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I know, but it's FPS-esque.

There's really limited destructibility.  For the most part it's like a game of paintball, with blood.

sosumi wrote:

There's really limited destructibility.  For the most part it's like a game of paintball, with blood.

And chainsaws!

"I'll take a messy win over a clean loss..."
"...Broken!..."

It's not twitchy like Quake and UT but it's faster than Halo. True ya can't jump, but ya can run. Team work with up close and personal warfare. Chainsaws & 'nade tags & the most perfect Sniper Rifle I've had the joy of shooting...not to mention the over the top, grape sqishing, mellon busting head shots. There's a lot to love in this game.

However...we need more maps and game types.

elpato84 wrote:

I don't know, looking at the player models (Does Marcus look like a bunny hopper?) and the way the game is played, I don't see how a jump button would enhance the experience. I think it would even degrade it.

That's true because the game is explicitly designed not to need really need to jump, but in general, people are able to jump, and I should be able to do so in a game.

Not being able to jump even a little does annoy me. It does serve several game purposes, at least two related to art & graphics- it limits the resource usage and art asset creation needed. Really, who wouldn't take the opportunity to, say, hop the wall at the Fenix Estate and just wander around? 360 has 'only' 512MB RAM and games can't cache on the hard drive (Core systems don't have one), so the maps, geometry, textures etc. can't be too large and complex.

Example: The East Barricade Conservatory ('Bad to Worse'). Jack rips the door... look thru. There should be a tree- there isn't, from even a moderate distance. Run towards the door. Tree pops in; run up to it- within a short time you'll see a smooth-boled tree acquire several texure effects and much detail, but they may take a few seconds to load from the DVD.

Another effect on gameplay- the physics let weapons be blown all over, but because you can't jump nor even mantle more than a couple of feet up, that needed torque bow in the bushes may as well be on the moon.

mo' ron wrote:

elpato84 wrote:

I don't know, looking at the player models (Does Marcus look like a bunny hopper?) and the way the game is played, I don't see how a jump button would enhance the experience. I think it would even degrade it.

That's true because the game is explicitly designed not to need really need to jump, but in general, people are able to jump, and I should be able to do so in a game.

Well, you can leap over obstacles in that game. Considering that you're carrying 50-100 pounds of armor and crap, I don't see why you'd want to do much more then that.

And people are also able to skip and poop, but that doesn't mean having those things in a game will enhance gameplay.

Aqua OS X wrote:

mo' ron wrote:

elpato84 wrote:

I don't know, looking at the player models (Does Marcus look like a bunny hopper?) and the way the game is played, I don't see how a jump button would enhance the experience. I think it would even degrade it.

That's true because the game is explicitly designed not to need really need to jump, but in general, people are able to jump, and I should be able to do so in a game.

Well, you can leap over obstacles in that game. Considering that you're carrying 50-100 pounds of armor and crap, I don't see why you'd want to do much more then that.

And people are also able to skip and poop, but that doesn't mean having those things in a game will enhance gameplay.

Jumping ≠ bunnyhopping, which I hate. In GoW, tho, you can't even step off a ledge >3' high, or mantle (not jump) up the same height for any reason- if there's something like a weapon you want, and it's on a 4' high ledge or low dropoff, it's out of reach. You even need to step off a 2'-3' ledge at nearly 90 degrees, or you won't move. And with the physics, many things get blown around to normally reachable places you can't reach.

As for carriage, just look at 'em- your average Gear may be just that, but all the hero-types are like 6'6", 275+ pound bodybuilding types who who toss around huge guns like the Boomstick like they were toys. (Marcus looks, sounds and acts like CliffyB's Bizarro universe alter ego, all buffed on growth hormone, 'roids and protein shakes ).

Yeah, a little reasonable jumping would add to gameplay & fun, but not only increase resource reqs but probably complicate the already awkward cover system with another variable. That may be the biggest reason it's not in.

user wrote:

You can throw the poop.

GoW is 3rd-person? Nuts.

Not to worry, it's the good, Max Payne-type of 3rd-person. And forced looks, scope views etc. are first person.

Last edited by Bat (2007-01-17 6:31 am)

i like gears for hawt torque bow action.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs. … /1/19/6684

Inside the newest OXM there was a snip about more content 'by the time you read this'.

For those who still can't get enough (GoW)...

Now is the time to shoot Epic's Mark Rein in the head

I don't play much Gears of War online anymore. I was good when the game first came out, but now I'm so out of practice that even other Ars Technica players laugh at me and call me names. I'm a sensitive soul, so I've stopped playing with those bullies. In reality I'm just trying to make everyone on my buddy list feel good so I can get some co-op Crackdown going this weekend. At any rate, if you think you're good at Gears of War online, on the 24th you can try your hand playing the game's developers. Here are the gamertags to look for:

Mark Rein, Vice President - EPICEMEAMR
Cliff Bleszinski, Lead Designer - EPICEMEACB
Rod Fergusson, Producer - EPICEMEARF
Lee Perry, Lead Level Designer - EPICEMEALP
Jim Brown, Level Designer - EPICEMEAJB
Dave Nash, Level Designer - EPICEMEADN
Ray Davis, Lead Programmer - EPICEMEARD
Joe Graf, Programmer - EPICEMEAJG
Rob McLaughlin, Programmer - EPICEMEARM
Pete Hayes, Artist - EPICEMEAPH
Additional Epic Staff - EPICEMEA01, EPICEMEA02, EPICEMEA03, EPICEMEA04, EPICEMEA05

Cliffy B may be a talented designer, but you have to admit at least once you've wanted to put a shotgun round into his smug little face. This gives you a shot at doing just that. Either that or you'll get humbled by people who know the game balls to bone. I wonder if they often play their own game online; I have a hard enough time re-reading some things after I've written them. I'm sure many of my readers would agree.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs. … /2/21/7156

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar … ?id=158456