Gears of War is a second generation Xbox 360 game and it lives up to the graphical expectations put on it. From the first minute of gameplay to the last, you will be lost in a surrealistic world that is completely detailed to the utmost. The buildings and terrain are breathtaking, as are the details on the NPC's. The cinematic sequences are done using the in-game engine.

The music was not overpowering in the least, as I expected it to be; it was more of an underlying tone which helped to immerse you into the gameplay. The game is rated M for mature for blood, gore and language.

The storyline follows a soldier of the COG (Coalition of Organized Governments) who was branded a traitor and sent to prison. A soldier named Dom busts him out of prison and they then fight the Locusts (the enemies in the game) to get out of the prison. The overall storyline is very fuzzy. Basically, all you need to know is that humanity is fighting a war for existence with the Locusts, a subterranean race.

Each individual mission is very similar: run through the map, shoot stuff, etc. Anyway, you don't play this game for the storyline, you play it for the graphics. You are usually in a four-man squad, but occasionally you will be split up into two-man fire teams.

The Co-op Mode was my favorite part of the game. The storyline does not change and you can revive each other.

Gears of War has two difficulty settings, Casual and Hardcore. Casual is for those who just enjoy playing shooters, while Hardcore is for those who enjoy challenge and total domination. It is very important that you learn to use cover in this game. If you try to go gung-ho style and run headlong into the room, more than likely you will die immediately. However, if you use the cover that they provide you, it makes life so much easier. It also is convenient when they are spaced close together because there is a "Switch Cover" function in the game.

Gears of War is not your typical shooter, since most of your shooting will take place from behind cover instead of running through a level. When behind cover, you have several options available to you. You can blind-fire from cover, which is wildly inaccurate, or pop out and fire. The second option is more accurate, but it does leave you exposed to return fire.

When you take a hit, the screen starts to turn slightly red, increasing with the more damage that you take, until you are dead. The damage does recede after a short amount of time, however, which is another good reason to stay behind cover. Reloading in this game is very different than any other. When you need to reload you press the (A) button, then a meter pops up with different shaded areas. If you stop it in the large gray area the weapon jams, the small gray area it reloads faster, and the white area you get a damage bonus. My favorite weapon in the game was the main assault rifle, simply because it has a chainsaw bayonette. Even though this is more of a hide and seek shooter, you still have the option to cut someone in half. Glorious.

Gears of War is definitely all that it was advertised and more. I very much enjoyed reviewing this game and would recommend it to anyone.