GO GEARS! GO EPIC! GO CHAINSAW!
Graphics: The more I play it the more the world feels like Gears of war rather than the the game feeling like the world. Think of any effect and you have got it. Not overdone..unlike many next gen titles HDR effects shine. So does shadowing and lighting techniques. The "dirty look" makes Gears look like the real world instead of an ideal (read clean) world. It actually feels like the atmosphere has dust, it has smoke, it has...LIFE. And does it all fall below 30 fps?..NO (not that you are going to notice it anyway...save for the cutscenes). The more I play other titles (Call of duty 3..), I respect gears...for its ability to throw every possible effect on the screen...and STILL maintain the smoothest possible gameplay. And loading times...what loading times?
Sound: The last fight before Nightfall:Outpost...the Troika gunner mounted just pass the bridge. Heavy gunfire...Wretches..and INSANE difficulty.And the Orchestra oooooh AMAZING. Just kept me going. It triggers at just the right moment,with just the right touch. The sound is just so amazing..like they said "I've never seen somebody chainsawed but I bet it sounds just like Gears of War."
Value: I completed it on casual. Then went for hardcore two times. Then completed it on Insane. And still I play it whenever I feel like it. Its that good.
Yeah the story mode is short...(I couldn't believe the first time I played it...that act 5 got over before it even started)..but I found something new to see, something new to try all the four times I've played it...so YEAH its replayable many times over. I recommend trying Insane atleast once. Its just that damn GOOD!