" *BANG* 'sup, Bitches?"
Jonesman and myself defeated Gears of War today, after a marathon play session the likes of which we don't often get anymore. Having only beat it once, on medium difficulty, I can't really comment on if it is the best game this year. Honestly, V-Profile 2, Disgaia 2, Oblivion, the upcoming WWE Game, the Zelda game, & my precious make that seem unlikely. And yet, I can't shake the feeling that it just ruined most every other game in-genre.
The camera work is great, mimicking and surpassing the war-films shakey-cam we all love. In fact, 'best camera shot in a videogame ever' is a new award I'm creating, and the multiplayer in Gears of War will get the nod. When you've been pwned, as they say, and an enemy stands over your barely breathing body, you feel truly defeated, looking up into their eyes. Then they raise their boot and drive it through your face. Humiliating, in an awesome, tea-bagging sort of way.
As for gameplay, there is so much right that every other game begins to look wrong. PDZ's excellent cover system now looks broken by comparison, the excellence of the auto-camera puts every single other 3rd-person game to shame, and the handling of the targeting (plus the H.U.D. in general) should be required learning for every game designer today.
Moreso than anything, its the little touches, though. Every scene has the polish of a big budget action movie, only for 12 hours instead. The enemies throw some great variety at you, including a reference to favorite movie of mine. The bosses evoke "oh shit." and "you gotta be kidding me" from the deepest reaches of your soul, and even from your characters, which brings me to my favorite point.
The character interactions, and the personalities, are awesome. They feel like friends, or rivals, in every interaction, which are normally not even the focus of the game, but rather just something going on in the background. Also, the characters don't quote famous writers or bad poetry, but instead say the sorts of things you and your friends gathered around might, which surprisingly seems more natural coming out of a military character than the alternative. My 2nd favorite quote comes after satisfying kills, from Dominic, and can be read above.
Yes, I'm aware it isn't cool to you, reader. That's because you weren't there.
The camera work is great, mimicking and surpassing the war-films shakey-cam we all love. In fact, 'best camera shot in a videogame ever' is a new award I'm creating, and the multiplayer in Gears of War will get the nod. When you've been pwned, as they say, and an enemy stands over your barely breathing body, you feel truly defeated, looking up into their eyes. Then they raise their boot and drive it through your face. Humiliating, in an awesome, tea-bagging sort of way.
As for gameplay, there is so much right that every other game begins to look wrong. PDZ's excellent cover system now looks broken by comparison, the excellence of the auto-camera puts every single other 3rd-person game to shame, and the handling of the targeting (plus the H.U.D. in general) should be required learning for every game designer today.
Moreso than anything, its the little touches, though. Every scene has the polish of a big budget action movie, only for 12 hours instead. The enemies throw some great variety at you, including a reference to favorite movie of mine. The bosses evoke "oh shit." and "you gotta be kidding me" from the deepest reaches of your soul, and even from your characters, which brings me to my favorite point.
The character interactions, and the personalities, are awesome. They feel like friends, or rivals, in every interaction, which are normally not even the focus of the game, but rather just something going on in the background. Also, the characters don't quote famous writers or bad poetry, but instead say the sorts of things you and your friends gathered around might, which surprisingly seems more natural coming out of a military character than the alternative. My 2nd favorite quote comes after satisfying kills, from Dominic, and can be read above.
Yes, I'm aware it isn't cool to you, reader. That's because you weren't there.