Gearheads of War

Check out this article, over at 1up:

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3168258

Lots of GoW pictures. Hmmm. Bitterness, perhaps?

I agree with a lot of points of the article, and though it never actually mentions GoW, when you read the content, it seems to be describing a lot of elements of the game.

I love Gears (obviously, or I wouldn't be here). I was kind of insulted reading the article, partly because I'm a fanboy, but also partly because I felt the game was misunderstood. Some of my friends hate on the game and say it has a ridiculous story. I love it. The presentation, the characters, and most notably, Sera. It's the shit. And in my opinion, its story is no more ridiculous than what you may find in any other game.

It's lame to see games cater to males in the 12-15 demographic. I remember being psyched to see the trailer of Prince of Persia:Warrior Within, only to be disheartened after I viewed a cutscene from the game. In it, our hero fights a horde of baddies, only to be approached by a sultry female villain. All the while, her ass fills 3/4 of your screen! Now that was lame.

That could also be said of Rachel from Ninja Gaiden. I remember the scene when Ryu pulls her from a slain monster's gullet and her Pam Anderson boobs were dripping with goo. I can't say I disliked that scene, but it was over the top.

We walk a fine line. I fully admit that some games cater to a young audience, and that's fine. To each their own. It's lame to see that kind of stuff but it obviously sells games. What pisses me off though, is how people get hell-bent about games like GTA and the content contained theirin. First off, it's a MATURE rated game. So all you damn politicians blowing your wads that such pieces are abominations can kiss my ass. It's a mature rated title. Even my critique of games that cater to 12-15 year-olds is a little ridiculous. I may not want to see that stuff, but it's entertainment. A lot of games go for the tried and true formulas. You could argue that Gears did the same thing. But I don't think they did. Anyone who's played a few of Epic's games know that the character style, the weapons, the ultra-violence, are all Epic's "thing." Titles that focus on such elements are no different than what you find in books or movies. There's different genres. Personally, I found Gears refreshing because it was so damn violent. The charater's are retardedly beefy and over the top. But you accept it, just like the fact that you accept Arnold is a street detective in "Kindergarten Cop."  

If parents want to let their kids play mature titles, that is fine. But don't attribute incidents like Columbine and Virgina Tech to violent games. Honestly, violent games have probably prevented people from going out and shooting somebody!

I'm also irritated about how damn politically correct our society is. I'm all for equal rights. If you want to wack your winkie off and be a woman, fine. Just don't infringe upon me and my way of life. So long as what you do doesn't hurt others, I'm fine with that.

But if I want to watch Rambo ruthlessly murder people, or play as some metal-clad badass with a chainsaw on the end of his rifle, I'm gonna do it. Not every game is like that. I'd even go so far to say that I think now is one of the best times to be a gamer. There's something for everyone, be you hard-core or casual.

I don't know what the hell Bob was griping about in his article. He touched on elements present in a lot of games. If you want something more, read a book. But even there, cliches are abound.