Gears of War 2006

Is it still worth playing?

Epic Games' 2006 third person shooter for the Xbox 360, in which Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad make a last ditch effort to end a war with the Locust Horde on the planet Sera. The Locust emerged from underground and launched a genocidal invasion, and the surviving humans gathered on the Jacinto Plateau. The game is built on cover, used to avoid damage while advancing, and it helped popularize the cover system. At close range, the Lancer assault rifle's chainsaw bayonet does the work. Active reloads, timed with a second tap, give a damage bonus, and failed attempts jam the weapon. A downed player can be revived, executed by enemies or left to bleed out, so the squad has to stay together, in a five act campaign playable solo or in co-op. With others, multiplayer is four on four, Gears against Locust. Cover, timing and a squad to keep alive still make every firefight tense today.