'Gears' aims to be new 'Halo'
By: Tom Bennett
Issue date: 5/19/06 Section: Entertainment
Originally published: 5/19/06 at 10:23 AM EST
Last update: 5/19/06 at 10:23 AM EST
Originally published: 5/19/06 at 10:23 AM EST
Last update: 5/19/06 at 10:23 AM EST
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Gears of War is an action strategy game with tons of gore and violence. Did I mention gore? The developers were quite proud of the chain saw attack, which is available by pressing the B button with the assault rifle equipped. Running up to someone with a chain saw almost guarantees the opponent's death, as long as the attacker doesn't die before getting within reach. While the death animation is pretty brutal for the person being killed (the blood on the screen complements it well), the level of detail was not satisfactory. As far as I see it, chain saws on a console emphasizing graphics must have one thing: dismemberment. Supposedly, characters can be cut in two with the chain saw, but I only saw a lot of blood across the midsection.
I personally found the stomping portion of the game to be more fun than the chain saws. If a character is almost shot to death while under cover, the person is not necessarily out yet , since players can be revived. To finish the job, the opponent can blast them to bits or run up to their foe and stomp his head into the nearest object. Very brutal.
A major game play element in Gears is the use of cover. Normally, pressing up on the thumbstick and the A button together will cause the character to run in a crouched position in a manner that is quite difficult to control and even see from, since the character blocks a major portion of the player's view. Using the same combination while located near an item that looks like it can provide cover will launch the character against said item for cover. This is where things get really interesting. Characters will automatically go into the cover mode when running into an object that can provide cover. While a character has cover, they have a few options. Obviously, a player can sneak to a side and shoot by peaking around the corner. Players can also peek above their cover. The best way to take care of business, though, is to attack without ever risking a shot, as players can fire blindly over cover (coolness factor plus ten when using the shotgun). Players can also press up on the thumbstick along with the A button while under cover as a means to quickly evading enemy attacks, as this combination will send the player to the next cover point (or run or evade, depending on the surrounding environment).
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