Gears of War is the best shooter to date, not only graphically, but in pretty much every other category, too.
On the multiplayer front, Gears of War is simply beautiful. Although there are only three game modes, all are fun in their own way, and there are a few settings that can change the whole game around. These settings include switching around weapon spawn points and round lengths. The games are held at up to 4v4, which often seems like a bit too little if you've been playing GRAW or R6: Vegas. lthough some people don't enjoy the Xbox Live gameplay, I find it to be the best part of the game. Playing through ranked matches alone or player matches with friends (and/or a guest on your own Xbox 360) can last dozens of hours if you truly enjoy the game.
One special feature in the game is an incredible cover system. You can go flat against a wall and hide from enemy fire. In this position, you can peek around corners, fire blindly, and hop over and around obstacles. Also, you can roll or run crouched from cover to cover, to protect yourself from enemy gunfire. Another feature is the chainsaw bayonet, that comes attached on your main weapon, which is really just a tweaked out melee attack. Additionally, an active reload component has been added to the game. This feature allows the player to reload quicker by reclicking the reload button (RB) in a certain spot. a perfect reload also gives you more powerful bullets. And of course, the absurd amount of gratuitous gore is truly fun. There are few things more satisfying them stomping a downed players head in, slicing him into bits, blowing off limbs with a shotgun, or seeing his head disappear in a flash of blood after a headshot. However, this makes the game unattractive for the faint of heart or a teenager who's parents have a problem with this type of game.
The variety of maps is very nice, especially with the two free maps recently added to the arsenal. There is only one map out of the total twelve that I don't really like, and the rest all have great design. All the levels are graphically stunning, and it is truly hard to find flaws in the design.
The game score is very, very good, but is absent in some parts. If it were to be spread out more thoroughly throughout the game, it would merit a 10 instead of a 9. The weapon firing also sounds great, and it is really cool to hear the grunting of Locust enemies or the remarks of you COG allies during heated battles. Admittedly, the game does have some flaws. My number one complaint is the lack of quailty local multiplayer. Only two gamers are allowed to play on one console, probably to preserve graphics, so the game flat-out sucks for parties or playing with many friends. In addition, although all of the weapons are very fun, there could be more of them. The online mode should have customizable characters like in Rainbow Six: Vegas, to make it feel like playing online a lot progresses you in some way.