149: I've Got to be a Macho Man

[Grand_Poohbah]

Great writing, I especially liked the end bit.

 

[Legion]

If the writers of this are secure in their heterosexuality then why would they feel the need to write this article?

 

[murphy7801]

yer GoW is totally homoerotic but thats part of the appeal im mean the man character just got out prison in the first game and doesnt look like a taker. secondly the actually game play is so well done proving that epic technical ability is spot on.

 

[Sewblon]

I liked Gears of War one the first time I played it, but have since lost interest. It represents everything I don't like about video games right now, cover systems, regenerating health, nothing but dark and murky colors, scenes that resemble a story but with no substance and unrelateably masculine men. I confess to parroting Yahtzee but Gears of War just doesn't give me what I desire from entertainment.

 

[HentMas]

Gears of War is not a bad game in my opinion, i dont like it but it haves more to do that third person shooters were never my thing, the story is meh, the bad guys are "meh" and the cover system is ""MEH""

but i had fun with it

a cathartic kind of fun, that fun when you say "F%&K YOU" after you chainsaw a particualrly hard enemy, and in the hardest lvls it really gets to you, you will die a lot, but ultimately the satisfaction is there, and the "OMG I KILLEZ IT" of the moment doesn´t get old in my op.

 

[Kiutu]

"it disheartens me that people think saying stuff like "If you like this game you are clearly some kid of closet homosexual" is any better than shouting "fag" at someone over Xbox Live, it isn't."

You're confused. Calling someone a 'closet homosexual' is not the same as calling them a homosexual AT ALL. 'Closet' is the operative word. While there's nothing at all wrong with being homosexual there IS definitely something wrong with the idea that it's healthy to hide your sexual identity.

This game's only value, as far as I can see, is in helping certain people pretend to be macho while clutching their joystick and avoiding the company of the opposite sex.

You give idiots too much credit.

 

[Kiutu]

The problem I have with Gears is different, and a more serious one: The graphics are held up as the pinnacle of next-gen gaming.

Yeah, yeah, it's impressive from a technical standpoint, I know that. The shading and textures are very well-done and the architecture is mapped out amazingly well. I just came out of the game design program at MATC, I know nice graphic specs when I see them.

And the spectacularly high-quality graphics... look boring as hell. There is nothing interesting about the way the game looks. Every damn level in Gears of War looks exactly alike, and that would be bad even if they didn't look spectacularly uninteresting.

So why are the graphics in this game so popular? Very simple: "Hardcore" gamers are ashamed of the fact that they like video games. They don't like the designation that they're playing with toys, since they're determined to act macho at all costs. This leads to them craving "realism" in games, even at the expense of fun (in a way, especially at the expense of fun) so they can pretend they're not sitting on their ass playing with a toy.

No I dont. Graphics are one of the least important factors of a game. A game is successful if it is fun. Maybe you mean 'meathead gamers' as I call them.

 

[zahr]

Thoughts on Gears of War.

- People complaining about it, particularly the supposed homoerotic elements (which I never noticed) are probably pretty insecure themselves. I never realized that until people pointed it out to me, which says a lot about said people.
- I like Gears of War; it's my favourite shooter series alongside Halo. You can call me a casual or some such, or say I have bad taste, but since I also like games such as Thief, Mask of the Betrayer, Guild Wars, and the like, it'll just make you look stupid.
- Gears of War is a great series. The setting is beautifully fleshed out, particularly in terms of atmosphere and aesthetic; the gameplay is very smooth and well thought out; the story may be dull but the characters are fairly likable. The campaign is fun, as is multiplayer.

The only way to improve the series would be releasing Gears 3 on PC, without DRM. It's already that close to perfection as a shooter.