So I played Gears of War for the first time in my life.

[daveman247]

...that actually explains a lot. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention in 2 for I don't remember cowboy hat at all (yes, dizzy). I figured I would have remembered him but I can see why he actually mattered now (I still got bored with the game but at least that explains that issue

I don't blame you for forgetting. Its basically "choose your favourite sterotype" anyway

 

[daveman247]

Yes you will. As many have already said the story is complete crap - just there to justify the killing. The "serious" and "dramatic" moments always fall hilariously flat.

The story's not crap. It's just... not told very well... and the human element (the characters themselves) are kind of bad.. But the backstory and the setting, and the conflict at hand is actually pretty good.

True enough, I just treated it like the story in any good (or bad) action film. Its just kind of there.

It always builds things up to some kind of big reveil or revalation. But it never gets there!


I've always been curious to what the books are like... regarding the source material.

 

[Maeshone]

Gears of war is terrible.
Play a game that uses real skill, like Mortal Kombat.
Third Person shooters are just for people who like looking at mens arses all day.

I don't know what's funniest: that you use Mortal Kombat as an example of a game that is "skillful", or the fact that you're expecting to get some sort of reaction with what is quite frankly one of the lamest attempt at getting a rise out of someone I've seen in my entire time on the internet. Try again, please. I could use another laugh

 

[blackdwarf]

the sequels do expand in their massiveness and they keep fine-tuning the mechanics, with the exception of Judgment which made unnecessary changes. I think that the gears games are the best and most solid games if your are looking for cover based shooting.

Story it always has been so-so with me. I think the universe and the set-up for each game is great. but the actual story of the game is mostly handled so bad. Plot points are never explained, characters actions and reasons are rarely explained. It just makes it a bit silly.

 

[Something Amyss]

Never played it but it's refreshing to hear someone actually liked it.

I wasn't aware there was that much stigma attached to it, but perhaps that's naive of me. It was really popular after all....

Plus, it fundamentally changed shooters. Retroactively (that is, a year or so later) it got a lot of crap.

The series is...Not bad. Still, I found myself enjoying the games less as they went on.

 

[daveman247]

I must say, Gears was probably the most disappointing game I've ever played. I have it for PC and while playing with a gamepad has some escapist value, frankly, it's just so, so, so much bad.

I'm sorry but I really can't comprehend how anyone can like this shallow mess. What exactly do you find good at this game compared to, say, COD4, or Crysis, or heck even some Halo? (Talking purely SP here.) Now, I'm not trying to start a flame war here, and I respect that people can like completely different things, but maybe someone could help me understand it at least a bit.

Despite its story faults and SOME generic-ness to its art style. It has some very satifying and over-the-top cover based shooting It plays completley differently to FPS's since - it isn't one.

At the time the first gears was a revaltion with its cover mechanics. No game had done it as well as it did or really even tried. Even now, some games still have trouble with cover systems. I can't quite explain it, it has a different "beat" to the combat. It is slower and due to the cover its as much about out-maneuvering the enemy as accurate shooting.


I can totally see why many see it as trash though. Its the one game I would say would be MUCH less if it lacked the blood and gibs.

 

[Marik2]

Aaand it's really freaking good !

I mean it has amazingly well done shooting mechanics, the guns are fairly varied, the encounters are really well designed, the emergence hole mechanic is a stroke of genius in my honest opinion, not to mention the amazingly well crafted pacing, wow I can't believe this is actually really good and deserves the hype.

So guys, if I liked this game, will I like the sequels ?

Yeah you will like the sequels because the mechanics are more refined and tuned.

People can say what they want about Gears, but it does lots of great things with being fun and having lots of enemies to fight

 

[Francis Racine]

Yes ! 1 & 2 are masterpieces. 3 attempted different things and went fot a more personal story (Was not close to being as good as the first 2 imo) Don't even play judgement....please don't

 

[Ryan Minns]

I hated it to be honest. Among other reasons my main gripe which to me is a big one... The ai, MY GOD IS IT BAD! I have seen some bad AI before but the running mindlessly into bullets and taking cover ON THE WRONG DAMN SIDE OF THE WALL just gets on my nerves far too much. I started on the highest difficulty I could and it was one of the easiest games I've played in recent years due to how pitifully stupid the AI was. Even the end boss literally stood there while I unloaded on him and killed him within SECONDS, not minutes, not ONE minute but seconds. Two was somewhat better, AI was still dumb as all shit but it lacked other issues which ticked me off also... the story was so pathetic however their attempts to actually put one into the game made me wonder why.

After the second game I never bothered playing the third. Two strikes is enough for me.

 

[synobal]

Mechanically, definitely a solid and fun game. Can't being to detail the amounts of fun I have with 3 mates playing Horde online.

Story wise, always a buggering failure, not to mention Cliffy B's penchant to talk up his games.

Let's be honest though, Gears isn't the game you go to for an enriching story. You got to Gears for a hyper testosterone filled bloody co-op bro game. It's basically the video game equivalent of The Expendables.

See, people say that as an excuse for the game but there was no reason that the game had to be. It was a new IP a new franchise. Had they taken the same level of care in crafting a story, and characters it would of been so much better. Saying "Ah it's a duebrofeast" or what ever is just taking the easy way out as far as I'm concerned.

 

[bug_of_war]

See, people say that as an excuse for the game but there was no reason that the game had to be. It was a new IP a new franchise. Had they taken the same level of care in crafting a story, and characters it would of been so much better. Saying "Ah it's a duebrofeast" or what ever is just taking the easy way out as far as I'm concerned.

I see where you're coming from, you don't want this to become a precedent for all future titles to just put story aside, but not everything has to be enlightening, dramatic etc.

James Portnow from Extra Credits brought up a good point in this here video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mBW3MEFBd8

Basically, he says that not all video games will be art. We'll have our Expendables, Harold and Kumar, and even The Room, and this is not a bad thing. All media should be varied, and we should be just as willing to accept our Shakespearian masterpieces as we are our Michael Bay wank fests. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[synobal]

See, people say that as an excuse for the game but there was no reason that the game had to be. It was a new IP a new franchise. Had they taken the same level of care in crafting a story, and characters it would of been so much better. Saying "Ah it's a duebrofeast" or what ever is just taking the easy way out as far as I'm concerned.

I see where you're coming from, you don't want this to become a precedent for all future titles to just put story aside, but not everything has to be enlightening, dramatic etc.

James Portnow from Extra Credits brought up a good point in this here video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mBW3MEFBd8

Basically, he says that not all video games will be art. We'll have our Expendables, Harold and Kumar, and even The Room, and this is not a bad thing. All media should be varied, and we should be just as willing to accept our Shakespearian masterpieces as we are our Michael Bay wank fests. Variety is the spice of life.

See, you can tell a good story with out being enlightened or dramatic etc. I read a ton of Genre fiction and you can have a great story with out it being 'high brow' artsy sort of stuff. Gears of war doesn't even feel on the same level as Expendables to me, it just feels lazy.

 

[DSK-]

Yeah, Gears 1 wasn't too bad. I played the majority of it co-op with my bro until he pussied out because of the Wretches for some reason, but up until that point it was pretty fun.

Couldn't finish Gears 2 because of how draining and boring the experience was :/

 

[bug_of_war]

See, you can tell a good story with out being enlightened or dramatic etc. I read a ton of Genre fiction and you can have a great story with out it being 'high brow' artsy sort of stuff. Gears of war doesn't even feel on the same level as Expendables to me, it just feels lazy.

I didn't mind the story to be honest. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[bug_of_war]

I started on the highest difficulty I could and it was one of the easiest games I've played in recent years due to how pitifully stupid the AI was. Even the end boss literally stood there while I unloaded on him and killed him within SECONDS, not minutes, not ONE minute but seconds.

Reminds me of this part in Resident Evil 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs6c8Ix8NZw

 

[sabercrusader]

They're pretty great games gameplay wise. As for story, it really kinda depends, the first two had okay stories, the third's was pretty bad in my opinion. Haven't played Judgement, but it didn't seem all that great to me, and the reviews were....less than stellar. That said, I recommend the second and third game, they're both good, and probably pretty cheap somewhere too.

 

[piinyouri]

I tried the....second one I believe shortly after it had came out. I'm usually never the person to accuse a game of being too *insert color scheme* but I actually could not see many enemies until they were right in my face because they blended into the terrain and backdrops so well.

Even that aside, I still didn't care for it. I didn't feel any impact from the guns.

 

[Shameless]

I remember really liking the first one at the time, but honestly, all the sequels are exactly like the first one with very little added to spice things up. Personally I was bored as hell with the franchise by the time the third one came out. If you played through the first one you've pretty much seen all you need to see gameplay wise, unless for some bizarre reason the plot interests you.

I'd recommend bulletstorm or vanquish over gears 2 and 3 if you'll accept something more tangential as opposed to a sequel.

Sorry, I hated Buletstorm, but Vanquish is pretty neat.