One of the nice things about having my sister living in my house is that — once again — I have a partner when I just feel like playing a video-game that focuses on shooting the hell out of things.
Lately, that game has been Gears of War for my Xbox 360.
Having made my way through both Halo games for the first generation Xbox, I thought that I would come into this game with a fairly good idea of how things would go.
Basically: I’d scream like a girl and shoot things as I ran about and ducked for cover.
That’s pretty much how I made my way through single-player on both Halos. Now, when it came to the 2-player experience on those games, it was pretty much more of the same, really. My sister and I would run about and scream and curse at each other like drunken sailors on leave.
Eventually, we’d get to the point where we’d turn on each other during the game. If one of us were out of ammo, we’d shoot the other and steal said ammo. Or, if there were a level where driving was involved, we’d rush to the vehicle and drive off and leave the other person behind.
Okay, admit it: driving away while leaving my sister running behind the tank/car/whatever — and watching her as she gives pursuit while firing a machine gun fiercely in my general direction - gives you the giggles too.
It’s okay to laugh: she’s a teenager.
Thinking of all of that, I found myself purchasing Gears of War. When we actually fired it up and began to play, however, all thoughts of how we acted as we played Halo vanished.
While there are some similarities between the two games, Gears is very much a unique creature. Sure you are basically doing a “one man must take on the entire evil disgusting alien-like race” kind of deal, but these creatures are smarter than the average bear, bubba.
The AI for the “Locust” in Gears is just phenomenal. As you ramp up the difficulty, they ramp up their smarts. By the time you are playing on “Insane” they’re basically using solid flanking maneuvers and showing much initiative and dogged determination than any other video-game creatures I’ve ever had the misfortune of being annihilated by.
What makes it all so damned addictive, however, is the fact that when more than one person fires up this game and decides to play together it just shines!
Gone is the occasional boredom you might find in a Halo game, that would prompt you to consider leaving your partner behind as you giggle and drive over the landscape. Oh no, bubba, you don’t have time for that.
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