There are very few games out there that deliver on the hype surrounding them. Games that not only live up to the monumental expectations fans have placed on it, but also exceed them...well, they're few and far between. Halo was one of these proud few; Halo 2 was not. Metal Gear Solid 3 also holds this prize, while MGS2 sadly sits in the sidelines. Now there is a third title to sit in this elite group. Gears of War can now stand amongst the proud few who have made each and everyone one of us feel proud, fortunate, and privileged to have videogames as our past time.
What is about Gears of War that makes it perfect? Is it the visceral combat? The amazing visuals? The haunting score? The epic environments? Yes, it is all this and more. Gears of War is that rare title where there isn't a single aspect about the game that can be considered "bad"...and that says a lot.
Not only is the above true, but now we have another videogame character that falls perfectly under the title: “Badass.” The starring role in Gears of War is a war criminal known as Marcus Fenix, and everything about his character gushes confidence. He stares down two story tall creatures, single handedly fights off a Locust general, and can chainsaw enemies without blinking twice (but does complain how he will smell for a week). Marcus Fenix is the man who gamers get to take control of in Gears of War, and yes, he does sound as cool as described. Master Chief’s title of Xbox’s most famous character is about to find itself with some very unwelcome company, even if Fenix is a Microsoft employee as well.
The story of Gears recounts the following thirty six hours of Marcus Fenix, after he is broke out of prison by his best friend Dom to help fight the war against the Locust Horde. See, things aren’t going so hot for the humans of Sera, and as a desperate act, the leaders of the COG decided to release all the criminals to use for extra manpower...not to mention that a death by the Locust Horde is a far grimmer fate than they're willing to deal out. Fenix is just one of these many people, but he has some advantages: he's a decorated soldier who was convicted for arguably wrong reasons. While the story of Gears of War is nothing spectacular, it blows Halo 2’s narrative out of the water. The five acts each broken down into sub missions, offering great pacing and grand story telling. Gamers are actually going to feel like they are doing something to contribute to the war against the Horde. Unlike other titles, there's no being jetted off to some ring while the homeworld is being attacked.
The story takes gamers everywhere, from the base of those stranded in the war, to the Locust underground, and even Marcus’s own house. Everywhere one would want to go in a game like Gears is there. The single player can be considered short when compared to other shooters like Half-Life 2, but the beauty of it is no one will care. I beat the game in two days on Casual but the nagging thought of “Man that was short,” never crossed my mind. All I wanted to do was jump right back in and play again...but now on a harder difficulty. If the levels had been any longer, the gameplay would have become boring. Gears’s length is perfect. But for those of you who like to complain, Gears also has Hardcore as well as Insane difficulty levels which stretch the game out immensely.
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