Back to the Murder.

So after playing Viva Pinata and the past few reviews/ blogs I've been doing have been about happy happy games, I've decided to get back to my manly routes and play a game full of shooting, and killing. And chainsaw guns!

Gears...of...WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone's played this right? Unless: a) You're a Playstation fan boy b) You've been living under a rock  c) You're dead. G.O.W came out in 2006 a year after the release of the Xbox360 and this was solely the reason I (and I assume many others) bought a 360. The game is a sci-fi shooter for those of you that don't know...you know what? I'm pretty sure you all know the fucking plot! Made by Epic games it was, in my opinion, the first decent next gen game.

The story can be played singularly, local and online co-op. The game starts with Marcus Fenix (played by the great John DiMaggio...he did Bender as well!) in a prison cell being busted out by his long time buddy Dom. They are part of these nails mo' fuckas called the Gears. Kinda like the Special Forces of this universe. And then it's up to the player to control Marcus through the world stopping the Locust (sci-fi orcs?) using a wide array of weapons. The set pieces in the game were amazing. The combination of the over the shoulder camera, the sound effects and the areas just made me genuinely feel nervous! All I was thinking when getting chased is," I can't turn round to look because you have to stop to do that...so fuck that."

                 "Surprise! Cock fag!"

Presentation wise the game was, and still is sound. Sure there's a few frame drop issues but apart from that I can't complain. This ruined world, surrounded by death and war was beautiful to look at. Every time you fought in an area it felt like truly daunting, due to the seer size and scale of the place. I enjoyed the parts where the game slowed down for the plot and to show off the designs of certain areas. The character models were all unique and the Locust characters, especially the grenadiers, were fucking terrifying! But when you're controlling a dude wearing power armour wielding a chainsaw gun and you've cut that brute in half? That fear gets replaced with excitement (errrrrection!). And when you do it for the first time...you feel unstoppable. 

So with that in mind we shall delve into the combat. It's cover system was awesome. Simple to use. Hard to master. If there were two of you on co-op, you could have constant fire barraging the enemy. Obviously Epic covered the recoil of each weapon, so on extreme difficulty, your shots had to count! They developed a reload system that if you pressed at certain point, you would reload faster and have a small damage boost, which could be the decider in a multiplayer match. Then the best part. The fucking melee!!!!

                  "DOOOOOOOMMM!"

I know I already mentioned this but only briefly. In G.O.W's you can shoot the enemies legs to cripple them so you're able to get close (story and multiplayer) then, depending on the weapon, you can kill them in a sort of fatalility. Clearly the best was cutting someone in half with a chainsaw. Or you could equip a shotgun and smash their head in with a golf swing! Or attach a frag grenade to them and watch them blow up! OR execute them up close with a bolt pistol which made their head explode! 

Now if you aren't aware (but I'm sure the last paragraph has made it clear) the game was brutal. Limbs flying all over using grenades or the hammer of dawn (sorta like a light beam weapon from the sky). Heads left in pieces from a headshot from a sniper rifle or bolt pistol. It made playing online that more sweeter when you won, watching your foes explode or collapse from gunfire. 

So Playstation fan boys, and dead people/ ghosts/ zombies, with the release of the Xbox One the first Gears should be relatively cheap to pick up. Go out and get it and play through an Epic (no pun intended). I should also mention this is one of the very few games I played online so I highly recommend it to anyone! 

Hope you enjoyed! 

Leave me a comment! 

O.E.G.