Title: Gears of War (Windows) Platform: PC Publisher:Microsoft MSRP:$49.99 Editor: Nicholas 'bapenguin' Puleo
Gears of War for Windows
It's hard to believe the Gears of War franchise is only a year old. When the game launched last year on the Xbox 360 it immediately took the crown as the game to have. The graphics were top notch, the gameplay was solid, and the co-op experience was the best to date. A year later Microsoft and Epic have brought the game to the PC crowd, and it seems to have survived the translation.
The PC version of Gears of War supports Microsoft's Games for Windows Live platform. Unfortunately, much like Halo 2 for Vista, it doesn't support any cross platform play to extend the community. This is also the first title that allows for GFWL on XP machines. This was a huge complaint with the original GFWL titles as a lot of gamers didn't want to install Vista. The game does support DX10, though I can't really tell the difference between that and the DX9 mode visually. The real draw of the new version of Gears is the new chapters of content. Many noticed that there wasn't exactly a smooth transition between Act IV and Act V, and these chapters help fill that void.
It's been quite some time since I've played any Gears, in fact it's probably been a good 8 or 9 months since I touched single player. I forgot just how beautiful the game looks and how well it plays. Running the game at 1600x1200 with all the details on high shows off some really impressive visuals, and while the core of the game looks the same as its 360 counterpart, it looks to have a few extra layers of polish and smoothness on the PC.
Of course with a PC version comes the mouse and keyboard controls, and while you can still plug in your 360 controller to play, the KB/M do feel completely natural. There is a trade off of course, and the lack of rumble with a KB/M setup is definitley missed, especially in such a visceral game. I thought that perhaps the KB/M would make the game too easy, but I still found myself restarting at those difficult parts over and over. The only advantage I really found with the KB/M was that it was easier to hit moving targets while sniping.
Gears of War for Windows is virtually identical from the 360 version up until Act V. The beginning of the Act starts with Marcus and the crew needing to restore power to a bridge to get the APC across to the train. There's some great dialog here that really fills in some plot holes, and of course the grand finale is a battle with the big ass Brumback monster. The new content should take you a little under 2 hours to complete, and I dare say its some of the most polished and well designed levels in the game.
Gears of War for windows does have some technical problems. There are some frame rate jitters and drops here and there, it's not consistent and it's not often, but it is annoying. I also hit a few glitches with audio being dropped with dialog, and I hit a spot or two where I got stuck in walls. All of these things were pretty minor though, and didn't necessarily take away from the gameplay experience.
The multiplayer now has an additional game mode, as well as 3 news maps and a level editor. The Games for Windows Live stuff sort of complicates things. With player matches, ranked matches, and a server browser it can kind of be confusing to figure out just where to start in multiplayer. On top of all that, only certain sections are available depending upon your subscription level. You can play direct matches, co-op, and server browsing matches with any Silver or Gold account. Matchmaking and ranked matches can only be played with Gold accounts though. Because of this all multiplayer achievements can be earned in non ranked player matches. I know this was a big complaint on 360 version, and it really brings in to question just what the hell is going on with GFWL, especially in the face of what Valve has done with the Steam Community.
Technical glitches aside, this really feels like a complete Gears of War game. The additional chapters really fit well into the overall story, and almost feel like they were cut from the original game due to time constraints. It's an absolute crime that these won't be available to 360 owners as DLC. This was my 4th time through the game now and it's still a solid and fun experience. And while I think some core PC Gamers will complain the game is too "console-y", this is one title that shouldn't be missed.
Score
4 out of 5 Evil Eyes
The Good
+ Beautiful Graphics
+ KB/M Controls feel natural
+ Level Editor
+ Awesome new content
The Bad
- Some Technical Issues
The Ugly
- New content won't be available to 360 owners!
Hmmm, the new content will not be available for 360, huh? Looks like Epic is still pissed at MS over that have-to-charge incident. My biggest questions is the GFWL platform; I know this title is solid, but if the multiplayer experience is hindered in any way by stupid gold/silver restrictions, this will die a quick death.
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Sadly, the game runs alot better under Direct X 9 compared to Direct X 10. The only benefits from Direct X 10 are 4 X AA. That's it. And for some reason, enabling that cripples the framerate in alot of ways on many cards.
There's alot of articles about it. It won't affect my rig granted, but still, many of the places bench testing this game are confused as to why the game takes such a huge performance hit when enabling direct X 10 for what is only 4 x AA. Nothing else is discernibly different or boosted graphics wise.
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I hope they eventually work something out for us 360 owners to get the "extra"(cut from the game because they were "rushed"[wanted something to drive PC sales]) content, it will be bullshit if we NEVER get that chapter.
I'll pick this up in the bargain bin. That or you know gogamer will run a crazy discount on it soon. PC games always drop prices fast. The sales just ae not there for the majority of the games.
I just don't think there's much of an audience for this. PC sales are lower than console anyway, but most PC gamers are going to assume this game is a "consolized" version and they're going to pass on it.
Hardcore PC gamers can be a very pretentious lot. I know. I used to be one.
I only want to battle a Brumak. I played the whole game wanting to battle Brumaks and Corpsers, and only had one mediocre battle with a corpser.
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Very telling that you were having issues on a rig that powerful man. Very telling indeed. I assume you had Direct X 10 enabled?
I did. The thing is, the hiccups were very infrequent and for the most part the game silky smooth. My guess is it just couldn't smoothly load some of the content.
I only want to battle a Brumak. I played the whole game wanting to battle Brumaks and Corpsers, and only had one mediocre battle with a corpser.
Mediocre doesn't adequately describe the injustice that was the corpser battle. That was honestly the least interesting, easiest, and shortest boss battle of any game I've played.
Nice, thanks for the review bapenguin! I've definitely been contemplating picking this up as I haven't had a nice SP game on PC for a while, and the co-op almost makes this a surefire purchase.
Though, I was in a little GFWL beta and having to install that extra little interface / run things through it is the one thing that turns me off. Is it that much of a nuisance or is it by and large worth it?
Of course I could totally be off base and maybe it's somehow integrated into GoW or completely changed since I had a go with it.
I did. The thing is, the hiccups were very infrequent and for the most part the game silky smooth. My guess is it just couldn't smoothly load some of the content.
Perhaps, that very well could be the issue. I assume noting that rig, you probably either have RAID or SATA 3/gbs. Regardless, there are noted puzzled issues about the whole Direct X 10 thing. I honestly, the basis of the theory is that if you can jack up the rez beyond 1600ish, just turn DX 10 off, as it is pretty much useless for anything other then AA. Which at higher resolutions is not needed whatsoever.
I am hoping that they patch this. Though it is doubtful as the game seems to work "AS IS". Several sites have reported this already. To some its a very meh issue. But to others its very damning.
I mean, the whole point of DX 10 is that it is supposed to bring us a whole new realm of gaming through Vista. (Microsofts words in a nutshell, not mine. Much to my hysterical laughter)
We aren't seeing any of these benefits, and haven't yet. I mean, the port of Halo 2 was very lackluster, and we know for a fact it doesn't need to require DX 10.
It looks like MS is kinda doing the same thing here. Though I am not entirely sure why. If 4X AA is all we get, why bother with DX 10 at all?
__________________ Currently playing: Zack & Wiki, No More Heroes
Final Fantasy XI: Level 71 Mithran Dark Knight, Sky Access Attained
Mediocre doesn't adequately describe the injustice that was the corpser battle. That was honestly the least interesting, easiest, and shortest boss battle of any game I've played.
QFT
So you can get achievements on this right? Do these show up as different than the ones you get for the 360 version? Do they pop up as two separate games or do they pool all the achievements together? Yes I'm a whore.
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Originally Posted by TrackZero
Ugh, that's such a pet peeve of mine. "People in quotes must be respected and right, because a quote of someone who's dead or famous must mean something." - Some other guy getting quoted.o.O
I just don't think there's much of an audience for this. PC sales are lower than console anyway, but most PC gamers are going to assume this game is a "consolized" version and they're going to pass on it.
Hardcore PC gamers can be a very pretentious lot. I know. I used to be one.
And now you're just a regular asshole?
I'm a PC gamer (even though I like consoles a lot, too), and I WILL play this. Of course there is an audience for this new version of the game.
BTW, the reason I have no 360 is because it's too damn expensive where I live. It's cheaper to have a decent pc. Not to mention that my pc doesn't break a lot either.
So you can get achievements on this right? Do these show up as different than the ones you get for the 360 version? Do they pop up as two separate games or do they pool all the achievements together? Yes I'm a whore.
They are two different games, and in fact there is a new achievement for the new content. It's listed in your profile as Gears of War (Windows).
They are two different games, and in fact there is a new achievement for the new content. It's listed in your profile as Gears of War (Windows).
Thanks bap. I think I am sold on this one.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TrackZero
Ugh, that's such a pet peeve of mine. "People in quotes must be respected and right, because a quote of someone who's dead or famous must mean something." - Some other guy getting quoted.o.O
