GameDAILY:

The Locusts Have Landed

Sony Computer Entertainment's President, Kaz Hirai, has stated that, "the next generation doesn't start until we say it does."

Kaz, you should check out the competition. Namely Microsoft's Gears of War®, the gritty, bullet-riddled bloodbath that eats PS3 games for lunch. This over-the-top, incredibly violent, and undeniably slick video game is the epitome of a summer blockbuster.

Marcus gets up close and personal.

It's loud, full of action, and was extremely expensive to make. The only difference is, whereas movies only allow people to be observers, Gears grabs you and forcibly drags you into an interactive war zone that's so terrifying it makes the conflicts in other shooters seem like basic training.

Battle for Survival
Gearsis a futuristic third-person shooter that chronicles the battle between humans—most notably, the game's main character Marcus Fenix—and the Locust Horde, lots and lots of disgusting, quick-witted and heavily armed monsters that have, for whatever reason, decided to piss on Earth.

The immersive nature of the game produces a
delicious Clockwork Orange-like sensory overload.

It's for the most part a squad-based shooter, so Fenix (at least initially) is accompanied by a small handful of equally badass army dudes, all of which are carrying state-of-the-art firepower, heavy weapons that spit bullets faster than a nervous baseball player spits sunflower seeds. Under fire, they duck for cover, strafe, chainsaw enemies (more on this in a bit), and bail out Marcus if he's being attacked, though they're not necessarily reliable. It's not uncommon to see them bum rush several enemies (or a gun turret) and get cut down.

Thankfully, they can be revived, though doing this is sometimes a bothersome task if reaching them means walking into the Horde's sights.

Intuitive Control Scheme
There are a plethora of reasons why this game is so amazing, from the graphics to the music to the narrative, but the biggest is its accessibility. Instead of mapping 900 functions to the Xbox 360™ controller, Epic Games created a very user-friendly control scheme that can be picked up in a hot second. The character is steered with the left analog stick, aims with the right, and fires with the right trigger. There's more to it than that (the D-pad switches weapons, X button interacts with doors), but for the most part, that's all someone needs to start killing tons of evil creatures.

Time for the heavy artillery.

Well, that's not necessarily true, because in order to survive more than ten seconds, you have to get to know the A button. This game is all about finding cover and the A button makes this happen. Just walk up to something, press A, and watch as Fenix butts up against the object. From this position, he can pop up and zoom, fire his weapon over his head without aiming (a cool but not very effective tactic), or creep out and pop off several hundred rounds.

What's especially intense about this is the mind games that ensue. The Horde look big and stupid, but they're well versed in the art of war. Just as Fenix camps, the enemy will dig in behind something and employ similar tactics. However, after a while, they will leave their posts and charge the good guys, and that's when all hell breaks loose. Clips are emptied, people get punched in the face, and torsos are chainsawed in half.

Fire It Up!
Ah yes, the chainsaw. Melee combat is another one of Gears' strengths, thanks in large part to this little beauty. The game's Lancer Assault Rifle comes with a nasty (more like hungry) chainsaw attachment that can be started up by pressing the B button and put to work by squeezing the right trigger. Pure, unadulterated chaos ensues.

The chainsaw really pulls the whole outfit together.

The game transitions to a much closer view as you cut the enemy in half. The body jiggles, blood and guts splatter against the screen, and chunks of meat fly every which way. It's disgusting as all hell yet extraordinarily satisfying. It's not easy to do, thanks to the aggressive A.I., but the multiplayer component more than makes up for that, thanks to gullible human beings.

Gears of War's single-player game is fantastic because the action never lets up, the suspense is nearly unbearable thanks to dramatic cut scenes and fabulous music, and the gameplay is superb. But multiplayer is the reason why this game will be sitting inside your Xbox 360 ten months from now. The player count is a bit low (the game supports up to eight warriors at a time on both Xbox Live and System Link), but that doesn't make the experience any less intense.

If anything, it's even more stressful, because having four squad mates makes things personal. There aren't ten nameless people running around. When one goes down, it hurts.

Utilizing cover in multiplayer is just as important as it is in single player, but everyone needs to keep an eye on the rear. Everyone wants to use the chainsaw, and it's easy finding someone that's been camping a bit too long and, luckily for the happy homicidal maniac, focused on what's ahead instead of watching for the chainsaw-wielding killer that's right behind them. Naturally, such moments are great for trash talking.

Fantastic Visuals
The last reason why this game is so good is because it's just as much fun to gawk at as it is to play. The immersive nature of the game produces a delicious Clockwork Orange-like sensory overload. Things explode and topple over, blood spurts from the wounded, choppers scream overhead, and bullets zip through the air.

Plenty of minute details further enhance the experience. Spent clips fall to the ground (and stay there) and overused weapons produce a heat shimmer. The entire game just looks amazing.

Gears of War is remarkable, but more playing time is needed in order to figure out whether it's the bunker buster Microsoft is hoping for. Thus far, it’s definitely a keeper.

Article by Chris Buffa, GameDAILY Senior Editor