17.11. räjähtää - oletko valmis?

On pelejä joiden kohdalla hype kasvaa liki ennennäkemättömiin mittoihin. Gears of War on ehdottomasti tällainen peli. Itse olen odottanut peliä kun kuuta nousevaa siitä asti, kun näin siitä ensimmäisä kuvia noin vuosi sitten - tuolloin minulla ei vielä edes ollut 360:stä. Valtavasti hypetetyn pelin kohdalla mielen sopukoita sotkee omalla kohdallani liki aina pelko siitä, että peli ei millään tavalla onnistuisi lunastamaan lupauksiaan saati vastaamaan odotuksiin.

Nyt netistä alkaa löytyä ensimmäisiä arvosteluita tästä 17.11. julkaistavasta pelistä ja arvosteluiden perusteella voin nukkua yöni rauhassa; tämä on peli jonka takia kannattaa omistaa Xbox 360. Ohessa muutamia lainauksia, mitä pelistä on arvosteluissa kirjoitettu:

1up.com 10/10
"I can go on and on, but 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. And while I was playing Gears of War, all I kept running into was reasons to give it a 10."



Playmagazine.com 10/10
"A true blockbuster is universal—no matter your preference in genre, for a game to achieve legendary status it must transcend genres and appeal to everybody. You can now add Gears of War to that illustrious and short list; Microsoft’s second brand worthy of its own day. Gears of War is truly a breakthrough: The absolute finest game of its kind. The bar has definitely been raised. What Halo did for first-person shooters, Gears does for third person—it’s that good."

Games radar 10/10
"We were wary of Gears of War and its hype-fueled debut, but actually playing this magnum opus has shoved all doubts from our extremely critical minds. If you own a 360, you owe it to yourself to buy this game (and an Xbox Live account... and broadband internet service if you don't already have either of those). If you like guns at all, you owe it to yourself to buy a 360 just for Gears of War - you will not be the least bit sorry."



Gamespy 5/5
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Gears of War is the best-looking game I have ever played. It's a truly stunning achievement in terms of visuals, presentation and sound. Never before have I been given so much to look and marvel at while actually playing an adrenalized shooter. It's a fantastic achievement, and it's also easily the best reason to own an Xbox 360 to date. Now that that's out of the way, I also need to hammer home that while the single-player game is a good amount of fun, Gears' real hook is the superb multiplayer game."

GameBrink 97/100
"Then there’s the graphics. These graphics are so incredible that I honestly do not think that anything else on the market or coming to market this year will eclipse them. From the face and armor details to the debris to the Locusts everything looks amazing. In motion things come together in a magical way that is rarely seen in a game. The continuity of design along with the high polygon count and high resolution textures makes Gears what I think to be the most beautiful game ever made."



Team Xbox 9.6/10
"Gears of War features a two-player co-op mode that can be enjoyed on the same machine, via system link, or over Xbox Live. It works extremely well, and it actually allows player to experience parts of the game that they might not ordinarily be able to see. In the single-player game, there are a number of moments in which the player will have to decide which path they want to take. While playing co-op, one player will head one way while the other will go off in the other direction.

If you're a graphics whore, you absolutely, positively need to pick this game up. To say that Gears of War features "next-gen graphics is a gross understatement. It's got the most impressive graphics ever seen in a video game, and the stellar art direction only makes it more beautiful. "



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. "

Game Informer 9.5/10
"Gears of War is, without a doubt, the must-play Xbox 360 title of 2006. I have some minor qualms with the single-player game, but as a co-op or multiplayer game it’s a treat unlike any other. The gameplay is fresh, and the graphics are simply stunning."



IGN 9.4/10
"It's here that you truly realize what a masterpiece Epic has created in Gears of War. Yes, it's the most gorgeous looking game on the Xbox 360, period. Yes, the sound design is worthy of awards. Yes, the game is fun as hell. But playing with a friend, as you bark flanking orders into your headset over Live, or across the room during a system-link game, or right next to you in a split-screen campaign, you realize that Epic has created the 360 game we all hoped for, and that Gears of War more than lives up to the impossible hype.

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."

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