Review: Gears Of War

Hello fellow locust killers,
Before I get into the review of this game I want to say how much I have been looking forward seeing the new Unreal 3 engine in action. I NEVER thought that an engine could make the Doom 3 engine look like it was the Quake 3 engine of 1999!! Hats of to Cliffy B and the boys and girls at Epic in making such a fine engine. I am really looking forward to UT2007 if something can run this good on a xbox 360!!

I would like to thank J.Z. for letting me borrow his XBOX 360 to pound this baby out and I really wish he could've had the day off to pound this baby out with me, but shit happens and we just got to do what we got to do to support our gaming habits. It was awesome to see him hand me his 360 in a Gears Of War case that just looks fantastic. I am sure he enjoyed seeing me like a kid just like my wife Medusa does:) Once again thanks J.Z.!! On with the review....

I was skeptic about the enemy A.I. from the videos but let me assure you that it was just awesome ( I hate to admit this, but I got bitch slapped by a saw in the hands of a locust) what was actually weak was my team A.I.?? If I had a dollar for every time someone shot me or someone got in the line of fire I would have the new Nvidia G80 card and some change left! The other thing that concerned my about the game was if I was going to get bored doing the same stuff over and over but they really did spice things up really nicely to keep your attention throughout the whole game! Did I say how gorgeous the Unreal 3 engine is????

Pros
1. Graphics have set a new standard just like it was promised. I can see why so many game makers have embraced this new engine.
2. Music is very nice and fits great
3. The controls are unique and will take a little to get used too but I just love the reloading "little game" what a difference this makes in a serious battle
4. The smack talking from my comrades made me have a flashback playing J.B. in Quake 4:)
5. It has met most of the hype hands down but it is NOT the Halo killer that was predicted but it is reaaalllllyyy close though
6. The creatures are unique and the bosses look great
7. The ending boss was just awesome and challenging!!
8. Pace of the game was just right
9. Have I mentioned how f@#king beautiful this game looks??
10. Ending credits were done just awesome.. Tim Sweeney said " thanks to Heaven for the weather and Hell for my friends" ROFL
11. Nice frame rate through the game
12. Medusa actually sat down and watch me play this so that says a lot about this game. There was some spooky and scary parts that scared us both at the same time. (You can see how much Cliffy B was inspired by Resident Evil 4)

Cons

1. Controls are unique and will take sometime to get used too!
2. Story has a lot of gaps to fill (can you say sequel)
3. Not on PC yet!!
4. I really don't have the desire to "play" the game again but I would go through some parts just so I can admire the engine more
5. Got to wait for the next one:(
6. This game makes the XBOX 360 sound like a blender (it is really pushing the machine and that is WITH the inter cooler attached)
7. Team A.I. needed some more tweaking


I was very happy with the game and it was really nice to play on my big widescreen tv. I am very impressed with the XBOX 360 but I got to pay around $700.00 for my new graphic card so I can play F.E.A.R. 75% faster!!! In case someone is wondering.. I really did enjoy PREY better than this game!!!

until they emerge again...

LORD NATAS