There are three main game types for the online play, each of which can be played as either ranked matches or unranked matches. Each game type supports up to eight players over Live (or system link, which is of course offline). Ranked matches track all manner of stats and points, which are in turn shoveled into some nice online leaderboards. The unranked matches are just that -- they're a great place to hone your skills before joining the cutthroat world of ranked games.
The first and most basic game type is Warzone. This is essentially the same thing as team deathmatch and sees four COGs battle it out with four Locust. The winning team is the one that takes the other side out first. Up next is Assassination. This mode sees each side have a specific leader. For the COGs it's General Hoffman, and for the Locust it's General RAAM. Only these leaders can pick up the better weaponry in the levels, but they can then pass them on to other members of the team. If you kill the leader of a side, the game is over, and the assassin becomes the leader of his/her team in the next game.
Finally, there's Execution mode. This is really the same as Warzone, but the big difference is that once you're knocked down and you've sat through your bleed-out time, you'll be brought back into the game. Jamming rapidly on the A button helps you bleed out faster, meaning you'll be back on your feet quicker too. It's a nice subtle twist and makes for some excellent last-minute victories.
Gears brings 10 maps in total for the three game types. And I'm pretty damned happy with how they all turned out. A lot of careful testing has gone into making sure that the maps are well-balanced and just the right size for the four-on-four teams. Themes range from processing plants to train depots (including a deadly speeding bullet train) and each one has its own distinct pathways and visuals. There's one called Canals which sports some truly amazing flowing water effects, too. All of the maps are a sight to behold.
Gears does have its flaws, however. I found some of the single-player boss fights to be a little on the cheap side. I had to replay certain fights a dozen or so times before nailing them, and although I'll be the first to admit human error, these issues seemed to be more related to CPU AI craziness rather than anything else. The frame rate can take some hits too, but this mainly occurs in the in-game rendered cutscenes rather then in the actual game, so it's not a big deal. I guess the only other remark would be that I would have loved to have seen more game types and maps for the online game. Would it have been tough to slap in some CTF or straight-up deathmatch? Maybe that's something that'll get fixed with downloadable content later.
No matter. There's only one other game that I've got to play this year that I can imagine coming close to being this much fun -- and you'll see what that is in a few weeks. But for right now, I'm smitten with Gears of War and all its glorious, horrific violence, blood and anarchy. Move over Master Chief, 'cause Marcus Fenix will kick your bony ass all over town.
