Gears of War Review. Seamless Gore & Brilliant Campaign

The Gears of War franchise has evolved quite a lot since its 2006 release. However, this first release has shown everyone why it was a pacesetter for other third-person shooters, combining revolutionary graphics, seamless mechanics, and a great storyline.

Graphics: 5.0

The graphics and general design of the game showcase why this is easily one of the best games ever made, with powerful and emergent studio engine effects explicitly designed for this game. The framerate rarely dips and keeps up momentum even when blast mechanics come into play. The combat scenes are intense, and the surrounding landscape is excellently created and imposing, yet never takes your focus off the objective of the mission.

Gameplay: 5.0

On a fictional planet called Sera, a human-like civilization has taken shape recovering from a conflict of resources referred to as the Pendulum Wars. The two warring factions are eventually placed under siege themselves by an underground Locust Horde, and the last hope of humanity’s survival lies on a traitor called Marcus Fenix. He leads a coalition as they fight against the alien hordes on a dystopian landscape and underground, where they plan to detonate lightmass bombs and kill all of the locusts eventually.

The battles are vicious, and you may be tempted to shoot first, ask questions later. However, this game combines both strategy and brute force, and you need to take cover sufficiently to defeat the enemy. A shield covers your health, and as you take fire, it gets depleted until you die. Taking cover replenishes the shield. Your squadmates can also take fire and be killed. If you reach an injured mate before a locust does, they will be revived.

There are four weapon classes in Gears: assault rifles, sniper rifles, explosive bows, and grenades. Players can either drop their current weapons and pick up new ones or replenish their ammo meters. The Hammer of Dawn also lets you fry enemies outside.

Controls: 5.0

The control mechanics on Gears of War are fluid, and you won’t feel the heavy, explosive graphics impeding your movement in any way. Taking cover is simple with the A button, easily the most used control in the game. D-pad combinations for switching weapons and the joystick for movement places everything right at your fingertips. Overall, I’d say the Xbox controls are quite effective for third-person shooting.

Replay Value: 5.0

I still find myself playing my old Gears of War even now just to relive some of those brutal moments. The gameplay is essentially linear, but you won’t feel this with all the action happening in front of you. There is never a single minute missing combat in Gears. Taking cover is the primary mode of play, and anything other than this leads to an unpredictable game in which you are quickly laid to waste. The multiplayer co-op mode is what really gives the game is its replay value.

Conclusion

Gears of War is a classic, and it always lives up to the hype by providing mean but enjoyable violence for those looking for crimson-filled action. The game is fluid, and you’ll enjoy hitting that shoot button and feeling the adrenaline pulsating through your veins as if you were out on the battlefield yourself. The graphics are a revolution for its time, and Gears literally takes third-person shooting 5 gears up.