Premise: 10/10

At first I thought this would be the typical man vs alien scenario. WRONG.They aren't aliens but a race of creatures that lives below the crust of Earth and then jumped out one day and decided they wanted the surface. Even the thought of "typical shooter was wrong". Gears is much more about skirmishes and moments of intense action over large or constant battles.

Gameplay: 8/10

Gears is unique, its part squad, part solo, and a dash of survival. Battles are mostly spent blindly shooting from cover while trying to advance. The game will not allow you to charge in like most shooters. You will die if you do. Alot. You have to rely upon and help your squadmates constantly. The action is intense and when your out of combat you still jump from cover to cover just in case. Even the reloading system is unique. The gun will auto reload after you empty a clip or if you hit reload. If you time the little bar just right you can do a quickie and get a damage boost too. However your gun can jam if you mess this up.

Weapons: 10/10

Gears has sweet weapons. The coolest part of your standard issue is the chainsaw attached to it. You heard me right, machine gun + chainsaw. The Hammer of Dawn is also cool. Usually superweapons make the game a breeze but the fact that you have to pop up and stand still makes you a sitting duck. The A.I. has a problem with ducks too.

Multiplayer: 9/10

Its like an eight man versus campaign. Plays just like the normal game does.

Difficulty: 7/10

Gears is hard. Even in easy expect to die a few times. This is from the realistic damage system. There are no sheilds to protect you, and a few well placed bullets will take you down.

OVERALL: 8/10