We live in an era of fat space marines that seem to like hugging chest high walls....whether this is a new fetish that's catching on very fast or whether people are running out of ideas is unknown to me but I find it works well as a game mechanic when done properly. Gears of War (Epic games, 2006) is a prime example of this, the game is a 3rd person shooter with cover based combat mechanics, you die fairly easily in the game so this makes cover an essential item of gameplay and with its 1 button control system is fairly easy to get the hang of and master. The plot follows Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad as they face extinction from a foe known as the locust horde, enemies vary in size, strength and weapon of choice but all are tough, badass, highly trained killers. The horde rose from the depths of the planet Sera where the game is set, the architects who designed many of the buildings in Sera seemed to like walls that go up to your chest, conveniently this makes perfect cover and a suitable killing spot.
Gears of war likes to stick to its gothic look with lots of gloomy corridors and intricately designed buildings, the graphics however don't show off these features well as everything is either dark red, black or grey, the odd frame rate issue and loading problems can be seen too but none of these majorly affect gameplay.
The game will last you around 7 hours on the easiest difficulty but much more if you are playing on Hardcore or Insane difficulties due to the strength and power of the enemy AI, the game is much more fun in 2 player co-op plus you have the added bonus of a revive system to help with those tough enemies. Gears of War has very few guns but all are very different from each other, the Lancer has a chainsaw bayonet whereas the Hammerburst is a 3 round burst gun, you also have the likes of rocket launchers and explosive tipped arrows with bows.
The multiplayer modes are fun but are short lived as there is no rank progression system or stat tracking.
Gears of war is a fun game both solo and cooperativley but multiplayer is a waste of time so avoid if you are a multiplayer lover, the game has relay value to find all the collectible CoG tags and to challenge yourself with the Insane difficulty which fully deserves its name, you can probably pick the game up for less than £10 now so its the perfect opportunity to go get it.
Gears of War – 8/10
+Trend Setting Cover Based Shooting
+Interesting Story
-Not Very Easy On The Eye
