Gears of War is apparently amazing

[Asher]

Scores so far:

Gamespot: 9.6/10

IGN: 9.4/10

1up: 10/10

TeamXbox: 9.6/10

[Verto]

I'm interested in playing it, but I never bought into all the hype about it. Of course, given the 360's non-existant game library, I am hoping desperately that it really is everything it is said to be, and more.

Did you pre-order, Asher?

[Asher]

I never preorder, but I'll buy it.

I'm already busy with NHL games and NFS Carbon, so now I need to buy Gears of War and Call of Duty 3 this week. Next week I'll buy the HD-DVD addon and the force-feedback steering wheel.

[Asher]

Assorted quotes from reviews, stolen from another thread:

"To say that Gears of War features next-gen graphics is a gross understatement. It's got the most impressive graphics ever seen in a video game, and the stellar art direction only makes it more beautiful."

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"Finally, the Xbox 360 has the killer app that everyone's been waiting for, a game that should be shown to anyone who doubts the system's power."

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"Gears of War is the best looking game I've ever seen. No contest."

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"Consider Gears of War to be the game that raised the bar for how console games should look from here on out. "

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"Gears of War is a must-have game, pure and simple. Epic has effectively created a new gaming universe, and the rich story of planet Sera holds its own with the likes of Hyrule, City 17 and the Mushroom-friggin'-Kingdom. A game so gorgeous, both visually and audibly, that is this fun to play comes along only a handful of times a console generation."

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"The graphics, sound and presentation are nearly unparalleled. The gameplay is phenomenal and you'd be hard pressed to find a more complete package. Gears of War has shown what Xbox 360 is capable of. Now it remains to be seen what other developers can do to keep up."

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"Gears of War is a game that capitalizes on all of the promises made by the next generation of gaming. It looks more than a few steps beyond what consoles have been doing to this point, and the gameplay is supremely fulfilling from start to finish in all of its various modes. While there have certainly been plenty of similar shooters before it, the game's great weapons, amazing graphics, and absolutely thrilling action make it stand out from the pack in a big, big way."

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"... one of the most heart-pounding and graphically thrilling experiences of the year. If its exciting campaign doesn't rope you in, chances are the team-based multiplayer will--either way, Gears of War is downright amazing."

[Nostromo]

You quote misses the funny part

If you're a graphics whore, you absolutely, positively need to pick this game up. To say that Gears of War features "next-gen graphics" is a gross understatement. It's got the most impressive graphics ever seen in a video game, and the stellar art direction only makes it more beautiful.

And I didn't made it up. Its the actual quote taken from Team Xbox.

[DrSpike]

Shame it's a driving game really.

[ZargonX]

I read the 1up review, and it struck me as quite inconsistent with itself. He starts off talking about the controls having problems, the AI having problems, the multiplayer having problems, the story being trite, and then concludes it's a 10/10 because it has some awesome bits.

I've never played the game, so obviously I can't really comment on it, but reviews like that seem to be part of the current trend of terrible reviewing. How is anyone supposed to trust any of these "journalists" when they really seem to lack any sort of critical integrity?

[Asher]

The problems he mention are clearly all minor.

At the end of the day what matters is if it's a fun game, and clearly that's the overwhelming consensus.

I do agree 10/10 is ridiculous unless the game is flawless, which is why Gamespot/IGN are more appropriate.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by DrSpike
Shame it's a driving game really.

I am a little surprised no one took the opportunity to point out it isn't.

I take it the force feedback steering wheel is for a different game.

[Verto]

Originally posted by ZargonX
I read the 1up review, and it struck me as quite inconsistent with itself. He starts off talking about the controls having problems, the AI having problems, the multiplayer having problems, the story being trite, and then concludes it's a 10/10 because it has some awesome bits.

I've never played the game, so obviously I can't really comment on it, but reviews like that seem to be part of the current trend of terrible reviewing. How is anyone supposed to trust any of these "journalists" when they really seem to lack any sort of critical integrity?

Exactly what I thought when I read the same review. This game seems to be good, probably great, but come on!, 10/10? From that article, I gather that the multiplayer is a serious weak spot..

My biggest complaint, however, is with the multiplayer options. What's there is a lot of fun, but that fun isn't going to last very long until downloadable content comes along (which developer Epic is working on now). Gears of War offers enough maps by today's standards (10), but not enough variety in features. All matches are 4-on-4, which isn't bad in itself, but all three modes are just slight variations of each other. The standard War Zone is last-man standing (everyone always has only one life, elimination style). Execution is the same thing, except you can only off someone with a sniper headshot, chain saw, or up-close-and-personal execution (like stomping his head into the ground). Assassination is the same as War Zone, only the match ends when the pre-designated "leader" dies. Compare this to Halo 2 with its 5 katrillion possible custom combinations of multiplayer modes, and you can already tell that Gears of War won't have the same longevity. It also doesn't help that the matchmaking system is broken.

Not to mention "control issues", "A.I. problems", "Bad dialogue or storytelling", etc. Of course every game has problems, it is just a question of whether or not you have enough fun to ignore them. Gears of War seems to be a game that will provide a lot of fun - especially for coop, which I think is kick ass.

In the end though, if Gears of War was launching a year from now, when the 360 hopefully will have a much larger game library to choose from, I doubt it would be getting this much hype. As it is, the number of worthwhile games 360 has, I could count on one hand. Any addition to this vacuum is a welcome one.

[Nostromo]

I don't care about mp, just about sp. And it seems that the sp campaign is on the short side, about 10-12 hours from what I've heard. So if i had a 360, I would rent it, not buy it.

[Kuciwalker]

I was sold on this game from the moment I saw the gun with a chainsaw.

[Verto]

I've read that the chainsaw can be a bit of a pain to use some times.

[Asher]

It's generally painless if you hold it from the correct end. Otherwise...yes, I'd imagine it'd be quite painful.

[Verto]

So you agree it has the potential to cause quite a few headaches, then