Gears of War is a state-of-the-art experience that you'll probably be impressed with one way or another.
The game's campaign mode follows the steps of Marcus Fenix a soldier's who seems thicker than usual, but make no mistake about it he's as tough as they come. After being labeled as a traitor, and being busted out of prison for treason, he takes center stage in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the Locust. As you bust out of the Locust ran prison, you'll begin your inevitable campaign to stop them in the tracks. The game's huge armor that's noticeable from the beginning gives you the impression that they are very violent, and for the most part they love the down and dirty affair you'll encounter through the various levels in the game.
The game's campaign levels as you'll take your squad through some of the battles will come toe-to-toe with the Locust, and suffice to say it takes a departure from traditional shooter games, as you'll want to seek some sort of cover from the action, or you as good as dead. The game's enemies which are in the form of the Locust are for the most part a formidable enemy but in some cases have a few noticeable problems, in some cases they'll pop their heads out while you continue to shoot, and it seems as if they don't notice any of the shots to the head, and ends up an easy kill. The game's artificial intelligence can be questioned but overall it's solid to say the least. As aforementioned before, the game's fast-paced macabre action is fantastic and has several elements you'll want to follow through if you want to finish the game. You'll want to duck under slabs of concrete to protect your body from the spray of fire, and if you do so accordingly you'll progress a lot easier, or end up dead.
The game's satisfaction comes from these thrilling movements, as you pop out of your cover and begin to shoot they'll match you pound for pound as they'll shoot as soon as they see you pop your head from cover, this keeps the game's action tense, and exhilarating to say the least. Make no mistake about it-- the concept was used for kill.switch but it's flawlessly executed in translation to Gears of War. The game's health meter is also a good indication of being cautious in the game-- it recharges so before jumping right in the action you might want to take a breather, since Gear's of War is downright a fast-paced shooter.
The coincide with Gears of War's bloody gameplay attributes are it's weapons, and what's a shooter without a great gun to wield? Suffice to say there isn't much variety in Gears of War-- you'll get your traditional grenades, rocket launchers, sniper rifles and so on. The Lancer is easily the most attractive weapon Gears of War dishes out considering it's a fast-rapid carbine rifle, coupled with a chainsaw bayonet. The Lancer will probably be your best friend throughout the campaign, and the chainsaw is very useful in dishing out some damage to your opponent, but you'll have to cautious in using it as enemies will fire at you if you don't approach them with caution. It's a great display of blood effects, and with the chainsaw-carbine duo, you'll be impressed in it's design. You'll also have occasional help from above via the Hammer of Dawn which serves as an orbital satellite that sends down a beam to obliterate your foes once you paint the target.
There are also some achievement points to be unlocked in Gears of War-- so if you have a penchant for achievement points you'll no doubt be in for a treat. While they don't seem far-fetched some of them are a challenge and some very simple. You'll get points in the offline, and online campaign modes, you'll notice there's simple ways to rack up points like flawlessly reloading your ammo several times in succession. You'll also want to tweak the difficulty levels around and once you beat it you'll open up hardcore mode, as you can unlock other achievements. The game's campaign is rather short, but with achievements their's a few incentives to play the campaign over again, either way you'll probably find yourself playing it a few more times if you don't have Xbox Live, because of it's insanely addicting gameplay.
The game's campaign mode is satisfying, but you'll probably agree most of your time spent will be on Xbox Live. You can play with another person online, and go through co-op campaign which adds some more humanized intelligence. While your partner of ragtag soldiers is a great deal of fun, you'll probably enjoy playing it with another person, since the action will be a lot more oriented and organized. It's frustrating to note, if your buddy decides to drop out, you'll start at the main menu.
The game's online mode has a lot of fun to be had, as you can go toe-to-toe with others over Xbox Live through eight-player action. It's longevity is lengthened considerably, despite it's short campaign mode. The game is packed with 10 maps too choose from, and for the most part capitalize heavily on Gears of War's tried-and-true gameplay. You'll be able to choose from three modes-- assassination where you assign a leader and the other three act as your protectors while the other team tries and assassinates your assigned leader, warzone which is literally deathmatch, and execution in where you'll be fighting each other. The game's map variety, coupled with it's weapons is a great translation online, there's enough variety to keep you intrigued here if you we're somewhat disappointed campaign mode-- which is rather short for most peoples tastes.
To go along with it's spectacular and visceral gameplay, Gears of War is also a great looking game. It's safe to say there isn't a better game out there right now that looks as good as Gears of War-- and overtime it will be looked at as the console game that defined what a next-generation console game should like. The games war-torn atmosphere is put to life through it's immensely well-done production values. The character models, to it's enemies are fantastically detailed. The effects are great such as grenade explosions to wielding your chainsaw and chopping in satisfaction as you see blood splatter on your screen. The game's effects are equally impressive, and it's lightning effects top-notch. If you didn't understand all of that hoopla-- it's one fine looking game. The game's dialogue overall is pretty solid, as it gives a macho type tone that fits the characters quite well. The game's sound effects are equally as impressive as you'll hear the flesh cut up by your chainsaw, or the sense of power you get from your weapons.
Gears of War is a state-of-the-art experience you'll probably be impressed with one way or another. The type of action Gears of War features, coupled with it's gorgeously detailed graphics engine makes the experience all the more enjoyable. It's a game for those who have a penchant for the macabre-- even if you aren't into extremely gory and visually bloody games you should at least check out Gears of War because the action is tense and exciting. So if you still haven't picked up an Xbox 360, Gears of War is a good incentive to do so.