Context-sensitive commands like these really make the cover system in Gears of War work. If the player is behind cover and needs to leave it quickly, he can dive out to either side, or hurtle backwards or forward by pressing the spacebar and the proper direction. Sprinting against the corner of a wall will cause the player to slam up against it and take cover, where the player is protected from enemy fire until he pops up to lay down some of his own. By double-tapping the W key or by holding the spacebar, the player will begin to sprint ahead, sacrificing the ability the shoot and some agility for pure speed. The control scheme works just as well as it did on the console, with its mix of fluid context-sensitive actions that work reliably and are easy to get accustomed to. To keep things fast-paced, enemies know when to rush your position and when to scramble back for cover of their own, just as your own squad members do, so combat never really boils down to everyone sticking to one place and simply trading fire back and forth. The humanoid Locust are quite adept at handling their own rifles and shotguns, making combat in Gears of War more a matter of selection and use of cover than reflexes alone. Rather than being a run-and-gun shooter, the game both encourages and requires taking cover behind low walls or around corners. If Gears of War is anything at all, it's an action title that doesn't pull very many punches in how it handles combat.

It is the job of Fenix and his squad to recover the Resonator and use it to map out the incredibly detailed Locust tunnels woven throughout the planet's crust. On a planet that mankind has heavily colonized, a race called the Locust has begun emerging, pouring forth from the ground and decimating what was once a beautiful landscape.

Set in the future, Gears of War puts the player in the boots of the grizzled Marcus Fenix. The PC port of Gears of War doesn't have an incredibly large list of differences or many new features from its console cousin, but despite the title's relative age, the gameplay proves that it simply doesn't need that crutch to attract PC gamers who are looking for a quality shooter this holiday season. It's no surprise to anyone that Gears of War eventually made its way to the PC market, going by the title's successful run on the Xbox 360 and how often the PC gaming community has asked Microsoft for it.

Gears of war pc review