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Few games have the benefit, or disadvantage, depending on your
stance in the industry, of the hype that Gears Of War is
subject to. Akin to levels not seen outside of the newest
iterations of legendary franchises such as Final Fantasy, Halo
and
The Legend Of Zelda, Gears of War has certainly got a lot to
live-up to. As what is easily the Xbox360 title of Christmas
2006 and perhaps Microsoft’s best chance of deflecting the impact of
the PlayStation3s imminent arrival, at least in Japan and the US,
Gears of War needs to be almost flawless. While our brief
Multi-Player hands-on session can’t hope to justify the entire
experience, its clear Gears Of War is going to be something
memorable.
It seems Gears Of War hopes to find the happy medium between
the Arcade frag-fest of the Halo series with the tactical,
squad-based play of the
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and
Tom
Clancy’s Rainbow Six titles, and as far as could be told from
the demo, is doing a fine job. Players were split into two groups,
one the humans and the other the Locust Horde, the alien bad guys
from the game. The innovative Cover System promised at
E3 2006 is
well realised in the title, with players able to negotiate between
cover spots quickly and easily. Blind-firing over cover is allowed,
albeit with horrendous accuracy; as is peeking, making the game seem
a whole lot more thoughtful than the likes of
Halo:
Combat Evolved or
Unreal Tournament. Squad-play also ensures a greater level of
tactical play, since the use of flanking provides much better
results against an entrenched foe. Players can even revive fallen
comrades, provided they haven’t sustained too much damage after
death. The guns available were limited to an Assault Rifle and
Shotgun, each doing their usual jobs, save for one major change; the
inclusion of a particularly vicious chainsaw bayonet. This chainsaw
personifies Gears Of War; unrelenting and brutal.
Few could argue that
Gears of Wars is amongst the best
looking games on Xbox360 and through that reasoning, one of the best
 looking games ever made. The Unreal Engine does fine job of
rendering all the Polygonal Models on-screen and there were no
instances of any drops in Frame-Rate throughout. Gears Of War
is also one of the most violent videogames ever, with blood spurting
from wounds in an eerily realistic manner and chainsaw fatalities
not something you’d want to see at dinner. Rumours persist that the
game has been refused rating in Germany, and, given that Gears Of
War makes
Dead Rising look tame, these are probably close
to fact. Let’s hope that the rumours of Gear Of War being the
best Xbox360 game are also based in truth. |
