Gears of war

Gears of War is a video game created by Epic Games and is a third-person-shooter, compatible for the Xbox 360 and is rated M in the USA and 18 in the UK. It's platforms include the Xbox 360 console and the PC, and has sold over 3 million copies since it's release on November 9, 2006. As of E3 2007, Gears of War has been ported to PC, as one of many 'Games for Windows'. The PC edition has new features, and five new single player chapters. For further information please regard the specific article, Gears of War (PC).

It was the most played game on Xbox Live in terms of unique users, ahead of Halo 2, before being beaten by its sequel, Halo 3. There are 4 different types of multiplayer game. Warzone, Assassination, Execution and Annex with 10 multiplayer maps, and 6 new ones available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace free of charge. These maps are named Old Bones, Raven Down, Garden, Subway, Bullet Marsh, and Process.

Background
Emergence Day

The Pendulum Wars

Inside the Mind of Marcus Fenix

The Gears of War Trailer
The Gears of Wars teaser trailer was Marcus being chased through the streets by Locusts until he was cornered by a Corpser. The solemn tone set by the background song, Mad World as performed by Gary Jules, would be a continuing theme through later Gears of War trailers.

Characters Creatures Events Locations Organizations and titles Vehicles and vessels Weapons and technology Miscellaneas

Characters and Adversaries
Delta Team is a COG army team comprised of Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Anthony Carmine, and Lieutenant Minh Young Kim. The team fluctuated through the first act, having Carmine sniped, getting Cole as his replacement, finding two more Alpha squad survivors, Damon Baird and Redshirt Gyules, having Kim die by RAAM's hands, and Gyules getting killed by a Berserker. They have a cloaked robot to help them, JACK.The Locust Horde is a race, or alliance of several races that, until Emergence day, inhabited the subterranean regions of Sera. The Locust Horde has decided its ultimate goal is the extermination of the human race down to every man, woman, and child. Locusts consist of a common race of drones and all manner of mutants and monstrosities. The Locust Horde exists in underground tunnels known as the Hollow, which is a short term used to describe the hollow portions of planet Sera.

Plot
Act 1: Ashes - As the game opens 14 years after Emergence Day, former soldier Marcus Fenix is freed from the Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary by his close friend, Dominic Santiago, who needs Fenix's help in the fight against the Locusts. Both manage to escape the prison moments before it is destroyed by a Corpser, and then meet up with the other members of Delta Squad, Anthony Carmine and Minh Young Kim in Ephyra, with orders to find Alpha Squad and secure possession of the "Resonator", a device intended to map out the Locust underground tunnel network for the Lightmass Bomb. En route to Alpha's last known location, Carmine is killed by a Locust sniper. Marcus, Dom, and Kim are able to meet up with a Private from Alpha Squad, Augustus Cole, who says the rest of Alpha are at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Transmissions then get blocked by Seeders, which are destroyed by Marcus using the Hammer of Dawn. After finding 3 more Privates from Alpha, Damon Baird, Gyules, and an unknown Gear, they are ambushed by Locust Forces. Kim is separated from the others and is killed by General RAAM. While retreating into the Tomb, the unknown Gear is killed while providing cover fire. After Marcus defeats a Locust Berserker, which kills Gyules, the team confirms with headquarters that the Resonator is safe, and are then ordered to the Lethia Imulsion Facility ten kilometers from their position. Marcus is also put in charge of Delta Squad in place of Kim.

Act 2: Nightfall - Dom suggests that the fastest way to reach the mine would be to borrow a Junker from a Stranded named Franklin, who owes Dom a favor from deals in the past. After reaching the camp, Franklin reluctantly agrees to give him the Junker on the condition that Cole and Baird stay behind at the Stranded camp to help them defend against the Locust. Dom agrees, and he and Marcus head across the ruined city as nightfall descends, bringing out the Kryll, carnivorous bat-like creatures that attack anything in the dark. The two fight through the Locust forces to reach Aspho's gas station where the Junker is kept, and then drive it back to the camp, defending themselves from the Kryll with an ultraviolet light equipped on the Junker that can kill the Kryll. The two arrive just in time back at the Stranded camp to help defend it from a large Locust onslaught. Once the situation is secured, the team moves onwards towards the mining facility in the Junker.

Act 3: Belly of the Beast - Delta Squad reaches the outskirts of the mining facility just as the Junker ceases to function. They make their way on foot through the abandoned facility and into the Imulsion mine tunnels, heading towards a predetermined location where the effect of the Resonator should have maximum effect, all the while defending themselves against constant Locust onslaughts. The team eventually reach their target destination, after Marcus defeats a Corpser, and after securing the area, Baird sets off the Resonator device and narrowly escape back to the surface. Unfortunately, the team quickly learns from HQ that the data collected from the Resonator blast was much too little to be of use for the Lightmass Bomb. However, a device found by Baird seems to already contain a near-complete map of the tunnel system, with the data linking back to Marcus' father, Adam Fenix, and his home, the East Barricade Academy.

Act 4: The Long Road Home - Delta Squad rides a Raven helicopter to the East Barricade Academy, now ruined and heavily controlled by Locust, losing a helicopter to an attack by Nemacyst air spores in the sky. The team is dropped off just outside the Academy and are forced to fight their way through massive numbers of Locust on their way to the mansion where Adam Fenix lived. Baird discovers an APC in need of repair at the back of the manor, and he and Cole rush off to repair it while Marcus and Dom search the manor for the data. After finding the hidden laboratory in the basement, they leave their cloaked robot Jack to download the data and defend the house against waves of Locust attackers. As Jack finishes downloading the tunnel maps, the two soldiers rush for the newly repaired APC behind the manor with a gargantuan reptilian-like Locust called a Brumak already charging towards them. The Squad and Jack reach the APC just as the Brumak smashes through the manor, escaping the pursuing monster.

Act 5: Desperation - The team now rushes for the train station to get aboard the Tyro Pillar, an armored freight train carrying the Lightmass Bomb at its front. Locust attack them at the station and prevent Cole and Baird from jumping onto the train as it speeds past, leaving only Marcus and Dom to battle through to the front of the train as it travels across the wasteland towards the Locust stronghold. They unfortunately encounter General RAAM at the front of the train, guarding the Lightmass Bomb, but Marcus is able to defeat him. With a destroyed bridge quickly approaching as the train speeds ahead, Marcus uploads the tunnel data into the Lightmass Bomb and activates it, escaping the train by jumping into a nearby Raven helicopter, with the help of Dom and Colonel Hoffman seconds before the train falls off of the tracks and into the Imulsion below. The bombs from the Lightmass launch into the Locust tunnels beneath, successfully eradicating most of an important Locust stronghold, and almost all of the Kryll breeding grounds. Hoffman later announces their victory to the rest of the world, but the haunting voice of the Locust Queen clearly says that the Locust have not been defeated, and will continue to fight back.

Behind the Scenes
Gears of War started off as a game called "Unreal Warfare" and was to be the next Epic Games-developed Unreal game after Unreal Tournament was released. It was to be a large multiplayer game set in the Unreal universe. Problems during its development caused the team to delay it and instead release an Epic-modified version of the Digital Extremes-developed Xbox game Unreal Championship, which is called Unreal Tournement 2003. After UT2k3 was shipped, early development on Unreal Engine 3 began. The development team decided to move Unreal Warfare to Unreal Engine 3 and placed what they had finished with the Unreal Engine 2 in Unreal Tournament 2004, which became the Onslaught game mode in UT2k4. During the transition, the team decided to split "Unreal Warfare" from the Unreal series because of how different it was from the established Unreal universe. It was then that Unreal Warfare began to evolve into Gears of War. There are a few key ideas that were adhered to throughout the design:
 * Materials from GoW whle it was still on the Unreal Engine 2.5 can be found in Unreal Tournament 2004's game files, such as a weapon model called ""warcoggunner", which is a portable Chain Gun that has an early version of the Gear logo on it.
 * Epic had originally planned on calling the Locusts "Geist", but couldn't ship with that name since Nintendo had a game with the same name.
 * Originally, Epic had a traditional FPS without cover, but after a friend of Cliff showed him kill.switch, he changed the design to a "Resident Killswitch" type of game design after that and Resident Evil.
 * Old ideas include the thought of "Combat Cash", which you could loot and get cash, and a "Morale Meter", where if teammates were depressed they could kill themselves. The game Blacksite Area 51 has something similar to the moral meter. Both ideas were thrown out because they got in the way of the action.
 * Gears started as a first person game, but after seeing tech demos of Unreal Engine 3, they decided it was a shame to not be able to see the character whenever he's doing anything. They wanted to do something different than Unreal Tournament.
 * As far as positioning the camera goes in making a third-person game, much of the inspiration for the camera system came from Resident Evil 4's Over-The-Shoulder camera system.
 * On another note, they decided to go with a toggle cover system instead of using the left stick to push the player into cover. It was rather difficult for the system to decide if the player wanted to enter cover, or merely walk past a wall.
 * The Y button was originally unassigned until the idea of "Point of Interest" was conceived.
 * 1) •Slower paced game based on trade-offs, i.e. not having a cross hair unless the player is aiming directly at something.
 * 2) •No aliens from space.
 * 3) •Low tech and high tech
 * 4) •Embracing some cliches, but shedding others.
 * In the options menu on the main menu, there is an extreme content filter that when on cuts back the gore and downplays the stronger profanity.

Gears of War (Windows)
Gears of War was developed for Windows XP and Vista about 1 year after the Xbox version, with the following additions: Also three exclusive multiplayer maps are added for the PC Version: As well as a new game mode:
 * Gears for Windows achievements
 * Act 5 extended: Not tagged on but a bonus addition to the story that fits well in which after an APC is obtained one will come across a draw bridge. The objective is to travel on foot through an additional 4 chapters to activate the power plant and drive to Tyro platform.
 * Additionally, there is the chance to fight a Brumak in the PC version. (in act 5) Also, an achievement is unlocked.
 * The sniper like in Gears of War 2 has affiliation zoom in (red zoom in for Locust, blue for COG)
 * Sanctuary (now included in Gears of War 2 Dark Corners Map Pack.)
 * Courtyard (now included in Gears of War 2 Snowblind Map Pack.)
 * Gold Rush (now included in Gears of War 2 Combustible Map Pack.)
 * King of the Hill

Awards

 * "2006 goes down in gaming history as the year of Gears of War. With hundreds of awards and nominations to its credit, no other game that year had as much commercial and critical impact as Gears. All the big gaming sites had their say, and it turns out they like it—a lot. Gears also received a hefty helping of acclaim from the games industry, picking up "best" awards left and right."
 * — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) DICE Awards

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) DICE Awards
 * Overall Game of the Year
 * Console Game of the Year
 * Action/Adventure Game of the Year
 * Outstanding Achievement in Animation
 * Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
 * Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
 * Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
 * Outstanding Character Performance — Male
 * Finalist: Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
 * Finalist: Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay

British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) Game Developer Choice Awards IGN 1UP GameSpy GameSpot TeamXbox Electronic Gaming Monthly Game Informer Magazine Official Xbox Magazine Gamepro Gametrailers GameFly Spike TV Video Game Awards Golden Joystick Awards Entertainment Weekly Blender Associated Press GamesRadar GameDaily Game Revolution Gamezone Wired Washington Post Voodoo Extreme Next-Gen.biz Gamasutra Yahoo! Video Games
 * Nominee: Best Action and Adventure
 * Nominee: Best Gameplay
 * Nominee: Best Technical Achievement
 * Nominee: Best Use of Audio
 * Nominee: Best Game
 * Best Game
 * Visual Arts
 * Technology
 * Xbox 360 Game of the Year
 * Xbox 360 Best Action Game
 * Xbox 360 Best Graphics Technology
 * Runner-Up: Xbox 360 Best Artistic Design
 * Runner-Up: Xbox 360 Best Original Score
 * Runner-Up: Xbox 360 Best Offline Multiplayer Game
 * Runner-Up: Xbox 360 Best Xbox LIVE Game
 * Best Shooting Game
 * Nominee: Game of the Year
 * Nominee: Best Online/Multiplayer Gamer
 * Xbox 360 Game of the Year
 * Xbox 360 Gamer’s Choice Award
 * Xbox 360 Action Game of the Year
 * Xbox 360 Offline Multiplayer Game of the Year
 * Overall Multiplayer Game of the Year
 * Top 10 Xbox 360 Game of the Year (#1)
 * Overall Top 10 Games of the Year (#4)
 * Console Top 10 Games of the Year (#3)
 * Top 5 Offline Multiplayer Games (#1)
 * Top 5 Online Multiplayer Games (#3)
 * Game of the Year
 * Best Xbox 360
 * Best Graphics (Technical)
 * Best New Character(s) (Delta Squad)
 * Best Multiplayer Game
 * Best Shooter
 * Readers’ Choice — Game of the Year
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Xbox 360 Game of the Year
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Shooter
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Original Music
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Sound Effects
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Multiplayer Game
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Graphics (Technical)
 * Readers’ Choice — Best New Character(s) (Delta Squad)
 * Readers’ Choice — Best Original Game Mechanic (Active Reload)
 * Nominee: Best Original Music
 * Nominee: Best Xbox 360 Game
 * Nominee: Best Sound Effects
 * Nominee: Best Voice Acting
 * Nominee: Best Graphics (Artistic)
 * Nominee: Best Game Mechanic (Active Reload)
 * Game of the Year
 * Best Graphics
 * Best Action Game
 * Best Gore
 * Game of the Month
 * Xbox 360 Game of the Year
 * Best Special Moves of 2006 (2 out of 5 awards)
 * Top 5 Life Lessons We Learned From Gaming in 2006 (#2)
 * Weapon of the Year: Chainsaw (1 out of 4 mentions)
 * Enemy of the Year
 * Controller Throwing Moment of the Year
 * Readers’ Choice: Xbox 360 Game of the Year
 * Readers’ Choice: Best Xbox Live Multiplayer Game
 * Readers’ Choice: Best Sci-Fi Shooter
 * 2006 Editor’s Choice Award: Combat/Shooter
 * 2006 Editor’s Choice Award: Game of the Year
 * Best Graphics
 * Nominee: Game of the Year
 * Nominee: Best Xbox 360 Game
 * Nominee: Best Online Game
 * Nominee: Best Shooter
 * Game of the Year
 * Xbox 360 Game of the Year
 * Best Multiplayer Game
 * Best Graphics
 * Best Shooter
 * Nominee: Game of the Year
 * Nominee: Most Addictive Game
 * Nuts All-Nighter
 * Editor’s Choice
 * Ultimate Game of the Year
 * Xbox Game of the Year
 * The Best Video Games of 2006
 * Games of the Year
 * Game of the Year (#4)
 * Platinum Chalice Award for Most Satisfying Gore
 * Game of the Year (honorable mention)
 * Best Game of the Year
 * Best Online Multiplayer
 * Best Guilty Pleasure
 * Best Creepy Game
 * Best Should-Be-A-Movie Storyline
 * Best OMG That Looks Hot! Game
 * Nominee: Your Game of the Year
 * Shooter of the Year
 * 1) 2 Game of the Year
 * Outstanding Award
 * Year’s Best Console Games (#3)
 * Best Games of 2006 (#1)
 * Game of the Year (runner up)
 * Top 50 Games of 2006 (#1)
 * Most Important Games (#3)
 * Best Shooter
 * Best Video Game of the Year
 * Nominee: Best Online Multiplayer Game
 * Nominee: Best Original Game