It has been said that “The gears of war are lubricated by the blood of soldiers”. It was this quote, along with some brilliant game-play techniques and story telling that allowed the folks at Microsoft Game Studios the inspiration to present one of the best games of the year in GEARS OF WAR. GEARS takes place in the near Earth like planet of Sera, 14 years after an army called the “Locust” have emerged from below the ground. A fierce war took place, and much of mans civilization has been laid to waste. Mankind has been separated into 2 groups: those that fight (soldiers in the C.O.G. army), and those that don’t actively participate in the war (nicknamed The Stranded). Being the bad ass that you are, you of course are one of the people that fight. You play the part of Marcus Fenix, a well renowned soldier that was thrown in jail because you decided to disobey a direct order to try and save your father. The story picks up as you have just been released from prison. The war is beginning to get even worse for humanity, and every able bodied man is needed to pick up a gun. The man that threw you in prison has a plan to end the war, and throughout the game you will be carrying out various missions to try and beat back the onslaught of the Locusts. Even though this may sound like the typical man vs. aliens plot, there is so much more to the game, you’d be remiss not to investigate further.

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