There are games that come along once in a generation that really makes you sit up and take notice. Since the launch of the Xbox 360 a year ago, Gears of War has always been touted as being the reason to buy the console.

From next-generation graphics, to the cover system that prevents the "run and gun" method of playing a shooter, Gears was always going to be the next big thing. So does it live up to the hype?

Well I can safely say that for me it does. From the single player campaign (which I have only played a couple of hours of so far) to the awe-inspiring multiplayer, I'd say this is a must-buy title as far as I'm concerned.

Emergence Day here in Europe was last Friday (17 November) and my Collector's Edition duly landed on my doormat. Appearing in a well-crafted tin with embossed artwork the Collector's Edition includes a bonus DVD and hardback art book. It's a very nice package and stands out in terms of what Collector's Editions actually offer.

It wasn't until Friday evening that I managed to load up the game and take a look. From the moment the game starts (even with the initial menus) it looks fantastic. The images, which form the menus and backgrounds, are crystal clear and look fantastic.

And so onto the game itself: I opted to play through the campaign on the Casual setting and am very glad I have. Even at this "beginner" level, the game can prove to be quite a challenge. I'm not even to the end of Act 1 yet (the game is split into five acts, each of which contain a number of chapters) and already I've done my fair share of dying.

However, with checkpoints after each major set piece, you don't tend to lose a lot of game time when you die at this level. The story has been criticised for being weak, however I've not seen any evidence of that and I can feel myself being drawn in. The advantage of the casual level is that it allows me to progress through the game at a reasonable pace, and this helps keep the game feeling fresh as you move from one set piece to the next.

The suspense is very well handled and the ambient sounds are all a part of this. The change in music as you move into an area of conflict also help to get the heart racing and there are several times when my heart has been pounding as I move from room to room trying to clear a building.

However, for heart-pounding moments you really need to play the online multiplayer. Saturday evening saw my first foray in the world of Gears of War multiplayer games along with some friends. And what an experience it was!

From the team based Execution (where you can keep yourself alive by rhythmically pressing the A button when you get shot), through Warzone (where once you're dead you're dead), to protect the leader in Assassination (where the goal is to kill the opposite team's leader) there is plenty of variety. The multiplayer maps themselves are just sublime. Most of the maps start the two teams at opposite ends of the map with a natural bottleneck in the centre. This leads to some quite intense battles taking place.