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Gears of War; (This stupid thing closed out twice!!!)
Topic Started: Nov 14 2006, 06:18 PM (483 Views)
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Master of Cows, MASTER..OF THE WORLD!
[size=23]GEARS OF WAR[/size]

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is a tactical third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games. Developed using the Unreal Engine 3 technology, it was released for Xbox 360 on November 7, 2006 in select stores in the United States and will be released in major retailers on November 12, 2006. It will be released on November 17, 2006 in Europe outside of Germany, where the game was banned after being denied a rating. According to Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim, the preorder sales were expected to reach $100M USD, second only to Halo 2 in videogame history.

Gears of War centers around protagonist Marcus Fenix, and the conflict between the human inhabitants of planet Sera fighting a subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde. The game is available in both standard and limited editions.

Cliff Bleszinski cited Resident Evil 4's quick pacing and emphasis on "memorable moments" as a major influence on Gears of War in an interview with Game Informer, and promised the game would have set-pieces and a variety of enemies comparable to its inspiration. He has also stated that the presentation of this game is cinematic in scope, and chaotic, destructible environments are an important aspect of gameplay.

The game has been stated by Epic Boss Mark Rein to have cost around $10 million to make


[size=20]Gameplay[/size]
Unlike other notable games by Epic, Gears of War is a slower-paced shooter, focusing on sound tactics rather than brute force. As such, the player is only able to carry only four weapons: two primary weapons, a sidearm, and a limited supply of grenades. Some levels feature multiple paths, in which the player's squad is split into two, with each half following one of the paths. The paths run parallel (more or less), and players can assist their teammates through windows or holes in walls.

On harder difficulty levels, being exposed to enemy fire for only a few seconds can result in the player's death. To help survive, the developers have placed great emphasis on cover in a similar fashion to games like Full Spectrum Warrior or Kill.Switch. Players have a wide assortment of ducking and rolling maneuvers at their disposal, and even a full sprint, known as the "roadie run", which can help traverse exposed ground quickly. During this time, the camera pulls back and bobs considerably, as if the camera were being held by another person running behind the player.

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[size=23]Cooperative play[/size]
Co-op in Gears of War allows two players play through the game from start to end. Gears of War offers the ability to invite players on the users’ friends list and have them instantly pop in the player’s game to help them out.

Cooperative Play differs from the single-player game in some ways. On the sections of levels that offer multiple paths, players are separated and each tackle separate parts of the level. Player One takes the role of Marcus, and Player Two is his friend, Dom. The player who has the best statistics in each level, such as most kills or bosses killed, is the one who receives the Xbox achievement for the level.

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[size=23]Versus[/size]
Multiplayer is team-based, supporting up to eight players (four COGs vs four Locust Horde) engaging in battles over Xbox Live. Matches consist of several rounds. The team who has won the most rounds at the end of the match wins. Tactical use of cover and the multiplayer-exclusive smoke grenade is important for success. Each player starts out a round with the same standard set of weapons, but more powerful items of warfare are laid out across each map to be contested by the opposing teams. Unlike other shooters, in most situations where a player has taken too much damage, their character becomes incapacitated instead of dying instantly. The player remains in this "downed" state until they either bleed out and die, are killed by the enemy, or are revived by a teammate. This gameplay mechanic adds a unique layer of depth to the game. Players are limited to one life, emphasizing tactical search-and-destroy gameplay rather than the large-scale firefights of other shooters developped by Epic Games. Bleszinski noted that he "doesn't really want the game to devolve into a deathmatch...if you have no fear of death, then you just run at each other. "In ranked matches, points that a player has earned for kills, downs, revives and hits are added up and tracked on the leaderboards.

Three modes have been developed: Warzone, Assassination, and Execution.

Warzone mostly follows the standard Team Deathmatch archetype, with one team trying to eliminate the other.

In Assassination, teams win by killing the other team's designated leader while protecting their own. The leader is the only player that can pick up weapons during play.

Execution is very similar to Warzone, except that when your opponent is down, you must finish them off using certain violent fatalities. These include the curb stomp, the chainsaw attack, a body-decimating explosion, a head-shot, or a close-range shotgun blast. Standard shots will not affect your opponent when he is in this state. Should you fail to destroy your enemy during the allotted time, the player will be revived and will once again become a threat.

The game was supposed to ship with 8 multiplayer maps, but in early October the games lead designer confirmed that it will be shipping with 10 maps: the two extra maps were originally intended to be part of a free download on Xbox Live Marketplace after launch.

Though Gears of War's multiplayer mode has been well-received since release, certain problems have been recognized. The complete lack of any convenient method to join matches with a friend has drawn criticism from gamers. Bleszinski has stated that it was Microsoft's wish to avoid a Halo-like party system in order to reduce cheating. However, an article from the 1UP Network suggests that this issue may be addressed in the future, via update. For now, to join a friend's match, it can be done in unranked matches. Another aspect of the multiplayer mode that has frustrated gamers is the host's inability to change maps while maintaining the same group of players.


[size=23]Weapons[/size]
The player begins multiplayer rounds with an assault rifle/chainsaw (called a Lancer rifle), shotgun, pistol, and a single smoke grenade. Singleplayer missions can begin with a number of different weapons, usually depending on what weapons the player had in the previous act or chapter. Additional weapons can be picked up, though only 1 pistol and 2 "large" (basically anything that isn't a pistol or a grenade) weapons can be carried at a time. Other weapons, such as the Boomshot (a combination grenade/missile launcher) and Long shot (standard sniper rifle), are also available. There are also more unique weapons in the game such as "Torquebows" (technologically advanced bows that shoot explosive bolts) and a weapon called the Hammer of Dawn, which plays much like the Ion Ray in Epic's previous Unreal games.

All weapons that require reloading are optionally allowed to "Active Reload." This entails hitting the right bumper on the controller at the right time to quickly reload the weapon. If timed particularly well, the portion of the ammo reloaded in the next clip will gain a damage boost and be reloaded faster. If timed badly, the gun will jam momentarily and the reloading process will take longer than it would if Active Reload was not attempted. Choosing not to use the Active Reload feature simply causes the character to reload at an average speed.

Some levels include usable, heavy-duty stationary machine gun turrets named "Troikas" capable of literally cutting enemies (or players) in half.
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Naoko
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I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS
CaLeB-
Nov 14 2006, 08:16 PM
We played so long, I had to sleep over!

Heheheh... *Opens notepad file of funny quotes from the forums* Zing!
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Admiral Buttercrust
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The Hobo
Nice one! My brother wants that so badly. Hes gettin' it for X-mas. He's bugging me about it. ALOT!
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Panther III
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Triforce of Power
Great game and CaLeB- pulled a GFN. XD XD XD

Nice one. =P
"Would you like to play... Money Making Game?!"
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oxcjae.
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aka CaLeB-
Naoko
Nov 14 2006, 09:19 PM
CaLeB-
Nov 14 2006, 08:16 PM
We played so long, I had to sleep over!

Heheheh... *Opens notepad file of funny quotes from the forums* Zing!

Ohhh you sick WAFFLES! SYRUP-FILLED TASTY WAFFLES WITH BUTTER ON THE TOP!
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