gears of war info from game informer

[tomdom69]

GEARS OF WAR has a 10 page spread...

it was created from the ground up for the xbox 360

it takes place on sera a planet much like earth... humans live there but don't go into space yet. the conflict starts when a new energy source is discovered. it's called imulsion.... all the different governments want it and go to war with each other (the pendulum wars) then the LOCUST HORDE jions the battle, they live in the planets crust. they can come out of the ground at any location....... the first day of their attack is so brutal it goes down in history as E-Day. emergence day....... most humans were wiped out except for one plateau...jacinto... the only place they can't come through the ground.

players will be....... marcus fenix a disgraced soldier released from milatary prison in order to help with the war. as leader of delta company COG milatary squad teammates include dominic"the joker" , "the dispatcher" anya and a robot Jack, who is a builderbot that can hack computers, cut through locks, heal people and more......

COG squads have advanced armaments, vehicles and are referred to as GEARS. on the other hand the locust horde carry guns but their tactics are more organic using gigantic monsters as weapons rather than vehicles. the COG has the advantage during the day and in the air, while the locusts have the advantage on the ground and at night.

the environment were once beautiful, but are now ravaged from war........

cliffy b enlisted the help of eric nylund, writer of the Halo novels for help.

the brumak is the big monster(several stories tall) w/the large gun on his back. it also has a bunch of eyes. rode by smaller member of the horde. these and other beast are the hordes vehicles

the locusts are the basic guys you've seen and are some of the smaller enimies you'll face.

the berserker is 9 ft tall that cant be scratched by any weapon you carry the first time you see him.(the creature that busts through the wall in the trailer)

flying creatures called kryll who are sensitive to light.


as marcus you can issue your squad simple commands.

You arsonal will include: rifles, pistols and shotguns... switch with you D-pad. all you weapons will be visable on your person.

the COG vehicles are based in reality

expect to see armored personnel carriers, attack helicoppters, etc....
but no drop ships or sci-fi vehicles.


the game will feature alot of frantic gun based action. this is by no means "UNREAL"with new characters and scenery. segments of the game between 10 and 20 minutes in length will amaze the player so much that the controller will be glued to your hand. there will be vehiclar segments, weapon turret moments, stealthier sections and many more. there will be plenty of straight up gunplay in between the really cool parts......

cliffy b likes to refer to the game as second person, third person game that controls like a FPS.

GI has said after getting some face time w/the game "the second person description fits well" they also go on to say "although Marcus is on the screen it play like a typical FPS. the controls are tight and responsive. the camera is just over the shoulder" (think RE4).

dont think you can run through gunns blazing and expect to live. the combat revolves around the concept of taking cover. every area is littered w/ thing to hide behind. if you walk up to it marcus will automaticly use it for cover.he can pop up from behind it for a clear shot or fire blindly without putting himself in harms way. he can climb over short barriers and roll from one piece of cover to the next. alot of these cover areas are fully destructible. you wont be sniping locusts from across an open field(they'll never be more than a few yards away) they can burrow up from anywhere. your squad mated will take cover as well but so will the enemy....

fire fights will be intensely cinematic. while you popping up from behind cover the enemy will be weaving in and out of ruined building trying to flank you. GI played through a few combat scenarios and it quickly became clear how imprtant cover is t survival. bullets bounce off chunks of stone and explotions ripple across the battle field.

because the combat is upclose and perrsonal there will be times that Marcus goes hand to hand with a locust soldier. instead of a one button melee attack, getting close to an enemy will trigger a mini game that if done right will result in a KILL, you may shove a gernade into his moth or snap his neck, either way it will be far more brutal and disturbing than a simple punch.


Epic wants this game to be smoother and easier to use than other tactical shooters(yeah right) and is aiming at having only 3 difernt comands. didnt say what they were.

in Co-Op mode a second player assumes the role of Dominic"the joker" Co-Op is not a secondary mode rebuilt for 2 players (like Doom3). its the reg campaign without changes. however the addition of the 2nd player controller adds new element to the story mode. many sctions of the game will stress co-op between the 2 players. as in abunch of flying creatures called kryll who are sensitive to light and wont attack those standing in the light.

you may need need more than one person to move things. in Co-Op you wont always stay together. Co_Op will be available in split screen and Xbox live.if sombody on you frinds list sees you playing they can messege yopu and jump right in to the action. Co-Op is currently planned for 2 players although 4 player is being considered. competitive Multiplayer will also be included but details are still under wraps

there will be "water cooler" moments throughout the game. each section has a unique action section marked by a yellow sticker.

it goes on to say... blah blah blah.. thanks to my buddy joel for bringing this magazine over and typing that info while his wife was calling and complaining.

[muchuukuri]

Hmm... the back story sounds kinda dumb... too generic, though I'm sure the game will be fun. Sounds like there's room for lots of different gameplay aspects.

Also, if the enemies are sensitive to light why don't they use sunlight lamps? One thing I often find in Sci-fi stuff is that there are often CURRENTLY existing exploitable solutions to the oppositions' weaknesses, which in turn are never used. That's why I think research is so critical to a good sci-fi story... you can't have obvious loose plot holes.

Moving on... I know what 1st and 3rd person perspective is... but what's 2nd person??

The mini-game part sounds like GoW... should be very cool.

Thanks for the info.

[Cedric]

Umm 2nd persn would be you watching while the computer plays the game? I dunno...

[Dorfdadbanned]

Umm 2nd persn would be you watching while the computer plays the game? I dunno...

I believe what they are refering to as 2nd person is the zoomed in 3rd person view ala Resident Evil 4 over the shoulder cam view.


Dorfdad

[Chaotic_King]

I wish that this was coming to the PS3. Sounds amazing.

[tomdom69]

I wish that this was coming to the PS3. Sounds amazing.

MAYBE you should think about buying an Xbox 360.

[Makaveli_786]

Well apart from the obvious flaws(which most games have anyway) it sounds like a sweet title, I'll see how it goes when it comes out but I think this might be a good game.

[Damnit]

Just me thinking....Has it(Gears of War) been declared an exclusive title for Microsoft only. If so, any mention of a permanent exclusivity or until PS3 comes out(:P). Anyone know about this with a viable source?

[Makaveli_786]

Most likely will be a exclusive game, it's been built ground up for Xbox 360 anyway the differences in next-gen consoles are supposed to be vast I doubt they'd make much of an effort for a port.

[Damnit]

Mak, you really gimme chills about them graphic comments sometimes! No, in a positive sense I mean. Phew, just imagining if the leap will be that big makes me so excited I don't have words for it. But then I start taking deep breaths to calm my senses over it and keep saying, its only hours away, only some hours. Man, I'd be jumping all over my place if PS3 is 2X that of its competitors.

[Makaveli_786]

LOL, hows it hours away I thought we're going to see it tommorow, unless they give us some details of the conference thing but I thought that was behind closed doors, how long before the closed doors conference anyway?

[Chaotic_King]

I wish that this was coming to the PS3. Sounds amazing.

MAYBE you should think about buying an Xbox 360.

Don't want to waste too much money.

It's exclusive, because it's being published by Microsoft. (Microsoft has a publishing deal with Epic for ~5 titles, and this is one of them.)

[Epsilon-Zero]

its not that the graphics will be so different its how the games are made on the PS3 compared to the xbox360 that makes porting almost impossible.

programming for the cell is very very different compared to programing for computers or anything today.

you basicly have to start from scratch to get the games to run on the PS3 right now. I dont think there is currently any tools to easily port an xbox360 based game to a PS3 or vice versa and nor do i expect any in the near future.