Showcased way back at E3 2004 as a tech demo for the Unreal 3 engine, Gears of War (GoW) has managed to garner quit a bit of attention for itself. As time passed by, Epic kept throwing tit-bits of the game at us, till E3 2005 this year when they showcased nearly the entire first level and *boom*; the hype machine is thrown into over drive.
After numerous demonstrations and videos, we all get that the game looks orgasmic, but visuals alone don’t make a great game right? In order to be the killer app the 360 has been hungering for since a year, it would have to have to pack an equally enthralling and exciting gameplay element. Thankfully, Epic doesn’t disappoint and believe it or not, this game is so good, not only will it persuade you to go in for the Xbox 360, but it may also make you shell out some more for that shiny HDTV so you can appreciate the game in all its graphical glory. Move over Master Chief; we have a new killer app in town.
Since we carried a preview of the game a while back, I won’t go into depth as far as the storyline is concerned, but here’s a small head up for those who’ve come in late.
Gears of War (GoW) takes place in the near future on a planet called Sera where humans have finally learnt to live in peace and harmony. Amidst all this peaceful existence, a powerful energy source called Imulsion was discovered and through a process called the Lightmass Process; this substance could directly be converted to energy. Everything’s going hunky-dory until planets that do not possess this energy, wage war with Sera and thus begins the Pendulum wars. In the middle of all this warfare, a nightmarish race called the Locusts emerges from the bowels of the planet to annihilate mankind; and that is where you’ll come in.
GoW is essentially a tactical shooter with a couple of survival-horror elements thrown in to provide a certain amount of respite from all the relentless action. The game takes the "tactical shooter" bit pretty seriously so don’t expect to just waltz into the middle of a firefight a-la Rambo; you’ll die like a dog in a matter of seconds; taking cover is the name of the game here. Nearly every level has been designed in such a way, you can move from cover to cover, without exposing yourself fully. In case you find yourself pinned down, you could save your hide momentarily with some blind fire, but the rest of the time, I suggest zooming in (in an over the shoulder view a-la Sam Fisher) to get a clearer perspective on all the action.
This game was toooooooooo short but very good. 
