GEARS OF WAR

[Gatspy]

i think its shit. i'm completely pisssed off about the controlers. i've always had a nintendo and i will not get this unless there is options of using normal controlers.

[michael_ital]

November 20, 2006
Gears of War is overrated (and other geekdad advice)
I was as psyched as anyone about the release of Gears of War, the while-you're-waiting-for-Halo 3 hit of the season for Xbox 360 fanboys. The trailers looked fantastic, the designer was top notch and the buzz was deafening. And when it came out last week the reviews were rhapsodic. So I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with me for being so unimpressed. I haven't finished the game--I'm a bit more than halfway through--but I've gone far enough to see the gameplay for what it is: a totally scripted shooting gallery on rails. Even the fabled graphics are just more detail on the same tired post-apocalyptic cityscapes and hyena-faced baddies, all stuck on the concrete-gray side of the chromatic spectrum.

I was picking up my oldest son (9) from a birthday party at a bowling alley today, and is often the case the boys were playing crusty old arcade games. There was an old Area 51 machine there, and as I watched it go through its demo loop I realized why Gears of War felt so familiar: they're essentially the same game, advanced by little more than ten years of Moore's Law graphics acceleration and similarly improved character AI. Been there, done that.

I'm going to quit GoW now and instead focus on what I think is the far superior game launched on the same platform at the same time: Call of Duty 3. This is the third installment of the WWII series inspired by Saving Private Ryan, and the battle is now in France, on the way to Paris. The graphics are jaw-dropping (to my eye, every bit GoW's equal) and the gameplay far more free roaming and tactical. Unfortunately it doesn't have a co-operative play mode, so it's online multiplayer or single-payer, but after the 9-year-old gets a bit further in the game he and I can face the ruthless hordes out there together on XBox Live in the sweet split-screen mode. I'll get my butt kicked charging into the fray while he hangs back with a sniper rifle and laughs his ass off at my mistakes. (Yes, I know the game is rated for T for Teen. I'm a Bad Father.)

Finally, on that note, here are my latest top ten computer/game parenting tips for geek dads:



http://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/

[Ben Dover]

I think they're are being quite the creative ones. Instead of the same old battered controles (which Nintendo created to begin with) they have now moved on to the next level, motion sensing.

You can tell they've hit a raw nerve with the new controler idea because Sony stole it and implemented it in the PS3 controler, the SIXAXIS.

Here is a 48-Hour XBox Live Gold Membership code,

VGB89-3BPDT-M62WM-BQ6C8-XRQFB

[Somaliweyn]

Yo Gatspy,

Have you played the game on HD TV, on the highest resolution?

Or what about multiplayer...have you tried it yet?

GoW is definetly a new level in videoconsole playing

[Ben Dover]

If somebody uses it please let me know so I can score it out of my list.

[Gatspy]

Somaliweyn..no dude i don't have HDTV. and the only mutlplayer that i've tried is 4 users on the same consule. Its pretty good but i gotta say that I still like Halo multiplayer still.

Dover i'll advice u to wait on that for sure.

[Basra-]

Gatspy grow up!

[Gatspy]

bite me Basra

[Basra-]

Gatspy ok.

[Gatspy]

unbelievable and ouch
I just can't win can I Basra?

[Basra-]

Gatspy u can't! However, u can always win in your nintendos!