Anyone played this yet? I am thinking about buying it picking up the preorder mum made for me today.

boba masturbates over it nightly.

fpot's mum?

EDIT: Havn't played it yet. Is a demo coming out on live?

last edited by reload! at 10:44:53 09/Nov/06

It's not out until the 23rd, but after seeing how positive the reviews have been I'll be buying it for sure. It should keep me occupied until the Wii I hope :)

Oh gay I thought it was already out.

if you live in the USA.

It should keep me occupied until the Wii I hope :)

I can't understand why people are so pumped about the wii. It sounds like s*** compared to a 360

Have you checked out the 720p trailer on xbox live with the REM soundtrack in the background..it looks awesome.

I can't understand why people are so pumped about the wii. It sounds like s*** compared to a 360

Probably because it will revolutionize the way we play console games by bringing a whole new level of interactivity and involvement.
A lot of people have great difficulty aiming with standard controllers. Granted some people become quite skilled, but the learning curve to get there is long and steep.
Though I don’t own an Xbox, I have played quite a lot of halo since its release, and the controls still give me problems when aiming at targets of different heights.

Explain why you think the Wii is s*** compared to its competitors?
Is it the graphics
The controller
Lack of HDef or HDrive

Personally I’d like both Xbox and Wii.

I agree with lynxs assertation that marketing buzzword 1 will lead to catchphrase b, and cause a synergistic epiphany in the console world.

a game ain't a game without a keyboard

also, why is halo a s*** game on the pc but a great one on the xbox?

I know why! because compared to FPS games on a console Halo is awesome. But compared to some of the awesome FPS games on a PC Halo is crap.

Also, as far as being excited about the Wii...Zelda!!

Shutup about the Wii, this thread is about Gears of War.

This game has been getting mega hype treatment and might actually be worthy of it. The pre-build thingo we got to play at E3 was awesome and I wanted to stay there for the rest of the day :( Reviews that are popping up are similiarly glowing. About time the system got a real flagship title imo.

Watching all the gears of war stuff this made me think that an xbox360 may be required sooner than i originally thought. Will see how quickly i bore of the wii first though.

Have you checked out the 720p trailer on xbox live with the REM soundtrack in the background..it looks awesome.

Gary Jules cover of Mad World. Not REM, but yes it is overused since Donnie Darko.

It's the best looking game ever made that's for sure. And getting some great reviews, high 9's and 10's.

Can someone explain what the f*** all the hype is about? I read both the Gamespot and IGN reviews and both glaze over the mediocre story... so-so weapons (with a few exceptions)... simplistic and extremely repetitive gameplay... strange/poor difficulty balancing... effectively limitless health (Halo, CoD2/3, Prey... why do so many games feel the need to adopt this ridiculous mechanic??)... but then the reviewers orgasm with "ZOMG ZOMG graphics+++++" and give it 9.6 / 9.4 out of 10 respectively. (9.6/9.6 from cnet/teamxbox)


Speaking of the graphics, I haven't seen the thing running on a decent TV yet, but none of the screenshots/vids have dazzled me, at all (/bait). (what the f*** textures?)

The whole thing looks like a mishmash between RE4 and kill.switch - which, obviously, is a good thing (RE4 was brilliant and kill.switch was an entertaining concept with a half-arsed implementation), but hardly amazingly innovative or original.

The reviews I read basically said something like

This game has some problems but it's still f***ing fun, which really at the end of the day is all that matters.

why do so many games feel the need to adopt this ridiculous mechanic??

multiple lives and healthbars that can magically be topped up from near death by a potion are just as stupid. do you really want a realistic game that would see your character die every time he got shot ?

Without some sort of motivation to avoid taking regular damage, games become trivial and boring. Numerical health representations, whilst not exactly realistic, provide at least a basic modelling of the implications of "stupid" gameplay. It can even enhance some experiences; getting past a particularly tough level on low health, or taking out an entire team on 1HP in CS (lol CS), can be rewarding and enjoyable. In single player games one can never be sure where the next health "powerup" will be or when quite to use a potion/topup in a boss battle, so (on first playthrough, at the least) it also adds a level of unpredictability and tension to the game.

One of my most enjoyable gaming moments occurred in Resident Evil 4 when, upon first meeting a "super" Los Plagas and not being quite sure what to make of it, the thing suddenly ripped my head off from a five metre range. The sheer randomness and vulnerability was nothing I'd ever really experienced before in a video game, and it obviously fundamentally affected the way I played the rest of the game.


Recharging health bars do nothing but encourage "camping" (lol CS), desperate dashes to the next bit of cover, long-range spamming and a general lack of prolonged near-death scenarios (case in point, the gameplay featured in the Gears of War video review from GameSpot). It's hardly any different to unlimited ammo; even fewer resources to manage... although simplistic gameplay is obviously one of the game's most prominent features.

do you really want a realistic game that would see your character die every time he got shot ?

Perhaps you've heard of Super Mario Bros.?

2 reasons to buy an xbox now, dead rising and gears of war. oh and cod3 though i dont really know much about cod3 yet to be excited about it.

from most things ive read *which infact hasnt been alot* gears of war seems to be gorey and fun, which is a win win combination, aka dead rising and such games like it.

and im suprised no one has mentioned the 4 play co-op, which is something every crys for yet hardly praises when it gets delivered.

ok, had never heard of it before

went and read up

looks cool

i had a bash with a 360 last nite and was moderately impressed
and that was just with ping pong and the topspin2 demo

with a killer app, i mite get it rather than the wii

Early next year Lost Planet is coming out, that is going to be another 'must-buy'. They had a demo out around E3 this year and it was great, I think I read somewhere that a multiplayer demo just came out as well...So yeah, X360 is FINALLY getting some decent games, only took a year :)

mediocre story... so-so weapons (with a few exceptions)... simplistic and extremely repetitive gameplay... strange/poor difficulty balancing

Evinco, keep the emo in your pants for a second and look past your bias. You complain of mediocre story, simplistic and repetitive gameplay and then proclaim super mario brothers as the way a game should be done. I guess I looked past it's deep and meaningful narrative the 6th time I completed a castle only to find the princess was in another one.

And what's wrong with the textures in that screenshot? sure that shot itself isn't great but I'm sure I could take a s***ty screenshot in even the most brilliant game, the amount of texture stretching in the GTA series is amazing.

With your vast knowledge you'd swear you own the game and have finished it, because you seem to enjoy bashing it when numerous magazines and websites have given it rave reviews. Break down any game and it's mechanics will read as repetitive, because they are, it's whether they're fun that makes the difference.

I for one wasn't really looking forward to gears of war, but I'm now interested after the reviews, but I won't be buying it until after I've tried it for myself.

Emo.. what?


Where did I claim that Super Mario Bros. was the bee's knees of video gaming? I'm simply saying that it's (reasonably unanimously) considered a "classic" game, yet it features the same mechanic stinky deems "too realistic" to provide a fun experience - you get hit once by an enemy, and you die.

You complain of...

I wasn't complaining about any of those aspects - they're evident in many games which I've still managed to enjoy. I'm complaining about the reviewers mentioning them fairly pointedly in their reviews yet giving the game sensational ratings. I don't feel that any of the reviews I've seen have even bothered to justify their scores outside of the repeated "wow, this is a true next gen game" - purely because the graphics are "next-gen".

I haven't even called Gears of War a bad game. I'm vaguely interested in it; not that I own an X360, but my housemate does and I'm tempted to split it with him so we can play it through co-operatively.

You've completely missed my point - I'm criticising games journalism, as it's (with very few exceptions) a very shallow and immature field, easily swayed by game-developer-propagated hype and rarely examining the motivation to play video games. Instead it almost always just focuses on the technical aspects of games - and by that I don't mean just video and audio.

also lol

the amount of texture stretching in the GTA series is amazing.

Bringing any of the GTA series into a (section of the) debate regarding graphics is mind-boggling.

Again, that screenshot isn't going to prevent me from investigating the game. I'll admit that quite a lot of footage/many screenshots look very pretty. But I hardly feel it's leaps and bounds of visuals in all other games - as some journalists have claimed.

Interesting to see that metacritic's user score is at 86 - indicative of a good game with some mentionable flaws - while the media's mean review score stands at 94.

Again, that screenshot isn't going to prevent me from investigating the game. I'll admit that quite a lot of footage/many screenshots look very pretty. But I hardly feel it's leaps and bounds of visuals in all other games - as some journalists have claimed.

I find it interesting that you're quite happy to bag out what game journalists have been saying about the graphics when they've actually seen and played the game...yet you're basing your opinion on s***ty mcs*** screenshots and videos.

ive found with every 360 title that what i see in screenshots differs completely to what i actually play with even in hd. and by that i mean it looks better when im actually playing it, the screens are generally stills, and the stills look like s***, when the games are moving and you can see all the pretty effects working at once you really appreciate how good the gfxs are. infact ill even go as far as saying that most xbox360 titles ive played look better then most current pc titles, take the ea current run of sports games, for example nhl07 on xbox looks s***loads better then nhl07 on pc, the same goes for the fifa games.

and on a side note, i read quite a few different xbox magazines, and they all may focus on different things in game, point out its flaws, praise its good points, or just briefly go over the ins and outs, they all give the games roughly the same score. its obvious different writers are going to say different things, it just points out that what they are trying to say may come across as negitive criticism but really doesnt make it a bad game at all. which is what s***s me about most journalist and reviewers, but thats a different story, what i was going to get at a long way but ended up deciding not to bother putting so much effort into is that you cant judge it untill you play it. unless its a the ps3 and you want to jump on the ps3 hating bandwagon.

/me masterbates furiously over gears! stop and pop baby, stop and pop

THE COLE TRAIN IS A SMOOTH RIDE BABY

You could well be right groydis - unfortunately I don't have the luxury of an HDTV, spending most of my cash on computers :P. I don't think I've been that hard on the graphics anyway (well I don't intend to) - just slower to leap to ultimatums about the state of all gaming visuals. And although I have yet to see it in its full glory, I think its still possible to form a loose opinion about a game's graphics from image and video previews and reviews.

One thing I feel worthy of mention though is that I haven't yet watched an X360 game being played (probably ~15 games, including most of the big titles) without occasional-to-regular slowdown. This leaves me pretty unimpressed; aside from the
"argh-inefficient-programming" aspect, I just wonder how well things could possibly run at 720p when they get so choppy at SDTV resolution.

You could well be right groydis - unfortunately I don't have the luxury of an HDTV, spending most of my cash on computers :P. I don't think I've been that hard on the graphics anyway (well I don't intend to) - just slower to leap to ultimatums about the state of all gaming visuals. And although I have yet to see it in its full glory, I think its still possible to form a loose opinion about a game's graphics from image and video previews and reviews.

One thing I feel worthy of mention though is that I haven't yet watched an X360 game being played (probably ~15 games, including most of the big titles) without occasional-to-regular slowdown. This leaves me pretty unimpressed; aside from the
"argh-inefficient-programming" aspect, I just wonder how well things could possibly run at 720p when they get so choppy at SDTV resolution.

basically the point is that NO-BODY agrees with you so you are wrong. Just get back into a hole. People are not allowed an opinion if they are 100% totally incorrect.

Yes you seem to just be bashing for bashing sake....and I should know I used to be a diehard Nintendo fanboy until I realised that I just like games - regardless of what platform they were on.

evinco, if you want to save a bit of money and have HD soultion, get one of these http://hardware.teamxbox.com/reviews/xbox-360/40/Xbox-360-VGA-HD-AV-Cable/p1/ You can get it from JB Hi Fi at kedron for 49.95. All you do is tell your 360 to set to the highest res that you CRT/LCD can do and wola HD!

I picked up one of these http://www.sony.com.au/homecinema/catalog/product.jsp?categoryId=23775# on saturday at target for $1799 (in the latest catalogue) f***ing sweet, 720p, 42 inch, the 360 looks great, as does the PC and divx/dvds I'd recommend one of these (granted I've only had it a day) to anyone looking for HD on a budget.

In the latest PC Powerplay they were raving about the new 50" Sony. Very cheap at about $5,000.

Hehe

hay guys, if you are intrested, my GT is thraxjor, when this baby hits on the 23rd I am more than eger to get some co-op action, judge by the huge GoW megathread on the SA forums, this thing is insanely fun both DM and Co-op, the only gripe people are having is the clan service is yet to be implemented.

*raises hand*

sorry qmass, but i have to agree with evinco here and i think you've misunderstood his point.

he's not saying, just as i am not, that gears of war is crap. it has pretty gfx n some at least enjoyable core gameplay, the point here is why is it getting "z0mg best game ever" reviews when every review i've read has stated that it has no story and makes no attempt at it even, that you tend to lean to one weapon for the entire game.

This rising trend it seems in making the player invincible in all fps games is becoming annoying, prey sucked major ass purely because after about 20mins u realised it didnt matter what u did, there was NO way to die, admittedly the system in gears of war, as with that of cod2 n 3 is not quite that bad but its still something to be looked down upon, because it forces a pop out who cares tatic, it puts u at a disadvantage for using any strategy besides IGI stalone style.

all that being said, that doesnt mean this game cant kick ass n be fun for ages, it just surely shouldnt be getting scores like 9.6 n 9.8 when it has faults as obvious as these

m435tr0 is evinco

How about we just play the f***ing game and then decide if it's good or not.
Also why does a FPS need to have a storyline for it to be awesome?

Some people are silly...

I need a GE007 clone. Many short selectable missions, no health, groin-shot animations. Why haven't they made that style again?

thrax I'll be looking for you mate.

:P

m435tr0, evinco and anyone else that has a gripe with the hype, i recommend you read kreese's review on GameArena (just put it up earlier today). I feel that it sums up my opinion on it pretty well, in that this is the kind of game that just doesnt need the extra substance to be a perfect 10.

It's a solid shooter and it does it f***ing well.

I agree that gears is worth all the hype it has been given, also is it lunchtime yet

having almost completed the single player of gears of war i can say it has a storyline, bits are vague, they dont fill you in on certain things, for example the main character *the person you play as* gets called a traitor and they mention him being on trial, but they never say what for, you also dont exactly know who the locust are attacking, but really all these points are irrelevant, you have a job todo and you are set off todo it, and the storyline is designed so that you dont exactly know what your doing untill you do it/have done it.

i enjoyed the storyline and it keep me wet, im just hoping there is a sequal or a prequal that explains the universe abit more.

Where did you get it from :/