Last night was huge for co-op gaming. It took us over two months and three different sessions, but Sween and I finally completed the third and final game in the Gears of War trilogy. We played the first two early in the summer of '09, just a few months before the blog was formed, so I guess this is the blog's first entry on the series. And since the games are essentially no different from one another, I'll just spend a little bit of time talking about Gears of War in general.
It's casual gaming for me, and nothing more. Never once have I dabbled in any online play, nor have I ever had any interest in doing so. The fact that I've played all three games in a split-screen fashion with Sweeney means the two of us are usually chatting over the movie clips that serve to link the various firefights together into a coherent story, so my attachment to these beefed up next-gen super-soldiers and their post-apocalyptic plight has never really been, uh, strong. In fact, in three games now and probably close to a hundred "levels," I can only distinctly remember about a dozen segments. Yeah, that's right - the vast bulk of this series has left me with no lasting takeaway whatsoever.
That said, they're not bad games. I know every variety of game play in shooters has been done to death at this point, but it's still nice to mix it up with a little third-person action now and again. Is the majority of the game spent gluing yourself to chest-high walls and popping out to fire off a volley of bullets at various grotesqueries? You betcha. Does it all blend together in a giant mishmash of shaky cameras, profanities, and scorched earth landscapes? Absolutely. But for the most part, all three games were far more fun than frustrating, and sometimes that's good enough for a little casual co-op gaming.
If I've got one specific criticism of the series in general, it's with regard to the tone and tenor of the games. The bread and butter here is the over-the-top machismo of the heroes. I mean look at the cover art. Every one of these guys has the muscle mass of the Incredible Hulk. Their guns are mounted not with bayonets, but with chainsaws. What I want from these games is just an absurd willingness to "go there," and this was best exemplified by an event that takes place in the first level of Gears of War 3, in which "Cole Train," a former football star, has to carry a bomb across a football field in order to blow up some enemies. He's literally playing football on a battlefield. And you better believe there's a touchdown dance at the end of it all! Oh yeah, and the guy is voiced by Terry Tate. I want this form Gears of War. Gritty seething and swearing, furrowed brows, and maybe even some blatant chauvinism. Too often though, Gears attempts some emotional beats as if it thinks it can pull these off. "My wife just died. Let me grieve." "My best friend just died. Let me grieve." "My father just died. let me grieve." Stop crying! There are more more sports-with-guns to be played! There are plenty of video games out there that can deal with emotional depth. Gears of War is not one of them, and no one should try to make it one.
It's casual gaming for me, and nothing more. Never once have I dabbled in any online play, nor have I ever had any interest in doing so. The fact that I've played all three games in a split-screen fashion with Sweeney means the two of us are usually chatting over the movie clips that serve to link the various firefights together into a coherent story, so my attachment to these beefed up next-gen super-soldiers and their post-apocalyptic plight has never really been, uh, strong. In fact, in three games now and probably close to a hundred "levels," I can only distinctly remember about a dozen segments. Yeah, that's right - the vast bulk of this series has left me with no lasting takeaway whatsoever.
That said, they're not bad games. I know every variety of game play in shooters has been done to death at this point, but it's still nice to mix it up with a little third-person action now and again. Is the majority of the game spent gluing yourself to chest-high walls and popping out to fire off a volley of bullets at various grotesqueries? You betcha. Does it all blend together in a giant mishmash of shaky cameras, profanities, and scorched earth landscapes? Absolutely. But for the most part, all three games were far more fun than frustrating, and sometimes that's good enough for a little casual co-op gaming.
If I've got one specific criticism of the series in general, it's with regard to the tone and tenor of the games. The bread and butter here is the over-the-top machismo of the heroes. I mean look at the cover art. Every one of these guys has the muscle mass of the Incredible Hulk. Their guns are mounted not with bayonets, but with chainsaws. What I want from these games is just an absurd willingness to "go there," and this was best exemplified by an event that takes place in the first level of Gears of War 3, in which "Cole Train," a former football star, has to carry a bomb across a football field in order to blow up some enemies. He's literally playing football on a battlefield. And you better believe there's a touchdown dance at the end of it all! Oh yeah, and the guy is voiced by Terry Tate. I want this form Gears of War. Gritty seething and swearing, furrowed brows, and maybe even some blatant chauvinism. Too often though, Gears attempts some emotional beats as if it thinks it can pull these off. "My wife just died. Let me grieve." "My best friend just died. Let me grieve." "My father just died. let me grieve." Stop crying! There are more more sports-with-guns to be played! There are plenty of video games out there that can deal with emotional depth. Gears of War is not one of them, and no one should try to make it one.
Will Sween and I try our hand some day at the most recent release in the franchise, the prequel, Judgment? Probably. But not yet. Not yet.
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