Gears of War review

Worry not - this is no slapdash 360 port

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The biggest fear for GOW was being forced, by sloppy interpretation, on to a 360 controller. Not only doesn't this happen, but the ease of control and the sheer, stupid boost of enjoymentwe got from the game, having previously been saddled with the 360 controller, is a slap in the face for everyone who's ever got it wrong. Everyone knows that the mouse and keyboard is the best combination for shooters, and although GOW came from a console, Epic's PC heritage has done the platform proud. The PC version is just plain better. Even the camera - the bane of the third-person shooter genre - doesn't cause any problems.We're going to repeatourselves and say that the squad control is rubbish again, just for the sake of saying something unpleasant.

If you finished the game on the 360, you'll have noticed a bit of a plot change at the end; that's because most of the fifth act was missing. This has been restored for the PC, and these levels are bigger, more punishing, with more distance and Locusts between checkpoints than the console version. You'll also get to hunt the 30ft tall Brumak.

More info

GenreShooter
DescriptionWhen the gears start grinding, the cogs best come strapped ... firepower and tactics collide in Gears of War
Franchise nameGears of War
UK franchise nameGears of War
Platform"PC","Xbox 360"
US censor rating"Mature","Mature"
UK censor rating"18+","18+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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