Gears of War gets a 10/10

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TheMuffinKing
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Post by TheMuffinKing »

You know, I noticed the FEAR demo was pretty easy on the Xbox360... huh.
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Molyneux
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Post by Molyneux »

Shogoki wrote:
TheFeniX wrote:I don't know. Whereas, I've never played it, I heared some horrible things about the Halo PC port. The graphics were much better, but the game took too much hardware to run for what it offered. Basically, it was a pain to get it to run smooth.

But, Gears of War is Epic Games, so it should have a better track record.
Halo was a horrible resource hog, they like, counteroptimized it for the PC, probably because it was trying to use directx 9, but IIRC you could force it to use dx8 and it worked much much faster while looking the same.
How? I've got that problem, and I would very much like to fix it.
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wautd
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Post by wautd »

I want a HDTV :(
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mizuno
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Post by mizuno »

The weird thing is that I've head that Gears of War looks great even on standard def tvs, at least according to the latest 1up podcast.
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Post by Xon »

wautd wrote:I want a HDTV :(
VGA out for the Xbox360 for teh win
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Post by SylasGaunt »

TheMuffinKing wrote:Eh GoW is all right. I don't like the camera or the controls, yet another console proving the superiority of the PC for FPS games. The game looks nice, but I would prefer: 1. Cheat codes. I WANT ENTERTAINMENT not aggravation. 2. No more of this stupid checkpoint save crap. I want to save as I choose. Very freaking annoying.
I fail to see how cheat codes or lack thereof is a Console vs. PC issue, or the checkpoint save system given that there are several games for consoles that have the save anywhere feature.

And what is it about the camera/controls you don't like exactly? Because every review I've read disagrees with you on that issue.
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Post by TheFeniX »

I picked this game up yesterday and had loads of fun with my buddy playing the campaign co-op. The co-op is handled very well and you don't deal with the extra character just dissappearing during cutscenes. And with the off-axis 3rd person view, you don't loose as much of the screen as you did with the Halo games. This was a huge issue in Brute Force which ruined the cop-op for me.

The cover system is intuitive, easy to use, and is absolutely not optional if you plan to survive in any capacity. This is on casual difficulty (normal) and is completely different than say... Halo, where on normal you could pretty much just melee your way through the game.

The storyline is pretty cookie-cutter (which I've come to expect from shooters), but at least it's interesting. Visually with HD, it ranges from "stunning" to "absolutely disgusting." The disgusting part stems from the copious amounts of gore the game offers, it isn't a slant against the graphics.

The enemy can take considerably more damage than you can, so cover and flanking are your key elements to victory. In fact, your squad AI is intelligent enough to keep the enemy pinned down while you move to come up behind them.

Another note-worthy comment is what I call the "trench-run." Remember all those WW2 movies where the "heros" run along the trench, crouched down for cover, and the camera follows right behind them bobbing all they way? Same thing. It really helps the immersion factor of the game.

Reloading offers a new little naunce. You can just hit reload and let the meter roll to full, or you can aim for a little spot on the bar and hit the reload button again for a speed reload. But if you fuck up, your gun jams and it take an extra second or two to finish the reload. Once you get the timing down, you find you don't even need to look at the meter.

Oh yea, two words: Chainsaw Bayonet. It's as fun to use as it sounds. And it's not some weak ass "flailing chainsaw" bit. You get on the guy, stick the chainsaw on his chest, and you can see your character actually throwing his weight onto his "off-hand" to bring the chainsaw down. All the while, gore sprays everywhere.

After all the hype for this game, I was expecting to be let down. But, this game delivers. Hell yes, it delivers. It's not the best game I've ever played, but it's shitloads of fun.

The only bad part is now instead of people asking me if my name stems from Starcraft or the shitty punk band, they ask if I got my name from Gears of Wars. Oh well... I'll live.
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Post by TheMuffinKing »

SylasGaunt wrote:
TheMuffinKing wrote:Eh GoW is all right. I don't like the camera or the controls, yet another console proving the superiority of the PC for FPS games. The game looks nice, but I would prefer: 1. Cheat codes. I WANT ENTERTAINMENT not aggravation. 2. No more of this stupid checkpoint save crap. I want to save as I choose. Very freaking annoying.
I fail to see how cheat codes or lack thereof is a Console vs. PC issue, or the checkpoint save system given that there are several games for consoles that have the save anywhere feature. Pc games have in game consoles (mostly), or trainers and other programs to modify the game.

And what is it about the camera/controls you don't like exactly? Because every review I've read disagrees with you on that issue.
Easy, I've never seen or played a game on any console with access to a command console. I like to change variables on the fly, for example: adding more soldiers in HL2 on the PC using the console. I always have and always will prefer quicksaves at any time I desire over save points. I'm easily frustrated I guess, But I don't like having to replay areas of a game over and over. (Adds to my preference for GOD modes)

I just don't like the over the shoulder view. Plain and simple.

I don't like the cover commands, the character seems to react too slow compared to the input from me. This just isn't the game for me. :(
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Post by Vendetta »

So, your issue seems to be that you're a snivelling littly girly-man who can't handle enemies that fight back..

If you don't want to replay sections, don't die.
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Post by Shogoki »

Graphically, the game is pretty impressive, no doubt about that.

Game play wise, though, it's nothing to write home about, i guess its nice to see specific covering animations in 3rd person, but its like, a basic on shooters these days, the only difference with FPS is that covering is seamless, you want to hide behind a wall? Do it. Peek around? Do it (or lean if available). You need to crouch? Do it.

GoW basically makes covering stand out like a sore thumb to the point that the game basically revolves around pressing that button and somehow the reviewers go apeshit about it (even though a few other games have done it before).

Still, the game by itself it's pretty decent so far, and fun enough, i would give it a 9.0 for a console game.
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Post by TheMuffinKing »

Vendetta wrote:So, your issue seems to be that you're a snivelling littly girly-man who can't handle enemies that fight back..

If you don't want to replay sections, don't die.
Wow, sage advice from the master! Ohh I think I'll do just that! :)

Edit: Sorry for the snappiness, about five people almost drove into me in this rain.
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Post by Shogoki »

Stark wrote:Hey, that raises a point - I was GOING to say 'lol teh fps are 34sy fag' but PC fpses are easy. CONSOLE fpses can be crazy nuts hard, like those stupid James Bond fpses. Stuff like FEAR is a walk in the park on 'super hard', but console games seem to be harder. WIERD.
Using abysmally sub par controls hardly counts as a good point when arguing the difficulty of console FPS, every single console FPS or TPS that has been ported to PC is a joke when played with proper FPS controllers, Halo is laughable, my main use for the sniper rifle was head shotting the Elites that lunge at you with their silly swords just a few feet away and on long distance the scope is unnecessary even for glancing shots.

Also, not everybody considers repeating the same level over and over because the developers thought about putting a gimmick choke point just before the next save point to be "replay value".
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Post by Shogoki »

Molyneux wrote: How? I've got that problem, and I would very much like to fix it.
I honestly can't remember, you had to edit a file somewhere, i didn't keep Halo installed much longer than necessary to finish it.

However, www.google.com is your friend.
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