Gears of War Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Epic Games, The Coalition, People Can Fly, Splash Damage
Released 7th November 2006 (Ultimate Edition released 25th August 2015)
Played Co-op
As the progenitor of cover-based gameplay, Gears of War originally began as a fast-paced multiplayer title known as Unreal Warfare. As time progressed and the gaming industry stretched into the campaign-oriented territory, so did Epic Games with their unfinished project that would release as a stellar launch.
Story
The story of this cult classic is brilliant but not the best. You play as Marcus Fenix, a former COG who was in jail for the previous 4 years due to the abandonment of his military post. He is rescued from prison by his best friend Dominic Santiago, to meet with the Delta team as reinforcements while the 15-year war between the Locust, an alien species capable of obliterating armies, and mankind rage on. The journey throughout is fascinating, getting to experience the gritty and unsurvivable world of this game while remaining narratively amazing. At times the game felt empty like it was missing a piece to really 10/10 the story, something to really pack a punch in the already enjoyable adventure. The environmental storytelling in the horror sections and chaos-riddled shootouts are some to awe at and the world-building through the environments and dialogue made me thirst for more. I have beat this game two times, and both times I couldn't wait to hop into Gears of War 2 and 3 to further expand on this brilliant, yet somewhat lacking, tale.
Gameplay
The gameplay includes a cover-taking system of using your view of the action and assessing it before taking a plan like flanking or pushing the enemy back, into effect. The game masters this cover-taking fluency while Uncharted was still yet to become a worthy opponent. The option and versatility of using the battlegrounds are amazing and criminally unnoticed in this gem. I could either flank the enemy and chainsaw them or push forward, granting me access to grenades, etc, the possibilities felt endless. The shooting doesn't match the quality of pushing your back against the wall, but it still responds well. You can have 2 primary weapons equipped with a pistol and a maximum of 4 grenades at your side. The weapons range from a Gnasher Shotgun, Boltok Pistol, Lancer Assualt Rifle, Torque Bow and more. The swapping between weapons and choosing the right one for each occasion is there but could've been done better by not breaking up the flow or relying on one gun purely because its ammo is plenty, unlike the scarcity of the others. Tag along a perfect reload mechanic to keep the firefights feeling fresh and you've got yourself a near-perfect shooter.
The enemies themselves are great as well. The chilling introduction you get to them via cutscene or environmental story-telling is amazing from the pack-travelling Wretches to the explosive-resistant Corpser. The variety is incredibly high and unmatchable, all of this to further the excitement of assessing and acting upon the cover. Even though you mostly fight one enemy, just with different loadouts, this doesn't stray from the fact that when approaching the once-in-a-while opponent like the Berserker or Nemacyst, the terror and joy within your body cross paths.
Having played this game with a friend, the AI rarely falter, however, when the two of us were split up and paired with our programmed companions, problems occurred. For example on Dom's side, the AI Cole would either just ignore all the enemies, getting himself killed or run away from the action, glitching into the wall, leaving my friend to get his hands dirty. On Marcus' side, the AI Baird sometimes would not do anything except take up some of the precious walls to take cover behind. This resulted in us dying more than usual alongside the rare, yet occurring, sudden damage spikes the enemies delivered.
Screenshot taken in the Ultimate Edition
Bossfights
The boss fights of this game are a fresh change of pace. While they are occasionally bullet sponges, they also act as simplistic puzzles that are entertaining to solve. Each boss you are to come across requires even more action-assessing as mentioned before. Whether it's finding the weak points of the Ultimate Edition exclusive Brumak, waiting for the right moment to strike on General Raam, or luring a Berserker, there was tons of fun. The environments on some piqued my interest while others felt like I was placed in a play-testing playground. The music never captured my attention considering it was overthrown by the bullet casings blasting from our guns or the roars of the Corpser.
Characters
The characters are all written well. This game delivers companions that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to as they exchanged dialogue, in-game and in a cutscene. Each character contributed a lot to my understanding of the world while giving rememberable moments and speeches. From the rule-abiding Lieutenant Kim to the smart-mouthed genius, Baird, I started to build a certain appreciation of these characters. However, they were written to be generic war grunts. While they each have a personality, only two of the characters have a certain depth to them, which allows you to connect and put yourself in their shoes. On the outside, Marcus Fenix is a badass, gritty veteran but we learn to know he has a damaged background. I would've liked to see this be more developed than seeing another firefight.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is what I think suffers the most. While some environments make a brilliant stand like the ash-layered Fenix Mansion, and the Imulsion bubbling caves, the rest don't. Instead, they all look the same; rusted architecture, conveniently placed walls, some nature and more abandonment. The music was somewhat decent, striking the unsettling nerve a couple of times while mixing the war-production forge effect in with the rest, however, I could barely hear it over all the gun firing and screaming the enemies produced. At least the effects sound clean and properly done.
Story- 8.5/10
Gameplay- 9/10
Bossfights- 8/10
Characters- 8/10
Atmosphere- 6/10
GREAT
A phenomenal shooter that only lacks an atmospheric value that does not have the same potency as the gameplay and world-building.
