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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.

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21. look like MS threw around big bags of cash to get this game a good review. I've played it before and let me tell you, besides the ZOMG AWESOME GRAPHIXXX this game is a shallow turd with laughable dialogue.

Posted at 6:36PM on Nov 7th 2006 by /v/-tard 0 stars

22. wow...i don't know whats up with all you guys' eb and gamestops, but i am a store manager and we had to drive to the airport to get ours so we could sell it early. and whoever said that they were told it could NOT be sold before 7 p.m got lied to. see its idiots like this in the company i work for that make it so hard on customers like you guys. sorry for all of you that got lied to, seriously i am not just saying that. but in SOME cases store really did not get thiers today. and also the game has NO STREET DATE AT ALL. which means sell it if you got it!

Posted at 7:53PM on Nov 7th 2006 by dapperdan 0 stars

23. Not out in Oz until the 23rd. At least this wasn't a Morrowind "Blessing to mod chip sellers" style wait.

I just watched the South Park episode where Cartman freezes himself so he doesn't have to wait 2 weeks for the Wii to come out.

Now I'm going to find me some snow....

Posted at 9:34PM on Nov 7th 2006 by darkbhudda 0 stars

24. EB and gamestop starting selling them at 3 this afternoon, the games lives up to all the hype and more. I say better than halo, although i'm sure many will disagree.

Posted at 10:37PM on Nov 7th 2006 by Nutman 0 stars

25. Called up a Gamestop at 6pm cst in the northwest chicago suburbs. They let me knwo they had 4 or 5 copies left of GOW that were not pre orders. Drove down, picked one up and now im playing with my brother. Game is very good..altho i wish it were halo 3

gamertag beamkiller II

Posted at 9:50PM on Nov 7th 2006 by beamkiller 0 stars

26. I've hunted for this game all day, to no avail.

No one in Louisiana seems to have this game. If GameStop doesn't have it tomorrow I might just riot.

Posted at 10:56PM on Nov 7th 2006 by friedriches 0 stars

27. Picked up my copy at a NY (Rockland) EB Games, no muss, no fuss, no pre-order at 6pm. Played through Act 1, hardcore, co-op and it feels as a previous poster said, more like an experience than a game. More memorable moments than... gasp... Halo. Its a system seller, no doubt. Replayable on single player, well, only for gamerscore, but the ride couldn't be more fun. Makes you think more about how to outflank and outwit your enemies than go in guns blazing, which is better for those that aren't twitch-first person shooter gamers. Usin the noggin FTW.

Posted at 4:03AM on Nov 8th 2006 by CMOS 0 stars

28. could be the best $60 i've ever spent.

back to the game.

Posted at 3:32AM on Nov 8th 2006 by waffle 0 stars

29. Mine is on pre-order, as soon as Europe gets this game I will have it!

Save some Locust horde for us!

Posted at 10:07AM on Nov 8th 2006 by Chris 0 stars

30. you summed it up great Waffle best 70 dollars I have ever spent, was hard to come into work today that is forsure. The online I played last night was amazing, played a death match with 6 other guys it was 4 on 3. Probably the most intense multiplayer game I have ever played. Close quarters and you feel like you are about to get ambushed at any time, being hunted. Hard to describe, GET THIS GAME NOW....or Get a PS3 and Fool of Man....

Posted at 4:40PM on Nov 8th 2006 by Concerned Gamer 0 stars

31. Funny that the Halo-killer turned out to be another game from Microsoft.

Posted at 8:14PM on Nov 8th 2006 by Engie 0 stars

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