Believe the hype...
User Rating: 9.7 | Gears of War X360
Normally, I expect a gut-wrenching let down when I pick up a game that has been as highly anticipated as Gears of War. Regardless of the E3 previews or mind-blowing screen shots that I drool over for endless months as I piddle away the time until final release, most games are just plain unable to live up to the hype. Having said that, I'd like to extend the highest of props to Epic for delivering the undeliverable - a game experience that makes me cry ecstatic tears of blood for the sheer grandiose experience that is GoW. The single player campaign not only looks phenomenal, but also throws in oodles of backstory (the collector's edition has a neat companion book) and unmatched AI to challenge the heck out of you. Enemies work together in an attempt to outflank your squad while using cover just as well as you do, if not better. Woe to thee unfortunate n00b if you try to blast your way through this game like Rambo on RedBull. You'll get your sorry arse not-so-politely handed right back to you on the end of a bloody muzzle if you try that "tactic". It took me about a half hour to really get into the multi-player aspect of the game, initially disappointed that matches only support 4-on-4 combat. But given the small maps and mini-squad tactics necessary to truly excel as a team, the toned down team size is perfectly appropriate. Anyone picking up this game will immediately realize they are completely in love with it the first time they sneak an enemy with the chainsaw so thoughtfully built into the end of the default machine gun. The other aspect of team play that really makes it TEAM PLAY is the ability to revive comrades who have been felled, but not yet killed. You may find yourself compelled to risk hails of enemy fire in order to heal your teammate bleeding to death in the center of the map. In short, GoW is an experience equally appreciated by those with or without XBox Live. Even my girlfriend thought it was "pretty cool", despite her natural aversion to all things with realistic gore. GoW may just make fanboys out of those of us who hate fanboys.
-- FW 
