Product Description

The exclusive Xbox 360 game, Gears of War, thrusts gamers into a harrowing battle for humankind's survival against its subterranean enemy, the Locust Horde.In this third-person shooter game, you must lead war hero Marcus Fenix and his team as they face the onslaught of merciless warriors hellbent on destroying the human inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera.With a revolutionary tactical combat system and breathtaking, high-definition visuals from Unreal Engine 3, Gears of War will plunge you into a horrifying story of war and survival.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Released on: 2006-11-16
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
In a nutshell:
One of the most highly rated games of E3, Gears of War is looking likely to be the Xbox 360's Christmas blockbuster with the best graphics yet seen on the system and a tactical twist on the usual shoot `em-up gameplay.

The lowdown:
With Halo still at least a year out this is currently the Xbox 360's premier exclusive shoot `em-up. Using a third person, over the shoulder, view rather than the usual first person viewpoint the game emphasis the importance of cover and tactics rather than just running and gunning. The question of cover becomes particularly important given the impressively destructible environments you fight in, which create a constantly shifting battlefield for you to navigate. As you'd expect the game also contains an extensive suite of multiplayer and co-op modes for play over Xbox Live.

Most exciting moment:
The graphics are stunning, nearly photorealistic, but the greatest guilty pleasure in the game so far is the "chainsaw bayonet" and the OTT spurt of gore it extracts from bad guys.

Since you ask:
Gears of War developers Epic Games are also responsible for the Unreal Engine 3 graphics engine which is used in many other games from Assassin's Creed to Lost Odyssey.

The bottom line:
Who needs Halo when the Gears of War are turning as smartly as this?
Harrison Dent

Manufacturer's Description:

Gears of War, an Xbox 360 exclusive game that blends tactical action with survival horror, thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing tale of humankind's epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. The storyline plays out like a Hollywood blockbuster -- lead character Marcus Fenix pits advanced human technology against the overwhelming Locust Horde. Built around a revolutionary third-person tactical combat system and breathtaking, high-definition visuals from the Unreal Engine 3, Gears of War immerses you in a horrifying tale of war and survival.

Gears of War is harrowing tale that pits humankind against the Locust Horde.

Marcus Fenix and his team battle nightmarish creatures. View larger.

In Gears of War, you must take cover to survive. View larger.

Gears of War presents a focused and well-paced cinematic experience. View larger.

The gameplay is focused on a fire team co-op so advanced that your A.I. teammates are indiscernible from human players. Voice recognition and real-time lip synching heighten the absorbing experience. The Unreal Engine 3 technology brings out the smallest details in the largest of battles. With GOW you're sure to experience a rich, dynamic world where characters spring to life. Speaking of life, the battlefield is a lethal place. To survive, you must suppress your enemy with blindfire, take cover in interactive environments, and use weapons and teammates to outwit your dreaded, inhuman foes. And with a title like GOW, it would be shame if you couldn't get online and challenge live gamers. With the next-generation of Xbox Live, you'll be able to experience individualized matchmaking, view player statistics, earn player achievements, customize games, and build personalized gamer profiles.

Gears of War shined bright at Microsoft's pre-E3 press briefing, but a deeper demo at Microsoft's E3 booth revealed many of the game's mechanics. GOW is built with both the hardcore and casual gamer in mind. But, instead of selecting a difficulty level at the start of the game, GOW offers a choice at the beginning of each level. In the vein of choose your own adventure, you can select between a difficult or easy path. And it's not just a simple choice of battling tougher enemies; each path (explained by a comrade) represents additional content that is crucial to the storyline. After easing your way into the experience of the gameplay with the simpler paths, you can go back and test your skills on the more difficult routes and never feel like you've played through the areas before.

Standing around in the open is likely to get you killed in GOW. You must use cover to survive. With a context sensitive A button function, you won't have to sweat memorizing cumbersome button combos. The A button will:

• Slam you into cover. As you approach cover in GOW simply tap the A button to slide and make immediate use of cover.
• Vault you over the cover. Once you're in cover, pressing up and A will vault you over your cover to engage the opponent or next cover opportunity.
• Evade enemy fire. When you're forced to be out in the open, tapping the A button will engage a roll maneuver to evade enemy fire.
• Activate a "Swat Turn." When taking cover on the side of a doorway, pressing the A button will spin your character from one side of the doorway to the other, helping avoid fire.

Ripping a magazine free and replacing it in the midst of bloody combat is no easy task. GOW simulates this difficult action by forcing you to perfect your reloading skills. To be effective in combat you'll need to allot for time to successfully reload your weapon. Do it well and the battle is yours; do it poorly and you may actually jam your gun. Time it perfectly and you'll earn a bonus with a temporary damage boost. Though GOW clearly showcases a sci-fi experience, its roots are in tactical, realistic combat scenarios. Therefore, running and gunning makes for seriously erratic shooting. Think about what you're doing. Unless wasting ammo is your goal, you better stop, aim, shoot, and then move on. Otherwise, the Locust Horde might swarm you and take your life.

Gears of War presents a focused and well-paced cinematic experience, and nothing ruins that faster than a time-consuming exploration of every switch or button to find the elusive trigger to open a door. This game introduces a "point of interest" button that comes up on the screen so you can immediately interact with the necessary item to move forward in your gameplay. GOW certainly offers drool-worthy graphics, but the mechanics have also received equal attention. Keep your eyes and ears on high alert for a release date, as Microsoft hasn't let the cat out of the bag on when gamers will be able to tackle this great-looking and great-playing title.

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Customer Reviews

Incredible
Words really can't do this game justice. It's just so ridculously good, and in my opinion, only one major flaw.

This flaw is the A button; it does too much stuff. It sprints, rolls sideways, rolls forwards, presses you against a wall, etc., so you might be desperately trying to lure a Beserker outside and accidentally going against a wall and getting crushed into a million pieces. Luckily, this doesn't happen too often one you've grasped the controls.

Speaking of controls, the gameplay is fantastic. It's a nice change to running around, randomly throwing grenades and shooting wildly into the air. If you did that in this game, you'd die in a matter of seconds. There's a heavier emphasis on hiding, and taking advantage of the enemy when they're, for example, reloading. This adds a strategic element to the game, which caters to the less hardcore gamers.

The story is quite interesting. Although straightforward, it's captivating enough for you to play until the end. The bosses are challenging, and usually massive, which is a good point in my opinion. The end boss is probably one of the more notorious bosses ever, which makes killing him even more satisfying. The weapons are good fun, as fun can easily be described as slicing someone in half with a chainsaw, splattering the screen with blood.

Finally, presentation. This was, and still is, one of the nicest looking games ever. It's taken advantage of a great engine (Unreal 3), and I just love the look of devastation wherever you go. Even if it is a little grey.

In conclusion, this game is epic (pun intended). If you own a 360, you NEED to own this game.

Definitely NOT the greatest FPS
I really don't get what the fuss has been about. I finally bought this game and played it. Yes its a decent length. It's not that hard, graphics are OK a few good moments. Movement is OK, but ot be honest Halo 3 had better storyline, movement and graphics. (havn't played COD4)I think it only has gained the reputation it has as it was one of the first decent games on XBox, nothing more. now a couple of years later it looks an feels dated.

Greatest shooter of all time
The gears of war campaign is amazing especially in coop. Great grpahics, gameplay and AI along with a great cinematic storyline. Online play is brilliant and more tactical than other games if only there were more online matches left