Metareview: Gears of War
The day has finally come, and embargoed Gears of War reviews are pouring onto the internet. In case you were wondering, Gears of War is apparently the best damned thing since the discovery of fire. The reviews so far are universally good, with an average rating of 95 on Metacritic.
1UP (10/10) "...you really need to play this visual and visceral masterpiece for yourself. When you do, you'll find plenty of minor problems, just like I did...but you can always find reasons not to give a game a 10."
Gamespot (9.6/10) "Gears of War is a game that capitalizes on all of the promises made by the next generation of gaming. It looks more than a few steps beyond what consoles have been doing to this point, and the gameplay is supremely fulfilling from start to finish in all of its various modes. While there have certainly been plenty of similar shooters before it, the game's great weapons, amazing graphics, and absolutely thrilling action make it stand out from the pack in a big, big way."
IGN (9.4/10) "Even with the minor faults, Gears of War is easily a contender for game of the year. The graphics, sound and presentation are nearly unparalleled. The gameplay is phenomenal and you'd be hard pressed to find a more complete package. Gears of War has shown what Xbox 360 is capable of. Now it remains to be seen what other developers can do to keep up."
It should be noted that all of these reviews point to problems in the game. Most notably, they mention flawed enemy and squad AI, occasionally cumbersome controls, and very shallow multiplayer options, and yet, these universally acknowledged flaws are not enough to dip the score below 90%. We try to keep effusive, glowing praise out of our metareviews, but this game looks like it's shaping up to be the killer app it was always meant to be. Anyone lucky enough to get their copy yet? Tell us what you think.
