When we look into the evolution, it is natural for most to forget the progenitor that perhaps emancipated our senses to a new degree of freedom and acceptance. Epic Games brought forward such a movement in the world of video games, just as in the year 2001 a tiny game known as Grand Theft Auto III, brought forward a revolution that would change the nature of game design.
Gears of War coherently brought forward a title that rode on testosterone and violence and changed the way we perceive an action game. Sure Resident Evil 4 did the aiming system and kill.switch had already embarked on the cover system a generation ago (though technically the cover mechanism was first seen in Winback on the N64). But the original Gears of War meshed all those things beautifully together to give us our first taste of what this generation would be embracing. The game not only spewed out a standard aiming/cover mechanic, it brought forward our first glimpse to the “scenario” of a war and the bleak future we would cohabit, even Microsoft’s biggest franchise “Halo” seems too bright for a setting of war. Epic’s original uber shooter, still in a lot of ways, stands strong in the face of its competition. We recently ran through a lot of other similar shooter based games last year and the year before and found all to be lacking a certain charm and charisma we had found while enjoying the original Gears. There was just a momentum of fun that was in the game which honestly is hard to find in every other so called “inspired” game, and we would include the sequel in this list as well. Gears of War beings with a dark tone that we found absent in most games, the sense of desperation was imminent in almost all of its levels, something needed to be accomplished and through the arena surrounding the player, the developers managed to convey this sense of urgency.
The universe in the original Gears was destroyed, there was nothing “beautiful” about it. The world had been forcibly annihilated. Through the caverns and desolated towns, there lay an entrenched a story of a form of a totalitarian government emerging only to be confronted by what was called the insidious “Locust horde”. Looked upon in isolation, these guys rivaled every inch of Sauron’s army, they were mean ruthless beasts who would devour on what was considered civilized and leave a wake of destruction in their path. Electricity was perhaps the most important invention in human history and here we were in the so called “future,” trying to live out live savages without our most important resource and trying to achieve a sense of coherence in our lives through war. This theme was not only well elaborated in color palette of the game but also within the dark grey character that was crafted out in Marcus Fenix. He was no hero who was running through the war to earn a medal, he held a deep dark secret which had been silenced for such a long time that he seemed least bothered for what he was surrounded by. The only thing he was consciously aware of throughout the game was to slice a monstrosity that bred a secret that he had carried heavily in his heart. His lancer would do the talking and killing mercilessly would perhaps make his universe a little less gray.
The gameplay mechanics were top notch. This was one of the first action games in the generation that engaged the player at multiple levels. There was not a second during the game where one was idly wandering around a giant cavern aimlessly waiting to meet a certain queen, there were bodies to be killed and killed timely. One small mistake while reloading would result in extermination. Bullets and debris would fly across the arena at regular two minute intervals. We would be nervous to let go of the fire trigger lest some odd-worldly creature would pouch upon us and the delight of pressing down the B button for the well timed chainsaw execution was absolutely priceless. Every individual has their set of noteworthy moments in the games that they play. Gears of War had tons, be it the first appearance of General Raam or the encounter with the Bezerker, there was an area in the game which required one to push a burning car through a dimly lit area whist trying fend off a Locust attack from every angle possible. This resulted in a frantic situation that required the player to maintain a fine balance between teamwork and battle for survival. The game never let the player an opportunity to complain about a lack of experience. It was constantly changing environments and subsequently moving forward its dystopian narrative that showcased the resilience of human nature. The best part of the immersion in Gears was with the squad, each individual in the squad had a story to tell, they were no low grunts fighting for survival, and they were a family who were trying to protect their homes. Each member of the Delta had a distinct character that balanced them all out, if Fenix was the silent anti-hero, we had the Cole train’s remarks bundled with crass humor that would bring a hearty laugh in the most grim situations. There was a sense of brotherhood in all of them who were perhaps destined to look after each other.
As time elapsed, we had such rapt command of the game that we repressed the fact that there ever existed a shoddy sequel to the game which proved not only to disembark on the structure which had made this war experience so rich in emotions and action. Instead it gave us a different war which touched upon the same notion of mankind’s greed, lust for power and the theme that the enemy/evil lay within and it was only a misconception that external forces had brought upon this terrible fate upon us (Yawn!). The idea that the original brought is perhaps dead and with every passing sequel one can expect to see and feel less and less entrenched in the system of random behavior doled out for the purpose of sequels. With 2010 bringing more than any gamer can chew this game will probably rest in the archives of many as they prepare their descent into the world of Sparta and Reach.