*Revised edition 03/16/12*
Emergence Day: The day when the Locust Horde gathered under every major city and launched a surprise attack against humanity. Once disregarded as fictional bogeymen by a society now decimated, the Locust Horde turns out to be more frighteningly real and dangerous than anyone had previously imagined. That was fourteen years ago. You play as Marcus Fenix, a hard-as-nails, ex-COG soldier now serving time in a maximum security penitentiary for defying orders when he tried unsuccessfully to save his father. Subsequently charged with dereliction of duty and sentenced to forty years, Marcus finds himself breaking out (with the help from a friend), and gets recruited back into the COG service to help defeat the Horde. You join the ranks of Delta Squad where you and three other ‘roided up soldiers are tasked with stopping the Horde from completely obliterating mankind. No sweat, right?
Gameplay in Gears consists of finding cover, shooting enemies and moving on to the next fight. But even this simple formula manages to turn every encounter into a pulse-pounding experience. To be successful you have to rely on cover. Stone walls, pillars, outcroppings, broken down cars, etc. litter the landscape for you to seek refuge behind. Forget “run ’n’ gun” as Gears demands that you utilize every square inch of cover you can find or else prepare to die…a lot. You can also raise your weapon and blind fire to keep any advancing locusts at bay. While the cover mechanic works well enough, I did notice a tiny flaw. The button that controls running and using cover is the same, and it’s very easy to accidentally take cover against an object when you meant to retreat or leap out of the way. This can sometimes result in an unnecessary death since instead of avoiding danger you might get hung up against a wall. It’s not a major issue but it does border on the frustrating particularly when engaged in a heavy fire fight and you must react quickly.
The weapons in the game are the standard assortment of pistols, shotguns, grenades, rocket launchers, etc. with a few unique items like the torque bow; a high-tech bow replete with explosive arrows. The Lancer is your main assault weapon that contains a chainsaw bayonet that you can rev up and literally cut a victim in half offering a truly visceral experience to the standard melee attack. The game also introduces the active reload feature which offers you the ability to speed up your reload as well as enhancing your ammo to inflict increased damage should you get the timing correct. However, if you mess up, your gun will jam and take a few extra seconds to load which can mean the difference between life and death. Mastering the active reload feature is critical especially on the harder difficulties.
The A.I. in Gears is fairly competent. The Locust will react offensively or defensively depending on how you are performing on the battlefield. They will employ the same tactics you and your squad do such as taking cover, retreating, charging, flanking, etc. You shouldn’t stay in one place for too long since enemies are constantly shifting their positions to get a better shot while making sure to give you a harder target to hit. The only area I found fault with concerns your accompanying squad mates. While they do an adequate job of helping you (for the most part), it’s not uncommon for them to charge pell mell into the fight against a greater force which causes them to go down and become disabled until you can run over and revive them yourself or clear the area of all threats so they can recover on their own.
Another quirk regarding your squad mates: There are times when the game splits your squad in half. Many times I died because my other squad mate wasn’t watching my back and for some reason couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn when it came to enemies overwhelming us. Other times I found that I was dying because my squad mate wasn’t even in the same area when I was attempting to attack, and therefore I had no support backing me up. Let’s hear it for teamwork! This is a very noticeable problem and very frustrating which will hopefully be addressed in the sequel.
The graphics in Gears are easily some of the best found in any game at this point in time. The environments are likewise just as stunning and defined bringing to life a war torn and desolate cityscape. The rain effects are particularly impressive as it convincingly shimmers and gleans off walls and collects in pools on the ground. The texturing and lighting are some of the most detailed I’ve ever seen; ambient light glows and shines off of objects realistically. The character models of your squad are very detailed and animate very smoothly. These are some of the biggest guys you‘ve ever seen in a game. Each member is built like a small truck adorned with massive pieces of armor. The Locusts are no slouches either in the character department and are also greatly detailed. They are likewise built as small trucks (some even bigger) and have the dubious honor as being the ugliest creatures in a video game.
The game does a wonderful job of showcasing the raw power of the chainsaw bayonet. Every time you use it the camera locks on tight and you are treated to a literal blood bath as Locust blood splashes across the screen leaving droplets on the camera. Pull off a successful headshot with the sniper rifle and watch as the head explodes like a grape. If you take down a Boomer (very large Locusts that carry rocket launchers) with their own weapon their bodies explode leaving bloody chunks and entrails for you to inspect.
Sound is top-notch in Gears. The voice acting never feels forced or phony. Each member of Delta Squad has their own personality that convincingly comes through their character. And throughout the game there is plenty of good natured banter exchanged between the characters that further enhances the notion that these guys have a history together and are not just artificial drones “fighting the good fight.” There is a definite sense of sincere camaraderie that makes itself known simply through the script.
The Locusts are likewise convincing. Their speech mostly consists of raspy almost reptilian type of voices that serve to induce their creep factor. And the Wretches (creatures that serve under the Locusts almost like dogs) have the most disturbing and heart-stopping screech that is comparable to the Naz’gul’s screech from The Lord of the Rings. The weapons sound superb and each have their own unique sound; from slamming home a new clip into your weapon to the deafening explosions of a grenade. The game is brought to life in beautiful 5.1 Dolby Digital and is a real aural treat.
Gears offers a substantial amount replay value both in the single-player campaign and multiplayer. Multiplayer can be achieved either through local, system link or Xbox Live, and you can either grab a friend to take on the Locusts in split-screen co-op mode or over Live as well. There are three different versus match types as well (“Warzone,” “Assassination” and “Execution”) for those who want a more competitive atmosphere. Matches are restricted to 4v4. As with every 360 game there are a number of achievements to unlock. Some are quite easy and only require the completion of a level or act to unlock, while others are substantially harder and will take quite a bit of time. There is both an assortment of single-player campaign and multiplayer achievements available, so whichever mode you play you have the ability to unlock them.
Overall, Gears delivers just what the 360 needed all this time: A killer app. The cover mechanic has been done before, and the story is not as fleshed out as I would have liked, but what Gears does is make all the different elements come together in one seamless experience that will hopefully make you want to come back for more.
