Buggin’ Out

Gears of War
Microsoft, xbox 360


Humans check in, but they don’t check out. That might very well be the motto of the giant insect army currently threatening the future of mankind. The bad bugs in question are part of the evil Locust Horde, determined to eradicate all those pesky people living on the planet’s surface once and for all, with only a handful of tough-guy military types standing in the way. It may sound like your standard sci-fi run-and-gun shooter, but fan boys have been buzzing about this one since last year, making it the most hotly anticipated 360 game this side of Halo 3.

And it’s easy to see why. This third-person tactical shooter pits players and their computer-controlled comrades against massive armies of Starship Troopers–caliber crawly things in exquisitely rendered ruined cities. Burly soldiers fire off infinite rounds of ammo while ducking behind rubble just long enough to keep head and neck firmly connected. Xbox Live was made for this kind of raucous combat action, and as many as eight players can split up into human and locust teams for fast-paced online death matches.

All this mayhem springs from part game savant/part snot-nosed punk Cliff Bleszinski, one of the guys behind the popular Unreal shoot-’em-up series. CliffyB, as he’s known in gaming circles, is one of the few name-brand designers (John Carmack, Will Wright are two others) who can sell a game based on reputation alone. Not that Gears of War needs any help — we’re sold just based on the army of man-size bugs that would make even the biggest New York City cockroach run for cover.