Forget the news about the big three press conferences; forget anything you've heard about frame rate. While you are at it, forget about Halo 3. From now until the game is actually in my hands, the only thing we care about is Gears of War. While sitting in on a 20 minute presentation from Epic my excitement over Microsoft's new console jumped back up to a near fan-boy level. Furthermore, this demonstration only confirmed what we already felt about this game, Gears of War is the killer app on Xbox 360.
The demonstration was run by Cliff Bleszinski, the lead designer. We saw a sizeable chunk of gameplay in two levels. Everything we saw was in-game, and in many sections looked as good as a CG movie. Before we gush about the gameplay, we also gleaned a few more details about the story, and the characters. Later, we returned for a full hands-on with the title.
A Cause for War
Gears takes place on the planet Sera. Human civilization had overcome their previous differences on this planet and entered a golden age of peace, prosperity, and beauty. The only thing that the planet suffered from was the constant need for new fuel sources. That is until a new substance called imulsion was discovered lurking just under the earth's crust. A technique called the Lightmass Process was able to convert this material directly into energy and the cities built atop imulsion reserves became targets for power hungry nations.
The attacks were launched by those countries without the new fuel source, and thus began the Pendulum Wars. The battles were waged for 79 years, until a third threat emerged from beneath the earth. On "Emergence Day" a race called The Locusts burst through to the surface and destroyed a quarter of the earth's population. The survivors formed a united front and fell back to a region called the Jacinto Plateau which rested on a layer of solid granite that was too thick for the Locust to break through. From here, the humans launched orbital-beam weapons and destroyed 90% of Sera's surface in a counterattack.
From Jacinto, the humans regrouped and a once glorious city became the center of an offensive. The Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) emerged as the new heads of society, and given the main task of organizing an army to defend the last bastion of humanity.
Prisoner No 098356-GX
Height: 1.85 meters
Weight: 105 kilograms
The lead character is Marcus Fenix, an "intelligent bad-ass" who was previously jailed for ignoring his orders on E-day so he could save his father. He is strong-jawed, broad shouldered and offers a compensatory curse each time he stumbles across a squad of Locusts. He's everything you'd want in a leader, with the pistol skills to match his bravado.
Sera is gripped in darkness. The Locusts are most at home in the shadows, so expect the worst moments to occur when the lights go off. Gears of War can best be described as a mix between a third-person tactical shooter and a survival horror game. This is pop-and-shoot gaming, not the run-and-gun style of Halo 2. Oh, and it's f---ing awesome.
The demo begins in daylight, with Marcus and his Gears touching down in their King Raven helicopter at the East Barricade Academy. From the moment they land, the group finds themselves under heavy fire. It's not possible to survive by running in like a jack-ass, guns blazing. There's plenty of immediate cover. We watched as Marcus leaped for safety, then crouched down to avoid fire before popping up and taking down the hideous-looking Locust goons. The guns, which are currently not animated, light up with the gunfire. Windows splinter into a thousand reflective pieces, wood splinters and Locusts scream horribly as they fall to their deaths.
The first demo level, which takes place about halfway through the game, is an endless shooting gallery. While you must take cover, this is not a slow-paced game. Enemies come from every crevice and corner, pressing the advantage against the four-member squad. As one member notes, "This is a full-on gang bang."
The levels are somewhat streamlined so that cinematic moments can have maximum impact, but there are branching paths so that the team can split up. Taking the high road as opposed to the low can offer a different experience, adding to the replay value. Though, to be honest, everything about Gears of War looks to add to its replay value.
Later in the demo, the Gears have split, with half the team heading into the Academy to battle Locusts in the dark corridors while the other half takes on the enemies in the courtyard. The upper path earns Marcus and his teammate a view down on the courtyard so they can strike the Locusts from above while the Bravo Team hits them from the ground. All this is punctuated with an extra oomph when Marcus fires a few rounds into a statue, knocking it down on top of the Locusts. That same tactic can be used to create cover just about anywhere. When there isn't cover, you create it.