Every console has games exclusive to that particular console, and these games are part of what makes them unique. For Xbox, one of these games is the Gears of War series. Gears of War was first released on the Xbox 360 in 2006, and became a major shooter game franchise. It is set in a world torn by war waged between humanity and an inhuman enemy from deep underground and is absolutely action packed.

 

You are a veteran soldier named Marcus Fenix, and it is made clear early on that you had committed some kind of war crime in the war between humans that preceded this war. You are rescued from prison by a friend named Dom, which is short for Dominic, and placed in Delta Squad. You are then introduced to humanity’s plan to destroy its enemy, The Locust, once and for all. This plan involves retrieving a device called a resonator and taking it deep into the tunnels the Locust call home so it can map their tunnels to identify their population centers. The Locust are similar to humans in that they have two arms, two legs, and a head, but the similarity ends there. Their appearance resembles that of a white-haired ape that walks upright, and their behavior is absolutely brutal. Instead of using machines as vehicles, The Locust use huge, monstrous beasts as transportation and siege engines. It is up to Delta Squad to save humanity from extinction at the hands of The Locust.

 

The gameplay is quite entertaining, if a bit frustrating at times. Gears of War is a cover based shooter, and as Marcus Fenix says “take cover or die.” To have any hope of survival, one must use the cover provided by the environment while he eliminates the numerous Locust enemies, as just a few hits can spell death for Marcus. Sometimes, little or no cover is provided and a player must think fast and have a quick trigger finger. There is a wide variety of weapons, all of which are useful in the right situation, along with a wide variety of enemies. An interesting mechanic is that The Locust will often emerge from a hole in the ground that they dig, and these holes are closed either when all Locust in that hold are defeated, or when a grenade is thrown inside. In this struggle, you are not alone, as you have the rest of Delta Squad, which you can give commands to after a certain point in the story. Also, you can play co-op with the other player as Dom. There is are also eight player multiplayer game modes.

 

For a game produced in late 2006, Gears of War has decent graphics. They are realistic and make a feeling of a post-apocalyptic world through the use of dark colors and generous amounts of fire and rubble. I find that the music adds an epic feeling to the combat and a foreboding feeling to the moments in between fights. There is a fair bit of gore and swearing; however, if you do not like gore, it can be disabled in the settings.

 

With all this in mind, I give Gears of War a 7 out of 10. Its story has a good bit of interest and mystery to it, with a motive to save humanity. In general, Gears of War is fun to play, even if death comes quickly even on the easiest difficulties. The graphics and music are effective in conveying the setting. An added benefit of this game and all other Gears of War games is that they are backwards compatible and can be played on both the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One, making them more accessible to more gamers.