lobotomy42 Posted November 8, 2006 So, apparently the buzz is that Gears of War is quite good? 1up gave it a 10 and all the other reviews are equally gushing...despite all the reviews taking time to enumerate a list of flaws. This whole thing seems...suspicious. Is the game really that good? I'd been following the game off and on for awhile, and to me it always seemed...well, a bit crap. I guess it looks technically impressive, but for the most part it just seemed like a generic gory shooter. Anyone own the game and care to refute me? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manny_c44 Posted November 8, 2006 Yeah it looks boring as hell, the graphics are setting some precedents though...it seems that you'll just have to put up with the gameplay in order to gawk at the visuals. In other words, a demo kiosk game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n0wak Posted November 8, 2006 I've only played the first act, but it is kinda fun. It definitely plays differently than the typical FPS and can be hard even on the easiest setting (there is one section with a Berzerker that pissed me off though). Squad mates are actually not-useless for once. The enemy is fairly smart-ish (though they do seem to sometimes jump into the line of fire). It has co-op for the full campaign, which is awesome. Overall, it's very well done. Yeah, the characters are the typical burly marine crap. Yeah, there's a lot of grunting and blood splattering and it feels generic in this way. And while all those creative decisions would keep me from giving the kind of scores that some of those publications are giving (makes you think about the demographic of the majority of game reviewers), but it is a solid game and *gasp* a new IP, so I give it credit for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted November 8, 2006 Co-op for entire campaign is awesome and also the first thing that interests me about this game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrChlorophyll Posted November 8, 2006 If nothing else, it's gotta have one of the best commercials I've ever seen. From a theatrical standpoint, anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moosferatu Posted November 8, 2006 Yeah, its commercial is great. It immediately made me take interest in the game when I hadn't previously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
castorp Posted November 8, 2006 I hadn't had a chance to play the game, but this exaggerated gamespot-review with its fucking 9.6 annoyed me to no end nonetheless. Eurogamer seems to have put it in perspective. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LOPcagney Posted November 8, 2006 The ad was shite Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there. Despite how fun this game looks, the commercial was just flat-out pretentious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cipherbob Posted November 8, 2006 what commercial? This commercial, presumably. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted November 8, 2006 looks interesting more interesting than the usual commercials that I see for games. then again, I think I would have done it a bit different Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Posted November 8, 2006 Played quite a bit of this today. Basically, it's good and entertaining if you're not expecting the next-generation of shooters. It is highly polished standard fare, AI only gets slightly interesting at Hardcore difficulty but even then it's mostly the same routines. The Co-op is a lot of fun and makes up for what may be otherwise disappointing (relative to the hype, and even then only for those who allow themselves to get caught up in the tornado of hype-bollock that surrounds games like this). It is, of course, very pretty and runs incredibly smoothly at that. In conclusion, it's good and does the job (of entertaining for some hours); not great, not crap, just ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redwall Posted November 9, 2006 Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there. Despite how fun this game looks, the commercial was just flat-out pretentious. The game industry could use some pretension. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiN Posted November 9, 2006 Wonderful ad. We whine and fuss about the "badass" image that games normally get, well, GoW is doing something about it. And the game looks very nice. I mean yeah, the art-style is uninspired, but the gameplay looks solid, and it looks like it's doing *something* different. The shoot-and-cover mechanic sounds great, as well as the reload mechanic. I really wasn't too interested in it before, but having read some reviews, I'd pick it up if I had an X360. And this is saying something since I really can't stand Epic. SiN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OftenK Posted November 9, 2006 The game industry could use some pretension. I kind of have to agree. The ad may reek of self-indulgence, but at least its classier than "HOLY SHIT GEARS OF WAR IS FUCKING EXTREME GO BUY IT NOW BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD" accompanied by a montage of explosions. Pretentious or not, it's still a nice change of pace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lobotomy42 Posted November 9, 2006 ... the kind of scores that some of those publications are giving (makes you think about the demographic of the majority of game reviewers), but it is a solid game and *gasp* a new IP, so I give it credit for that. I'm in that demographic, and I apparently have radically different tastes than everyone else in it. (Hmmm, maybe that's why I can't hold down a job?) Yeah, I dunno, I've read four or five reviews now. Maybe I'm just really superficial and can't get past the obnoxious Unreal-like characters and general feeling that I'm in "another army game." Bleh. It's true that I am picky. For some reason, I didn't mind the gore and machismo of Resident Evil 4, but it bothers me in what I've seen in this. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think what's really bothering me is that perfect ten score from 1up.com. Scores shouldn't matter...but gosh darn it, it seems like I could name a dozen games off the top of my head more worthy of a ten. Alright, alright, I'll stop being a whiny bitch until I've actually played the game. /rant Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n0wak Posted November 9, 2006 I've played quite a bit of the multiplayer today. It's fun. It's not too regular-FPS as it plays a bit more strategic, but at the same time it isn't full on Rainbow 6 either -- kind of a happy medium. The characters for the different teams are hard to distinguish sometimes. It might sound weird, but their shoes are practically identical (I say this because in one map there's a gap that you can shoot through but you mostly just see their feet unless they move back). But I think that's one of the things you get used to. It ran surprisingly well with little visible lag -- even in full 4 on 4, blood splattering matches. This is a far cry from the (dull) multiplayer of Prey. Still meaning to try the co-op. And as I progress in the single player campaign, the more I get annoyed. The main game is solid, but they add these other elements around it at times that are just infuriatingly irritating, requiring multiple die and repeat playthroughs, even on easy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted November 9, 2006 Meh. The fact that this dropped on the same day as Guitar Hero 2 renders it completely irrelevant to any console gaming I'll be doing for quite a while. Glad to hear I'm not missing all that much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted November 10, 2006 Well, at least somebody (read: EA exec) doesn't like the hype: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=69805 What is Gears of War? I mean Gears of War brings nothing in terms of innovation to the shooter... Like, zero.[...] Why are people loving it so much? It's like added production value, incredible cutscenes and the best ever graphics ever. I'm sure it's going to be a great success, I can't wait to play it, but let's face that graphics are still number one, Ofcourse Tascan was responsible for the great innovative games like The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moosferatu Posted November 10, 2006 Speaking of commercials, has anyone seen the one for Viva Pinata? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanJW Posted November 11, 2006 The "audition" one? I loved that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moosferatu Posted November 11, 2006 The "audition" one? I loved that Which one was that? I was talking about this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted November 11, 2006 Which one was that? I was talking about this one. hehe... how do they say that.. PWND Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanJW Posted November 11, 2006 Which one was that? I was talking about this one. Heh, that was good. I was thinking of this. Blue sky in games FTW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites