Thursday, January 18, 2007

Why We Love Gears of War

Gears of War is a shallow game. It doesn't innovate. The story seems like it was thrown in almost as an afterthought. The multiplayer component includes three game types which are essentially the same when it comes down to it. And I can't stop playing it. I've spent many nights up 'til 3 in the morning on multiplayer, and at first I couldn't figure out why.

CliffyB and the rest of the Gears of War team at Epic did not set out to create a game that blew away all expectations with its innovative game mechanics. Bleszinski acknowledges this himself. "Sometimes, the more unique your game and universe design the more difficult it can be for millions of gamers … to latch onto your game mechanics and characters." He points towards Psychonauts as an example, a critically acclaimed and innovative game that fell short commercially. Many game designers today suggest that game publishers aren't interested in originality, sometimes provoking the symptom known as "sequelitis."

The reason why Gears has been so successful is because Gears did what other games did better. The most intuitive part of the game is its cover system. Certainly other games had invoked the use of a cover system before, but none placed as much emphasis on it as Gears of War. The multiplayer level design also shines. It's very necessary to communicate with your team and set up flanking positions.

Gears of War is as addictive as it is because Epic set out to create a great game, not a piece of gaming revolution.

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