Gears of War Tidbits

At X06 in Barcelona, we got our first hands-on time with the single-player mode, as well as co-op, on the first two levels of Gears of War, Microsoft's most anticipated title in the remainder of 2006. The single player story will take place during 36 hours of battle between the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the Locust Hoards. A small squad of four men, with freshly paroled protagonist Marcus Fenix at the helm, look to end this bloody war with a sudden and decisive strike at the heart of the Locusts.

A friend can jump in any time and play split-screen, taking control of Fenix's squadmate Dom. Or, a friend can jump right into the middle of a game on Xbox Live or via system link, playing through the same set of gritty, linear, stop-and-pop missions as the normal single-player game.

There are branching paths and plenty of flanking opportunities, the best part about online play. Holding down A and sprinting to cover while your buddy lays down suppressing fire is a rush in a Brothers In Arms sort of way. And then, when you are in position, you pop up and lay waste to those pesky locusts. Fun, fun, fun. Epic told us there are moments when one player will have to crank open a door while the other covers him, or times when one drives a vehicle and the other shoots, Tango and Cash style. In the single-player game, the AI will take right over.

While four player co-op would have been ideal, something Epic told me it was considering for Gears 2 or Gears 3, we had a no-pun blast covering our partners. We only played two levels and can't wait for more.

Visually, Gears of War looks simply amazing, with incredibly detailed architecture inspired by Ancient Greece and Rome with a post-apocalyptic hue. That was only the first two levels, however, and a team member at Epic told us that those levels are, in his opinion, the least attractive of the entire game.

In these levels, you'll work your way in a squad of four, occasionally healing fallen comrades, searching for hidden "COG tags," dog tags of fallen comrades, and methodically working from point to point, taking out the Locusts. The game blends seamlessly from level to level and there no load times between missions.