Gears of War Review (PC)

This would be my first review i have ever written so i wont be great at it right now.So do enjoy it.All screenshots and images are taken by me.If you want to know something else about the game you can contact me on my email provided at the bottom of the page.Now lets start


What made me buy this product?:
Hmm what made me buy this product?.Well i guess some online screenshots and words from people online and on TV saying that the game was awesome made me decide to buy it.I was also influenced by its cover art, it really looks worth playing just by looking at its coverart.Also other reasons that influenced me would be the trailer i watched some time ago and it really looked great with big monster and big guns.After that i read the plotline on Wikipedia a few months ago so it really caught me.I had a mind on buying it and thats exactly what I did.Bought it and now i am playing it.

Dialogue:
GOW = Gears of War
IMO = In My Opinion
COG = Coalition of Ordered Governments (an organization responsible for bringing peace after a ruthless 79- year war)


First Impressions:
Installed the game and it was a big 10 GB worth of game.So make sure you got enough space that you can install it without any problem.Upon opening the game the default videos will play with the Company's name and all.After that the menu appears which is quite attracting.With its logo in red embedded in the background and a text saying "Press Enter to Start" appearing below the game name.After pressing Enter you are directed to the actual menu which is quite simple and easy to figure out.No weird colour schemes and no weird text.Everything is crystal clear.In the video options (which are the most important options in a game) you can find the stock options i.e: screen resolution and texture,shadow,visual,and character qualities.If you have DirectX 9 then the DX10 option would be closed and if you do have DX10 then you can turn the AA on according to your PC specs.
When you first start the campaign you get the options of either starting the game itself or getting a tutorial.The tutorial is quite easy.Basics IMO but are important if you go through it once since it has some new features.The graphics are awesome so is everything.The AI in the game is quite impressive, taking cover behind walls and crates is something unqiue.Please proceed to the next topic which is "Characters"
Notice: In this game you dont create a game profile but actually create a Microsoft LIVE profile.You are asked to make either an offline one or an online one when you are about to start playing the campaign

Plot:
The plot of the game is quite simple.Humans discover another race living on their planet deep underground.One day the race called the Locust Horde tunnels out of their homes deep underground and then kill half the population on the world.Because of this the COG soldiers now do their best to make sure that the remaining human population survives and the Locust be destroyed.The day the Locust killed half the population on the planet is called "Emergency Day" or E-Day.The Locusts run over the prison where Marcus Fenix is being held.His friend Dominic Santiago gets him out of the prison.Now they all are fighting for just one cause : To save the remaining Human population

Characters:
You actually play the game as Marcus Fenix who is the main protagonist of the game.A really big guy who is a Private but is serving prison sentence.The other characters that play alongside you are Dominic Santiago.Hes a friend and former comrade of Marcus Fenix.Another big guy with big guns and is also responsible for getting Marcus Fenix out of the Penitentiary.Dominic is the secondary protagonist and is also a playable chracter if you play a Co-Op campaign.Other characters include Augustus Cole.Reffered as Cole Train by his team and friends.He is a COG soldier and receives fame because of his previous career as a "thrashball" defensive lineman.He is a quite an enthusiastic person in combat.The last character would be Damon Baird.Baird is an intelligent person and all his strength lies in his intelligence.He dislikes Fenix because he thinks that intelligent people should be the leader but later respects Fenix.Baird has a great deal of knowledge in the Locust and thus he is a very important person in the team.
All four characters are available for play during multiplayer games.Not Co-op (in co-op the 2nd player takes the control of Dominic Santiago)

Graphics:
The graphics of GOW are just fabulous.The lightning is pretty awesome in some areas and the texture quality is great.The gun fire looks pretty real and it also illuminates the nearby area which depicts realism.Since most of the game is in darkness or in a very low source of light, where ever light comes whether a light post or a candle it gives quite a real effect to the surroundings.The light shines upon you just right and gives a really great look to the game.Most of the graphics are quite detailed including faces in the game.If you look closely at Marcus Fenix's face you can clearly see his face and his scar along with other face features.The blood looks a bit weird and not very real but since its a game and the enemies are monsters not humans then taking in that as a fact I say the blood is pretty good.
The armour of the soldiers and the enemies are clearly visible whether in a cutscene or whether if you kill the enemy and go look at him.You can clearly figure out each and everything in the game from the destroyed buildings to the blood and gunshot holes.

Sound Track:

Gears of War - The Soundtrack is created by Kevin Riepl.It was released by Sumthing Else Music Works.It has 28 songs totalling to about 69 minutes and 8 seconds.
Here is a list of all the soundtracks present in the game.

# Title Length

1. "Gears of War" 4:30
2. "14 Years After E-Day" 2:55
3. "Jacinto Prison" 2:50
4. "Attack of the Drones" 2:07
5. "Embry Square" 3:04
6. "Fish in a Barrel" 2:55
7. "House of Sovereigns" 5:33
8. "Minh's Death" 1:25
9. "Entering the Tombs" 1:17
10. "Tomb of the Unknowns" 1:32
11. "Ephyra Streets I" 3:01
12. "Ephyra Streets II" 1:42
13. "Miserable Wretches" 2:03
14. "Stay in the Light" 2:02
15. "Chap's Gas Station" 1:23
16. "Fill 'er Up at Chap's" 2:16
17. "I Will Kryll You" 2:37
18. "Locust, Wretches & Kryll" 2:22
19. "Imulsion Mines" 3:08
20. "East Barracade Academy" 2:04
21. "The Fenix Estate" 1:41
22. "Locust Infestation" 1:41
23. "Hidden Lab" 1:59
24. "Running With Boomers" 2:51
25. "Oh the Horror" 1:34
26. "Train Wreck - Locust Theme" 1:40
27. "Train Ride to Hell" 3:55
28. "Gears of War Reprise" 3:01


Life span:
The life span of the game is pretty nice.Even if you do play it without getting off the computer.I assume its gonna take you atleast 2 days or so to play the game.The missions are short but the difficult is pretty amazing also taking in fact that there are bosses and everything and you have to make sure that your team does not die and you also live its going to take some time.The enemies taking cover and supressing you also takes time.You just dont want to jump ahead and start blind-firing until your out of ammo.Since the AI takes cover behind anything it can, it takes a bit of time to elimate the targets.Also its very necessary that you make your way slowly across the battlefield since there are COG's to collect in the game.Collecting COG's open up achievements in the game so its essential for the user to make his way slowly and look for all the COG's.



Controls:
The controls of the game are quite easy.It doesnt take much time learning the controls.If you play the tutorial then just after playing the next 1 mission you will have a great control over your characters.The game doesnt have many controls.Look below for controls on the keyboard and the controller if you have one.Images are from manual present in the game.You can look at it when you install and download the game.

Conclusion:
The conclusion would be that the game is really good.It has a very easy and navigatable menu along with a great plotline and also a storyline.The good thing is that it is also on PC as well as on the Xbox 360.The graphics meet the certain demand of gamers and also has great environments.From broken buildings to flipped cars to take cover behind.Some of the things in the environment may be destroyed for fun or for mission purposes.Like you can easily destroy a sitting chair or sofa with your Lancer's Chainsaw (for all the weapons and guns read the manual provided in the game).The game has a pretty decent life span along with easy controls.What more do you need?!.So go ahead and buy this game now.

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Awesome review moto. Very descriptive and explains alot about the game. =)
I will certainly look further into this once i get a PC with enough guts to handle a game like that. XDDDD

You have talent for this, Moto. Very informative and very detailed.
My PC will not handle this game tough :P

A brilliant review.

I was fortunate enough to play the 360 version and I'm glad to hear that it was ported over so nicely to the PC. A definite buy that is most worthy of any fan of the 3rd-person shooter genre. Epic Games has yet to disappoint me.

On another note, I do hope that you will do more reviews in the future as well.

Like the previous posters, a very comprehensive and well-laid review, the pictures were an especially nice touch. If I might ask, does anyone know if the soundtrack came with a Collector's Edition or sorts or was it released separately?

Nope, the soundtrack doesnt come with the Collectors Edition box.

null hey I was just wondering is there anything added in the PC version that wasnt in the 360 version i know 360 owners for the first GOW missed out on like 3 bonus chapters and then some!

Huh well not that i know of.Both games have the same storyline and everything.

Its very well done, props to moto for the comprehensive review. only downside to the game is that you have to have a powerful machine to run it.

That is a requirement for all the new games is it not.So going with the advancement flows you should have a powerfull PC indeed.