Random Reviews

   If Sony have the acronym GoW as God of War, then Microsoft would challenge it with its own variation of GoW, Gears of War. As a 3rd person shooter which is in abundance at the time, this Epic Games studio production has a lot to prove. So, does it stand up to the legendary mythological adventure game? Let's review.

   Gears of War took place in an apocalyptic setting after which a group of unidentified being (who is later labeled as Locust), attack the masses of humanity and brought it to the brink of extinction. The story centered around the fight of those who are left, mainly Marcus and Dom, to try and bring an end to the Locust. Throughout the trilogy, we will witness 5-star rated hollywood material such as, a deep lore, sudden exposition, epic fight, epic one-liner, epic death and even beautiful rendition of an apocalyptic world. (The author would like to congratulate himself for being able to summarize the story in a very short paragraph)

   Now, onto the gameplay, and we know how important that is for a game. Fortunately, the game execute it in one of the best way possible. The shooting felt great, it is solid and responsive. Complimented by the variety of weapons available, it sure make it a very diverse and satisfying firefight. The maneuverability of the character is great with a bit of a wonky side in the melee aspect (which I will get back on later). The enemy AI is not stupid, although not superb in any aspects. It does provide some challenges if you want to play solo. One very common characteristic of both GoWs in the gaming world is that both of it is brutally and satisfyingly gory. Gears of wars love to spread the red liquid to the body of your enemy. Limbs exploded, torn and punctured; seeing the disemboweled body of a Locust is gratifyingly fun and it never gets old. The previously said variety of weapons resulted an even more variety of viciousness. It includes a laser pointer that marks a spot for lasers to fire and mechanized bow that shoot explosive arrows. Hell, it even includes an assault carbine called the lancer with a freaking CHAINSAW under the barrel!! The game really serves as a way to put out stress and release your inner bloodthirst.

   The graphics, animations and sounds are good. Graphics is nothing much to be awed by, but the setting and design do make your jaw drop at how an apocalyptic world would look like (In a different way from The Last of Us, mind you). Animations is okay, the only problem is when you initiate a melee chainsaw attack, it felt a bit unresponsive and might induce rage as it would probably cause your death. Sounds fits the scene; events played out well with the soundtrack and the sounds of gore is nothing to be scoffed at. There are quite a number of bugs when the game released for the first time, especially the third in the series. However, it is already patched.

   So, without a doubt, Gears of Wars is a masterpiece on par with God of War, if not better. So, enough with this, how does it fare in the rating?

Pros:
+ Solid 3rd person action
+Emotionally tied with character
+GOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!

Cons:
- Bugs, the technological kind
- Sometimes wonky melee