Monsters? Check. Burly hero with a chequered past? Check. Highly-detailed destructible landscape? Check. Big guns with chainsaw bayonets? Oh yes!

Gears of War came out of E3 2006 as one of the most talked about games. A mix of survival horror and combat-based gameplay, Gears of War is set in a wartorn future where mankind is caught in an epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a race of gun-toting nasties that have emerged from the bowels of the planet. And horrible, horrible t ... more >>

Monsters? Check. Burly hero with a chequered past? Check. Highly-detailed destructible landscape? Check. Big guns with chainsaw bayonets? Oh yes!

Gears of War came out of E3 2006 as one of the most talked about games. A mix of survival horror and combat-based gameplay, Gears of War is set in a wartorn future where mankind is caught in an epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a race of gun-toting nasties that have emerged from the bowels of the planet. And horrible, horrible things they are too: they take the concept of ugly to a new level.

P1 assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a disgraced war-hero who's spent several years languishing in prison. As things start to get out of hand in the outside world, the prisoners get a pardon and you take Marcus and his squad through an apocalyptic wasteland under a barrage of heavy fire. As you make your way through the game, it's a case of duck and cover if you want to survive: too long in the open and you will die, quickly and horribly (with some truly impressive gore effects). Rapid firing on its own just ain't going to cut it. You need to work with your team (who are either controlled by AI in single-player mode or other gamers in multi-player) to outwit your opponents, and it's this element that takes you beyond the realm of the traditional shoot-em-up. New content for the Games For Windows version includes five new game chapters, three new multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer game mode, game editor and 50 additional achievements. And we thought the 360 version was bursting with content! As if all this wasn't enough, all the playable downloadable content from Xbox Live Marketplace can be used with this version, along with the 360 controller.

A year on from the release of the original, this version surely has enough to entice you to return to the planet. Just make sure you have enough hard drive space… << less