Gears of War

Developer: Epic Games/People Can Fly

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Gears of War was without a doubt the Xbox 360's first killer app so it makes sense Microsoft would want to publish its finest console game onto the PC as a means to promote the unpopular service Games for Windows Live, so with that said, is the PC version any good? Yes it is... but I honestly think someone intentionally sabotaged this release, why do I say that? Oh where do I begin.

After installing the game I was faced with a DRM issue that prevented me from playing it even though I have a legitimate copy. Turns out I had to set the Windows clock to June 2008 to get it to run (wut?). After that, I discovered the game would stop responding at random intervals, sometimes it would play for hours without any issues while other times I couldn't even play it for five minutes, I tried several methods to fix it, but none worked. But enough about technical difficulties, how is the game itself?

Well, for starters, it doesn't have much of a story to tell other than you're on some planet or other with a very 1950's art-deco style which is being overrun by a horde of underground creatures known as the Locust. These hulking, lumbering creatures of teeth, bone and pale skin seem to sprout up from the ground and random and now it's up to you and Delta Squad to deliver a latch ditch blow to your enemies.

Yeah the story is pretty lame and the characters are for the most part uninteresting, though I did like Baird, the guy is snarky as hell and he seems to be the only character who's good at something other than shooting.

Speaking of shooting, how is the gunplay? In a word: Awesome! All of the weapons feel worn and rusted out while still packing quite a punch, which is a good thing considering how much your average locust can bleed without being killed, my favorite weapon has to be the chainsaw Bayonet, it gives you the option to either shoot your enemies or slice them to pieces, you also have other awesome weapons like explosive crossbows and a laser satellite homing beacon.

Gears of War does give you a good enemy variety, though you wouldn't have guessed it from the first two chapters where it seems like you're fighting the same guys over and over again, luckily the rest of the game REALLY picks up, made even better by the fact the PC port has some extra levels not found in the Xbox 360 version so overall the campaign will likely last you 8 hours, depending on your play style.

On the multiplayer side of things, you'd expect the fact that the online is free would mean you'd find at least someone to play with, but alas, no such luck, whether it's co-op or competitive online play, the servers are all empty, the PC port also doesn't have split-screen co-op so if you want to play locally you'll need to set up a lan connection...lame.

Graphically the game is pretty good by 2007 standards, the characters models still look pretty by 2013 standards, but the animations and environments definitely look dated, I also noticed the game introduced too much blur and field depth for my taste, but there was no way to turn it off in the options, instead I had to hunt down the game's .ini file and turn it off from there, again... lame.

Overall, the PC version SHOULD have been the definitive version, but honestly between DRM issues, crashes and the lack of a proper graphical setting option I have to say I was somewhat disappointed, especially because at its core the game is a very fun romp, a slow starting romp, but a fun one.

Pros:

- Gunplay is awesome
- Campaign is very fun
- Nice Enemy variety
- Character models still hold surprisingly well

Cons:

- DRM issues, crashing issues and poor graphical options

- The first two chapters are pretty boring
- Multiplayer servers are empty
- Characters and story are pretty forgetful.

Final Grade: B-

I am not a fan of the cover, the color balance is fine and quite attractive, but how come Marcus is squatting out in the open with his back turned to the action? Is he trying to get himself killed? Even if we ignore his team mates on the background who are facing the opposite direction and clearly hiding behind walls, what is the point in showing us a close-up of a character who is just not the least bit interesting?

Inside you'll find two cards one is an ad for Microsoft Sidewinder gear and the other is a free month of GFWL (hahaha!) silliness aside, I do feel the color balance works even better in these small cards, but again, why is Marcus staring at us?

The game's manual is... surprisingly good it gives you some backstory, weapon descriptions, concept art for said weapons and they go into great detail on how to play the game and its multiplayer modes, supporting the text with either screenshots or more concept art. Kudos to the developers for crafting a good manual in this day and age.

Packaging Grade: B+