Gears of War

Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 in North America, Australia, and most of Europe and included a "Limited Collector's Edition" with added content and an art book titled Destroyed Beauty that detailed much of the game's back-story. Despite the initial statements of Xbox 360 exclusivity, a Microsoft Windows version of the game was developed in conjunction with People Can Fly and released a year later, featuring new content including additional campaign levels, a new multiplayer game mode, and Games for Windows Live functionality.

Gameplay
Gears of War is a third-person shooter that places emphasis on using cover to avoid taking damage while moving towards enemy forces. The game uses a number of weapon archetypes, but predominately featured is the Lancer, an assault rifle that has a mounted chainsaw bayonet that can be used to kill foes at close range. The player can attempt an "Active Reload" of a weapon to reload it faster and temporarily boost the damage from the gun, but failing to perform the Active Reload correctly will cause the gun to become momentarily jammed while the player's character fixes it. When the player takes damage, the "Crimson Omen", a red cog representing the player's health gauge, will fade into the screen, becoming more defined with larger amounts of damage. The player can seek cover to recover their health, but if they take too much damage, they will become incapacitated. Once this occurs, a skull will fill the center void of the omen. Depending on the game type being played, the consequences will vary. If single-player career mode is being played, instant death will follow. If there is a second player, they will have to revive their fallen teammate. In multiplayer, the player will fall and be rendered incapacitated until either revived by a teammate, executed by an enemy, or until they "bleed out" (die from blood loss).

The game features a five-act campaign that can be played alone or co-cooperatively with one other player. The campaign focuses on Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago and their efforts in the Delta Squad to wipe out the Locust forces. The players will be joined by AI teammates that will help fight the Locust. Certain sections of the campaign feature two paths that can be taken as selected by the first player. If there is a second player, their character will automatically take the other path. Throughout the campaign, the players can find "COG tags" of fallen comrades to collect. Players have to find a certain amount of collectables within the five acts, normally pamphlets, manuals and other things. An achievement is provided for finding all collectables and COG tags in the game. The campaign can be played at three difficulty settings in the first game. From easiest to hardest, these are "Casual", "Hardcore" and "Insane". The "Insane" difficulty is unlocked once the game is beaten on either the "Casual" or "Hardcore" difficulty.

Multiplayer Gears of War features up to four-on-four competitive gameplay, with teams representing the Gears or the Locust. Matches can either be played in Ranked mode where one's performance is tracked through leader-boards but prevents players from inviting friends or adjusting the settings of the match, or in Player mode in which a player can adjust several settings of the game and invite friends to join, but where performance in the game does not count towards tracking. Three match types were available with the game as-shipped for the Xbox 360: "Warzone" and "Execution" modes are standard deathmatch modes, with the only difference being that players must execute downed foes in Execution otherwise they will revive after a time. "Assassination" assigned each team a leader, who is the only one that can track the other team's leader and can pick up new weapons after which teammates can then pick them up, with the goal to eliminate the foe's leader. An Xbox 360 patch added the "Annex" mode, which is similar to King of the Hill, in which players must try to control a shifting control point for a certain amount of time to win. The PC version of Gears introduced "King of the Hill", a mode not present in the Xbox 360 version, which uses a fixed control point but varies the conditions on which it is controlled.

Setting and Characters
Gears of War takes place on the planet Sera. A liquid called Imulsion became a highly valued power source after a scientist discovered how to use it, and the economic shockwave led to several wars between nations. The Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) originally existed only as an obscure world-government philosophy, but it evolved into a legitimate, though minor, political party during the 79-year long Pendulum Wars. The Soldiers of the COG are called gears. After "Emergence Day," when the Locust began their attack on humanity, the COG were the ones who took the necessary steps to ensure the survival of human civilization, instituting martial law and taking charge of the effort against the Locust. Fourteen years later, the COG is the only human government left on Sera. On E-Day the COG made the greatest sacrifice using the Hammer of Dawn on Human cities 

The game primarily focuses on Marcus Fenix, the main character, and Delta Squad, consisting of Dominic "Dom" Santiago, Damon Baird, and Augustus Cole. Side characters, such as Colonel Hoffman, Anthony Carmine, and Lieutenant Kim, also aid Delta Squad. Players take control of Fenix in the campaign; while in co-op mode, the second player controls Santiago. All four squad members are available for play during multiplayer games, along with Anthony Carmine, Minh Young Kim, and Victor Hoffman, in addition to the various Locust characters.

Marcus Fenix is voiced by John DiMaggio; General RAAM and many Locust creatures are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker; and Augustus "Cole Train" Cole is voiced by Lester "The Mighty Rasta" Speight.

Plot
The game's plot begins fourteen years after Emergence Day (referred to in-game as E-Day), when the Locust Horde overran and killed many COG soldiers and civilians, declaring war aganist humanity. Marcus Fenix, a former COG soldier, is reinstated into the military after spending four years in prison for abandoning his military post in order to make a vain attempt to save his father, Adam Fenix. Dominic "Dom" Santiago, Marcus' best friend and fellow COG, successfully extracts Fenix from the prison, and takes him to meet Delta Squad. The group seeks to obtain the "resonator", a device that will map "The Hollow", the underground caverns which the Locust inhabit  and later deploy the "Lightmass Bomb", which will destroy the heart of the Locust forces inside the Hollow. Fenix and his allies recover the device, but suffer multiple casualties in the process. Amidst the chaos, Fenix leads the remaining soldiers through the ruins of Sera, to a mining facility, and finally into the planet's depths. 

Delta Squad successfully detonates the resonator, but the device fails to map the entire tunnel network. Fortunately, they discover a larger map of the network that originates from Fenix's old home, specifically his father's laboratory. The group ventures to the Fenix estate at East Barricade Academy, where Fenix originally attempted to rescue his father. When they arrive, Delta encounters heavy Locust resistance. After collecting the data, the group fights their way past Locust forces and boards a train carrying the Lightmass Bomb. Fenix and Santiago battle their way through the train, and defeat General RAAM, before finally uploading the data. Fully activated, the Lightmass Bomb launches into the Hollow, and eradicates the Locust tunnel networks. In the game's final sequence, Hoffman delivers a victory speech as the tunnels collapse and explode, whereupon the voice of the Locust Queen promises that the Locust will continue to fight onward despite their losses.

Development
In an interview with Cliff Bleszinski, lead developer for Epic Games, he cites three games that were the primary influences in the game's design including the third person perspective from Resident Evil 4 and the tactical-cover system from Kill Switch; Bleszinski also cited Bionic Commando ' s influence on the cover system, equating the actions of moving from cover to cover as similar to the action of swinging from platform to platform in the latter game. These design choices reflect themselves in the gameplay, as Gears of War focuses mainly on squad team-based and cover-dependent tactics with limited weapons rather than brute force. The game also includes a content filter, which will turn off the blood and gore, and the usage of profanity. The total cost of development was $10 million, according to Epic's Mark Rein, and only 20 to 30 people were involved with the development at any time. However, these figures don't include the proprietary Unreal Engine 3.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gwn_costs_8-1">

Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski said he hoped for the game to expand into graphic novels and eventually film.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9"> On November 21, 2006, Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing and Interactive Entertainment Business Jeff Bell stated Gears of War is the first in a trilogy, through sequences on E-Day and the battle of Jacinto Plateau, as well as information on Adam Fenix and his research (which the character finds in Gears).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10"> Epic Games Vice President Mark Rein posted a message on the official Gears of War Internet forums, stating "It's not over until it is not fun anymore", and, in his view, Gears of War may become the next Halo series in terms of popularity.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11">

The ending to Gears of War heavily suggested a sequel, and at the 2007 Game Developers Conference, Bleszinkski confirmed that Epic Games did "intend to do a sequel" to Gears of War.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GDC07_12-0"> The game's sequel, Gears of War 2 was officially confirmed on February 20, 2008,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gears_of_War_2_coming_in_November_13-0"> and was released at midnight on November 7, 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gears_of_War_2_coming_in_November_13-1">

Despite being published by Microsoft, the Gears of War IP is wholly owned by Epic Games. In an interview, Epic CEO Mike Capps stated his desire to eventually bring Gears of War to other platforms, such as the PlayStation 3. However, he further stated "Time and time again, when it came down to figure out what we do next with Gears, we sat down with Microsoft and they've given us really good, compelling reasons to work with them again."

Collector's Edition
At the game's release, Epic Games released a Limited Collectors Edition. Some of the notable differences are a steel case instead of the regular plastic case and an extra disc which contains artworks of environments and stages including Locust that never made it to the game. The disc also contains a time-lapse on the creation of the "Emergence" mural. The game's disc and case has a different cover and instead features the Omen background. Another of the Collector's Edition extras is a book titled Destroyed Beauty which illustrates the game's back-story and includes concepts, sketches, and descriptions of the game's characters. The Collector's Edition also includes the same instruction manual and 48-hour Xbox Live Gold trial as the regular game does.

Downloadable Content
Epic Games began working on new content for Gears of War in August 2006. The updates would remain free according to Epic Games president Mike Capps.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Surette_16-0"> The first of these updates was released over Xbox Live on January 9, 2007,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GoW-Update1_17-0"> with two new maps released the following day on January 10, 2007. The two maps reflected background scenes from the game's storyline, known as Raven Down and Old Bones, which depict Gears fighting Locust amidst the crash site of a King Raven chopper and a museum.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18"> Another update was released for Gears of War on January 22, 2007,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19"> which, according to Epic Games' Marc Rein, is said to fix some compatibility issues with the release of Gears of War in Japan, and that no game play or functionality features were changed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">

On April 9, 2007, Epic Games released their third update, containing a new game mode titled Annex, which requires teams to capture and hold certain areas of each map, as well as additional gameplay tweaks and fixing up some glitches, bugs and exploits. The update was free of charge.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">

Epic Games initially said that four new maps would be released in conjunction with the third patch. However, due to disagreements between Microsoft and Epic Games, Epic decided instead to "put these maps on sale at a reasonable price then make them free a few months later," according to Mark Rein of Epic Games.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"> The map pack, titled "Hidden Fronts", was released on Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points on May 3, 2007, and included the maps Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process, and Subway.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-joystiq-4th-update_22-0"> Free downloads of these maps were made available on September 3, 2007, four months after their initial release.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">

A fourth update on June 14, 2007 added 250 additional Achievement points (bringing the total possible achievement points to 1250), in eight Achievements related to Annex mode and the maps from Hidden Fronts. Additionally, the update includes improvement of roadie run to keep the player from sticking to cover areas, and a patch to prevent the Annex clock from counting during connection errors. Other "housekeeping" issues were also addressed.

PC Version
News of the franchise's future has emerged multiple times since the game's release. PC Gamer accidentally released an image in its 2006 holiday issue where Gears of War can be seen in a Games for Windows display, which led to suspicion that Gears of War would be released for the PC;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24"> however, the image was later stated to be a mock-up.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25"> Possible leaked pictures were released on February 13, 2007, leading to more suspicion of Gears on the PC. In an interview with Xbox fan site TeamXbox, Mark Rein stated that the game would eventually come to the PC; Epic was not currently ready to release it on that format, but the upcoming release of Unreal Tournament 3 was "helping (Epic) get optimization on the PC".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">

On July 11, 2007 at the E3 conference, it was revealed that Gears of War would indeed be released for Windows.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_pc_hands_on_0-1"> <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gears_on_Windows_27-0"> New features include three new multi-player maps,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_gears_pc_interview_3-1"> an extension of five new single-player chapters to act five which describes events of Delta Squad escaping a giant Brumak between acts four and five<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_gears_pc_interview_3-2"> (which Mark Rein claims is "about 20 percent extra" over the existing Xbox 360 content),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28"> new game modes, a game editor, and Games for Windows – Live support integrated into Unreal Engine 3. When asked about bringing the additional content to the Xbox 360 version, Mark Rein of Epic Games stated that "it is unlikely we will bring that content to 360". He then states, "Unfortunately the version it's built on is not really compatible with the 360 and so it would involve a massive patch, a patch larger than all five we've done so far, to Gears of War to do that."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29"> Additionally, the PC and Xbox 360 versions will not allow for cross-platform play; Cliff Bleszinski stated that "while this feature does add value, it just wasn't that desired nor worth the extra months of design and development time. We want Gears of War to be out this holiday on PC."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_gears_pc_interview_3-3"> This news angered many owners of Gears of War on the Xbox 360 due to the game no longer living up to its "Exclusively for the Xbox 360" title and not receiving the additional content.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30"> Mark Rein noted that despite their original label of the game as an Xbox 360 exclusive, Microsoft allowed them to develop the game as part of the Games for Windows moniker, as has been done previously with Halo 2.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">

A patch was released on November 28 to fix performance issues and also the Games for Windows - Live update issue.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32"> The patch was only released for American and Western European versions of the game; legitimate purchasers of the Eastern European and Russian versions were informed that "the game would continue to function without the patch" and never issued a corresponding version.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">

A Mac OS X version was confirmed by Mark Rein at the end of E3, on the Game Head television program on July 14, 2007, along with Unreal Tournament 3, but no release time frame was specified, and As of July 2011, nothing more has been mentioned.

Expired Digital Certificates
In early 2009, an issue with a digital certificate, used to sign certain game-critical files as part of the Anti-Cheat mechanism, which expired on January 28, 2009, rendered the game unplayable without a temporary workaround of resetting the system clock to before the certificate expired.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">

Initial information from sources led people to believe the issue was related to DRM within the game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35"> EPIC later acknowledged the problem, claiming it was not in relation to a form of DRM but instead to a form of Anti-Cheat, and notified end users that they "[were] working with Microsoft to get it resolved." <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36"> <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">

This issue was corrected as of February 6, 2009 with a downloadable patch.

Reviews
Upon its release, Gears of War received universal critical acclaim from critics, maintaining an average review score of 93.89% at GameRankings (second highest-ranked game of 2006), and an average score of 94/100 at Metacritic.

Most reviewers praised the game for its visuals, presentation and sound. IGN's review of the game called it "the most gorgeous looking game on the Xbox 360" and that "the sound design is worthy of awards."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_60-1"> Gamer.tv gave the game 5/5 praising the "Well designed maps" and "Great cover gameplay mechanics" and praised Epic games for the inclusion of co-op play.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">

While the game received high praise, reviewers did point out that Gears of War did not offer anything significantly new in its core gameplay. Eurogamer's review of the game states: "let's not pretend that we're wallowing in the future of entertainment. What we have here is an extremely competent action game that's as polished and refined as it could be, and is therefore very enjoyable. But if Epic had applied the same widescreen scope and ambition to the gameplay as it did to the engine we'd be much more excited than we are."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-eurogamer_review_49-1"> The game's story was noted for not being very deep, as GameSpot's review states "The lack of exposition feels like a missed opportunity to make the characters and the setting even more compelling."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gamespot_review_53-1">

The PC release of the game received similar praise as the 360 version, with reviewers noting various differences between the two versions. IGN commented that "The mouse and keyboard allow for more precise control, and the graphics have been improved as well;"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_pc_review_61-1"> however, 1UP stated that "the control scheme's a very central obstacle" to the game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1up_pc_review_48-1"> GameSpot noted that the additional chapter felt out of place as "it changes things up a bit in ways that betray the difficulty progression of the game."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gamespot_pc_review_54-1"> Hyper's Cam Shea commends the game for its "visual, solid gameplay, killer multiplayer and reload mechanics". However, he criticised it for "potential frustration, pointless squad commands and chainsaw mechanics".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">

The Lancer weapon was recently featured in an Electronic Gaming Monthly article that discusses its practicality and historical precedents. Keirsey criticized this weapon by noting that real "chain saws are heavy." He noted that "medieval bludgeoning weapons are the closest" historical precedents.

Awards
Leading up to the game's release, Gears of War was one of the most anticipated games of 2006.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65"> The game premiered during the 2005 E3 show, and won, among others,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66"> several "Best 360 Game" awards, including from IGN,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67"> 1UP,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68"> and Gamespy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69"> The game continued to win several awards at following 2006 E3 show prior to the game's release.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70"> These included the Game Critics Awards for "Best Console Game" and "Best Action Game",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71"> IGN's "Best 360 Action Game", "Best 360 Multiplayer Game", and "Best Overall Multiplayer Experience",<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72"> and Gamespy's "Best Console Multiplayer", "Best Action Game", and "Xbox 360 Game of Show".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73">

Upon release, Gears of War received numerous awards from many publications. IGN named Gears of War as the "Xbox 360 Game of the Year" among other awards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ign_2006_awards_74-0"> GameSpot named the game its "Game of the Year" as well as "Best Xbox 360 Game", among other accolades.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gamespot_awards_75-0"> Official Xbox Magazine named their game as their "Xbox 360 Game of the Year".<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;"> G4 TV during the 2007 G-Phoria awards, named Gears of War its "Game of the Year" in addition to other awards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-g4_tv_awards_76-0">

Gears of War won several awards at the 2007 Interactive Achievement Awards at the D.I.C.E. Summit, including "Overall Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", and "Action/Adventure Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Achievements" in Animation, Art Direction, Visual Engineering, and Online Gameplay.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dice_awards_77-0"> The game received the awards of "Ultimate Game of the Year" and "Xbox Game of the Year" at the 2007 Golden Joystick Awards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-78">

In addition, the characters within the game received additional awards. GameSpot gave their 2006 "Best New Character(s)" award to the Delta Squad of Gears of War.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gamespot_awards_75-1"> G4 TV named Willow Clapham the "Best New Character" and gave Lester Speight's performance for "Augustus ‘Cole Train’ Cole" the award for "Best Voiceover". The game was given the Interactive Achievement Award for "Outstanding Character Performance - Male" for its voicework.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-dice_awards_77-1"> The Berserkers were named as Official Xbox Magazine ' s "Enemy of the Year".<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">

Guinness World Records awarded Gears of War with 5 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include, "First Console Game to Use the Unreal 3 Engine", "Fastest Selling Original Xbox 360 Game", and "First Music Single to Top the Chart After Promoting a Video Game" for the Gary Jules version of "Mad World", which was originally released in 2003, but topped the download charts in November 2006 after it was used as background music during the TV commercial for Gears of War.

Sales
According to Microsoft Game Studios Vice President Sammy B, Gears of War preorder sales were second only to Halo 2 in the studio's history.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79"> Gears of War was also the first Xbox or Xbox 360 game to sell out and reach the top ten charts in Japan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80">

Gears of War has achieved major success since its release. On November 7, 2006—the day that it was released—it became the most popular game on the Xbox Live service, until the release of Halo 3, overtaking Halo 2 which had held the spot since its launch in November 2004.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81"> Gears was the second most-played game on the Xbox Live service throughout 2007.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82"> By January 19, 2007, just ten weeks after its debut, over three million units of the game had been sold.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GearsJuggernaut_83-0"> As of November 7, 2008, the game has sold 5.88 million copies worldwide.

Links

 * 1) "1UP.com - Gears of War review".
 * 2) "Eurogamer review: Gears of War". Eurogamer.
 * 3) "Review: Gears of War". Game Informer.
 * 4) "Review: Gears of War". Gamepro.
 * 5) "GameSpot reviews Gears of War". GameSpot.
 * 6) "Gears of War Review (PC) - GameSpy".
 * 7) "Gears of War Review (360) - GameSpy".
 * 8) "IGN reviews Gears of War". IGN.
 * 9) Official website
 * 10) Gears of War guide at StrategyWiki
 * 11) Gearspedia, the Gears of War wiki