Graphics
Built using the Unreal Engine 3.0 Gears of War looks great. Character models are detailed and rendered perfectly, while their animated movements are very realistic. In addition to the character models, the game's environments throughout look fantastic and lighting effects enhance and play a big role in setting the mood.
It's worth noting that in order to get the game to look really fabulous it's going to take some heavy duty hardware. The game's minimum requirements call for 1GB of RAM and a GeForce 6600+ or ATI x700+ Graphics card. To get the really great looking graphics however it may take a dual core processor coupled with a DirectX 10 compatible graphics card and Windows Vista. Meeting the minimum requirements will probably get you graphics looking like the Xbox 360 version, which, don't get me wrong, is good but nothing compared to it's full potential.
Multiplayer
Gears of War has a very extensive set of multiplayer game modes which are hosted over the Games for Windows Live gaming network. There are five multiplayer game types that allow for a maximum of eight players to fight along side or against each other. These game types include Warzone, Execution, and Assassination which are slightly different versions of a head to head match-up between Humans and Locust teams. The Annex and King of the Hill modes are geared towards capturing specific locations and holding them for points.
In addition to these multiplayer modes, Gears includes a Co-op mode that enables two players to play the campaign mode together. Connecting to Co-op mode is still done through the Games for Windows Live community and is enabled for the free Silver level membership. In Co-op mode the second player takes the role of a fellow Delta Squad member named Dominic Santiago. Through the Co-op mode, players will have the same overall objective and checkpoints, fight along side each other simultaneously and have the ability to heal/revive the other if within close proximity.
Bottom Line
There have been some bugs/issues with the retail release that have been reported to the Gears of War Forums, but the great thing about PC games is that bugs/issues with an initial release can always be (and usually are) fixed with an easily installable patch. In spite of these issues, Gears of War for the PC is a solid game from top to bottom. Whether you've played Gears of War or not the new chapters, multiplayer maps and better graphics coupled with the same great game play and combat system should put Gears of War for the PC near the top of every game of the year list.
