Gears of War preview

Developer: Epic | Publisher: Microsoft | Format: Xbox 360

Previewer: Cian Ginty at E3 in LA The blood still rushes, after a few developer sessions and video trailers, you’re left wondering will all this ‘duck and cover’ work, answers come with a controller in hand.

An eight player team death match - start, run, duck, cover… but the running isn’t norm, in third-person the camera angle is to the players left, as it is generally. There’s a feel for speed, head down, and with the angle it’s like something out of a film with a camera following a trooper across a live battlefield, then you just ram into cover. 

Right trigger gives un-aimed gunfire, left allows you to aim. The some crazy developer at Epic then allow for a chainsaw in the one gun. Mounted under the barrel, once it starts to dig, the screen splatters, red fills the TV – Microsoft a keen to point out Gears of War is for adults only.

If you’re not pinned down, you can revive team mates in a short time after normal death - unless their shooters came in to finish the kill.

The single player starts as Marcus, the lead, is helped out of military prison now under attack by the enemy, ‘the Locust’; in for disobeying an order, but since then the war isn’t going well. Everyone is needed. Desperation is in the air.

The stunning graphics are somehow nearly ignored after a minute of gameplay (the shot above is actually like what we played), it’s immersing. Fraying way from the term ‘Halo killer’, Gears of War looks to be put on a pedestal at near height. We hope we’re not wrong.

Gears of War is due in the "Autumn" on the Xbox 360 - it is to be ported to PC sometime afterwards.

Comments

Cant wait for it!