While Gears of War is sometimes repetitive, and a little on the short side, it looks, sounds, and plays amazingly.
Gameplay: 8/10
You are Marcus Fenix. You were locked up for a very long time because of your "traitorous" ways in a battle. Now Dom, your close friend, has broken you out, and needs you to help Delta Squad repel the Locust horde, find Alpha Squad, and eventually, destroy the Locusts and end this war. What will you do? Kill many, many, many Locusts of course. You are playing as like a game of hide and seek, in which you hide under car, debris, and other objects to take cover against enemy fire. When the time is right, you pick up your head and fire away. Rinse, repeat, and that's basically Gears of War. The weapons you get are very interesting. You start out with the Lancer, your standard machinegun......except it isn't standard. Attached to it is the chainsaw. Yes, THE chainsaw. Also, there is a shotgun, a longbow, a rocket launcher, same old same old. Oh yeah, and the Hammer of Dawn. This little baby can destroy giant enemies in a mere seconds. The action in Gears of War is exciting, heart-pounding, and very satisfying.......for a while at least. Like I said before, Gears of War's repetitiveness hurts it's own cause, and that action could slowly go from amazing, to kind of boring after awhile. Graphics: 10/10
What can I say? This game looks amazing. Everything from lighting, to the facial expressions and detail that went into the armor, locusts, and environment, is nothing short of jaw-dropping. The graphics of this game could make you question how the PS3 could be able to top this.
Sound: 9/10
The soundtrack is great, with tense and exciting orchestral scores oozing out of every little part of the game. Also, the voice acting is great too, with each character having their own distinct personality, which is awesome. Even the screeches and moans of the Locusts sound terrifying and creepy.
Value: 9/10
This game doesn't last very long (single player that is). You will probably get through Casual mode in about 8-10 hours your first time though, and probably the same time in Hardcore. However, what really brings up the replay value is the multiplayer. There are only 3 different modes to choose from online, and a co-op mode (which is awesome). Playing against people online is great, and co-op just makes it even better.
Conclusion: 9/10
Gears of War is a technical masterpiece, with jaw-dropping graphics, and terrific audio to boot. The action is exciting and fast paced, but it does get repetitive overtime, and at its worst, boring. Nonetheless, if you have a 360, this is a game you shouldn't miss.