Gamerz Blog

Of the many games that have been announced for the Xbox 360, there are only a select few who have garnered more attention and generated more hype than the highly anticipated Gears of War. Gears of War, a sci-fi tactical first-person shooter, is an Xbox 360 exclusive title that is set to utilize the amazing technical capabilities of the Xbox 360’s hardware with innovative gameplay features and a gorgeous graphics engine.

Gears of War is being designed by the excellent studios at Epic Games. If the past is any indication, the developers behind the Unreal Tournament and the acclaimed Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict games will be able to deliver a game that not only pushes the limits in terms of graphics (which indeed the Unreal Tournament games have done) but also make the gameplay both refreshing and extremely fun with the fast paced action that their games are famous for.

Although the game isn’t set to be released until early 2006, Epic Games and Microsoft Games Studios have already released quite a few gameplay videos and information about this upcoming title. Early builds and videos of the game only reinforce the high expectations that have been rippling throughout the gaming community.

These high expectations and anticipation is due not only to how beautiful the game is but also to the unique gameplay elements that appear to thrive in Gears of War. While the game is action heavy and contains plenty of shooting, something that is quite obvious due to the setting of the game, the gameplay elements run so much deeper than the game being just a standard shoot em up. Rather, the game introduces some really unique, appealing elements that gamers should look forward to.

The first of these elements is one that was introduced but not implemented overly well in Kill.Switch. This element is the ability to duck behind cover. In Gears of War, characters have the ability to use just about anything as cover (and be sure, you’ll need it). Simply move behind any object, such as a wrecked car, to have the character immediately duck behind it. From there, you can either control your character and shoot at your enemies by popping up or, if the situation calls for it, you can even simply hold the weapon over the characters head and use blind fire.

Even more interesting, however, is the role that light plays in the game. The enemies, the locust horde, thrive in the dark shadows of the Gears of War world. For this reason, any character that strays into the dark for even a short time will find themselves quickly torn to shreds by the ruthless aliens. Players will find themselves sticking to the light and needing to use strategy to reach different areas of the game since darkness prevails and smart thinking is needed to create the necessary light. For instance, in certain parts of the game characters will have to bust open pipes containing flammable liquid and light the liquid on fire to create the all too important light that is necessary to pass by this certain area of the game.

Gamers everywhere should simply be salivating over the upcoming Gears of War release. While being pretty is always a plus, gameplay is truly what matters when determining how good a game really is and Gears of War appears to thrive in this department. With enough unique elements to make it appealing and while having a solid base foundation with the control being very Halo-esque, Gears of War is a game that all should have on their wanted lists.

How can a company go so awry? This is a question few know the answer to. However, in the case of EA, the answer is quite obvious: a lack of effort. Simply put, EA just doesn’t try anymore. They control the gaming industry and they know it. Due to this, EA continuously puts out crappy sequels and expansion packs that aren’t worth half their price tags. Oh EA, how you have wronged us, the gaming community!

While you can check GamersCourt.com for a review, needless to say, Madden 06’s debut on next-gen is simply pathetic. EA put absolutely no effort what-so-ever into making the game. No, EA couldn’t simply port the game over, similar to how it is on the current-gen systems, of course not! EA had to further torment us and even further tarnish the gaming industry’s image by putting out a piece of crap that is 10x worse than Madden 06 on the Xbox.

Needless to say, the visuals aren’t at fault. Oh no, those are quite appeasing indeed. It is the fact that EA pulled out every single good gameplay mode and every little feature that made the recent Madden games so good that furthers EA’s image as a shitty company. Basically, what makes it so bad is that the game is just the bare bones of Madden. It has Franchise, Online, and Play Now modes. Beyond that lies nothing. No Superstar, no Practice, no drills, hell, there’s no defensive playmakers! Oh yeah, and just so you know, Madden doesn’t even do the commentating. Great job, assholes (obvious slam against EA).

For EA, their path to world domination is inevitable. It is their destiny to control the gaming industry, and this is what we have to look forward to. Half-assed games that provide no pleasure at all. EA really needs to have a reality check and realize that gamers aren’t going to put up with their shit forever. Either make quality games, or don’t make games at all.