For any of you that read my “Halo: Overrated?” article, this is pretty much the same, only based on Gears of War. Let me say this first, Gears of War is not a good game. Infact, I found it pretty enjoyable. It definitely had some good features, but parts of I were pretty annoying too.
One of these annoying parts of the game was sprinting. I'm all for sprinting limits, having to slow down after a while. What I don't like is when you can't see where you're running, because of the bad camera angle and the fact that your character blocks your vision, and the fact that you can barely turn when you're sprinting. That's particularly infuriating when you're being chased by a Berserker and you're trying to turn through a door, but you run into the wall and take cover as a result of the controls.
That leads me into another problem, the controls. The controls aren't particularly bad generally, and I really like the active reloading. I'm not a big fan of the time taken to aim and throw a grenade. But it's terrible the way the “A” button works. You're trying to sprint, and you end up taking cover, or you want to take cover and you end up sprinting into the open. Then, you also have to take cover before you can jump over an obstacle. When the hell does that happen in real life? If there is a log in front of you, do you jump over it, or do you crouch behind it and then amble over it? The fact is, plain and simple, that they've tried to pack too many features onto a controller with too few buttons. Also, why do you see the same clip every single time you use the chainsaw on your gun? It's cool the first time, but it just wastes time when you start using the chainsaw more often.
Finally, the storyline is a tad predictable and very short. Each of the acts can be finished in less than 30 minutes if you're good at moving through TPS (Third Person Shooter) games quickly and efficiently. With just 5 acts, that's only 2 hours 30 minutes of play. Seeing as the game has little replay value, which equates to $20-50 per hour depending on where you live in the world.
As the story is also predictable, it detracts from what is fundamentally a very good storyline. If it was less predictable, the game would be far more absorbing. It's pretty obvious that you're going to end up fighting the Locust leader, which does make the game less enjoyable. Why not omit him from the death of Kim scene, and then it would be a far greater surprise. It's also predictable that when you fight him, he will not die, and that the bombs won't destroy all of the Locust. Think about it, if the Locust all died, there couldn't be a sequel. What developer would turn down such a payday?
