Gears of War Multiplayer

by Adam, 12.03.06

Vroom Vroom

---

These days online multiplayer is moving towards bigger things. Larger maps, more players, and a generally more chaotic experience. Games like Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, and the newly released Resistance: Fall of Man both feature 40+ participant multiplayer, and as more games release and developers get a better handle around the technology, numbers like that will become all the more common. However gigantic battles aren't always necessary to make a great online experience. Sometimes smaller, more focused skirmishes provide a more engrossing experience, and fit the mood of the game as well.

Gears of War has taken this stance. The maps are small and symmetrical, and the teams are limited to four man squads. And while that description doesn't sound particularly promising, Gears is easily the best standout multiplayer game since Pandora Tomorrow, Counter Strike, or Halo 2. The general impetus for its success is on the outside, in the way its implemented. GoW's multiplayer transplants everything from the single player game, including aesthetics, and gameplay style, and makes that the multiplayer game. It doesn't just cram a bunch of skins into a map with the basic controls from the single player game.
There is a term for this that high-browed people like to throw around called synergy. It's one of the best aspects of the multiplayer in Gears of War that the universe is consistent no matter which part of the game you're playing. It just makes the game more immersive, and a better representation of what you get when you buy the game. The single and multiplayer in Gears of War are one and the same, and that is its greatest strength.

So, if you've been playing the single player game for awhile you can use the exact same tactics in the multiplayer, and probably come out better than most. Halo 2 fans are going to have a really hard time here, because you can't run and gun. There's none of that whatsoever. Take cover! GoW encourages teamwork, and smart tactics by giving everyone the same weapons and almost identical starting points. This makes it easy to assess the battlefield, and come up with strategies on the fly, because everyone is in such tight quarters. And the levels are all designed with moving quickly from cover-to-cover in mind.

Some people might be annoyed by this, because they're used to being the hero on the battlefield, and the teamwork aspect quashes single handed killing sprees.... but hey.... that's what the chainsaw is for. If you want recognition, you use the chainsaw. That's how Gears distinguishes the boys from men. The chainsaw bayonet is easily the greatest melee weapon in any game ever, and even more so because you have to work hard to score that uber-gory kill. It's not like Halo 2's energy sword, which has almost no balance, and leads to really obnoxious sprees. Zealously wielding the chainsaw around is very dangerous, because you can't use cover while revving it, and you can't just run up close and tap B really quick. The engine has to ferment for a moment, and you've got to be in ripe position to leap in, or get shredded by a shotgun (also known as the anti-chainsaw).

Final Word

I firmly believe that Gears will change online shooter multiplayer. By putting the players in a more claustrophobic and balanced environment it forces them to think on their feet and play wisely. It's the thinking man's shooter, and yet the action is fast paced and extraordinarily violent. It's so refreshing to know that the winners will never be determined by who can put more bullets in the air, but by whoever puts more bullets in the right places.