What to Post?....

OK, I mostly want to write about Gears of War, a new Xbox 360 game I bought, but I just want to say realy quike that OSU kicked the crap out of Northwestern, 54-10. Now, both OSU and scUM are 11-0 going into the big game this Saturday. The teams are ranked 1 and 2 for the first time ever. WOW! Exciting!!!

OK, Gears of War. As you may know, I am a fan of the first person shooter games. Halo and Halo two are the best I've played, but I have played many other games of this type. Doom 3 was really good, Half Life was pretty good on the PC, along with Quake 3 and UnReal I've played a few stinkers as well. I can't really remember them because they weren't memorable. I mentioned that the Halo games have been my favorites. Pretend that you are playing Halo (if you've ever played it before) and are pinned behind a big rock by a couple Hunters. Don't you wish that you could pop around the corner, shoot a few rounds, and duck back? The one thing that irritated me about Halo, is that you can't really use cover too well. Gears of War changes that. If you see a tree, you can hide behind it a shoot around the edge. A low baricade? Duck behind it and shoot above it or around it. The creater of the game had a 'Why I Made This Game' intro and he said that he played paint ball and wanted to simulate the experience in a video game. Crouch and run from cover to cover, peer around doors, shoot above and around cover. Gears of War is actually a third person game. You see your character from above, but the game still plays like a first person shooter. It's really cool. The graphics and action are actually better that Halo and Halo 2. However, there are a few things that I don't like so much about Gears of War. First, you have a squad of commandos helping you out. The problem is, in a fire fight, it is hard to tell friend from foe. They all look the same from a distance. I guess that is how it is in real life, but it makes it hard not to shoot your own guys. Second, to take cover, you hit the A button. Seems easy, right? The only problem is, if there are multiple places where you can take cover near by, you don't always go to the one you think you are going to. Or, if you are next to a spot where you can take cover, like a tree, you may end up diving infront of the tree instead of behind the tree. I guess it is something that I am getting better at handling as I play along, but it is an irritant. I guess another thing that bothers me is that, in order to throw a grenade, you have to have grenades be your equipt weapon. You can't run around with a gun and throw grenades with your other hand, like in Halo. It make throwing a grenade a harrowing experience. Still, all in all, this has been a great game. I won't put it above Halo, but it is way better that all of the other shooters I have played. Lots of action, great graphics, good story line, and it causes my adrenaline to get going. If you have a 360 and like shooters, get Gears of War.