annoying children you definitely shouldn't be playing this game.
