Gears of War

I've been playing a bit of Gears of War. For fun? A bit, but also to test out a customer issue on my website where one of our customers said GoW gives them an "unreadable disc" error on Act 4. I'm trying to get to Act 4 before they return it so I can test the issue locally (make sure its not his 360 which we sold him). I believe its the game, shit happens. I just want to be sure.

Wow act 4 is a long way through the damn game.

Anyway, after getting to act 2 and a bit further I must say... good game... not nearly worth the hype it was given. I can see why they hyped it - to get an instant #1 block buster game from Microsoft's publishing. However, what is the hype all about? This game is DOOM.

Yes, its friggen DOOM. Argue all you want, I've been doing a lot of thinking (its part of my job :) ). Why is it DOOM:

• Block Buster FPS-type game (yeah yeah, 3rd person, whatever)
• Best Graphics of its time
• You kill tons of aliens
• The world is torn apart and everything is gray and bleak.
• You're in a big armored suit like a space warrior with an attitude.
• You must overcome the odds of being "the human" - the inferior.

That's just to sum up the key points, besides the story and such. This is the DOOM of the 21st century.

Is it good? Sure, but lets face it, you shoot down lots of aliens and such with guns. It's like every other shooter on the market with better graphics, more swears, and a storyline that's a bit more in-depth... like Unreal.

As for monumental steps and awesome new features? Nothing much in my opinion. Viva Pinata offers more in the realm of new refreshing game design and creative thinking. GoW is just another shooter that will be forgotten when the next hyped game arrives (Halo 3 I'd put money on right now). Definitely fun, but I think I like Call of Duty 3 better (even if its just another war re-hash).

Just my opinion, but that's what blogs are all about, right?

CodeMonkey