XBOX 360: Gears of War game Review

Every so often, a game emerges that puts all other games to shame. Well, "Gears of War" is one of those great games and it is exclusively for the XBOX 360. Not many titles excel in every gaming area, but "Gears of War" has proven to be an excellent gaming experience that no gamer should miss.

The storyline is a vital part of the game itself. Its true that games don't have to have detailed and immense storylines to be considered good, but the ones that do shine even more. "Gears of War" has an excellent story about a war between the COGs (Coalition of Organized Governments, which is the rest of humans) and a strange monstrous species known as the Locust. The Locust seem to have been buried deep beneath the ground and have risen to take control of Earth. You are given the role of a soldier named Marcus Fenix, a man considered to be a traitor (the game doesn't go into detail about that) but reinstated to active duty. Your squads primary assignment is to locate Alpha squad. They have a trinket in their possession that could possibly end the war once and for all.

"Gears of War" is not your standard first person-shooter. As a matter of fact, its not even a FPS (first-person shooter) as many people may think. You will play from a third-person point of view, which is actually a pleasant change for action packed shooters such as this. This game isn't "run & gun" either. Its more of a strategic shooter in which you must choose your shots and plan your movements. Taking cover is one of the biggest aspects of this game, and if you fail to do so, you will end up with quite a few bullet wounds; or worse, dead!

The mechanics of covering are easy to get use to; not to mention, performing a "take cover" move is really fun to watch. Fenix will do about 2 quick steps and literally smash his shoulder into the object in front of him. From there, you can then perform a "over the top" move and quickly scramble over the object (if it is waist high that is). You can also perform a quick side movement that will make you take cover behind another nearby object. Taking cover is not only the best way to avoid incoming enemy fire, but its the only way you can recover from damage. Like most next-gen games these days, "Gears of War" has ditched the old "health bar" and gone with the "duck & cover" health regeneration technique. That means when you're badly wounded during a fire fight, the only way to survive is to retreat to a safe area and take cover.

You will do the majority of your shooting from behind cover as well. Blind fire is useful for keeping charging enemies at bay, while popping your head up and taking aim is much more efficient for taking out enemies. However, you will not be the only soldier that takes cover. Both the Locust soldiers and your allies will also use cover when the situation arises. Just as you were protected from fire, they will be well protected also. Therefore, you must take well aimed shots to get the upper hand on the battlefield. The Locust soldiers are not stupid, they will react to their surroundings and switch up their game plan when the situation calls for it. Obviously, some of them will be cannon fodder and run into an array of incoming bullets, but the majority of Locust enemies will make you work for the kill.

A game doesn't have to have 100 hundreds of different enemy types to be fun, but it should certainly have more than one or two. Luckily, "Gears of War" does have a few different enemies that you can unload your ammo into. The most common enemies will be the human-sized Locusts that carry around shotguns and rifles, just like you. However, there will be small differences in some of them, such as weaponry and the sound of their voices & commands. The smaller ones are much less of a nuisance. Thats because they can be gunned down relatively quickly and without any clever planning. However, if a few of them get close, they can cause utter chaos amongst you and your squad. There are also a few bigger enemies that you will encounter and they will usually take much more time and ammunition to bring down. Also, a few of the enemies you come across will be invulnerable to your average weaponry and you must use a special weapon to take them out, but you'll find out more about that while playing.

As far as weaponry goes, you won't be shocked with your choices. You will comes across a few pistols, a shotgun, grenades, a sniper rifle, and your average automatic assault rifle, as well as a few other more "destructive" weapons. There will be one weapon that you will never want to get rid of, as it is your golden ticket to blood and gore. That weapon is called the "Lancer" and it comes fully equipped with a chainsaw bayonet, which you can use to saw enemies in half (vertically). The whole chainsaw scene is very gruesome, yet unbelievably entertaining. Doing it once, though, is not enough, as you will find yourself looking for many more opportunities to saw enemies in half.

Each of these weapons has a reloading feature that will allow you to reload it faster. However, doing this can also result in a weapon jam, causing it to take longer to reload; which could end in your demise if an enemy is charging. A perfect reload will actually give you a small damage boost for a few seconds, allowing you to drop more enemies even faster than usual. Of course, it takes some practice to get the hang of it in the heat of battle; but once you get it down, you will so much more dangerous.

All of this extraordinary gameplay would not be nearly as enjoyable in black & white or with just basic dull textures. However, that is not the case here. "Gears of War" has stunning visuals and textures, which is what each and every gamer has been waiting for. The frame rate is absolutely excellent, as there are very few visual glitches or out-of-place textures. The environment makes traveling and exploring all worth while, as the designs and overall look of each area has been excellently designed and crafted. Each detail is truly a work of art, but in an action packed shooter like this, it can be hard to appreciate the smaller things.

Above all else, "Gears of War" is definitely "Game of the Year" material and should be experienced by every gamer. Even though the XBOX 360 has been out a full year, this is the first, 100% true "next-generation" game.