Gears of War: Initial Thoughts

There are games that come along once in a generation that really make you sit up and take notice. Since the launch of the XBox 360 a year ago, Gears of War has always been touted as being the reason to buy the console. From next-generation graphics, to the cover system that prevents the “run and gun” method of playing a shooter, Gears was always going to be the next big thing. So does it live up to the hype?

Well I can safely say that for me it does. From the single player campaign (which I have only played a couple of hours of so far) to the awe-inspiring multiplayer, I’d say this is a must-buy title as far as I’m concerned. Emergence Day here in Europe was last Friday (17th November) and my Collector’s Edition duly landed on my doormat. Appearing in a well crafted tin with embossed artwork the Collector’s Edition includes a bonus DVD and hardback art book. It’s a very nice package and stands out in terms of what Collector’s Editions actually offer. It wasn’t until Friday evening that I managed to load up the game and take a look. From the moment the game starts (even with the initial menus) it looks fantastic. The images which form the menus and backgrounds are crystal clear and look fantastic.

And so onto the game itself. I opted to play through the campaign on the Casual setting and am very glad I have. Even at this “beginner” level, the game can prove to be quite a challenge. I’m not even to the end of Act 1 yet (the game is split into 5 acts, each of which contain a number of chapters) and already I’ve done my fair share of dying. However, with checkpoints after each major set-piece, you don’t tend to lose a lot of game time when you die at this level. The story has been criticised for being weak, however I’ve not seen any evidence of that and I can feel myself being drawn in. The advantage of the casual level is that it allows to me to progress through the game at a reasonable pace, and this helps keep the game feeling fresh as you move from one set-piece to the next. The suspense is very well handled and the ambient sounds are all a part of this. The change in music as you move into an area of conflict also help to get the heart racing and there are several times when my heart has been pounding as I move from room to room trying to clear a building.

However, for heart-pounding moments you really need to play the online multiplayer. Saturday evening saw my first foray in the world of Gears of War multiplayer games along with some friends (including Dan, Ashleigh and Tony). And what an experience it was. From the team based Execution (where you can keep yourself alive by rhythmically pressing the A button when you get shot), through Warzone (where once you’re dead you’re dead), to protect the leader in Assassination (where the goal is to kill the opposite team’s leader) there is plenty of variety. The multiplayer maps themselves are just sublime. Most of the maps start the two teams at opposite ends of the map with a natural bottleneck in the centre. This leads to some quite intense battles taking place.

Each round starts with a 5 minute time limit. Whilst I was concerned that this might be far too short to even complete a round, you often come face-to-face with the enemy within 20 seconds and the battles can then be over very quickly. All players start with the same weapons which allows for quite even gameplay. What makes the difference with these battles is the use of tactics. By working as a team (and 2 vs. 2 really highlights this) you are far more likely to be able to successfully beat your opposition. The other very attractive feature of the multiplayer is that there are no respawns within any of the game modes. At first this seemed like quite an omission. However, when you consider that Epic wanted to encourage the use of cover throughout the game, and to deter the run-and-gun strategy, this now makes perfect sense. Someone who wants to run and gun through a level will soon find that they are cut down, and are out of the game. This now leave their team one man down, and with a maximum of 4 players on a team this can be all it takes to swing a game one way or the other. In 2 vs. 2 this is even more apparent as suddenly you are an Army of One. The multiplayer maps are also quite compact (the biggest I’ve seen being the Mausoleum) which means that you’re never far away from the action, and this helps to move the action along at a frantic pace.

In terms of suspense, I can assure you that there is no worse sound than hearing a chainsaw revving up right next to you and suddenyl finding yourself on the wrong end of a grisly death. Needless to say that chainsaw can be periodically revved to scare the opposition. As can fire blindly into areas. I heard machine gun fire on a number of occasions and frantically looked around, expecting to be shot at any moment. It all builds the suspense.

I think the best thing about the multiplayer for me is the balance. No one side is given preference over weapons (any pick-up weapons are placed in the middle of the map and it becomes a race to get them). This then of course opens up the possibility of being killed right at the start of the round as you rush for the best weapons. So your tactics have to be spot on.

So to sum up, if you own a 360 and don’t have Gears then buy it. If you don’t own a 360 then buy one and buy Gears. If you own a PS3 then sell it on eBay and buy Gears and a 360. And if you do have Gears, then savour the fun as it may be another whole generation before there is a title to top it…