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Gears 5

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/04/2019

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Steam Deck Unsupported, Steam Deck Verification, Xbox One. Tagged: gears 5, gears of war, marcus fenix, Microsoft, online multiplayer, pc, the coalition, third person shooter, tps, unreal engine, windows, xbox, xbox one. Leave a comment

Publisher: Xbox Game Studios

Developer: The Coalition

Release Date: 09/06/2019

Also Available On

Gears of War has always held a special place in my heart as it was the first game to introduce me to “next-generation” graphics. You know, shaders, real-time lighting, high-resolution textures, ambient occlusion, all that jazz. It was the first Xbox 360 game I ever played and I will never forget the first time playing through that game. It’s still one of the best shooters ever made and nothing will change that. After Gears of War 4, my hopes for the series died a bit as it had a mediocre campaign and average multiplayer. Gears 5, however, takes the series a step further by adding open-world elements and a rock-solid campaign.

I didn’t mind the new additions to Gears 4 they were just not implemented well enough. The new weapons were lackluster, the older weapons didn’t pack the punch they used to before, and the level design was bland and stale. I got tired of playing in the same areas throughout the whole game and the entire base building or defense gameplay was just boring to me. Gears 5 strips the base defense gameplay and tunes everything up several notches and makes what was introduced in Gears 4 really good now. The weapons pack a serious punch, the game is more challenging, the waves of enemies are more balanced and the entire ebb and flow of the game is like the older ones. I was glued to the game through the entire campaign and didn’t want to stop. Gone are the boring Deebee robots (they’re back as Swarm now but only sparsely), and a larger variety of Locust Swarm.

Gears 5 starts out like any other Gears game with story elements, it picks up right where Gears 4 left off, and a linear bombastic level full of scripted events. This is where you get to learn about Jack who is actually a usable partner now with various abilities that you can upgrade. Things like cloaking, shield, armor, he can zap people, and various other abilities. Upgrades are found throughout the game and I only found a few of Jack’s abilities useful, mainly the armor and shield. Cloaking is useless as the game tries to force stealth for the first time and it just does not work at all. Sneaking around knifing Locust is fine and all but their patrol patterns are poorly laid out and it almost seems random. Never do all the patrols perfectly line up for multiple stealth takedowns. This leads to the horrific AI in both the enemies and partners. When you’re down but not out it can take forever to be revived even if someone is right next to you. I died several times because an AI couldn’t figure out how to climb a ladder as well. Enemy AI will also sometimes get stuck behind walls or just freeze up all together causing objectives to not clear and having to hunt down where someone got stuck.

It’s not all bad though as stealth sections only popped up a few times and AI rarely messed up, but when it did it was the most inconvenient time. Thankfully the new open-world idea works well, but it’s not what you think. You drive a wind-powered Skiff sled that pulls you around on two separate “open” maps. These maps are just a huge excuse to get upgrades for Jack. Outside of going back and forth to main objectives you can stop by and locate 1 out of 3 of something for Jack. These are just various enemy arenas and don’t take long to complete. They’re fun as they vary and are challenging, but unnecessary. It’s just an excuse to extend game time. I also don’t understand the complaint about needing to fast travel between areas. Riding the Skiff is actually fun and there are some scripted sequences that take place out here between main missions. The maps are not that big and the two environments are snow and desert. They’re fun, but I wouldn’t miss them if they disappeared in the next game.

That leaves just the campaign itself with well-paced gameplay throughout and there never was a dull moment. Enemies are better spaced out and the addition of armored enemies adds to the challenge as well as Scions and Wardens which are the big baddie additions of Locust similar to the larger enemies from the Swarm we got in Gears 4. There are plenty of scripted events and sadly the story doesn’t really evolve during these open-world scenes as the game is sandwiched between two large traditionally linear chapters and these are more enjoyable than the middle of the game. The story ends on a cliffhanger again and there are just a few more answers that are given in the traditional Gears way.

That finally leaves multiplayer which is bigger and better than ever. With the original modes tweaked and fine-tuned such as Horde and Versus, the new Escape mode sees you escaping from the center of a Swarm nest with two other partners and it’s incredibly hard. You start out with a Snub and must fight through waves as you make your way out. It feels more like a reverse Horde mode. In Horde mode, you also play a base defense game like in Gears 4 but Engineers play larger roles than before. It’s all been tweaked and I liked it for a while, but I’ve never been the biggest fan of Gears multiplayer. That’s part of why I’m not going super in-depth into it. There are more customization features than ever before with skins and characters and of course microtransactions, but it’s all cosmetic. You also get ability cards and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t really care for.

The game looks fantastic and much better than Gears 4 did. The character models are amazing, fantastic animations and voice acting, and everything just looks so great and it runs well…well at least it did after the first patch. I had constant stuttering and audio glitches for about a week, but it seems fine now. The game is well optimized for PCs with tons of graphics options and support for ultrawide screens. The game can run on a vast variety of older hardware which is also a plus.

Overall, Gears 5 is what Gears of War 4 should have been. Fantastically balanced gameplay, well-paced, and an open-world concept that seems to be done just right and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The enemies are fun, the new tweaks and additions are a blast, and multiplayer is larger than ever. I just wish they would concentrate on more core Gears gameplay and level design and story rather than trying bold new ideas. This isn’t the series that really needs that.

Top 10 Games of All Time

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 08/02/2012

Posted in: Blogs. Tagged: 2k games, 989 studios, ac2, assassin, assassin's creed, assassin's creed 2, assassin's creed ii, bethesda, big daddy, bioshock, blog, cars, david jaffe, eidetic, elder scrolls, epic games, ezio, fatality, fighter, fighting, gabriel logan, games of all time, gears of war, god of war, gran turismo, greek, guitar, guitar hero, harmonix, irrational, kratos, marcus fenix, Microsoft, mortal kombat, next-generation, oblivion, playstation, PlayStation 2, polyphony, ps1, ps2, psone, racer, racing, rhythm, rpg, Sega, sega genesis, shooter, simulator, sonic, sonic the hedgehog, Sony, spy, stealth, syphon filter, top 10, top ten, ubisoft, unreal, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

There are hundreds of thousands of games out there, but only a few hundred are considered masterpieces or classics. These are my personal top ten. I know it’s to everyone’s taste, but you can’t deny that these games are great. I have played hundreds in my 20 years of gaming, I have played through three generations of consoles, so at least I can speak on experience. I will try to be non-biased and even address some flaws in the games I pick because I have no problem with that. Flaws are flaws, and not a single game is perfect. There are more that are my favorite, but I would have to make a top 50 list.

10.Sonic the Hedgehog 2

This was one of the first games I had ever played at 2 years old. It helped introduce me to the gaming world and I just fell in love with the fast speed and intense gameplay. StH2 had some of the best level designs out of any game in the series and one of the best soundtracks to date. I remember never being able to actually beat the game because it was too long and too hard. I could never get past the factory level with all the grey orbs floating around Robotnik. I had to beat it many years later using an emulator and quick saves, but I still enjoyed it every time I played the game. I think I actually ruined my cartridge from taking it in and out of the Genesis so many times.

In fact, I even remember my first Genesis for Christmas of 1992. The copy of StH2 it came with kept freezing up in the system, so my mom took it back to Circuit City to exchange it. I remember throwing a tantrum because no matter how many times I blew the cartridge it kept freezing after pressing Start. The series has fallen off the deep end in the past ten years, but nothing can ruin the memories of this classic gem.

9. Gran Turismo

This game changed everything for me when it came to cars. My very first racing simulator actually made me think about every turn and what car I had to choose. I always played arcade racers before because consoles didn’t really have the power yet for realistic physics and graphics. I actually learned some things from this game like how to recognize cars on the street, and basic ways on how cars operate. I was sitting in front of my TV at 8 years old tuning my car and adjusting things like camber angle, toe angle, stabilizers, sway bars and gear ratios like a champ. I then followed the series all the way to Gran Turismo 5 today and have witnessed one of the greatest evolutions in gaming history.

8. BioShock

I remember the skepticism from PC gamers because of the greatness and expectations from System Shock 2. I didn’t have a PC capable of playing any major games throughout my early gaming years. My computer didn’t even run Flash very well, so I solely relied on consoles. BioShock’s narrative and atmosphere made a huge impact on me and the gaming industry as a whole. The first time seeing a Big Daddy and Little Sister was just shocking. You felt trapped in this underwater utopia, but you were also memorized by how it could have been accomplished in such an early time period. The game just worked so well and felt different from the standard military shooters at the time. BioShock 2 was too similar to the first game and just didn’t make the same impact.

7. Assassin’s Creed II

The second game was so much better than the first because it created a whole new world and a much more likable character Ezio is one of gaming’s most familiar faces and the game itself was revolutionary for its time. A huge open world in a historically accurate Rome, Italy was just unheard of. There was so much attention to detail that you had to sit back and just take it all in. The characters were likable, and the story was memorable with a deep and tangled political plot. The game was also violent with a fighting system never before seen in an action/adventure game. This game was almost perfect in so many ways that the rest of the games have yet to capture.

6. Syphon Filter

Syphon Filter was criticized a lot for ripping off Metal Gear Solid plot-wise. The game had unique characters, a memorable plot, and some of the best-level designs ever seen for its time. The stealth was perfectly executed and had some memorable moments. I have played this game numerous times and was actually my first-ever third-person shooter. I remember how confusing the game was because I didn’t understand how shooters worked. I was so used to platformers, adventure games, and puzzle games. After playing this game I felt like I was part of the grown-up crowd. The other two games on the PS1 were just as good but not as memorable as the first game. This has grown to be one of my favorite games of all time just due to the wonderful memories I have had.

I used to beat the game once a week using the one-shot-kill code then again without it. I memorized every enemy, and how to get every kill without being seen in stealth missions. I even went as far as replaying certain dialog scenes because they were just that cool. Syphon Filter is a mostly underappreciated game because of the lack of releases the series has seen. The last game came out three years ago on the PSP, but thankfully Syphon Filter 4 was announced for PS3.

5. God of War

God of War changed my way of thinking about action/adventure games. I remember driving to K-Mart to buy my copy after reading reviews and hearing the game blow up on forums. I didn’t really expect much other than Greek mythology-themed Devil May Cry. I was dead wrong. The game had one of the most thrilling and epic combat systems ever created. I never really even knew what quick time events were until God of War made them cool and did them right. It added a whole new layer of depth and connection to the combat that has never really been done before. The huge boss fights, gorgeous (at the time) visuals, and unabashed nudity and sexuality that few games dare tread. God of War still impresses to this day and with each iteration in the now 5 game series. Kratos is also one of the most memorable and recognizable characters to date. Make sure to pick up God of War Collection and God of War Origins Collection if you missed out on those four awesome games while waiting for God of War: Ascension.

4.Gears of War

Gears of War changed my mind on shooters the way God of War did for action games. The gameplay was just so different from your standard shooter. It was heavy-hitting, atmospheric, and featured some of the most memorable characters and stories to date. For a futuristic military shooter that’s a huge achievement. The weapons were memorable, it was perfectly balanced, and everything had a dark crunchy hit to it. The game was nearly perfect, and the graphics were out of this world at the time. I remember this being the first next-generation game I ever played when I got my first Xbox 360 for Christmas of 2006. Each of the three games in the series is amazing, but nothing compares to when I first played the first game. It wowed me like no other, and Gears of War is one of the few games I have played multiple times.

3.Guitar Hero

Sure this series along with Rock Band single-handedly killed the band instrument rhythm genre, but nothing compares to the first Guitar Hero. This game is the reason why I currently own and play the guitar today. Pulling off complicated riffs, solos, and chords with the then high-tech guitar controller was like magic. I spent dozen upon dozens of hours replaying songs and getting high scores. Sure it cost a lot, but it was well worth it to me. While the songs weren’t originals they were masterfully re-created and the guitar controller responded perfectly. The games later in the series lost sight of the value of mastering songs and just start pumping them out uncontrollably after GH3. This game redefined the rhythm genre and took the entire world by storm. Most people nowadays never played the first game, and they were missing out on a lot.

2.The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

This was the first game I spent over 100 hours on. The world was so rich and fantastic that I felt like I was playing in one of my favorite fantasy novels. The lore, characters, quests, and loot were just so addictive and engrossing I couldn’t put it down. I remember one play session going on for 12 hours when no other game has kept me in front of the TV for that long. The expansion pack was even more amazing, and the graphics blew me away. Of course, there were a lot of technical problems, and the PC version was better, but I sure had a ton of fun with this game. Skyrim is just as good, but it didn’t wow me like Oblivion did because this was my first Elder Scrolls game. To be honest I picked this up for $60 expecting not to like it much and I was dead wrong. Anyone who has just played Skyrim needs to go back and play this. It revolutionized the action RPG genre in my eyes and a lot of games have tried to copy it to this day.

1.Mortal Kombat

Yes, I am talking about the 1992 Sega Genesis/Arcade classic. This is my favorite video game series of all time and this is because it was the first video game I ever played. I remember my cousin babysitting me and seeing him control these characters on-screen at 2 years old. I remember seeing him pull off Scorpion’s mask and burn a character. It was something I saw before, and soon enough I was mastering the controls and beating him at 2 years old. I never knew how to pull off a fatality until years later when the internet became more mainstream, but I loved beating this game constantly. To date, I own almost every game in the series on several different platforms and have pre-ordered every recent game since 2004’s Deception. I don’t think I have played a game more than Mortal Kombat, but I still enjoy Japanese fighters. I find Mortal Kombat more accessible with more interesting characters and a story because they aren’t cliché and generic like most Japanese fighters tend to feel. There’s a whole giant story behind each and every character and they are all unique.

Gears of War – 5 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 02/05/2012

Posted in: Editor's Choice, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Xbox 360. Tagged: action, game of the year, games for windows, gears of war, live, marcus fenix, Microsoft, pc, shooter, unreal. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Epic Games

Release Date: 11/7/2007

Also Available On

I still remember Gears of War when I got my Xbox 360 on Christmas of 2006. It changed the way I thought about games forever and is why it is the only game I ever gave a 10. The game was perfect at the time and I couldn’t really find anything wrong with it. I also remember the game being almost a complete failure early in development and seeing glimpses of shoddy gameplay footage on TV during E3 2004. The classic hit comes to PC with some enhancements that are great for newcomers and enough for fans to come back for another run (or 3).

I’ll review this all over again for people who are unfamiliar (PC-only gamers). You play as Marcus Fenix in Delta Squad who are sent on a mission to deliver a light mass bomb deep under the planet Sera to destroy the Locust horde that is trying to kill all of humanity. This sounds like a typical sci-fi B grade, but this is one of my favorite gaming stories of all time because of the characters, sheer terror, and hopelessness humans go through to rid of this vicious species. Gears of War may seem like a manly shooter on the outside, but inside there is a deep and complex story (just pick up the four books and you will truly see) that tests and trains every human to fight for survival.

Despite the excellent story and memorable characters, there is a great underlying gameplay system here. Slamming against cover, shooting awesome weapons, and killing interesting enemies that were never seen before is quite awesome. Locust isn’t just bugs or aliens, but they feel like entities that you should run away from and have nightmares about. It takes half a clip to take these guys down and they shoot back with good AI (excellent at the time, good for today’s standards). During the time the AI was unrivaled because the Locust would flank you and act smart instead of just standing there getting a shot at you.

The weapons are memorable such as the infamous Lancer with the chainsaw bayonet. Slicing through an enemy and watching blood splatter on the screen is just awesome and never gets old (even if you played the last two Gears). The Longshot is a powerful bolt-action sniper rifle, the Hammerburst is the Locust assault rifle, the Boomshot, Snub pistol, Boltok revolver, and Gnasher shotgun are some of the greatest weapons ever made and they are infamous for a reason. The enemies vary greatly and some can’t even be taken down with guns. The Hammer of Dawn is used to take down the Berserkers who run at you and must be dodged during three different scenes in the game. The Corpsers are huge spider-like enemies that can only be taken down in the same manner and jam communications. The list goes on, but each enemy has to be taken on in completely different ways and most shooters can’t do that.

The campaign is well-paced with lots of different scenarios such as avoiding the deadly Kryll at night while shooting tanks to stay in the light. There are turret sections, but sadly no helicopter sections which this game is dying for. There are epic boss fights, but overall the campaign is perfectly paced with varied environments from outdoors to indoors. All of this combined equals one sweet package that 90% of shooters can’t accomplish in one game.

The multiplayer is fun if this is your thing. Gears of War multiplayer is a lot different from most because it’s tactical and close quarters. 6-on-6 is tough and you will die quickly against vets because the game requires a lot of rolling, dodging, and quick trigger fingers, but the modes are fun like Execution and Wingman. Sadly, not many people play Gears 1 online anymore so you will rarely find people playing. There is even a co-op mode for the campaign which is a blast, but good luck getting anyone to play online.

For the PC we get updated visuals with DirectX 10 lighting, some higher resolution textures, and the best part, 5 all-new chapters that were cut from the Xbox 360 version. If you did play that version remember after leaving the Fenix mansion a Brumak comes after you and you jump into an APC and escape? Stuff happened after that and between arriving at the train station. Delta Squad gets stuck at a lifted bridge and needs to find a way to power it so they can head to the train platform. This is also where you take on that Brumak that followed you and is probably the best 5 chapters in the whole game. I’m sad Xbox 360 owners had to miss out on this epic piece of Gears, but PC gamers will be pleased. There are also three additional COG tags so watch out if you want those achievements!

Gears of War is worth a re-purchase for vets or for newcomers because this is a piece of video game history that can’t be missed by any shooter fan. Why do I not give this a 10 then? The game has shown its age like the dated graphics. Sure they still look great, but the lower resolution textures, weaker lighting effects, and slightly sloppy animations show compared to the new Gears games. Most people will overlook this, but the game also does feel repetitive after a while no matter how you slice it. You’re just running around shooting Grubs right? I feel it needed some more vehicle sections, and well…it was all fixed in Gears 2 and 3, but that’s beside the point.

Gears of War Duology

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 01/31/2010

Posted in: Book Reviews. Tagged: aspho fields, book, duology, epic games, fantasy, gears of war, jacinto's remnant, marcus fenix, novel, video game. 12 Comments

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Author: Karen Traviss

Release Date: 10/28/2008-7/28/2009

Pages: Various

Recommended Audience: Young Adult

Video game novels are something of a hobby of mine because it lets you delve deeper into characters’ minds and is more detailed, story-wise than any game could be. This goes for a lot of game franchises as well as movie-based books: You just can’t get any more detailed than written words. This is also true for the gritty war that has torn Gears of War. The books capture the personalities of the characters perfectly, so they feel like they’re straight from the game.

The first book, Aspho Fields, has two plot points: The Pendulum Wars before E-Day and just after the first game. The main focus is on Marcus and Dom growing up together as kids and going to school together as well as following Dom’s family. The Pendulum Wars describes the Delta squad and the COG before the Locust were even a threat. The Pendulum Wars were an indie group of scientists who were creating the Hammer of Dawn and the COG wanted it. Aspho Fields is a particular battle where Marcus and Dom must choose life or death for friends. There are a few new characters introduced and one main character is known as Bernie Mataki. I have a feeling she was meant to be in the game but never made it in.

Jacinto’s Remnant has two plot points as well, but the secondary is fairly weak and just filler. Remnant also has less action than the first book but has a more interesting plot. The book follows right after the sinking of Jacinto and the COG trying to gather up the last of humanity on a remote island away from the mainland. They have to deal with Stranded, as well as a group of rebels who just don’t want to cooperate with COG laws. The secondary plot is a bit of filler during the Hammer of Dawn strike that wiped out 90% of Sera in a desperate attempt to destroy the Locust even before the Light Mass Bombing.

The first book has more background on Delta squad and the second book has more foresight on what happened after Jacinto. Each book serves its purpose, but Remnant doesn’t really have much action in it at all. It’s not boring, but if you want nonstop action then Aspho Fields is your deal. In fact, you hardly hear about Locusts after about 25% through Jacinto’s Remnant. The book gives fans of the game some insight on the characters as well as some background on all the little things in Gears that the game never explained to talked about.

Overall, the Gears of War duo-logy is great for fans and fans only. For everyone waiting for Gears of War 3, these books should tide you over for over 600 pages of greatness. The books could have been better, but you can’t really complain from a series that doesn’t have much back story besides nonstop in-your-face interactive action.

Gears of War 2

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/05/2009

Posted in: Editor's Choice, Microsoft Consoles, Xbox 360. Tagged: epic games, gears of war 2, locust, marcus fenix, Microsoft, multiplayer, online, shooter, unreal, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Epic

Release Date: 11/7/2008

Available Exclusively On

I have been hyped about GoW2 ever since I finished the first game and with info slowly leaking out of Epic’s mouth and I just couldn’t help myself from getting all giddy and mushy inside. Ok enough, seriously, Gears 2 is just amazing on so many levels with tons of new multiplayer modes, weapons, enemies, environments, etc. The game is just a whole new beast and old Gears fans will NOT be disappointed. First, let’s start off with the campaign, do you remember Gears one being huge and sprawling with wide vistas and beautiful architecture? Ok well, that was nothing compared to Gears 2. You really do have WIDE OPEN vistas that stretch as far as the eye can see and they are absolutely breathtaking, especially on an HDTV. The graphics are still what we’ve grown to love, but with better lighting, higher resolutions, more objects on-screen and everything is just crunchier, and more big, beautiful, and hectic than ever before.

Speaking of crunching the game’s audio has been notched up and everything sounds more gruesome and brutal than ever before. Headshots pop and sound and feel more satisfying than before, curb-stomping an enemy looks more painful (and sounds it!), sawing Locust in half with the Lancer feels more powerful and just looks, feels, and sounds nastier. The whole game is like this and it feels like a true sequel instead of just Gear of War 1.5. All of your core elements are here like the great cover system, the Roadie Run (TM!!), the voice actors, characters, Locust, and story are all set in place but you are a bigger part of the whole thing and you feel more like a participant than a spectator. The story is more involved in which the Light Mass bombing failed and the Locust are coming back with their full force and Delta Squad is sent in to rip out the heart…three of them! Anyways, Dom is trying to find his wife along the way, and a few new characters are introduced but aren’t fully developed since they well…don’t make many appearances like Dizzy, Tai, Chairman Prescott, and a certain dad who will go unnamed…the story goes even further with 41 collectibles you can find that you can read and help evolve the back story some more. Gone are the COG tags people now you gotta find papers and more of them too.

Getting back to the campaign’s weapons there are about double the amount with a whole new weapon class: Heavy Weapons. You still have the Lancer, Boltok pistol, Shotgun, Longshot, Boomshot, Snub you know all those…but now you have better, crunchier, and kick BUUUTT weapons like the Hammerburst (gone is that dinky little Locust assault rifle), Gorgon Pistol (a semi-auto three-round burst Locust pistol), the Mulcher (a heavy weapons KICK @$$ mini-gun that you CRANK!), a Mortar (yes like a WWII mortar only better without all those Krauts), the Scorcher (a flamethrower that you can blind fire!), Ink Grenades (go figure), and a whole bunch others. These weapons feel powerful, sound powerful, and they are all useful and so useful in fact it’ll be hard to choose which gun you want to use half the time! Now this time around you also get to use more “vehicles” like the Centaur which is a monster truck tank…a Reaver, a Brumak, you know just cool “vehicles” like that. Yes, they all feel powerful and are just amazing to “drive”.

The campaign together is just more riveting and more cinematic thanks to the HUGE open vistas, massive hordes of enemies, and the campaign is just perfectly built. The only problem is that it’s about the same length as the original and there’s room for a sequel. I just really can’t express how great it is to feel upfront in Gears and really drive things home with all of the awesome weapons, graphics, and audio. Of course, I have to mention the new awesome Locust like the Tickers (little ticking and crawling “bombs”), the Kantus (these guys summon Tickers, and can resurrect downed Locust), Brumaks (only seen in GoW1 for the PC and at the end of the fight at Fenix’s mansion), cooler looking Reavers, a whole “Boomer Class” like Butcher Boomers, Maulers (which have spiked shields you can carry!), Grinders (which carry Mulchers and yell “GRIND!”), Flamer Boomers etc. The whole old crew of enemies is here with great new ones and they are all fun to kill and the game is perfectly balanced.

Speaking of balanced let’s move on to multiplayer. Ah yes, good ‘ol Gears multiplayer is back with a ton of new modes along with the old ones. First off you all remember Annex, Execution, Warzone, etc. Now here are the REAL fun modes that make me really get into Gears multiplayer. Horde. Just one word: Horde. You and four people are pitted against 50 waves of increasingly more difficult enemy AI. Yes, this is addictive and super fun, and you need a couple of hours on your hands if you and your teammates are really good. Getting through all 50 waves can take a good couple of hours, but boy isn’t it fun. Just imagine one guy sawing a Drone in half while the guy next to him is popping off headshots at Wretches and Boomers. You are at the enemy spawn point sticking grenades on walls and that last quiet guy is just hiding in the middle somewhere scorching Locust. Ah, is joyous and wonderful at best and you are sure to come back until you clear all 50 waves (I could only get to 36).

Now there is Wingman which is 5 teams of 2 against each other and you can only kill with executions (more on those later), or one-shot kills like a grenade or something. This is extremely adrenaline-inducing since all you can rely on is your buddy and if he dies it’s just you. Meatflag is very interesting since it utilizes GoW2‘s new “meat shield” system where you can press A near a downed enemy (even in single-player!) and use them as a “human shield” as most of you would know. Other executions include the classic curb stomp, but if you press Y you can do “long executions” with other weapons like a golf club swing with the Longshot, or just use your fists and beat the guy up, but back to the multiplayer mode. In Meatflag it’s like capture the flag, but you have to bring the Locust back to your base so he’s a moving, shooting, ugly flag. This is super fun and an original twist on Capture the Flag. There are a few other modes, but these three are the 3 “blue light” modes that really stand out and are super addictive. If you haven’t noticed the player count has gone up by 2 so now there are 10 people playing instead of 8. This makes things more hectic and fun as you can tell. Thankfully the online mode plays perfectly with no server issues and there are a ton of new maps to play that are very well laid out and you’ll grow to love.

Before I close this out I have to mention the new achievement system. For once a game updates you on your achievements in-game while you’re playing without you having to pause and go into the guide. Let’s say you’re aiming for the new Seriously 2.0 achievement *cough* it’s oh nothing only 100,000 kills *cough* so every 100 kills you get a widget will pop out at the side and update you on this. Try the new Said the Spider to the Fly (kill 10 enemies will grenade wall tags) and every 5 kills you’ll get updated. This is very helpful and is just a reminder of why you should keep playing this wonderful game. I love this new achievement system and more developers (multi-platform or otherwise!) need to take note of this. This takes full advantage of the system so please learn! Now this game isn’t perfect.

There are a few flaws such as we’ve seen the core of all of this before (GoW1 I gave a perfect 10), but there are still a few bugs yet they were tweaked like the cover system. Turn the left stick a certain way and a little sketch will show up on-screen telling you what Marcus will do. While this is fine and all it’s just not perfect. There are times when you’ll want Marcus to roll a certain way, but he’ll snap against a wall. Yes, they let you change the buttons for this, but it’s still annoying. Multiplayer can be a biatch for people who aren’t very good at this. Gears veterans will smear you on the floor within seconds and will make a lot of newcomers hate multiplayer. There are mainly glitches that are only noticeable on Insane difficulties like collision issues that let enemies shoot through walls that will kill you in one hit etc. These are super minor, but we STILL have seen all of this before two years ago and I just can’t wait for Gears of War 3.