srsly

after a day and a half of searching i finally obtained a copy of Gears of War.- oddly enough on the advice of a co-worker, i went to Fred Meyer after searching Target, Best Buy, and various game stops.- and to my surprise i was asked by a small, late-middle-aged lady if i needed help finding something.- and i suppose based on my age and asking about “a specific xbox 360 title” she led me to the counter where she produced a stack of no less than ten copies.- in a metro area this large the odds of getting a game this anticipated this close to launch day without a reservation are very bad.- but since this particular Fred Meyer is out in Lake City, i suppose i can understand why they were in no danger of running out.
the game itself lives up to the hype.- i don’t know that i’d go so far as to say it redefines anything.- it certainly has elements previously seen only in advanced tactical shooters nicely rolled into an action shooter.- i would go so far as to say that this entry into the shooter genre might very well blur the line between tactical and action.- to say “cover is king” would be a wild understatement.- there is no “run and gun” or “epic standoff.”- you get your butt behind something solid and wait to stick your head out or you just die.- the parts where you’re not ducking for cover are when you’re exploring after a battle or running to the next one where you will most likely be surprised and forced to scramble for cover.- it might sound like this gets tired after a while but it certainly does not.
the excitement of every firefight is compounded when you play with a buddy.- the game allows you to play through the entire campaign in co-op mode.- so now when you yell in surprise or triumph you won’t be shrieking at your tv alone.- you can have a friend on the other end of a mic shouting in the same fashion.- i don’t think i’ve been this excited to play a game with anyone for a long time.- there was one particular section where we were confronted with a rather large and aggressive creature that we had to lure outside so that we could shoot it with an orbiting satellite.- the predicament here was that we were deep inside what had already been referred to as a tomb with no discernible way out.- after dying a couple times and randomly scrambling about shouting in confusion we stumbled upon a large room with a sealed door.- a plan began to form.- i ran for this door and sure enough a game tooltip popped up and said it was breakable.- i shouted to my comrade to lure the beast to the other end of the room in line with this door.- this was no easy task.- after several missed attempts we got the thing to ram it’s head into the door and break it.- we then made daring runs through the door right under it’s nose.- we were presented with this scenario 3 times before we actually got outside.- here we had to get the creature to stand still long enough for me to target it with the satellite.- ben figured out that when it runs into things it gets stunned and proceeded to lure it into head-butting the various stone pieces that littered the courtyard.- once it was stunned i was able to paint it for the satellite and death rained from the heavens.- it was a very satisfying victory.

the game is filled with moments like this.- i am not disappointed i purchased it at all.- the best part is that after about 3-4 hours of playing we’re maybe halfway through.- then there’s insane mode, not to mention the adversarial multiplayer.- i haven’t had much luck with that, i keep getting disconnected.- but it might be server load; it is only 2 days after the game hit the street.