Gears of War: A Study of Cooperative Multiplayer vs Straight-Up Massacre

I need your boots, your clothes and your motorcycle

I will say one thing. I really REALLY like to shoot things. I don't really care what they are. I like to shoot bugs. I like to shoot zombies. I like shooting bad guys, Nazis, Japanese soldiers, James Bond villians, Russian Ultranationalists, terrorists and bugs.

Most recently I have become completely obsessed with the Gears of War series.

I adore this franchise. Not in a joanie loves chachi kind of way, but more of a "M&M addiction during menstruation" kind of way, making the game a permanent fixture on my video game shelf.

Why is the game so good?

Well I'm not going to go on a tirade professing how fucking awesome the story is or how hilarious or bad ass or likable the characters are because frankly the best thing I can say of the characters is that they are entertaining and that the plot, on the shallow side of complex and certain surprise endings aside, leaves something to be desired in the drama department. Plot developments aside, the game's action is great as are the graphics and aesthetic design elements.  Also, the game is really gory, which makes me tingly in places it shouldnt.

Bitches. Shotgun roll me. I dare you.

Nope, what I like is how you play the game and that means: the cover mechanic. You have to hide and shoot. With a twitch of your thumb you decide left or right, tuck or flippy across to the next cover spot. Climb over or flip back to avoid a frag. And it knows whether or not you want to roll or slide into a hiding spot. Overall smooth, user friendly and entirely conducive to kicking ass and taking names.

Most complaints I hear about Gears regard the game's cover mechanic or similar in-game aspects.  Now I understand if you don't like the story or characters, fine (to be honest, I think the Halo and Battlefield Bad Company characters a little on the obnoxious side) but do not knock the game play until you've really immersed yourself in the multiplayer.

They're coming for ya. They know you ate the last thin mint.

Gears of War online multiplayer truly culminates in Horde mode.  One of several different modes offered, Horde mode, a defensive based mode where a team of five players work as a team to stave off  increasingly difficult waves of enemies, truly necessitates the cover mechanic through placing a player's focus on defense of a specific area, their teammates and resources. Without such a mechanic Horde mode would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Horde mode also works to facilitate cooperative game-play with one's fellow players instead of mere brute competitive game play so common in modes like Team Death Match or Capture the Leader (to name a few native to the Gears lexicon).

This is what happens when you run ahead

These modes and those like them in other video games, prohibit friendly fire (an aspect that is more or less easy to surmount if you watch the video below) but fall short of rewarding cooperative play beyond giving points to someone for reviving a fallen comrade.  Horde mode more or less requires cooperation to win the game.  If you go Rambo, more often than not you lose.


Many enthusiasts of other titles find this cover mechanic a cheap cop-out since it takes the guess work out of finding cover during a fire fight. Additionally many claim the mechanic hinder the speed with which one can traverse a map, evade an enemy or go in for a kill.  Regarding the cop-out stance, I find it unlikely that any player would turn down a chance to know when exactly they are safe from enemy fire: I think instead that cover-mechanic haters are irritated that is takes less "skill" and less finesse to protect yourself.  Any noob can pick up a controller and instantly hide in cover from a twice-prestiged level 98.

Level 2 dick gremlin who teabags you because he managed to catch you off guard 

Well that sounds like sour grapes. So suck it the fuck up.  What the cover mechanic does is level the playing field a bit so there is less of a learning curve: rather like using an automatic transmission instead of a manual. Instead of worrying whether or not you can shoot a prick with an RPG quickly enough so that his sniper pal across the map can't get you from a position behind some random rock only to get killed from behind; with the knowledge that you're reasonably safe in cover a player can instead watch 270 degrees around their position, ensuring they don't get knifed in the ass while at the same time preparing to lob destruction.  And don't argue with me--you gamer boys I know who you are--about games without cover mechanics being more realistic.  Realistically one does not go barreling into danger when bullets are hitting you but that doesn't stop many players from running into a fire fight.  As for the speed aspect: arguably, that is just lack of practice. How do you get to Carnegie hall?  


A brief word regarding team death match, capture the flag and other player vs. player multiplayer modes.  The competitive atmosphere inherent within many "battle to the death" gaming modes has a tendency to foment animosity even among members of the same team--players who may deliberately fail to aid a fellow teammate because said teammate had previously snagged a preferred vehicle, "steals a kill," or players who sacrifice game objectives to blow shit up and get a lot of kills (<--see video left).  Do not misunderstand, this competitiveness--a feature which at its core remains a desirable aspect in online gaming-- is far from something that needs to stop.  Rather an alternative for those who tire of 30 year old man-children sending them misspelled, expletive-rich messages after a grenade bounces and kills someone's nemesis. Also, I am not saying that Gears is bereft of poor sportsmanship. Gears has other gaming modes besides Horde and I assure you, there are plenty of rude assholes in there waiting to tea bag you.  I am merely arguing that an environment with a common goal tends to detract from poor sportsmanship and is thus more likely to be fun.  This is why modes with objectives (Rush and Conquest in Battlefield Bad Company 2, and similar modes in the newer Halo games and COD MW3 to name a few) are becoming more and more prevalent. 

Gears of War is at the forefront of a shift in gaming.  The gaming atmosphere is becoming increasingly geared towards connecting players via the internet in order to create a fun, cooperative and competitive  game experience that showcases not just solo performances but the music of a symphony orchestra as well.  

Have fun and play on!