With the emergence of Gears of War 2 coming near, I decided to invest
in the first game to get acquainted with the series. I can say that
like me if you missed out on this game the first time around I implore
you to get this game for yourself.
The one quality of the game that resonated with me the most was the
gun play and cover mechanics. While the total arsenal of weaponry is
rather small, you can tell that each one was painstakingly crafted and
tuned. You have your standard assault rifles, shotguns, snipers,
pistols; however there are some unique ones in the mix. By now you have
obviously heard of the chainsaw bayonet which shreds your foes in a
spectacular display of blood and gore. One of the more unique weapons
is called the Hammer of Dawn, this gun uses satellites to rain death
from above; this is quite a funny sight to see. Each weapon feels
extremely powerful and devastating; it makes you feel bad for the foes
at the business end of your gun.
The other game play aspect that is integral to the experience is the
use of cover. This differentiates Gears from your typical run and gun
method of play. On the Casual difficulty, you can easily plow your way
through the enemies without much consequence. However on the Hardcore
and Insane difficulties cover becomes essential to surviving. The cover
introduces a light tactical consideration but also does not clunk down
the intense gunplay.
Both of these game play aspects make playing the campaign extremely
entertaining to play. While it is fun by yourself, the best way to
experience this game is to play co-op with a friend. Having your friend
as a competent partner can mitigate the normal stupidity of your AI
controlled allies. Co-op play also improves the experience because you
and your friend can revive each other in order to lower the amount of
game over screens you'll encounter.
The last aspect I want to address is the competitive online modes. This
late after the games release means that only the most elite players are
left. This means that it is extremely hard to get into the
multi-player. I tried to play a few games but ended up being completely
decimated by the competition. This might just mean that I am terrible
at the game but since I do play a lot of games I think that a lot of
people will be even worse off than me. I'm not saying that it is
impossible but unless you are ready for an extremely steep learning
curve I would avoid online play.
With the new reduced price of Gears you have no excuse to play this
game. While the online play is fairly out of reach, the campaign is so
fun to play that it is worth the price of entry. Gears of War is one of
the best shooters that any fan of games should pick up.
