The graphics are pretty impressive, only played through the first intro mission so far but it seems pretty solid, Im gonna pick up THP8 tommorow as well.

" active reload" mechanism?

Yeah, what is the active reload mechanism anyway?

" Active Reload" is probably the most innovative addition to this game. I love it to be honest, I thought it was the A button at first, then realized it was the Right Button.

" Active Reload" is essentially a tiny mini-game that goes on when you are reloading. It brings up a swing bar (sorta like what would come up when you are getting ready to hit a ball in most golf games) There is a section of that is white (generally small) if you land the bar on the white you get a " active reload" which increases the damage those bullets you reloaded do. There is another section after the white which if hit just reloads quicker. If you hit it after or before in a gray area your gun jams and reloading takes a bit longer. You can as well not hit anything and the reloading will finish once the swing bar has reached the end.

Like Chee Saw said the game is crazy on Hardcore and I can only imagine what it would be like on Insane. I have the strategy guide (I like to buy them with kick ass games as collectors items) and it has the health of the enemies you see on each difficulty. It takes long enough to kill those fuckers on casual but on Hardcore and Insane it would be well...fucking hardcore crazy. Casual is meant for people who play Shooters, hardcore is meant for people who have mastered casual, the basic skills of the game and reccommended for co-op. Insane is designed for co-op with two guys who have mastered the game and can go through a level flawlessly. At Insane each enemy even Drones are a threat to your life.

A few examples:
Drones/Grenadier
Casual 250hp, Hardcore 550 hp, Insane 650hp!

Theron Guard
350hp, 800hp, 900hp!

Boomer (Badass mofo)
1750hp, 2500hp, 2500hp

Berserker (you need the Hammer of Dawn to terminate these bitches)
6500hp, 8500hp, 12000!

RAAM (The fucking Devil himself)
3500hp, 5500hp, 7000hp

RAAM is surounded by Theron Guards (elites) and had to be toned down before GOW went to gold because he was too hard. Imagine what he was like before!

*In addition to you enemies having more health in the higher difficulty levels you and your pals have less!

This game is fxing awesome! We picked up two copies at wal-mart at 3 o' clock and played system link and live mp until 11.
The graphics are ridiculously better than anything else out on any system (that includes PC).

I only played through the first level so I haven' t got much taste of the single player yet but it seems pretty decent so far.

Like Chee Saw said the game is crazy on Hardcore and I can only imagine what it would be like on Insane. I have the strategy guide (I like to buy them with kick ass games as collectors items) and it has the health of the enemies you see on each difficulty. It takes long enough to kill those fuckers on casual but on Hardcore and Insane it would be well...fucking hardcore crazy. Casual is meant for people who play Shooters, hardcore is meant for people who have mastered casual, the basic skills of the game and reccommended for co-op. Insane is designed for co-op with two guys who have mastered the game and can go through a level flawlessly. At Insane each enemy even Drones are a threat to your life.

A few examples:
Drones/Grenadier
Casual 250hp, Hardcore 550 hp, Insane 650hp!

Theron Guard
350hp, 800hp, 900hp!

Boomer (Badass mofo)
1750hp, 2500hp, 2500hp

Berserker (you need the Hammer of Dawn to terminate these bitches)
6500hp, 8500hp, 12000!

RAAM (The fucking Devil himself)
3500hp, 5500hp, 7000hp

RAAM is surounded by Theron Guards (elites) and had to be toned down before GOW went to gold because he was too hard. Imagine what he was like before!

*In addition to you enemies having more health in the higher difficulty levels you and your pals have less!

Looks like there is a bigger diffrance between Casual and Hardcore than Hardcore and Insane.

You guys think there is a bonus movie, like there was in Halo when you finish the game on legendary?

Im playing Casual and been having a tough but decent time going thru the game...then came RAAM...I had to off the game and take a break for a bit. The firts encounter with a beserker is the most insane expeirence in a game Ive ever had!

Ign, said that casual was to easy, in their review. You should start at Hardcore, they said.

You can switch between casual and hardcore each time you restart. I shouldve played hardcore til I got to RAAM then swapped for Casual...

Cause this guy is a beast even on casual.

" Active Reload" is essentially a tiny mini-game that goes on when you are reloading. It brings up a swing bar (sorta like what would come up when you are getting ready to hit a ball in most golf games) There is a section of that is white (generally small) if you land the bar on the white you get a " active reload" which increases the damage those bullets you reloaded do. There is another section after the white which if hit just reloads quicker. If you hit it after or before in a gray area your gun jams and reloading takes a bit longer. You can as well not hit anything and the reloading will finish once the swing bar has reached the end.

Doesnt that take a little bit of skill away from the game and replace it with luck?

ORIGINAL: Silentbomber

Doesnt that take a little bit of skill away from the game and replace it with luck?

No, it increases the skill. If you want you can just leave the reload alone and you can let it just take its course. If you want a little extra power you can master the releoad timing and get that extra damage in there. I' ve pretty much gotten the active reload down like a pro.

Im still amazed how good the game looks, a few budies came over and when they saw it they were like " Jesus Christ!"

Yeah, it is amazing...almost every aspect the first real cutscene at the end of Act One was so awesome...I' m hoping another one beats it before I finish the game.

I have a few questions and they will be answered, hopefully by someone who knows what they are talking about:

1 - I know the graphics are teh awsum, but are there any frame drops/quick freezes in the single player mode? I saw a lot of that in some internet videos and it made it look unfinished.

2 - Is the 5.1 audio teh awsum? Is it good enough to be called phiggidy phat even? Is there music during the game? Did the Scorpions provide any tunes?

3 - Is the single player mode fun? I don' t give a rat' s ass about Xbox Live. I bought Ghost Recon used because I thought it would be fun, but it wasn' t. Turns out the only way to have fun with Ghost Recon was online. And I' ve had my fair share of death matches/capture the flag/etc etc etc etc. Online co-op sounds cool, but again, all I care about is single player. Worth the $$$ just for that?

4 - Is there a secret code that allows me to play as either Donald Rumsfeld or Tm Clancy?

Is there a secret code that allows me to play as either Donald Rumsfeld or Tm Clancy?

damn all your post always has me cracking up. I didn' t see any frame drops, whick blew me away because I expected this game to be choppy as hell, what was even more impressive was that there was barely any loading. The only time I noticed a slight stutter was sometimes when I would try to go back to previous areas looking for hidden stuff. The sound is freaking sick with the music kicking in at the appropriate time, adding atmosphere. Coop is freaking sweet, I played with my friend theough a few mission, fun sniping from afar while he took on the baddies up close. Yeah, this game impressed the hell out of me, which is' nt easy.

I managed to get some hands on time with Gears today at the Sheffield leg of the 360 tour and from my limited playtime all i have to say is...

...Gears of War is quite posibly the greatest 3D action game ever!!!

I love Resident Evil 4, ...it' s one of my favourite games of the previous generation. I love Chaos Theory and Ninja Gaiden Black, ...they' re also 2 of my favourite games from the previous generation. Gears of War is like those games. It' s graphically outstanding and everything from the textures to the lighting and animation are all 100% perfectly executed. Epic has devivered a masterpiece and Friday can' t come quickly enough as i want my own damn copy to lose myself in.

- Is the single player mode fun? I don' t give a rat' s ass about Xbox Live. I bought Ghost Recon used because I thought it would be fun, but it wasn' t. Turns out the only way to have fun with Ghost Recon was online. And I' ve had my fair share of death matches/capture the flag/etc etc etc etc. Online co-op sounds cool, but again, all I care about is single player. Worth the $$$ just for that?

I' m probably not the best person to answer this as XBL is just as important to me as the offline pat of the game, and i loved every second of GRAW' s single player campaign. But, i can tell you that the single player part of Gears clocks in at around the 12 hour mark on casual. It may not be your type of game. I guess it comes down to what you expect from a £D action game. What other games of the genre have your really enjoyed?

ORIGINAL: Joe Redifer

I have a few questions and they will be answered, hopefully by someone who knows what they are talking about:

1 - I know the graphics are teh awsum, but are there any frame drops/quick freezes in the single player mode? I saw a lot of that in some internet videos and it made it look unfinished.

2 - Is the 5.1 audio teh awsum? Is it good enough to be called phiggidy phat even? Is there music during the game? Did the Scorpions provide any tunes?

3 - Is the single player mode fun? I don' t give a rat' s ass about Xbox Live. I bought Ghost Recon used because I thought it would be fun, but it wasn' t. Turns out the only way to have fun with Ghost Recon was online. And I' ve had my fair share of death matches/capture the flag/etc etc etc etc. Online co-op sounds cool, but again, all I care about is single player. Worth the $$$ just for that?

4 - Is there a secret code that allows me to play as either Donald Rumsfeld or Tm Clancy?

The game' s pretty smooth, most framerate drops I' ve noticed are in cutscenes, particularly the one where there' s like 8 soldiers shooting at locust and shit blowing up all over the place.. it drops rarely in gameplay.

Offline is pretty fun, haven' t played online yet but everyone says online is better so who knows.

The music is awesome, even from the first level who will like the tune.

ORIGINAL: Evil Man

ORIGINAL: Joe Redifer

I have a few questions and they will be answered, hopefully by someone who knows what they are talking about:

1 - I know the graphics are teh awsum, but are there any frame drops/quick freezes in the single player mode? I saw a lot of that in some internet videos and it made it look unfinished.

2 - Is the 5.1 audio teh awsum? Is it good enough to be called phiggidy phat even? Is there music during the game? Did the Scorpions provide any tunes?

3 - Is the single player mode fun? I don' t give a rat' s ass about Xbox Live. I bought Ghost Recon used because I thought it would be fun, but it wasn' t. Turns out the only way to have fun with Ghost Recon was online. And I' ve had my fair share of death matches/capture the flag/etc etc etc etc. Online co-op sounds cool, but again, all I care about is single player. Worth the $$$ just for that?

4 - Is there a secret code that allows me to play as either Donald Rumsfeld or Tm Clancy?

The game' s pretty smooth, most framerate drops I' ve noticed are in cutscenes, particularly the one where there' s like 8 soldiers shooting at locust and shit blowing up all over the place.. it drops rarely in gameplay.

Offline is pretty fun, haven' t played online yet but everyone says online is better so who knows.

The music is awesome, even from the first level who will like the tune.

Is it better overall than Halo or Halo 2 were when they were released?!

Funny,MS said,europeans are not gonna have to wait 5 montsh for GoW,but only 5 days.

Strange,here i hear every american been playing gow now for 1-3 days,and its the 11th.

okay...

9+5=14

11+5=16

10+5=15.

EU release date 17th.

What am i missing Peter moore?¨

You bastard.

1 week delay for a release? talk about being slow beiatch.

Sure its not a year delay with ps3,but sony staff are retarded,but 1 week dleay for a game?

I mean how hard can it be to ship to EU some days befor and hit worldwide date ateleast with 2-3 days delay.

I doubt its supply problems, more like a marketing thing.

ORIGINAL: Joe Redifer

2 - Is the 5.1 audio teh awsum? Is it good enough to be called phiggidy phat even? Is there music during the game? Did the Scorpions provide any tunes?

This game is what 5.1 is all about!

I would like to have:

a) the Locust horde throw more grenades, so I can listen to where they' re bouncing and jump out of the way more often.

b) the Gears speak (or holler) more during battle. Every now and again someone says some crazy sh*t, but not nearly enough.