The online play is basically what makes this game. This title is still beautiful and interesting and can be challenging in its campaign mode but playing this game without Xbox live with human backup and human enemy is like playing halo without master chief. I almost feel they are 2 different games all together, where the campaign game would make GOW a rental not buy game, add in the multiplayer component and it becomes a must have requirement for your game library.
The online play gives you the option of playing the campaign game with one live person, in this mode your team of 4 will for most of the game be split up in teams of 2, you with your AI partner and your human friend with his AI partner, most of the time the 2 teams are separated by walls or different floors of a building limiting the one on one contact between you and your online buddy. Unlike in a game like Halo where you and your partner are always together.
The other online option and the most popular by far is versus mode, where you ( as a human or locust, your choice) are set in teams of 4, 8 players max, 4 on each team.
You ether win or loose as a team. So communication is very important. Unlike other online games if you quit a session in mid game then your team will be a man short for the rest of the game. GOW is an online game where quitting your session once a game has started is considered a mortal sin, you basically condemn your team to a failed mission, and doing so you can expect some bad feedback from your unhappy teammates.
The versus mode will place you with your 3 human controlled teammates on one of several maps, most of which are outdoor and some with outdoor and indoor structures. in one of 3 game modes, Assassination- kill the leader of other team, Execution- you can cause an opponent to fall to his knees but can only kill him with a close up execution move, and Warzone- the most popular versus mode, basically just kill with not strings attached.
On Execution and Warzone you win a round by killing all the opposing team members, the games can have anywhere from 1 to 19 rounds ( wins required to win entire match)
Communication....If you play online with other humans on any game then you are probably familiar with some of the not so nice things that may come across the game airwaves every now and then, including trash talking, cursing, complaining etc, well be forewarned that GOW seems to pull the bad mouthing out of people more so than any other Xbox live game I have played, just comes with the intensity of the game, so if you get offended easily or let people get you worked up easily then you may want to avoid online play with GOW.
Team communication...It is important to use your mic on this game, even if you are not so good it would be helpful if you could warn your teammate that there is a locust sneaking up behind him, or to let your team know exactly where your are when you are down so they can come give you some medical help before the enemy finds you first to finish you off.
Controls
Controls mostly work well but there are some hiccups that are small annoyances but can become a killer if encountered at the wrong moment. most of this could be cleared up if you had the option to assign and customize your controller buttons for the game but you really don’t have any choice, sprint is assigned to the A button and that’s just the way it is. Problem... B button used for Melee. This would be fine if you did not have to take your thumb off the stick that controls your left and right turning movement. So when your thumb is on the melee button you are restricted to forward and backward movement rather than being able to follow your opponent’s movements around you so you can continue to face him while you have your chainsaw revved up.
Problem....thought rare this sometimes is a headache, because the left thumb stick is higher on the controller you can easily accidentally press down the left shoulder button when excited in battle, this brings up your info telling you where your buddies are but also prevents you from firing off rounds when it is happening, so you are basically standing or running unarmed for a second or two at a critical moment. Problem.. The same button that you use to jump away from a grenade or to sprint out of danger just happens to be the same button that makes you stick to walls,, often a real drag. lets say you are last man on map with 2 guys on your butt, you sprint to try to get to a safe position, but while sprinting you try to run between to vehicles and boom , you stick to a car dead in your tracks and your dead. or someone throws a grenade by your feet, you try to jump forward and away but instead you stick to the wall next to you and boom your dead, sticking to cover is your best friend and worst enemy!
Weapons
I’m not going to list every weapon but I will say chainsaw on machinegun, and sticky grenades, and that you will have what you need when you need it if you know how to utilize it. Also I will state on the chainsaw gun that it will not work if you are being shot at and hit, it is the most graphic weapon to use on an enemy but also leaves you more vulnerable than any other weapon in the game, take it or leave it, I would be happy to trade it in for a baseball bat myself. But that’s just me. Also some kind of blade would have been nice in the game, knife or machete.
Replayability
The game play although very repetitive after a short while online is for some reason very competitive and addictive, you can put in many hours straight without realizing it, you know you should stop playing or take a brake, you tell yourself ok this is my last game but 10 games later there you are, its much easier said than done.
Graphics
Not bad at all, very nice, you can definitely say they are next gen and utilize the 360 power, but sure they could always be better. I think the graphics look the best in the campaign game where there is a level where you are out in a heavy rainstorm at night, the water and lighting effects are beautiful.
Speaking of weather I wish there was more in the games online versus maps, one map "The Mansion" does have rain but that’s it. I really wish they added more weather to the versus maps for atmosphere, how about a windy map wit dust in the air and an old newspaper blowing across the ground, or even a map with some snow coming down, Besides the mansion map all the rest seem to be ether a boring partly cloudy day or partly cloudy evening.
Other Life....What no stray civilians or animals in any of the versus maps? Come on now wino in the corner or a stray dog to put out of its misery?, I don’t think I have even seen a stray bird, No flies on a carcass? Well maybe it’s something that happened in the war that killed everything but humans and locust off.
Well I think that just about covers the online stuff, See you on the battlefield.
(Also my grading of this game is based on the online play alone as I feel the online and campaign are very different)
Gears of War Achievements (57)
There are 57 achievements with a total of 1250 points available
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