submitted: Jun 4th 2008 | by: thePav | Total views: 111 | Word Count: 361 | |

When I first picked up Gears of War (almost one year from it's original release date), I knew that it was supposed to be a good game. Good game doesn't cut it. This game is stellar on so many levels.

The story isn't revolutionary, but it's not bad either. You are Dom, a convicted felon (convicted of what, who knows?) who apparently served in the military at one point, and has been released to fight the horde of aliens called the "Locusts". Instead of invaders from another planet, the Locusts popped up from the ground, ala War of the Worlds- except for the giant robot walkers. Not much info on why they're coming out, except maybe to beat the hell out of humans. Ok, I won't argue that.

Now Dom and his gang of military badasses (around 6 total), are given the task of planting some device that tells the government where to drop the missle that will wipe out the Locust colony and save the human race. The game's levels vary in scope from run and gun to melee combat, sniping, etc. There's even a brief driving level to shake things up. Total gameplay time on the easiest level will still take a good 12-15 hours.

Combat is INTENSE. You can duck and hide behind cover, shoot blindly when against a wall, throw grenades or get close and tag the enemy directly. Ammo is not limitless, and you will have to reload frequently- reloading is a mini-game in itself; hit the sweet spot and gain increased firepower for a brief time, miss the reload window and watch your player cuss and hit his jammed weapon, usually right before a locust enemy rips him apart.

Speaking of ripping apart, Gears includes an all time favorite-the Lancer chainsaw gun. From far away it's a fully functional automatic rifle, get close and hold the B button and carve up some ribs for dinner! An awesome sight to behold.

Multiplayer is fantastic as well, with around 12 levels, and 3 different modes of combat. Just make sure you're ready to be curb-stomped a few times first.

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