Gears of War, Review

I am not an avid gamer, but do own an Xbox and an Xbox 360. I stood in line at Sam's Club for three hours, a year ago in 34 degree weather with my 11 year old daughter to be one of twenty to get the first group of Xbox 360's when they were first released.

My absolute favorite game is Halo 2. The quality of the graphics and sounds; the playability is incredible. Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios really hit a home run with Hale 2. So a pattern that I started noticing among games, is that the games with Microsoft Game Studio on them are among the best available.

I had heard that Gears of War was coming out in November 2006 and frankly I thought it would be another waste of time, shooter with blood splattering everywhere. I really didn't think much of it, until a friend of mine who is an avid gamer mentioned how superb the game is.

I read a review on GameSpot and they rated it higher that Halo 2. Gears of Wars had the Microsoft Game Studio logo on it, so with all of these factors, I decided to buy it. I'm glad I did too.

Gears of War may be the best game I've ever played on any console. I love Halo 2 - I'm a loyal fan, but this game has it all. The graphics are superb, sound is excellent, and the playability is a dream. It doesn't take long to learn all of the controls, and once you do, you can really play this game. It is not overly complex at all, and it is full of thrills that keep you interested. I played well into the morning, until I couldn't stay awake, on the first two nights.

The best feature of the game is online co-op play, on Xbox Live. Halo 2 is missing this ability, and it is real fun. I can play online co-op with friends (or strangers online) all around the country.

As a parent of five daughters, with four under four years of age, this isn't a game I would recommend playing in front of the kids. The profanity is quite strong and frequent, and the blood splattering is severe. The main weapon even has a chainsaw, that saws the enemy aliens in half. Those kinds of things I feel the game could do without; but I understand the marketing of it all. I play after the kids are in bed.

If you have an Xbox 360, Gears of War is a must-have game.