Gears of War Gold - For REAL

[Lazybones]

Uh.  So make up sports?

No, how about finding better ways to make the controls work, without adding so many buttons it is impossible to master.
Or how about making defense mean something in a hockey game instead of focusing completely on offense?

[Melbosa]

Or how about making defense mean something in a hockey game instead of focusing completely on offense?

Actually in the last 3 years of both ESPN (now 2K6/7) and EA games, a lot of defensive moves have been added, and simple to perform.  Diving, kneeling, swinging the stick, calling defensive plays on the fly, exit zone plays performed by AI and shorthanded zone coverage being performed well.  So I would say that has been a change as you requested.

[Shayne]

The last time EA innovated in Madden was the introduction of the QB cone, a feature I loved and added a great deal of game play, my brother and I are pretty damn good at Madden and this was a feature that really allowed us to play on a higher level.  However the community at large hated and preferred the any QB can pass to any WR no matter where they are system of before.  EA dropped the feature.

Defense in Madden has a lot of depth (more so on previous gen then next gen).

Sports are really a tough thing to innovate past what we have now in terms of game play I think.  A few features can be added hear and there but the game play has pretty much been figured out over the last 10 years.

[Brendan]

might as well drop in on this.

Been playing a bunch of GoW when I'm not working, and holy mother f***ing @%&#!!! It is freakin awesome. I absolutely love the game.

Also been trying some stuff with the only features. The versus stuff is pretty cool, but I love co-op. Not only do you unlock the co-op specific achievements, you also unlock the campaign achievements. If you pass act one of Hardcore in co-op, it also unlocks the supposed "single player" campaign Act I achievement. So you can just go through the entire game on co-op. Pretty damn cool.

[Shayne]

Assuming that 360friendspot's LiveEye is rather accurate, it took me 10 hours 59 minutes to complete GoW on Hardcore.  My brother and I teamed up for Act 4 and 5, and I did 1-3 solo.

*** SPOILER ***
Having completed GoW I can't help but say I'm a little disappointed and that the game comes off as a tech demo.  Shows off a ton of engine, the game play is some of the best I have ever done, the sound is incredible, the cut scenes are first rate, but now i find myself wishing a story did exist   The narrator even gives an almost "to be continued" type message at the end of the final cut scene but I find it hard to care (no attachment to characters or even the quest to save the world).

Overall, it was worth the purchase, and I cant wait for my brother to catch up to me so we can go through it again on Insane difficulty and grab the last of the single player achievements along the way.

[Melbosa]

Man I don't know how to kill the last dude on my own.  DOM just dies, so I don't have a distraction.  Man I think the only way to do it is with a partner.  Freakin hard by myself, and I'm playing on Casual Diff.

Oh well.  I should really take a break anyway.

[Melbosa]

BTW the theme is free to download today only and so is the pic if you guys want them.

[Melbosa]

BTW the theme is free to download today only and so is the pic if you guys want them.

Sorry I got this to you guys too late.  Here is the press release for yesterday: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/g/gearsofwar/20061106-emergenceday.htm

[Shayne]

The final guy on Hardcore was pretty simple.  I had a Torque Bow and 4 grenades, so i just shot him with my machine gun, when the birds flew away i shot the Torque Bow, and when he made his way close enough i unloaded all my grenades at his feet and the game was done.  Rather anti-climatic.

[TheDruid]

So what now? Insane?

Would you say its better to go co-op over single?

[Melbosa]

So what now? Insane?

Would you say its better to go co-op over single?

It is definitely easier on Co-op than single player.  Can cover more story faster.  I like anything co-op and usually say co-op is always better.

[Melbosa]

The final guy on Hardcore was pretty simple.  I had a Torque Bow and 4 grenades, so i just shot him with my machine gun, when the birds flew away i shot the Torque Bow, and when he made his way close enough i unloaded all my grenades at his feet and the game was done.  Rather anti-climatic.

Really?  Hasn't been a successful tactic for me.  Although I might have missed with all my grenades.  Will have to see if I can pull this off tonight.  I've died like 50 times already trying to be that SOB.

[Shayne]

Co-Op in Gears is a lot easier.  My brother and I die a couple times on an area, but we can communicate ways to do it differently and approach the situation more strategically where as a BOT will normally run in and die over and over again.

I will be going through it on Insane with my brother once he finishes off the campaign in Hardcore.  Its going to be rough regardless, in a few areas we died 6 or 7 times in Hardcore and barely made it by, I think it will only be more frustrating on a harder setting.

Co-Op is better for sure.

[Cova]

This game is all about the co-op - the single-player is fun, but having a real person you can strategize with and stuff is where the game turns great.  I've now completed it solo on casual difficulty (yes, Raam is a bitch), and completed up to the end of act 3 on hardcore in co-op mode.  Though part of the reason would be that I've been through it once already, we moved through co-op hardcore a lot faster than I did casual solo.  I'm looking forward to finishing hardcore and starting in on insane on co-op - hardcore is still too easy, except the occasional area of frustratingly difficult.

And ya, after the final boss during the little cut-scene it does have the makings of a sequel - I hope it comes a lot faster than the original game, which they were already starting to hype up before the 360 launch a year ago.  If we're lucky they can keep the engine almost un-changed and just add a bunch more chapters of content.  The only changes I'd like to see are a few minor additions to the controls - a way to prevent taking cover while running (eg. hold X while holding A to run past boxes / through doors), and a way to change what side of cover you are on (eg. move from behind to beside a crate as enemies flank you).

[Shayne]

I doubt Epic will follow this game up.  If we do get a sequel, it will be farmed out to a 3rd party.  Epic will be far to busy over the next 18 months working on other stuff (PS3, PC)