Gears of War
I'd say that depending on how you view it, it's between 7 and 9. It's a great game, but it's also full of flaws that you'll notice if you compare it to games that came after it. It can't be helped, sometimes a game is exploring a new genre and because it's the first there ought to be flaws and some things won't age well. I didn't had the opportunity to play this game when it was new. I only played it in 2024. It was also my first time playing a third person shooter that focuses on cover.
I've seen people criticizing Rainbow Six Vegas for being a ride of shooting gallery levels. Gears of War could be called a ride of cover after cover. For me it was a very good experience because even though the whole game is about cover, it offers some variation, new challenges and the unfolding story kept me hooked in. There are cinematics and cutscenes that provide some reward for passing through rough sections. Cliffy B. clearly has a vein for cinema because Gears of War was pretty successful in blending cinema and a third person shooter. There is a lot of level design that can be learned from Gears of War too.
The bosses are good. The first one is not hard to understand what to do. The second already shows some signs of overlooked design. It has a pattern, but some players may have a hard time noticing the said pattern. The game leaves the player to learn by themselves because there are no instructions given. The final boss is broken. Really, they made it overkill. Too hard. Too much health. Too much defensive measures. Also, why place that turret there? Was it an afterthought? Because the turret there functions almost as a trap. It can be used, but because of the environmental hazards and the way the boss behaves, you are certainly going to die when you use it. I only beat this game because of a bug. The final boss stood still and became an easy target.
The best moment for me was the night part with the kryll. That horror themed section of the game was genius! It had the same concept of Alan Wake. Darkness hurts and light signals a safe heaven. I was flabbergasted because Alan Wake came years later. The factory part had one of the best environment art that I've ever seen! The caverns with that glowing yellow liquid was also amazing. The final part in the train was better than the train level in Max Payne 3 for me.
The level at night with the vehicle was excellent, with an excellent soundtrack. The fact that you could not drive and use the light cannon at the same time was a good balance. At the end you have a last stand battle that serves as a reward.
The art in this game is excellent, but something is wrong with the collision. In the dark labyrinth I got stuck on a mattress on the floor and the only way to unstuck was to restart the checkpoint. Many times I tried to land a headshot but either the collision is mismatching what you see or the hitbox is imprecise.
The voice acting is very good too.
Overall, I guess Gears suffers from the same high expectations and grandiosity of Halo. It's a new franchise and pretty much everyone behind the game is also making their debut in this type of grandiose project.
I can't say anything about the multiplayer because I didn't play it.
