Gears of War is one of the hottest titles on the Xbox 360. Perhaps the first real “Halo killer,” it sets the bar for console first-person shooters, bringing several new features to the genre. In this article, I met with Eric Labarre, an Arts and Science sophomore ranked in top twenty for online play of the game’s Execution mode, to find out what makes Gears of War a worthwhile experience.

First, what sets Gears of War apart from other available Xbox shooters—everything from the original Halo franchise to newer titles such as Rainbow Six: Las Vegas and Lost Planet?
The fact that it plays from a third-person, “over the shoulder” view differentiates it from most first-person shooters. Despite some complaints, it also uses the A button very well to perform multiple tasks—taking cover, running, rolling. Also, for online play, one of the major game modes, Execution, demands that you finish off an opponent at melee range, so it really changes traditional strategies. You’re forced to get in close in order to win.

Gears of War is one of the more successful first-person shooters to incorporate the use of cover. Does this feature actually see use in online or competitive play?
Cover in multiplayer doesn’t play such a critical role as it does in single-player. Human opponents aren’t as predictable as bots—but there’s still an advantage to using the system, because whoever’s on the offensive is at a disadvantage when trying to attack opponents hidden behind something..

How about the weapon variety, is there enough depth with the weapons currently? Is there any weapon or combination of weapons that clearly dominates? And how about your favorite guns?
Completely depends on the style of play. In certain game modes, and even against certain teams, some weapons become superior choices. At high levels, the sniper rifle might be the overwhelming weapon of choice, if only because it spawns on all maps; a good sniper on your team can really take advantage of that. I personally like to fool around with the sniper rifle, but I’m definitely best with the shotgun; I find it’s essential to be skilled with it.

Gears of War’s “active reload system”—where the player can correctly time the press of a button in order to gain a damage boost to his weapon when reloading —adds a new dynamic to FPS firefights. What’s your opinion on this new feature?
It’s incredibly important for multiplayer. For example, if you have a sniper rifle, one shot anywhere with the active reload effect will take somebody down; without it, they’re far more likely to survive. In really competitive matches, I’ll empty half a clip just to get the damage boost, regardless of the risk of jamming my gun. Overall, it’s a very effective risk/reward system that encourages good reflexes. Eventually, though it just becomes subconscious. At this point I don’t even look at the bar in the top-right corner, even after successive reloads.

Is the single-player a worthwhile experience? Is there a story behind all the shooting?
It’s definitely a rewarding experience, but in terms of story—there’s really little explanation of what’s going on. But offline play is best in co-op mode, where you and a buddy can play together. Especially on the highest difficulty setting, the game will give you a good time.

How is online support? Is it easy to find games and chat with teammates?
Oh yeah, always easy to find a certain kind of game whenever you want. Or just start one. Right now, there’s such a high level of traffic as the game’s still somewhat new, so there’s almost always a game going on.

You and your teammates are ranked in the top twenty for Execution mode. What do you think the future holds for competitive, organized play of Gears of War?
MLG (Major League Gaming), one of the premier advocates of console game competition, already supports online tournaments, with about 80 to 160 teams per tournament. There’ve been about four so far. The top prize of the largest tournament was $4000. I think there can be massive amounts of improvement in player skill and tactics, the game’s only been out for three months. So I think it will find a place on the MLG scene, much like Halo 2. For example, even at the highest levels of play right now, I don’t find people to be truly skilled with the sniper rifle yet, and it’s the kind of weapon I predict will become greatly feared in the right hands—so there’s more to be learned.

Any complaints thus far with the game?
There could be more legitimate maps—for MLG tournaments, only five maps are considered conducive to Team-play out of the available twelve. There’s also a chance that grenades might be overpowered. But mostly, Gears of War is an extremely successful Xbox 360.



And if you’re ever interested in playing (or getting destroyed by) the best, hit me up online for a game. My handle is: OV Vandytrap OV.