Gears of War (series)

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Gears of War
Gears of War logo.PNG
The official logo of the franchise
Genres Third-person shooter
Developers Epic Games
Publishers Microsoft Studios
Platforms Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
First release Gears of War
November 7, 2006
Latest release Gears of War 3
September 20, 2011
Official website gearsofwar.xbox.com

Gears of War is a third-person shooter video game franchise created and owned by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios. The three games that currently make up the series take place on the fictional planet Sera and focus on a war between humans and creatures known as Locust. In Gears of War, the protagonist Marcus Fenix, a soldier or "Gear" in the Coalition of Ordered Governments, leads his squad on a mission to deploy the Lightmass bomb and destroy the Locust Horde in their underground strongholds.

The sequel Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the events of the first game, and follows Delta Squad and the COG army as it launches an assault directly against the Hollow in an effort to end the war.

Gears of War 3 takes place 2 years after the sinking of Jacinto in Gears 2. With the COG army disbanded, the remnant must band together to survive against a new threat, the Lambent.

Contents

[edit] Setting

See also: List of Gears of War characters

The Gears of War series takes place on a fictional Earth-like planet named Sera . The planet had a history of conflict that took Sera to the brink of destruction. This shocked the people into a rejection of their destructive ways, leading to a golden age. Although most conflict was solved peacefully, civil liberties and crime remained as troublesome social issues. A golden age of culture, science, and the arts[1] ensued, yet one problem stood prominent above the rest: energy. Sera's sources of petroleum and nuclear fuel were not sufficient to meet the global demand. Imulsion - with its promise of near limitless energy - was thought to be the solution to mankind's great need.[2] Humans discovered liquid Imulsion, which flows underground, and became a main power source. The value of Imulsion led to the Pendulum Wars, in which the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the Union of Independent Republics fought for control of the Imulsion. After 79 years of fighting, the COG finally defeated the UIR with their new weapon, the Hammer Of Dawn. Shortly after making peace, however, the humans were attacked across the planet by the Locust, a race of beings that dug their way out from underground. Much of humanity was wiped out during the first Locust attack, otherwise known as "Emergence Day," and the remaining humans gathered their numbers on Jacinto Plateau, as its granite ground is the only place that Locust could not dig through. The humans that could not (or would not) make it to Jacinto became known as the "Stranded," and took shelter among the ruins. Out of desperation, the COG employed a "scorched earth" policy by firing the Hammer of Dawn, a weapon that blasted orbital lasers across the surface of the planet to deny the Locust any spoils of war. The COG forces and the Locust continued to battle, each side desiring the complete destruction of the other.

The campaign mode of the series has focused on the character of Marcus Fenix, a COG soldier formerly imprisoned for abandoning his post during the early Locust attacks to save his father, Adam Fenix, a key scientist studying the Locust.

At the start of the first game, Marcus is rescued from an abandoned prison facility by his best friend, Dominic "Dom" Santiago, who had lost his wife Maria during the Locust attacks and has been looking for her since. Marcus, after his rescue, is readmitted to the COG forces and field promoted to lead Delta Squad. They are later joined by Augustus Cole, once a star "Thrashball" player, and Damon Baird, the squad's mechanic and engineer. They fight their way through various settings on Sera including the underground and Locust-controlled network of tunnels known as the Hollow. At the end of the first game, a Imulsion-based energy weapon called the Lightmass Bomb is placed within the Hollow and its destructive force wipes out much of the subterranean Locust army. In the second game, Delta Squad and the entire COG army launch a massive invasion of the Hollow to destroy the Locust and the Lambent.

[edit] Gameplay

Gears of War is a third person shooter game, with its core concepts being derived from Resident Evil 4's "over the shoulder" perspective, Kill Switch's cover system, and Bionic Commando's swinging action akin to moving between points of cover.[3] The series focuses on using cover to tactically engage the enemy in battle to avoid taking damage. While behind cover, the player can fire blindly and inaccurately at their opponent, or can look around the cover and aim carefully, though exposing himself to enemy fire; the player can also slide along cover, move between nearby cover, or vault over cover to race to a new point of cover. As the player takes damage, the "Crimson Omen" appears on the HUD, becoming more defined as the player nears low health levels. The player can regenerate their health by staying out of harms way for a short while. Should the player take too much damage, they will become incapacitated unless revived by a teammate; depending on game mode, the player may be able to recover from this state on their own, or may die after a short amount of time if not revived. When a combatant is down, a member of the other side may also attempt to execute the downed player via a "curb stomp" or other brutal method. Some types of damage will immediately kill the player with no chance of revival, such as explosive damage. There are five levels on both of the games, but they are referred to as "acts" and each act is formed into a certain amount of chapters.

Players in Gears can only carry four different weapons: one pistol-type weapon, up to four grenades of a specific type (Fragmentation, Smoke, Ink and Incendiary) and two other weapons which include, but are not limited to, assault rifles, a sniper rifle, grenade launchers and an explosive bow. Players can either obtain ammo or swap out their current weapons with any weapon dropped by a downed foe or from those scattered around the various maps. Most weapons feature the "Active Reload" ability: either after a weapon has run out of an ammo clip or when the player starts a manual reload, a meter is shown on screen, and the player can attempt to stop the meter in a certain marked area. If the player stops the meter in the marked area, their reload will be completed faster than if they did not attempt an Active Reload, and if the player can stop the meter at a specific section of the marked area, they will gain a temporary slight damage boost with each reloaded shot and a faster reload. If the player stops the meter outside this area, their gun will become temporarily jammed and slow down the reload time. While most of the weapons are based on standard shooter archetypes, Gears's signature weapon is the Lancer, an assault rifle that has a mounted chainsaw bayonet which can be used in close quarter combat to instantly kill a standard foe. Most other weapons also can be used to bash opponents in melee, or in the case of grenades, can be stuck to a foe, exploding a few seconds later. In Gears of War 2 & 3, all four types of grenades (fragmentation, ink, incendiary, and smoke), can be planted on any reachable surface, detonating when an opponent comes close to it. If the opponent spots the grenade, he or she can detonate it from a safe distance by shooting it.

All Gears games feature a single player mode that can be played co-operatively with one other player. The two players take the roles of two COG soldiers, Marcus Fenix and Dominic "Dom" Santiago, as they fight the Locust. At various times, the campaign will offer a choice of paths the first player can select; if the second player is present, they will be forced to take the other path. In these areas, both players generally have to work together to get them both through the section, such as by one player providing covering fire while the second player opens a switch that allows the first player to then proceed. The campaign mode features several levels of difficulties.

The competitive multiplayer mode in Gears 1 features 8 players while in Gears 2 features up to ten players split between COG and Locust forces in a number of gameplay types. Modes include "Warzone" and "Execution", both similar to a typical deathmatch, and "Annex" and "King of the Hill" where teams have to control a marked zone on the map. In the mode "Guardian,"(only in Gears 2) one member of each team is designated as the leader. As long as the leader is still alive, his or her team mates can respawn indefinitely. As soon as the leader is executed, his or her team mates can no longer respawn.

Gears of War 3 brings a new dynamic to the series. In past games the AI went around the obstacle even if it had been destroyed. However, Gears 3 the AI will recognize that the obstacle has been destroyed and are free to walk over it.[4]

[edit] Games

[edit] Gears of War

Main article: Gears of War

Gears of War is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was initially released for the Xbox 360 on November 7, 2006 in North America, and on November 17, 2006 in Europe.[5] While it was initially released as an exclusive title the Xbox 360 it was also released for the PC on June 11, 2007, and is currently the only game in the series to have a PC version. Gears of War follows Delta Squad's efforts to help deploy a Lightmass bomb deep in the Locust tunnels to wipe out the Locust threat.

[edit] Gears of War 2

Main article: Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game published by Microsoft Studios.[6] It is the sequel to Gears of War, and was announced by lead designer Cliff Bleszinski during the February 20, 2008 Game Developers Conference. It was released worldwide November 7, 2008. The game uses a heavily upgraded version of the Unreal Engine 3.[7] Gears of War 2 takes place after the first game, where the Locust are now attempting to sink Jacinto Plateau, and the COG forces have decided to launch a counter-offensive to stop them before they can complete their attempt. Ultimately the COG sinks Jacinto themselves to flood the Locust's home, the Hollow and drown them.

A PC version of the game was cancelled by the developers, citing poor sales of the original PC version of Gears of War as well as concerns over piracy.

[edit] Gears of War 3

Main article: Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 is the concluding part to the trilogy. Originally with an April 5, 2011 release date, it was delayed till September 20, 2011 due to its many critical errors. [8]

Gears of War 3 takes place 18 months after the end of Gears 2. Marcus, Dom, and the last remnants of humanity must band together to survive against the Locust and Lambent, while trying to find Marcus's father and end the war.[9]

[edit] Music

The video game music for Gears of War was composed by Kevin Riepl, who has previously worked with Epic Games on soundtracks for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Championship.[10]

The music for Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3 was composed by Steve Jablonsky.[11]

Additionally, the Gears of War franchise has inspired music from other artists. American thrash metal band Megadeth recorded a song for the first games release, first as an instrumental then with lyrics. For Gears 3, rapper Ice-T, who was cast as a major character in the game, reunited his metal band Bodycount to record a song centered around the Gears universe.

[edit] Adaptations

See also: List of Gears of War media

[edit] Books

A series of novels based on the fictional universe has been created, all written by Karen Traviss. The books expand on the games and detail events which occur in between installments. Gears of War: Aspho Fields was the first in an expected trilogy,[12] although the total numbers of books has since grown to five. It focused on the history of the characters and the battle at Aspho Fields, but also took place during the events between Gears of War and Gears of War 2.[13]

The second novel, Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, continued where Gears of War 2 left off, with Jacinto's survivors fleeing the ruins of the city and searching for a new safe haven. Later they enter into a new conflict against the Stranded who have begun a guerilla war against the remnants of the COG. The book also detailed events 1 year after E-Day, when the new COG Chairman authorised the Hammer of Dawn counterattack.

Gears of War: Anvil Gate is the third novel, released on August 31, 2010.[14] The novel details the COG attempting to establish themselves on the island of Vectes, while trying to contain a Stranded insurgency and the resurgent Lambent. A flashback story details a young Hoffman during the Siege of Anvil Gate.

Gears of War: Coalition's End, released on August 2, 2011,[15] is the fourth novel in the series, taking place immediately after the events of Anvil Gate; 18 months after the end of the second game. The novel details the COG's struggle with the Lambent attacks on the island of Vectes, and leads directly into Gears of War 3.

Gears of War: The Slab is the fifth and final book in the series, and is scheduled for a May 8, 2012 release.[16] The novel will focus on Marcus Fenix's time in Jacinto Maximum Security Prison prior to Gears of War, and reveal more backstory on him, Victor Hoffman, and Adam Fenix.

[edit] Comic Book Series

Gears of War: Hollow was the first comic book series based on the Gears of War world. It was first announced by Epic Games and DC Comics on 18 April 2008 and was released in December 2008. The series was published under DC's Wildstorm imprint and was written by Joshua Ortega, with art by Liam Sharp. The story arc followed Jace Stratton, a young recruit of Delta Squad who will be making an appearance in Gears of War 3 and Michael Barrick, a sole Gear found by Delta. The arc was 6 issues long and ended in May 2009.

Two stand-alone comic books stories were then released. Issue 7, "The Quickening", followed the life of Tai Kaliso from his home in the South Islands to the torture den of the Locust Horde. This was released in June 9.

The second stand-alone was Harper's Story. In Gears of War 2 there are collectibles which describe the end of Sgt. Jonathan Harper, a Gears Veteran. He was captured by the Locust during the events of the Hollow. He managed not only to survive the vile deeds of the Locust Horde but also to escape. He helped a family reach safety, taking the bullets into his own poor, broken body before falling to the ground.

Issue number 9 begins a new arc, Barren, the first part was released in September 2009. We are introduced to the "other side" of the life of humans faced by total annihilation. Birthing Creches, or Breeding Farms, filled with women who are there to do just what it says on the box ~ have baby after baby ~ and nothing else. With humanity dying out and no fresh faces to replace fallen Gears, new humans are needed. The story focuses on an escapee from one of these centers named Alex Brand. Declared to be barren at the age of 18, Brand was kicked from the Breeding Farm she was born in, sent to Boot Camp and trained to be a Gear. She accompanies Delta and Sigma Squads as they investigate a mysterious beacon call from the place at which she was born, which was thought to have been destroyed by Locust. [17][18][19]

[edit] Film

On March 20, 2007, it was announced that New Line Cinema had purchased the rights to make a Gears of War film, with Stuart Beattie writing the script along with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, who will be producing it.[20] Producer Wyck Godfrey said of the film adaptation, "I'm not a gamer, but what blew me away about Gears was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are."[21] On August 3, 2007, AICN.com reported that Len Wiseman was to direct the movie adaptation of Gears of War.[22] though on March 30, 2007, Godfrey stated that they have "a director we're about to attach" in order to film the movie during 2009 and release in 2010. Cliff Bleszinski, the lead designer of the Gears of War video games, will be an executive producer.[23]

Wiseman was officially signed on in June 2008, with Chris Morgan performing script rewrites.[24] Morgan hinted on G4's televised coverage of Comic Con 2008 that the film would be a prequel to the first game, "it could explain how Marcus Fenix got his scar."[25] According to Morgan, Wiseman "wants to make it as realistic as possible, and to blur those lines where your mind says, 'Oh, it's a big CGI film.'".[26] On December 8, 2009, Wyck Godfrey sat down with MakingOf to talk about the "Gears of War" movie, and said that "to tell the epic story of an alien planet that's living in a horrific environment just feels like the wrong mood right now".[27]

In April 2010, New Line considerably scaled back the $100 million budget and epic story, stalling progress while they wait for a rewrite. Len Wiseman is no longer involved as he shifts his focus to other projects.[28]

[edit] Merchandise

TriForce Sales has obtained a license from Epic Games to create full-scale replicas of the armor and weapons from the game, with assistance of sculptor Sid Garrand of Nightmare Armor Studios. The units will be available for advanced order in July 2008.[29]

In July 2007,[30] NECA announced they would be producing Gears of War merchandise, including action figures. The first series, available in the second quarter of 2008, included Augustus Cole, Anthony Carmine, Baird, a Locust Drone, a Locust Sniper, Dom Santiago and Marcus Fenix.[31]

Mindzeye Studios has created foot high statues of Gears of War characters.[32]

[edit] Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of November 7, 2011.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Gears of War (X360) 93.87%[33]
(PC) 87.29%[34]		 (X360) 94[35]
(PC) 87[36]
Gears of War 2 (X360) 93.32%[37] (X360) 93[38]
Gears of War 3 (X360) 91.59%[39] (X360) 91[40]
[icon] This section requires expansion.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Gears of War 2 booklet
  2. ^ Destroyed Beauty page 1
  3. ^ "GameSpot - GDC 07: Cliffy B disassembles Gears, mentions sequel". http://www.gamespot.com/news/6167213.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0. Retrieved 2007-07-05. 
  4. ^ "Gears of War 3," Game Informer 206 (June 2010): p40-49.
  5. ^ "No Gears of War release for Germany". GamesIndustry.biz. 2006-10-19. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20475. Retrieved 2006-10-19. 
  6. ^ "Gears of War 2: Epic's tactical shooter gears up for round two". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20110607070615/http://www.gamepro.com/games/xbox360/140321/gears-of-war-2/. Retrieved April 2008. 
  7. ^ "Gametrailers.com - Epic Games - GDC 2008: Unreal Engine Tech Demo". Gametrailers.com. http://www.gametrailers.com/player/30824.html. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
  8. ^ Stuart, Keith (2010-04-13). "Gears of War 3 gets a release date - and a teaser trailer". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/apr/13/gears-of-war-trailer. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  9. ^ Clayman, David (2010-05-12). "Gears of War 3 Details Emerge". Xbox360.ign.com. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/108/1089204p1.html. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  10. ^ Broxton, Jonathan. "Review of "Gears of War" soundtrack". Movie Music UK. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20070818025626/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/gearswarcd.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
  11. ^ "Gears of War 2 Soundtrack News". IGN. 2008-10-07. http://music.ign.com/articles/924/924025p1.html. Retrieved 2008-11-28. 
  12. ^   (2008-07-21). "Epic Games and Del Rey Announce Novels in the ''Gears of War'' Video Game Universe". Xbox360.ign.com. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/892/892316p1.html. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  13. ^ var authorId = "85589875" by Nate Ahearn (2008-07-26). "SDCC 08: ''Gears of War 2'' Panel Report". Xbox360.ign.com. http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/894/894079p1.html. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  14. ^ "Gears of War: Anvil Gate (9780345499455): Karen Traviss: Books: Reviews, Prices & more". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/034549945X. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  15. ^ "Gears of War: Coalition's End (9781439183953): Karen Traviss: Books: Reviews, Prices & more". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439183953/. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 
  16. ^ "Gears of War: The Slab (9781439184073): Karen Traviss: Books: Reviews, Prices & more". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439184070/. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 
  17. ^ Linde, Aaron (2008-04-18). "Epic Games and DC Plan Gears of War Comic Book". Shacknews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52296. Retrieved 2008-04-18. 
  18. ^ Ortega & Sharp on Gears of War Comic, Newsarama, July 24, 2008
  19. ^ Sharp's Exclusive Gears of War Comic News, Comicon, August 11, 2008
  20. ^ Berardini, César (2008-01-02). "Gears of War Novel Update. Movie Script Confirmed". TeamXbox. http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/15374/Gears-of-War-Novel-Update-Movie-Script-Confirmed/. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
  21. ^ IGN Staff. "IGN: Gears of War Gearing Up at New Line". Movies.ign.com. http://movies.ign.com/articles/774/774558p1.html. Retrieved 2008-10-27. 
  22. ^ "Len Wiseman officially announced as "Gears of War" director". Cinema Confidential. 2008-06-17. http://cinecon.com/news/1595/len-wiseman-officially-announced-as-gears-of-war-director/. Retrieved 2008-09-21. 
  23. ^ "Gears of War Movie Gets Director / Release Date". Planetxbox360.com. http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_3679/Gears_of_War_Movie_Gets_Director__Release_Date. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  24. ^ Wiseman suits up for 'Gears of War', June 16, 2008
  25. ^ Jonathan Hunt (July 24, 2008). "A Day In The Life: Chris Morgan". G4tv.com. http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/687448/A_Day_In_The_Life_Chris_Morgan.html. Retrieved 2008-09-21. 
  26. ^ Marshall, Rick (2008-10-29). "'Gears Of War' Screenwriter Aims For 'Gritty And Real' Big-Screen Version Of Video Game". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1598150/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-10-30. 
  27. ^ "Producer Reveals "Gears of War" Movie Details". Worstpreviews.com. http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=16053&count=0#ixzz0aY3AwERt. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  28. ^ Leins, Jeff (2010-04-06). "'Gears of War' Video Game Adaptation Stalls". News in Film. http://www.newsinfilm.com/2010/04/06/gears-of-war-video-game-movie-adaptation-stalls/. Retrieved 2010-04-06. 
  29. ^ Linde, Aaron (2008-05-30). "Company to Produce Wearable Gears of War Armor, Weapon Replicas". Shacknews. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52919. 
  30. ^ "NECA signs with Epic Games". Necaonline.com. http://www.necaonline.com/article/detail/126. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  31. ^ "''Gears of War'': Marcus Fenix". Oafe.net. http://www.oafe.net/poe/necapsgwmf.php. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  32. ^ "GI's 2008 Holiday Buying Guide," Game Informer 188 (December 2008): 40.
  33. ^ "Gears of War Reviews". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/928234-gears-of-war/index.html. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  34. ^ "Gears of War Reviews". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/942000-gears-of-war/index.html. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  35. ^ "Gears of War Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/gears-of-war. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  36. ^ "Gears of War Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/gears-of-war. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  37. ^ "Gears of War 2 Reviews". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/938611-gears-of-war-2/index.html. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  38. ^ "Gears of War 2 Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/gears-of-war-2. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  39. ^ "Gears of War 3 Reviews". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/991468-gears-of-war-3/index.html. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 
  40. ^ "Gears of War 3 Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/gears-of-war-3. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 

[edit] Further reading


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