Gears of War

[AnneGwish]

Ok..

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical of the game. Yeah, lots of twitch reflex, and occasionally buggy teammate AI (But it didn't happen all that often).

The enemy AI was actually very very good. I appreciate that when the enemy actually makes me think as opposed to run-n-gun. I'd occasionally get focused on something, like a Boomer (BOOM..), and wind up with a couple of Grubs over to one side or the other. Not often I find a game where the enemy cooperates that well together.

Playing Coop is much much cooler because it's good to have another pair of human eyes watching those sides. The weapon choices aren't that diverse, but honestly they don't need to be. You occasionally have to make a hard pressed choice for which weapon you want to keep and which one to toss. It adds a certain element of pressure which I can appreciate. Multiple paths make for more interesting choices, even if it is completely linear still. John DiMaggio as Marcus Fenix was an awesome choice.

The cover system was definitely unique to this game, especially with the heavy feel of motion. When you took cover and your character slams into the wall to make sure it's there, it's just an added little visceral thrill. The pacing was good to me, and yeah, it was a bit short. The only real complaint I have about the cover system is...Couches. Couches and such things will -never- stop bullets and would likely be shredded. If they can work out the difference between cover and concealment in the next game, I will be thrilled. Nothing like the pressure of hiding behind some flimsy column or something similar and having the added pressure of it disintegrating around you to add just one more worry. I appreciated not having to run all over a map or double back to find the ever dreaded healthpacks (stupidest addition to a combat heavy game ever..save for MGS3).

Yeah, it was short which sucked, the bosses seemed more thrown in for eye candy (Cept Raam..that dude was fuckin tough the first couple of times), but all in all, good and interesting story (It doesn't take place on Earth, for the misinformed), more depth in gameplay than it seemed to have at first glance, makes Halo (which I never liked) seem like an ugly stepchild with a giant tumor in it's head.

Definitely going to be buying this game as it's likely to keep me busy. I'll post a more thorough review of the multiplayer content when I have more experience with it.

Edit: Almost forgot...I like the fact that I can go and curb stomp an enemy that's down but not completely out...Curb stomping rules...haha

[jetbaby]

Haha RAAM was a joke, grenade + sniper rifle to the face = win.

That aside, the couches and chairs DO get shredded after a quick burst of fire.

And multiplayer, as I said, is a blast. All the types are basically the same, but execution is the best. The only way to keep someone out of the fight is to curbstomp them when their down or blow their body into pieces as part of killing them. Oh the gore.

Also, if you haven't tried it yet, melee someone with a grenade.