User:Etad91/GearsTest
Gears of War | |
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Mac-based PCs | |
First release | Gears of War November 7, 2006 |
Latest release | Gears of War 2 November 7, 2008 |
Gears of War is an award winning, bestselling
Setting
The Gears of War series takes place on a fictional Earth-like planet named Sera. The planet had a history of conflict that took Sera to the brink of destruction. This shocked the people into a rejection of their destructive ways, leading to a golden age. Although most conflict was solved peacefully, civil liberties and crime remained as troublesome social issues. A golden age of culture, science, and the arts[1] ensued, yet one problem stood prominent above the rest: energy. Sera's sources of petroleum and nuclear fuel were not sufficient to meet the global demand. Imulsion - with its promise of near limitless energy - was thought to be the solution to mankind's great need.[2] Humans discovered liquid Imulsion, which flows underground, and became a key power source. The value of Imulsion led to a seventy-nine year war over the substance, until the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) was formed to put a stop to the war. Shortly after peace settled, however, humans were attacked across the planet by the Locust, a race of beings that dug their way out from underground. Much of humanity was wiped out during the first Locust attack, otherwise known as "Emergence Day," and the remaining humans gathered their numbers on Jacinto Plateau, a mass of hard rock the Locust could not burrow through; the humans that could not make it became known as the "Stranded," and took shelter among the ruins. Out of desperation, the COG employed a "scorched earth" policy by firing orbital lasers across the surface of the planet to deny the Locust any spoils of war. The COG forces and the Locust continued to battle, each side desiring the complete destruction of the other.
The campaign mode of the series has focused on the character of Marcus Fenix, a COG soldier formerly imprisoned for abandoning his post during the early Locust attacks to save his father, Adam Fenix, a key scientist studying the Locust. At the start of the first game, Marcus is rescued from an abandoned prison facility by his best friend, Dominic "Dom" Santiago, who had lost his wife Maria during the Locust attacks and has been looking for her since. Marcus, after his rescue, is readmitted to the COG force and promoted to lead Delta Squad. They are later joined by Augustus Cole, a star "thrashball" player before Emergence Day, and Damon Baird, the squad's mechanic.
Gameplay
Gears of War is a
Players in Gears can only carry four different weapons: one pistol-type weapon, up to four grenades of a specific type (Fragmentation, Smoke, and in Gears of War 2, Ink) and two other weapons which include, but are not limited to, two medium range assault rifles, a sniper rifle, and a grenade launcher (the Boomshot). Players can either obtain ammo or swap out their current weapons with any weapon dropped by a downed foe or from those scattered around the various maps. Most weapons feature the "Active Reload" ability: either after a weapon has run out of an ammo clip or when the player starts a manual reload, a meter is shown on screen, and the player can attempt to stop the meter in a certain marked area. If the player stops the meter in the marked area, their reload will be completed faster than if they didn't attempt an Active Reload, and if the player can stop the meter at a specific section of the marked area, they will gain a temporary slight damage boost with each reloaded shot and a faster reload. If the player stops the meter outside this area, their gun will become temporarily jammed and slow down the reload time. While most of the weapons are based on standard shooter archetypes, Gears's signature weapon is the Lancer, an assault rifle that has a mounted chainsaw bayonet which can be used in close quarter combat to instantly kill a foe. Most other weapons also can be used to bash opponents in melee, or in the case of grenades, can be stuck to a foe, exploding a few seconds later. In Gears of War 2, all three types of grenades (fragmentation, ink, and smoke), can be planted on any reachable surface, detonating when an opponent comes close to it. If the opponent spots the grenade, he or she can detonate it from a safe distance by shooting it.
Both Gears games feature a single player mode that can be played co-operatively with one other player. The two players take the roles of two COG soldiers, Marcus Fenix and Dominic "Dom" Santiago, respectively, as they fight the Locust. At various times, the campaign will offer a choice of paths the first player can select; if the second player is present, they will be forced to take the other path. In these areas, both players generally have to work together to get them both through the section, such as by one player providing covering fire while the second player opens a switch that allows the first player to then proceed. The campaign mode features several levels of difficulties.
The competitive multiplayer mode in Gears 1 features 8 players while in Gears 2 features up to ten players split between COG and Locust forces in a number of gameplay types. Modes include "Warzone" and "Execution", both similar to a typical
Gears of War 3 brings a new dynamic to the series. In past games the AI went around the obstacle even if it had been destroyed. However, Gears 3 the AI will recgonize that the obstacle has been destroyed and are free to walk over it.[4]
Games
Gears of War
Gears of War is a
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game published by Microsoft Game Studios.
A PC version of the game was cancelled by the developers, citing poor sales of the original PC version of Gears of War as well as concerns over piracy.
Gears of War 3
Gears of War 3, the concluding part to the trilogy, has been officially announced by Microsoft. Originally with an April 5, 2011 release date, Gears of War 3 has now been pushed back to a November 2011 release. A teaser trailer has also been released.[8] Gears of War 3 takes place 18 months after the end of Gears 2. Marcus, Dom, and the last remnants of humanity must band together to survive against a new threat even more terrifying than the Locust, the Lambent.[9]
Other games
In an interview by IGN with Joshua Ortega (Gears of War 2's writer), Ortega responded to a question regarding a Gears of War prequel dealing with Emergence Day saying, "You will not be disappointed in the next ten years; it's a ten-year plan. Gears is long-term. The Lancer is the new Lightsaber."[10]
Cast and characters
Character | Game | ||
---|---|---|---|
Gears of War | Gears of War 2 | Gears of War 3 | |
Marcus Fenix | John DiMaggio | ||
Dominic Santiago | Carlos Ferro | ||
Augustus Cole | Lester Speight | ||
Damon Baird | Fred Tatasciore | ||
Victor Hoffman | Jamie Alcroft | ||
Anya Stroud | Nan McNamara | ||
JACK | (No Voice Actor) | ||
Franklin | John DiMaggio | ||
Chaps | Robin Atkin Downes | ||
Locust Queen Myrrah | Carolyn Seymour | ||
Richard Prescott | Charles Cioffi | ||
Minh Young Kim | Robin Atkin Downes | ||
Anthony Carmine | Michael Gough | (Mentioned Only) | |
General RAAM | Dee Bradley Baker | (Mentioned Only) | |
Redshirt Gyules | Bruce DuBose | ||
Hanley | Peter Jason | ||
Benjamin Carmine | Michael Gough | ||
Tai Kaliso | Fred Tatasciore | ||
Dizzy Wallin | Peter Jason | ||
Skorge | Dee Bradley Baker | ||
Maria Santiago | (Mentioned Only) | Courtney Ford | |
Niles Samson | Robin Atkin Downes | ||
Adam Fenix | (Mentioned Only) | Charles Cioffi | |
Jace Stratton | Nolan North | Drake
| |
Samantha Byrne | Claudia Black | ||
Clayton Carmine | (Mentioned Only) | Michael Gough | |
Griffin | Ice-T | ||
Bernadette Mataki | ? |
Music
The video game music for Gears of War was composed by Kevin Riepl who has previously worked with Epic Games on soundtracks for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Championship.[11]
In Gears of War 2, the music was composed by Steve Jablonsky.[12]
Adaptations
Books
A series of novels based on the fictional universe has been created, all written by Karen Traviss. The books expand on the games and detail events which occur in between installments.
The second novel,
A further two novels have been announced, with Gears of War: Coalition's End confirmed to be released on March 1, 2011, set 18 months after the end of the second game and leading directly into Gears of War 3.[16] It is currently unknown when the fifth book will be released.
Graphic Novel
Two stand-alone comic books stories were then released. Issue 7, "The Quickening", followed the life of Tai Kaliso from his home in the South Islands to the torture den of the Locust Horde. This was released in June 9.
The second stand-alone was Harper's Story. In Gears of War 2 there are collectibles which describe the end of Sgt. Jonathan Harper, a Gears Veteran. He was captured by the Locust during the events of the Hollow. He managed not only to survive the vile deeds of the Locust Horde but also to escape. He helped a family reach safety, taking the bullets into his own poor, broken body before falling to the ground.
Issue number 9 begins a new arc, Barren, the first part was released in September 2009. We are introduced to the "other side" of the life of humans faced by total annihilation. Birthing Creches, or Breeding Farms, filled with women who are there to do just what it says on the box ~ have baby after baby ~ and nothing else. With humanity dying out and no fresh faces to replace fallen Gears, new humans are needed. This disturbing, yet brilliantly written arc stars an escapee or a "failure" from one of these monstrous "prisons", Alex Brand. Declared to be barren at the age of 18, Brand was kicked from the Breeding Farm she was born in, sent to Boot Camp and trained to be a Gear. She accompanies Delta and Sigma Squads as they investigate a mysterious beacon call from the place at which she was born, which was thought to have been destroyed by Locust. [17][18][19]
Film
On March 20, 2007, it was announced that New Line Cinema had purchased the rights to make a Gears of War film, with Stuart Beattie writing the script along with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, who will be producing it.[20] Producer Wyck Godfrey said of the film adaptation, "I'm not a gamer, but what blew me away about Gears was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are."[21] On August 3, 2007, AICN.com reported that Len Wiseman was to direct the movie adaptation of Gears of War.[22] though on March 30, 2007, Godfrey stated that they have "a director we're about to attach" in order to film the movie during 2009 and release in 2010. Cliff Bleszinski, the lead designer of the Gears of War video games, will be an executive producer.[23]
Wiseman was officially signed on in June 2008, with
In April 2010, New Line considerably scaled back the $100 million budget and epic story, stalling progress while they wait for a rewrite. Len Wiseman is no longer involved as he shifts his focus to other projects.[28]
Merchandise
TriForce Sales has obtained a license from Epic Games to create full-scale replicas of the armor and weapons from the game, with assistance of sculptor Sid Garrand of Nightmare Armor Studios. The units will be available for advanced order in July 2008.[29]
In July 2007,[30] NECA announced they would be producing Gears of War merchandise, including action figures. The first series, available in the second quarter of 2008, included Augustus Cole, Anthony Carmine, a Locust Drone, a Locust Sniper and Marcus Fenix.[31]
Mindzeye Studios has created foot high statues of Gears of War characters.[32]
In pop culture
Gears of War is seen being played in the films Live Free or Die Hard, The Hurt Locker, Tormented and "Fast & Furious". It can also be seen during episodes of One Tree Hill, Veronica Mars, Entourage, NCIS, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Chuck.
References
- ^ Gears of War 2 booklet
- ^ Destroyed Beauty page 1
- ^ "GameSpot - GDC 07: Cliffy B disassembles Gears, mentions sequel". Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- ^ "Gears of War 3," Game Informer 206 (June 2010): p40-49. (This is a print only source)
- GamesIndustry.biz. 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
- ^ "Gears of War 2: Epic's tactical shooter gears up for round two". GamePro. Retrieved April 2008.
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(help) - ^ "Gametrailers.com - Epic Games - GDC 2008: Unreal Engine Tech Demo". Gametrailers.com. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (2010-04-13). "Gears of War 3 gets a release date - and a teaser trailer". Guardian. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ Clayman, David (2010-05-12). "Gears of War 3 Details Emerge". Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ Miller, Greg (February 7, 2009). "NYCC 09: Gears of War Prequel Talk: Gears 2 writer hints that an E-Day game isn't out of the question". IGN. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
- ^ Broxton, Jonathan. "Review of "Gears of War" soundtrack". Movie Music UK. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ "Gears of War 2 Soundtrack News". IGN. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
- ^ (2008-07-21). "Epic Games and Del Rey Announce Novels in the ''Gears of War'' Video Game Universe". Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ var authorId = "85589875" by Nate Ahearn (2008-07-26). "SDCC 08: ''Gears of War 2'' Panel Report". Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Gears of War: Anvil Gate (9780345499455): Karen Traviss: Books: Reviews, Prices & more". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Templates/Secondary.aspx?id=1858
- ^ Linde, Aaron (2008-04-18). "Epic Games and DC Plan Gears of War Comic Book". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- ^ Ortega & Sharp on Gears of War Comic, Newsarama, July 24, 2008
- ^ Sharp's Exclusive Gears of War Comic News, Comicon, August 11, 2008
- ^ Berardini, César (2008-01-02). "Gears of War Novel Update. Movie Script Confirmed". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
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(help) - ^ IGN Staff. "IGN: Gears of War Gearing Up at New Line". Movies.ign.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ "Len Wiseman officially announced as "Gears of War" director". Cinema Confidential. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ "Gears of War Movie Gets Director / Release Date". Planetxbox360.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ Wiseman suits up for 'Gears of War', June 16, 2008
- ^ Jonathan Hunt (July 24, 2008). "A Day In The Life: Chris Morgan". G4tv.com. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ Marshall, Rick (2008-10-29). "'Gears Of War' Screenwriter Aims For 'Gritty And Real' Big-Screen Version Of Video Game". MTV. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Producer Reveals "Gears of War" Movie Details". Worstpreviews.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ Leins, Jeff (2010-04-06). "'Gears of War' Video Game Adaptation Stalls". News in Film. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ Linde, Aaron (2008-05-30). "Company to Produce Wearable Gears of War Armor, Weapon Replicas". Shacknews.
- ^ "NECA signs with Epic Games". Necaonline.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ "''Gears of War'': Marcus Fenix". Oafe.net. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ "GI's 2008 Holiday Buying Guide," Game Informer 188 (December 2008): 40.