ksalavarri's Full Review: Gears of War for Xbox 360
Veering away from its usual IP's, (*cough Halo *cough) Microsoft made the great decision to bring Gears of War to the Xbox 360.
So was it worth it?
You bet it was. I'll tell you why.
Graphics: One word, Amazing. Cliffy B's notion of "destroyed beauty" is portrayed really well in this game, as the sun shines through destroyed buildings, burning propane tanks light up the nights chock-full of deadly (yet beautifully designed) enemies and a well placed shot makes an enemies head gorge a fountain of blood.
Violent? Yes.
Fun to look at? Yes. (You'll see what I mean if you actually buy the game.)
On a technical note, the game runs very smoothly and if there are any cons to it, I would say that sometimes the animations are a bit sluggish, but nothing major to get in your way mid-gameplay.
Sound: Very good overall. For those with respectable sound systems, prepare to be able to tell where a firefight is going on or simply enjoy the ambience of the environment, as the sound does a very good job of conveying both.
Although the saying the characters may make and the sounds the gun make will become a little repetitive after a while, it's only a minor flaw that does not take much away from the game as a whole.
Gameplay: Here we are, the big one. Gears of War is a hell of alot of fun to play. Why? For single player, (which can be played cooperatively with a friend sitting right next to you or online) the campaign is reasonably lengthy and is close to a cinematic masterpiece as you fight massive monsters, barrel through enemies with your shotgun or go behind the wheel of a massive APV in an escape from a city going into ruins. I personally played the campain multiple times, as it offers the quick fun action that more games should offer to its players, and I see myself returning once again in the future.
For multiplayer (which can be played over Xbox Live, system link or split-screen), you are in for the time you your life. Veering away from the run and gun mentality of the single player campaign, in multiplayer you are asked to slow down a bit more as your battling actual humans. Things get really rewarding when your carefully planned flank helps you win that one crucial round, and net an extra shotgun kill on an unsuspecting foe. Or team.
In detail, there are four modes of play (Execution, Assasination, Warzone and Annex) For the first three game modes, your goal is to kill all of the opposing team member in a formula resembling Counter Strike. Basically, if you die, you have to wait until the end of the round to take it to the enemy team) Except that in Execution, you must be very close to the enemy to kill them and in Assasination, you must kill the leader of the opposing team to win. In Annex, the goal is to capture a point on the map. Respawns are enabled in this mode and victory is determined by who has the most points (accumulated by spending the most time in the hill). Overall, multiplayer is very very fun and should keep the disk spinning in your Xbox 360 for a while, as it has for me.
In conclusion, even though there are very minor issues with the animations and audio, Gears of War is overall a very good game that is fun to play with friends or alone.
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