Gears of War
Posted 11/16/07 at 12:54:34 PM | by Norman Chan
As devoted PC gamers, we’re usually not very prone to console envy, but there are a few reasons to be jealous of our closed-platform counterparts. Chief among them are the exclusives games that Microsoft and Sony hook up with their fanboys. Gears of War made its debut a year ago to widespread acclaim, and we finally have the PC version of Epic’s gritty masterpiece. Five exclusive new single-player levels, new multiplayer maps, and high resolution visuals help the game stand the test of time and make the PC port the definitive version.
The story for the uninitiated: you lead a warbound squad of testosterone infused soldiers through the ruins of the planet Sera to fend off the alien Locust invasion. Through five lengthy story acts, you shoot, chainsaw, and eviscerate hideous enemy soldiers in abandoned city streets, underground caves, and factories. While not nearly a thinking man’s shooter, Gears does require that you utilize cover and flanking tactics. We easily grooved into the contextual cover system and thoroughly enjoyed the challenging shootouts. Aiming with a mouse definitely helped us score long-range kills, but we also played with a gamepad at times to quickly maneuver around obstacles and cover.
Five new story chapters have been added to the last act, which feature the same skirmishes we played in the rest of the game. One new boss, the colossal Brumak, is the highlight of the new content, and a thrill to kill. We were also very pleased with how well the game ran on our systems, with all the settings cranked up and at high monitor resolutions (suck on that, console scum). Multiplayer on Microsoft’s LIVE network is streamlined for matchmaking, but you’ll need a Gold membership to take advantage of rankings and leaderboards. Ultimately, the PC extras aren’t enticing enough for someone who’s played the Xbox version to rebuy the game. But for those who’ve held out on selling out, Gears of War on the PC is an astounding action game that shouldn’t be missed.
Locust soldiers come in two varieties: ugly and uglier.
Gears of War
www.gearsofwar.com
www.gearsofwar.com
Mouse/Keyboard
Unrelenting action; challenging gameplay; amazing visuals; PC-exclusive content.
Gamepad
No jumping; no split-screen coop; LIVE membership fees.
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Poor quality graphics and the same intense boring gaming theme
Submitted by hectorco on Sat, 2008-02-02 18:48
I always enjoy pc games really a lot,having actually played several themes simple or hardcore as Pacific Fighters, Far Cry,Fear,Oblivion, Ghost REC. Advc. Warfighter, Call Of Duty 4,and the best of all - Crysis, and Assasins Creed ( i believed this last could be one of the greats); there's no doubt that Gears Of War has no place in today's hardcore and intense realistical grapichs gaming. Microsoft games studios and Bill Gates should be much more aware of today's and upcoming versions of their overall mentioned gaming competitors. My respect and best wishes to Microsoft Studios. I love reading Maximum PC, and have learned a lot from this magazine. Have a great gaming year.!!!!
Submitted by Ghostryderflyby on Thu, 2008-01-03 10:15
MPC dinged the coop for no split screen but they forgot to mention the brilliant aspects of the coop. You can actually play coop over the internet for starters, unlike just about any other game out there and that is terrific on it's own. I wish many more games would do that, as sometimes dealing with the online rif raf in multiplayer games becomes very tiring. Hooking up with a good friend that doesn't annoy the hell out of you and sharing the single player campaign can be a hell of a lot more fun and less annoying, and because you have your entire screen to yourself instead of losing half the real estate to your coop partner, but can still see him and talk to him, it makes for a much more immersive and enjoyable experience. Take notice game developers! GOW is on to something with their Coop and you should follow suit!
Submitted by wickedss on Mon, 2007-11-19 10:37
This game is plagued by game save problems. See here......http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=583531
Submitted by err on Sun, 2007-11-18 21:02
The co-op mode is really cool. I'm really glad it's now on PC. The graphics are amazing and an awesome story. This game will have to be made into a movie at some point.
Finally, I will enjoy this
Submitted by LaurenB on Sat, 2007-11-17 16:17
Finally, I will enjoy this with a real mouse/keyboard instead of a silly gamepad stick. I could never really aim well with those controllers.
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