G.o.W.

[Hetz]

Another perfect score!

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3154958

10/10

[JLu]

I think that 1up review is interesting since it talks about how matchmaking is 'broken'.  Can't join friends in a ranked match -- rather it's random people of your same level if you are going ranked to prevent cheating.  So long as I can do an unranked match with a squad of friends, I don't particularly care.

[Bullwinkle]

Got the call from EB that my copy will be ready for pick up this afternoon.  Sweet!  Emergence Day has arrived.  Haven't been this excited about a game since I don't know when.  THIS is why I bought a 360!

I got the same call, but talking to the store today brought a different answer.  They're holding fast to the midnight opening or tomorrow deal.  Though they're not even sure about being open at midnight still(?!).  She was talking like tomorrow's the release date.

I'll try back about 2pm, just to be sure, but that's annoying.

[Turtle]

I think that 1up review is interesting since it talks about how matchmaking is 'broken'.  Can't join friends in a ranked match -- rather it's random people of your same level if you are going ranked to prevent cheating.  So long as I can do an unranked match with a squad of friends, I don't particularly care.

In GoW's defense, the reason why you can't do ranked with friends is that MIcrosoft requires that all live ranked games have randomly selected teammates.  Since this was forced on the devs by MS, and MS does this to all 360 devs, they can't really knock them down points.

[JLu]

I think that 1up review is interesting since it talks about how matchmaking is 'broken'.  Can't join friends in a ranked match -- rather it's random people of your same level if you are going ranked to prevent cheating.  So long as I can do an unranked match with a squad of friends, I don't particularly care.

In GoW's defense, the reason why you can't do ranked with friends is that MIcrosoft requires that all live ranked games have randomly selected teammates.  Since this was forced on the devs by MS, and MS does this to all 360 devs, they can't really knock them down points.

I didn't realize that was a Microsoft deemed rule.  I have mixed feelings on it, but if that is the way it is, hopefully a de-emphasis on 'rank' follows.

[ATB]

As a future Live N00B what does all this mean? Will I be able to play with you guys or not?

[madpeon]

I believe thats a yes, just not in ranked games (randomly assigned teams based on your lifetime 'score').

[JLu]

Yeah; I can not imagine that they removed the ability to take 3 friends into a random unranked 4x4 match (and hopefully can have a room of 8 people and do 4x4 matches too).  If that isn't possible, I think that it would kill the long and shortterm multiplayer playability.

The only thing is you can't play with friends and see a number next to your name go from 1 up to 20 or whatever.

[CeeKay]

Got the call from EB that my copy will be ready for pick up this afternoon.  Sweet!  Emergence Day has arrived.  Haven't been this excited about a game since I don't know when.  THIS is why I bought a 360!

I got the same call, but talking to the store today brought a different answer.  They're holding fast to the midnight opening or tomorrow deal.  Though they're not even sure about being open at midnight still(?!).  She was talking like tomorrow's the release date.

I'll try back about 2pm, just to be sure, but that's annoying.

I just called my local EB.  They're sending someone to the airport and it should be in around 4pm.  I can pick it up on my way from work tonight.

[Dante Rising]

From 1up:

You can always find reasons not to give a game a review score of 10. Control issues (Gears of War has that). A.I. problems (that, too). Bad dialogue or story telling (yes on both). Linear levels, online lag, limited modes (yup, yup, and yup). But as I was playing through the game, I found one consistently good feature: It was constantly impressing the hell out of me.

I'm sorry, but any game with control issues, A.I. issues, poor dialogue, a cliched story and limited multiplayer modes does NOT deserve a 10.

Your partner, Dom, dies...A LOT...especially on the Hardcore difficulty setting. He is a constant liability, crying for you to revive him when enemies are all about, firing at the only other human that's standing around (which happens to be you). And on one late stage, Dom just flat-out refused to follow me into a train station packed with bad guys -- he got hung up in an alley and would not leave.

The story is ambitious (the underground-dwelling Locust burst through the Earth's crust to wipe out humanity), cliché-ridden, and you can tell how the story's going to end before you even reach it

My biggest complaint, however, is with the multiplayer options. What's there is a lot of fun, but that fun isn't going to last very long until downloadable content comes along...

Other games would have been hammered for these reasons. How is it that this title gets a pass? I'm sure the game is great, but a ten should have less major or minor missteps.

[Bullwinkle]

I called again and the same lady sheepishly admitted it would be in this afternoon about 4 or 5 pm.  Ha!

[Chaz]

Apparently Boston is getting the shaft.  Called a bunch of EBs/Gamestops in the metro area, and all of them are saying tomorrow. 

I want to know where all these magical same day shipments are coming in so I can go buy it there.

[CeeKay]

Apparently Boston is getting the shaft.  Called a bunch of EBs/Gamestops in the metro area, and all of them are saying tomorrow. 

I want to know where all these magical same day shipments are coming in so I can go buy it there.

Columbus Ohio, but as I said they are specifically driving to the airport to grab it early.  I love my EB!! 

[Ridah]

Other games would have been hammered for these reasons. How is it that this title gets a pass? I'm sure the game is great, but a ten should have less major or minor missteps.

The same can be said for any major release. FF12, Halo 2, and almost any other high-profile game you can think if is usually given a pass when it comes to issues which would otherwise bring any other game down a few notches. However, I'm beginning to understand why reviewers give games perfect scores. No game is perfect, no video game ever released has been without issues, the only thing you can honestly rate on is the experience. Despite GoW's issues, the guy made it clear that the entire time he was impressed, he probably deemed it to be the perfect gaming experience. That's my take on games given 9 and 10's when they have some obvious flaws.

[Chaz]

Guitar Hero 1 was not a perfect game.  There was no practice mode, and the hard songs were almost impossible to improve at.  The multiplayer was essentially tacked on.  Graphics were technically meh.  Characters shared a small range of animations, and repeated them frequently.

Yet the overall experience of the game surpassed all those issues, and rendered them irrelevant.  Of course, I wish they weren't there (and most of them have been fixed in the sequel), but if the game is enough fun, the issues it has don't really matter in the final reckoning.  I suspect that's what's going on with the Gears of War review.

[Chaz]

Woo!  I just called the Gamestop I have GoW preordered at.  Last Tues, I bought a used Animal Crossing DS for the girlfriend, and she doesn't like it.  It's a 7 day return policy, but GoW isn't in until tomorrow, which is day 8.  Wanted to know if I could return it tomorrow when I got GoW.  Confirmed that it's not it til tomorrow, and dude says "It's tomorrow unless you have it preordered, in which case it's after 5 today." 

Score!  I'll head down there, and hopefully be online by nine or so.  Woo!

[Calvin]

Reviews so far:

OXM 10/10
Play Mag 10/10
Yahoo games 4.5/5
G4tv 5/5
Gamespot 9.6

I'll be picking it up this afternoon!

OMFGHI2u!

[Kevin Grey]

Other games would have been hammered for these reasons. How is it that this title gets a pass? I'm sure the game is great, but a ten should have less major or minor missteps.

The same can be said for any major release. FF12, Halo 2, and almost any other high-profile game you can think if is usually given a pass when it comes to issues which would otherwise bring any other game down a few notches. However, I'm beginning to understand why reviewers give games perfect scores. No game is perfect, no video game ever released has been without issues, the only thing you can honestly rate on is the experience. Despite GoW's issues, the guy made it clear that the entire time he was impressed, he probably deemed it to be the perfect gaming experience. That's my take on games given 9 and 10's when they have some obvious flaws.

The 1Up Gears of War review is awful IMO, almost as bad as their NWN2 review.  I have no problem at all with games getting a 10- no game is perfect so 10 just means they are giving their absolutely highest recommendation.

However, I feel that the review of any game scoring that high should have me chomping at the bit to get my hands on the game by the time I finish reading the review.  Mention the negative in passing if necessary, but please focus the bulk of the review text on what makes the game so awesome- that's where the Gears review fails for me.  Way too much emphasis on what's poor, and too little on what's good.  I actually am *less* excited for the game after reading that review which shouldn't be the desired effect when you read a score like that. 

[Calvin]

Other games would have been hammered for these reasons. How is it that this title gets a pass? I'm sure the game is great, but a ten should have less major or minor missteps.

The same can be said for any major release. FF12, Halo 2, and almost any other high-profile game you can think if is usually given a pass when it comes to issues which would otherwise bring any other game down a few notches. However, I'm beginning to understand why reviewers give games perfect scores. No game is perfect, no video game ever released has been without issues, the only thing you can honestly rate on is the experience. Despite GoW's issues, the guy made it clear that the entire time he was impressed, he probably deemed it to be the perfect gaming experience. That's my take on games given 9 and 10's when they have some obvious flaws.

The 1Up Gears of War review is awful IMO, almost as bad as their NWN2 review.  I have no problem at all with games getting a 10- no game is perfect so 10 just means they are giving their absolutely highest recommendation.

However, I feel that the review of any game scoring that high should have me chomping at the bit to get my hands on the game by the time I finish reading the review.  Mention the negative in passing if necessary, but please focus the bulk of the review text on what makes the game so awesome- that's where the Gears review fails for me.  Way too much emphasis on what's poor, and too little on what's good.  I actually am *less* excited for the game after reading that review which shouldn't be the desired effect when you read a score like that. 

The gamespot review will fix that paradox Kevin!! BTW-what is your live tag so we can look you up for GoW? PM me if your keeping it private!

[Kevin Grey]

Not private at all (KMGrey) but I'm only on Silver so no Live play for me unless they have some free weekends coming up. 

[rrmorton]

I called Gamestop. My copy has arrived! yay

Too bad I probably can't play it for a few days.

[Captain Caveman]

I called Gamestop. My copy has arrived! yay

Too bad I probably can't play it for a few days.

Co-op this weekend then? 

[disarm]

bah...just got my call from Gamestop while i was reading this thread and my copy won't be in until tomorrow.  after what some others have said, maybe i'll give my actual store a call anyway just to make sure...

if i have to wait until tomorrow, i'll be cancelling my preorder and picking it up at BestBuy instead...double RewardZone points on games and movies right now, and i have a couple DVDs to pick up anyway.

[papasmurff]

God I love having this game early....good times.....will be on all night feel free to invite me and Jarrodhk

[JLu]

Picking this up on the way home tonight...  Should be giving it a go through the tutorial in two hours.  Looking forward to it!

[disarm]

according to my nearest Gamestop just outside Hartford, CT, my copy of the CE is still sitting at a FedEx station in Tennessee, and noone else in the area has any copies of the game yet either.  i checked several places in the immediate area and came up empty...BestBuy got their copies in but supposedly sold out about 10 minutes before i walked in the door 

[EngineNo9]

according to my nearest Gamestop just outside Hartford, CT, my copy of the CE is still sitting at a FedEx station in Tennessee, and noone else in the area has any copies of the game yet either.  i checked several places in the immediate area and came up empty...BestBuy got their copies in but supposedly sold out about 10 minutes before i walked in the door 

We had the same problem in this area: all the GameStop/EB's are reporting "an unforseen shipping problem" so I stopped in at Circuit City and they had the same thing.  I wanted to pick up the Cars DVD (with free poster) for my nephew so I went to Best Buy and they had a bunch.  Of course, they just implemented a new system where they keep their 360 games in a lockup cage by the registers and there was no signs or empty cases of Gears so unless you ask you wouldn't even know it was in.  Dorks. 

Needless to say I grabbed one.   

[StitchJones]

Well apparently the word is that Fedex has LOST 200,000 copies of GOW.  That's crazy!  I'm cancelling my preorder and getting it from Best Buy or Target this weekend.

[Chaz]

Where are you hearing that FedEx lost those copies?

[Devil]

I got the same FedEx story.

Chaz - Looks like all the Bostin area was hosed.

Jlu - You get to pick it up?

One day of Deval Patrick and I'm already getting screwed!!   

[Chaz]

Boston area seems to have been hosed, but Best Buy came through, and delivered copies of Gears of War and CoD3.  However, they had Elite Beat Agents in the back, and refused to bring one out to sell it to me.  The Target across the way was more than happy to sell me one of those.

I did fill out the online customer survey after this fiasco, and I'd encourage others to do the same. 

[StitchJones]

That's the word coming from Gamestop.

[Lockdown]

So... are the Gamestops and EB's on the East Coast getting these delayed shipments today then?  (Thursday).

If so, tonight is going to be crazy with all the GT'ers online... which will be awesome.

How many GT'ers did you guys have online last night playing GearsOfWar by the way?

[Chaz]

I had a high of about 20 folks on my friends list on at around 11 pm last night.  Should definitely be higher after today and earlier in the evening.

Of course, with my luck, by the time I get back from my trip next Monday, everyone will have gotten tired of it already, and I won't see anyone online.

[Lockdown]

For 60 freakin' dollars - I sure hope you're wrong about that. 

And I will be playing as long as Soulchilde is - cause shooting him never, ever, ever gets old.

Barring some bizarre twist of fate, I will be online tonight.  I expect to get in lots of multiplayer with GT'ers.  I may even pull a "devil' and open the box, insert the game, and proceed immediately to Live, foregoing any training whatsoever.

Maybe we can get some serious GT-Only 4 vs 4 going tonight.  Has anyone done that yet?  How was the lag?

 

[JLu]

I got the same FedEx story.

Chaz - Looks like all the Bostin area was hosed.

Jlu - You get to pick it up?

One day of Deval Patrick and I'm already getting screwed!!   

My Gamestop had the Collector's Edition, but none of the regular.  I was ticked if only because they left the message the day before.  Went on to Target and they didn't have it either, and even braved a Walmart where they too only had the CE in...  I will be online tonight though!! 

Funny, Devil; the first thing I thought was when I got in the car after striking out was, "Could it somehow be Deval Patrick's fault already?"

[Chaz]

Funny, Devil; the first thing I thought was when I got in the car after striking out was, "Could it somehow be Deval Patrick's fault already?"

Oh, it's not?  I was kind of assuming it was.  Silly me.

But if I get dropped because of lag, that's his fault, right?

[JLu]

Funny, Devil; the first thing I thought was when I got in the car after striking out was, "Could it somehow be Deval Patrick's fault already?"

Oh, it's not?  I was kind of assuming it was.  Silly me.

But if I get dropped because of lag, that's his fault, right?

I was annoyed, and had been reading far too many political threads here in the past few days...  Just one of those thoughts that went through my head is all.  (His press conference happened to be on the radio at the time, and I'll say he did sound to be saying the right things in victory).

[Devil]

Just jokes - I'm sure Gov. Urkel will do a fine job.

My EB had nothing. I ordered the CE too (no idea why). They are giving everyone $5 off for the screw-up.

[papasmurff]

For 60 freakin' dollars - I sure hope you're wrong about that. 

And I will be playing as long as Soulchilde is - cause shooting him never, ever, ever gets old.

Barring some bizarre twist of fate, I will be online tonight.  I expect to get in lots of multiplayer with GT'ers.  I may even pull a "devil' and open the box, insert the game, and proceed immediately to Live, foregoing any training whatsoever.

Maybe we can get some serious GT-Only 4 vs 4 going tonight.  Has anyone done that yet?  How was the lag?

We played last night.  The biggest issue we were having was connecting.  It seemed if Jarrod or I hosted Calvin and TML couldn't join.  We might have had one or two people who were other friends not GT but for the most part we didn't have an issue getting people to play 3 v 3 or 4 v 4.  I didn't even notice a lag.  The game runs really smooth....