Gears of War (Series) - So far, I'm not impressed.

[Hop-along Nussbaum]

Didn't want to hijack someone elses thread, so I started my own.

Anyway, I'm new to Gears of War. Heard a lot of good things about it, so, I went looking. Just bought the Multi-pack the other day. GoW, GoW2 and and expansion for GoW2.

Anyway, as any good gamer would, I loaded up GoW (one) and began playing. It's very cartoonish. Characters are ridiculously muscular, and look like they come from a WWE wrestling game. Play seems smooth so far, though the story line seems weak. Looking for something called a resonator. Whatever.

Back to the point: Does it get better or did I waste $40 bucks? I like shooters, and play them often. I own the Fallout brothers (3 and NV), ME2, and both Left 4 Dead 1 and 2. I have played Crysis, COD, FarCry2, and other military type shooters as well and enjoyed them from the start.

I'm not getting that same warm fuzzy feeling with Gears of War.

Anyone wanna offer some sage wisdom or encouragement? Or should I trade them in now, and save myself the time and energy?

 

[Meggiepants]

My best advice is to play the campaigns co-op. I think Gears the first has some of the best co-op missions in FPS gaming. But that's just me.

 

[Netrigan]

First game is fun in short bursts but the whack-a-mole combat is just too slow to capture my attention for more than an hour or two at a time.

But I thought the second game was much more varied with various charging enemies mixing up combat. Later in the game there's even a bunch of silly alien cover tech, which (while really silly if you think about it for one second) does change up the combat. But what really sold it to me was the epic set pieces. You really do feel like a cog in a much wider war and lots of spectacle. The story is also much more obviously a slight parody of the game's over-the-top-machismo. I finished the campaign in only a couple of marathon sessions and I highly recommend it.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

The cartoonish meat men are part of the charm.

If you don't like cartoonish meat men, lots of OTT violence or super fun co-op shooters, I'd suggest avoiding Gears.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I liked both but GOW2 is way better than the original, the combat was good i don't mind the whole "chest high walls" stuff that some people regard as "worst combat mechanic evarrr"

As for the story... Yeah

This should cover it

 

[Daveman]

Play co-op, it's slightly better that way.

Also anyone else get stuck here?

 

[Hop-along Nussbaum]

Thanks everyone. I'll stick it out and see what comes next. Have a "Gamer Day!"

 

[Azaraxzealot]

My best advice is to play the campaigns co-op. I think Gears the first has some of the best co-op missions in FPS gaming. But that's just me.

why do people keep calling gears an FPS? im just curious because it's clearly in third person.

 

[Wayneguard]

If the cover shooting hasn't wooed you by act 3 then there's no hope. You wasted your money.

 

[plastic_window]

The reason why I like Gears of War is because, for me, it plays so damn well.

The controls work better than any other cover-based game I can think of - including the Uncharted series - and the game does a great job of making you feel like a complete badass.

Gears 1 is a series of corridor-crawls and courtyard shootouts, but the game isn't very long and it has some incredible set-pieces along the way that you really need to see. Gears 2 is the best kind of sequel, as it fixes just about all of the complaints that you might have from the first game's campaign - it's longer, the environments are nicely varied,there are more brutal ways to kill ugly things and there is a greater number and variety of ugly things to brutally kill.

Thing is, the entire game will be lost on you if you don't appreciate it for what it is. And I'm not trying to tell you to appreciate something for your own good, because if you don't enjoy chainsawing someone in half, odds are that the visceral thrills of Gears of War won't be what you're looking for.

 

[Netrigan]

My best advice is to play the campaigns co-op. I think Gears the first has some of the best co-op missions in FPS gaming. But that's just me.

why do people keep calling gears an FPS? im just curious because it's clearly in third person.

While the dividing line between first and third is pretty thin to begin with, Gears' tight camera makes it razor thin. It plays and feels like a first person shooter more often than not... and Epic made it's bones with FPS.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

My best advice is to play the campaigns co-op. I think Gears the first has some of the best co-op missions in FPS gaming. But that's just me.

why do people keep calling gears an FPS? im just curious because it's clearly in third person.

While the dividing line between first and third is pretty thin to begin with, Gears' tight camera makes it razor thin. It plays and feels like a first person shooter more often than not... and Epic made it's bones with FPS.

well Pepsi and Coke taste similar on many levels, but in the end, one is still vastly different from the other when you get into them.

 

[Meatman]

The cartoonish meat men are part of the charm.

If you don't like cartoonish meat men, lots of OTT violence or super fun co-op shooters, I'd suggest avoiding Gears.

Meat MAN

OT. Co-op and multiplayer are the best parts. Makes it that much more enjoyable

 

[Weaver]

I didn't even like them when they came out.

 

[Meggiepants]

My best advice is to play the campaigns co-op. I think Gears the first has some of the best co-op missions in FPS gaming. But that's just me.

why do people keep calling gears an FPS? im just curious because it's clearly in third person.

While the dividing line between first and third is pretty thin to begin with, Gears' tight camera makes it razor thin. It plays and feels like a first person shooter more often than not... and Epic made it's bones with FPS.

well Pepsi and Coke taste similar on many levels, but in the end, one is still vastly different from the other when you get into them.

Yes, but they are both still labeled soda in the grocery store. You don't go to the juice aisle to pick up Pepsi.

Same thing with Gears. They label it as a FPS because that is really the closest thing it resembles.

 

[Aphex Demon]

It's not a First Person Shooter because your playing it in the Thrid Person, fact..?

Also, the story is fucking awesome. I can't wait to play the story on GoW3.

Oh and yeah the co-op play is damn good fun.

 

[Netrigan]

But third person games have annoying cameras and Gears doesn't, so it can't possibly be a third person shooter

Seriously, it's a third person game with a first person style camera. No free floating camera picking the absolute worst angle for the action.