Gears of War was the premier release for the Xbox 360 in 2006. Microsoft had to find another big hitting game that did not bear the Halo name. Indeed, Microsoft did seem to find a truly heavy hitter that would tide the gaming public over while the next iteration of Halo was way off in the distant future. I am happy to report that Gears of War is everything that Microsoft could have hoped for and then some.
Gears of war ditched the popular viewpoint of first person, and instead opted for a less traditional third person perspective. The formula end ups working out really well. Using cover is a key element to Gears of War’s game play. Gamers not using this feature will find themselves meeting a certain quick demise. You take cover behind fences, benches, crates, etc, wait for the enemy to pop up from cover and then start firing. You move from cover point to cover point with a quick button press. Gears is also a glorious depiction of brutality. Blood is flying, cities are ravaged and heads are getting crushed with a quick curb stomp.
The story of Gears of War is depicted around Marcus Pheonix and the Locust Horde. The Locust Horde is running rampant and attacking all the major cities. There is all around bloodshed and many human casualties. Eventually the Locust are at the prison where Pheonix is being held. He disobeys orders and leaves the prison in an effort to save his father. He eventually wages an all out battle against the Locusts. Personally, I thought the story was kind of generic. In my opinion Epic has not been known for great stories but most of their games have been more focused on the game play. Gears of War seems to fall into this mold.
Visually, Gears of War is a true jaw dropper. Epic has proven that they do know the ins and outs of their Unreal Engine 3. The characters and environments are really detailed. The only complaint I have is that the environments are not very expansive. The effects of the gunfire and explosions are also equally impressive. One truly unique feature to Gears of War is the chainsaw attachment to the rifle. You can literally leave your enemies in a bloody pulp. This is definitely satisfying. The Hammer of Dawn is also a lot of fun too.
The sound effects are also of good quality. With guns sounding realistic and fitting the mood. The voice acting is also decent although the dialogue is a bit cheesy. The AI is also good with enemies attacking when they should and taking cover accordingly. Most of the time enemies will not just allow you to kill them by just standing still. The main campaign is of decent quality but is a bit on the short side. The main story is definitely loads of fun but where Gears of War really excels is the multiplayer.
The game is full of multiplayer options that should please some of the most hardcore online multiplayer fans. Even the campaign mode offers a co-op feature where you and a friend can play through the entire game online. There are also an ample amount of maps to play online. The online portion of Gears of War adds tremendous replay value to the game. It is no wonder that Gears of War is one of the biggest hits on Xbox LIVE even years after it’s release.
Overall Gears of War is truly a stunning showpiece of for the Xbox 360. The graphics, sound, multiplayer, and fun factor are all of great quality. It is still a blast to wipe out the Locust Horde even today, and the online components are stellar. The only complaint I have is that I wish that the party system and game start up was a copy of Halo 3. I guess you can’t have everything though. Gears of War is a definite must have for any hardcore shooter enthusiast. I am in eager anticipation of the sequel.
Huzaifah from eXputer "With a new Gears of War game possible, I'll go ahead and say that the original trilogy was the peak of the series and should get remastered."
^ this
and judgement as well
Why not Remaster them and release them as Marcus Fenix Collection for PC and Series
I would buy it. I sh1t on microsoft alot but their gears of War series I loved. Some great gameplay and if they would keep up the multiplayer I'd play that too.
1-3 are incredible with each one being bigger and better than the last. I don’t know what it is, but 4 was super underwhelming to me and 5 was slightly better than 4, but I didn’t feel the same epic feeling I had when going through 1-3. I hope 6 brings that epicness back, but yea like a full remake of 1-3 with current-gen visuals would be *chef’s kiss*.
I was actually devastated with Gears 1 Remaster on Xbox and PC. From when the OG released in 2006 right up until Gears 2 released a few years later. Me and a small group of friends would play it almost daily.
When the remaster arrived. It was annoying that they changed the way you could find a create games. The PC version was dead on arrival as it didn't release on steam just the crappy windows store so about 7 people (including me) bought it. I think I managed to find about 5 games in the first week of release. After that it was just a ghost town.
Not sure about Xbox version. Didn't actually try it until I got a series s in late 2022. It was completely dead online.
A new game would be best. I don't understand why gamers want to rebuy old games over something new.
It an excuse to revisit something you loved a long time, and it’s prettier and shinier!
Yeah, new game is always better in my book but remake/remaster is definitely a good runner-up.
Agreed. The old games are there anyway.
I went back and played them all again in anticipation of Gears 5 with a friend and they hold up really well. In fact, they were more fun than the recent ones in some ways.
The Xbox 360 was a fantastic console in its day with some truly classic titles, but what are the seven best games for the console?
I'll go with,
Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Culdcept Saga, Shadow Complex, Ace Combat 6 with the flight stick,A Kingdom for Keflings, A World of Keflings.
Bonus Kinect Games: Happy Action Theater and Sesame Street.
*Skyrim was so bad on PS3 that it almost deserves to be #1*
Ah yes, Shadow Complex! Good indies back in the day. Summer of Arcade. I enjoyed Trials Evolution as well.
Was this made by a.i.? No human being would put Shadowrun, Fable III, and Splinter Cell: Conviction into a list of the 7 best Xbox 360 games.
Would love to play Ace Combat6 on PlayStation, but Xbox decided to buy exclusivity and keep it off a competing platform.
The only mainline game I never played except for one level at a friends place. Game sold less than any other in the series if I remember correctly.
360 had Namco hitters AC6 and RR6... both quality titles. You should at least bust out the 360 for AC6 if you can score the flight stick. Its great.
When the current gen XBOX offering is so lacking people need to refer to games released two generations back....
It's a nostalgia peice same reason we get thousands of YouTube videos on sega genisis. Something people have fond memories for but the era is long gone.
It's xboxs golden year imo it was their genisis years the time where they stuck it to the market leaders Sony.
They stuck nothing. Sony screwed themselves giving Xbox an opening. They would have gotten the usual smack down if the PS3 had launched at $399 and was easier to develop for.
Shaz from GL writes: “In an interview, Cliff Bleszinski says that he’d be interested in helping develop a Gears of War reboot akin to God of War. Unnecessary? I think so.”
I completely disagree. Outdated in what way? There is literally no other cover based TPS multiplayer game like it and the core gameplay is so good that people still play Gears 1 today. I can't think of any games that has shotgun battles like Gears. The real issue is that there is simply no new audience for it, because the learning curve is so steep. It just needs to market itself better and the work needs to be done on the campaign side. Better to just split up the single player and multiplayer as two different projects and releases.
Also, this who "reboot" discussion isn't considering the fact that God of war doesn't have multiplayer as a significant portion of the game. Single player only games have a lot more freedom to change. With Gears you have to consider that there's an entire community still playing every day, so you can't just change the core gameplay balance. On top of that they can't dedicate as many resources to single player as God of war, because the budget has to be split with multiplayer.
There is no other one like it because there is no demand for that style of game, kinda obvious really. If there was an interest in gears style games the market would be flooded with them.
Gears of War 1 and 2 were bad combat wise.... Story wise too. I beat both of them because of the hype and gave up after that.
I agree. It needs done kind of overhaul, but I don't think a God of War style would suit this game.
I gotta be honest I don't know what it needs, but it needs something ... And 5 wasn't it
Maybe it's a reboot more in the sense of a more emotional storyline or something like God of War, and some small tweaks in terms of gameplay.
Do you have a genuine reason to come to that conclusion, other than it not being a PlayStation studio?
The Coalition probably have the best and most knowledge team on Unreal Engine 5 outside of Epic. I'd have thought if anyone "had the talent", it would be them.
Because they did not do a fantastic job when they took over the ip.
In fact, the majority of ips under Microsoft shows complete signs of cheap development with bigger marketing budgets.
More make up on dated engines can work… but can not be mistaken for innovative.
No innovation equals no ability to push a franchise into anything new.
Take the “open world” introduction in the last gears…
Empty vast traveling areas to get to pre determined “random” encounter areas is a cheap developing approach.. not innovation to build any trust into.
Even if they were the best in the world at UE5 that would only mean that they might make a great looking game. It takes a lot more than that to make a great game.
"Do you have a genuine reason to come to that conclusion, other than it not being a PlayStation studio?"
History and current output.
A reimagining that continues the lore, and story of established characters is absolutely a great way to continue a series that needs a refresh. I agree that any long standing franchise that has run it's course definitely needs a "God of War" style reboot, because GOW did it right. I might have my issues with the last two games but they did right by the series regardless.
There's no helping Gears of Woke. Microsoft killed this franchise when they forced the woke culture into the story.
God of War did the same, just in a more subtle sly way.... They could of probably made a few cuts and bam, PG rated movie right there. God of Rainbows and Daisies.
Dang, so many dislikes lol, willing to elaborate, just didnt want to throw out a bunch of spoilers. If anyone wants to discuss as to why, im always open to discussions. Just shoot me a DM.
How is it woke? Because the lead is a female?
Is Horizon woke also?
There's no helping you. Anti-woke culture killed your brain when they force fed you the idea that diversity is the worst thing ever.
Lol....good to see that you agree as do I with the fact Microsoft went woke as Disney with the Gear franchise. Microsoft tried to save the franchise by taking the formula that was working with the strong Bro leads and going to the woke weakass female formula that no one cared about.
Diversity isn't a strength. Look at the world. That's the reason it's in the state it is.
Forced diversity is the reason people don't like diversity, you should just hire who is best for what, not have to tick boxes first then worry about talent next.
@ra3030
Every company has gone woke, even successful ones. Those don't fit your narrative though. Yeah no, the only two things Microsoft and Disney have in common is that they're woke /s
Totally not that they're risk averse companies that don't wanna innovate in fear of it being a waste of time. They've got bottomless pockets and limited time. So they spend their time trying to crack codes, find patterns, create money making templates out of whatever property they're working on. It needs to be as mass produceable as possible. Disney and Microsoft, bringing sweat shop factory made quality to gaming storefronts and theaters near you.
@binary
Right because the world was so much better segregated... and there's a million other reasons I'd put ahead of diversity as to why the world is the way it is, but way to show how much diversity is on your brain by how dangerous you think it is. It's literally the cause of everything to you.
@gaming
Actually forced diversity is the only reason people like diversity. If you don't force people to do it, they won't do it. The only people who end up liking it due to having met new people with different perspectives only ever got to because they were kind of forced to. That's literally part of the reason diversity is being advocated for, because it promotes innovation. Having dozens of people with too similar of viewpoints can lead them to being too likeminded and unable to think of different solutions, or even different problems that weren't even recognized. There's more than one way to be a useful hire, and having a genuinely unique perspective is one of them.
I thought they were doing a soft reboot with gears4 but then it turned out to be the exact same as all the others.
A more horror oriented and tight corridor renewal would work for that franchise....also...why they got guns? They're alien like...they should have other types of weapons entirely.
dang why do most of the different species in god of war use swords, axes, and bows? They should have other types of weapons entirely.
They don't... Okay you obviously haven't played god of war. What a way of owning yourself man! Lol
The draugr are pretty much the only ones...and besides we're comparing established mythology with made up bug aliens
Gears owns.
Calling the dialog cheese is a massive understatement, and the multiplier was buggy. Very very overrated game.
Nice review and yes the Hammer of Dawn was fun to use on the peons in the campaign as well as the big bugs ^^ It really was the game for 2006 and I think many would agree with your score. It really was a gritty and bloody game my only faults I would give it were the lack of bodies for each encounter. Yes they certainly seemed like enough on harder settings but you know...