Gears of War takes what we love about action games, and takes it to a whole new other level.....
Gears of War is a third person shooter that utilizes a cover based system. Sure many games have used cover systems before, but Gears of War absolutely perfects it. There are a variety of weapons at your disposal from the bloody yet satisfying Lancer (a gun with a chainsaw attached to it, keep away from children), to the Hammer of Dawn. (a gun that can summon a beam of light from the sky and incinerate your enemies, great for toasting marshmallows) Gears of War offers a pretty lengthy campaign and it also has a variety of multiplayer options ranging from the classic team death match to the body guarding fun of Assassination. In the campaign you have the option to play all by your lonesome, or with a friend, online or offline. There will be times where you have A.I. controlled partners, and for the most part, they know how to hold their own. The Locust are also incredibly smart, and they know how to outflank you and make sure you don't see the light of day. Gears of War brings the term "action" to a whole new other level.
Gears of War is absolutely gorgeous, and astonishing. It utilizes the Unreal Engine to its maximum capacity. The characters, monsters, levels, everything was eye candy, yummy, delicious, mouth watering eye candy. The character/monster designs were nicely detailed all the way down to the last pixel. The level designs were nicely balanced, and varied throughout the game; each level just had a different overall feeling to it.
Although the voice acting sounded monotone, the overall sound design was spectacular. Bullets flying everywhere, mobs of Locust rushing at you, the delightful screams of the Locust as your bullets pierced through their skin, it all sounded wonderful, in a sick twisted kind of way. The in-game music was nicely orchestrated as well; Epic Games knows how to make a scene that would normally be dull, sound like an epic pivotal point in the game. No wonder they call themselves Epic Games, it's because they make everything so….well…..Epic!
Overall: Gears of War delivers everything you could have wished for in an action game. Big buff dudes with guns, alien freaks that want to massacre you, level designs that will blow your mind, music that will get the blood pumping, all of this in one tiny little disc. Sure many may claim that Gears of War 2 is better than its predecessor, but you've got to remember that it was Gears of War that started it all.