So even though Greg had an Xbox 360 in the house for probably 6 months now I was never really excited about it. It’s not that I didn’t think the games looked great. It’s just that graphics aren’t the biggest selling feature for me. I needed a great game to make me want to spend the money on it. When Brian brought over Gears of War I thought it was the game I needed. (and really it was, because Jesse and I went halvsies on one)

I think that Microsoft has been coasting this whole year on brand name and mediocre games. Which is kind of amazing because they’ve sold a lot of consoles. With Sony and Nintendo coming out I think they’re really bringing out the big guns. G.O.W. is the first game that I really think looks next-gen, and plays like it too. My pick Xbox ftw over PS3.

But what really gets me excited is Tony Hawk’s project 8. This probably won’t figure into the console wars because it’s coming out on both consoles. But DAMN SON, this game is amazing. There hasn’t been an innovation like this in THPS since they learned how to manual in THPS2. It’s called NAIL THE TRICK, it’s like a skateboarding simulator. You click both thumbsticks and it goes into this slow motion mode where all you see is your feet. The thumbsticks then control each foot independently. YOU HAVE TO FLICK THE TRICKS YOURSELF! I can’t emphasize this enough, this is so awesome. This impression is from 30 minutes in the demo, instant classic.

I for one welcome our Next Gen overlords.

So Steckle has been all excited about this new game for the 360, Gears of War. I knew it was going to be a good game but I really wasn’t that excited about it. So he brings it up to the house last night with the 360 and the high def cables to debut it on the money TV in the basement. We jacked up the surround sound to 11 and let it rip.

Let me tell you, This was probably the coolest game I’ve played in a Loooooong time. We played 2 player co-op on the first couple levels. First of all these levels are the levels that should have been in Halo 2, burnt out city levels, Really cool lighting. The guns are balanced, shotguns blow the crap out of anything, machine guns are effective, sniper rifles pop alien heads from 100 yards. And seriously it’s the scariest game I’ve played since Doom 2 all by myself in the dark. But not in a cheap way, like oooh look at this scary monster eating someone, like a really exiting movie. You just get sucked into the action.

I think the best part was the cover system. This game does not play exactly like Halo, if you don’t find cover you will die. It takes a few minutes to get used to but when you do, you’ll wonder how you ever played any other way. you’ll be ducking behind cars shooting your gun over the edge, bouncing grenades around corners, and doing crazy backwards dives for cover. It’s exactly how you really would fight in a warzone.

It is soooooooo MONEY

Jesse and I had a blast running from some giant smelly monster trying to get her to blast through doors for us. It was amazing. It is the first game that really makes me want to get a 360. Until Halo 3, this is it, and maybe after!

Later!