[CrunchinJelly]

Everyone forgot about this game, but there's a demo up!

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Pr...5-d80254540843

Just loading it up now and will update with impressions.

[shinobi602]

Aww damn, my Live Gold just expired yesterday :(

[U2NUMB]

Very curious as to how it plays. I was not a fan of the beta they had a while ago but I am hoping for a Red Faction like beta to release transformation.

[AHA-Lambda]

wow no hype behind this game at all! I had no idea a demo was coming =/

[subversus]

sent to die

[Horse Armour]

Seems like this game was announced a very long time ago. For a generic looking TPS it sure is taking its time coming out.

[Arxisz]

Let's hear those impressions!

[kurtrussell]

Lol for a moment there I read OP as "Spec Ops: The Wire".

I was thinking 'They made a game out of that? Great, just what we need, an overlong, predicatable and bland experience that has outstayed it's welcome after the first 10 minutes and features a random scrap of dialog with quote marks wrapped around it at the beginning of each game in an attempt to be "intelligent" and "artistic".'

[IOnEI Falcon]

Cool, thanks for letting us know! Added to the queue.

[CrunchinJelly]

I can confirm this game is Gears of War set in the Call of Duty universe.

Starts off with a chopper gunner section so you know what the rest is like.

Third person shooter with heavy use of knee-high walls. Walk forward through linear environments with the occasional cut-scene and forced walking while the game loads mid-level.

They even have the Gears executions!

[Pylon_Trooper]

Oof, not much love for Yager, it seems.

I have a special place in my heart for their namesake game.

[Black-Box]

does it still suck, played the beta, thought it was the worst shooter of the year

[SgtCobra]

Heh totally forgot this game even existed, will try it out asap.

[Vinterbird]

I can confirm this game is Gears of War set in the Call of Duty universe. Starts off with a chopper gunner section so you know what the rest is like. Third person shooter with heavy use of knee-high walls. Walk forward through linear environments with the occasional cut-scene and forced walking while the game loads mid-level. They even have the Gears executions!

God I hope the demo is like what they previously were doing - presenting CoD in Dubai and then doing a bait and switch with the story and overall theme.

Would be really sad if they changed the entire expereince to just straight forward action.

[Noisepurge]

this game was all about the sand effects? Any good set pieces regarding that in the demo? :D

[NHale]

I still remember the days when the media was praising this game like it was the 2nd coming during E3 2010 (or was it 2009?). Now it seems nobody cares...

[Stallion Free]

Ooo thanks for the heads up, downloading now.

[HuntTheMusic]

Does it still have the cool sounding sand dynamics? At one point I am sure I heard on a podcast that you could shoot out windows near enemies and the sand would either slow down or suffocate enemies.

If that's gone then I think so has my interest.

[Vinterbird]

Does it still have the cool sounding sand dynamics? At one point I am sure I heard on a podcast that you could shoot out windows near enemies and the sand would either slow down or suffocate enemies. If that's gone then I think so has my interest.

Thats still being shown in the latest trailers, but if it is part of the demo I don't know.

[dancrane212]

I liked the idea that over time as you and your squad have to deal with these horrific choices that it would be reflective in their animations. IE A melee attack getting more brutal as the game goes on.

Then again I heard that in an interview years ago. Who knows if it's still in the game or not.

[shinobi602]

I can confirm this game is Gears of War set in the Call of Duty universe. Starts off with a chopper gunner section so you know what the rest is like. Third person shooter with heavy use of knee-high walls. Walk forward through linear environments with the occasional cut-scene and forced walking while the game loads mid-level. They even have the Gears executions!

Hmm, I have no qualms with that!

[injurai]

I still remember the days when the media was praising this game like it was the 2nd coming during E3 2010 (or was it 2009?). Now it seems nobody cares...

People praised the sand, not the game. Since then we got Uncharted 3 and Journey as superior sand simulators.

[ArjanN]

People praised the sand, not the game. Since then we got Uncharted 3 and Journey as superior sand simulators.

That and the Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darknes influences. Although I don't know if any of that is in the demo.

[ClosingADoor]

People praised the sand, not the game. Since then we got Uncharted 3 and Journey as superior sand simulators.

There were supposed to be all kinds of dynamic events with the sand. Sandstorms coming up and things like that. Too bad that's been traded for just scripted stuff.

[whatevermort]

Everything I've seen of this makes me think it's just 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand but without diamond skulls. Intrigued to try the demo...

[Evolved1]

Will this be on PS3/PSN? I haven't been keeping track since it went off the radar....

[Daeda]

That and the Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darknes influences. Although I don't know if any of that is in the demo.

Mostly this. Played through quite some levels of an early preview and this is definately the reason to look out for this game. had some real tense moments story wise.

[legbone]

That and the Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darknes influences. Although I don't know if any of that is in the demo.

these influences are what have interested me in the game from day one. i was in the multiplayer beta (more of an alpha since it was a mess) ages ago it seems. i have been looking forward to this game for years. can't wait to try the demo. gears in the cod universe sounds pretty good to me.

[zlatko]

Random demo release is random.

If anyone who played the beta touches it today let us know how it compares to that build in terms of pop in and polish.

[Stallion Free]

Seems like it will look pretty nice on PC. The controls didn't feel that great, but I'm used to Gears level tightness.

[eek5]

Demo was OK. It's super linear. I didn't see any of those sand elements except for the tutorial one but I might've just overlooked it. Took me about ~38min to finish. There were a lot of cutscenes but none of those "decisions" you have to make that I've seen in previews. Graphically the game looks OK. I'm not a huge fan of the bloom they use for reflective light off the sand but other than that it's alright. The controls are decent; I like how you can start running with A and then use both sticks to steer/look but sometimes the RS does nothing and it just snaps back to your run path.

[NinjaBoiX]

Seems like this game was announced a very long time ago. For a generic looking TPS it sure is taking its time coming out.

Is there some kind of correlation I don't know about? What a weird statement.

[Secret_Riddle]

Is there some kind of correlation I don't know about? What a weird statement.

If the game looks like it's visually and mechanically generic, it follows that there's no real reason for it to have an extended development time.

Not that I agree that Spec Ops looks generic. I'm really interested to see what the reviews will be. All that "Heart of Darkness" stuff had me pretty excited a year or two ago, but I feel like they've dropped all that from their marketing.

[MDSLKTR]

I liked the trailers, looked violent. Will try the pc demo if there ever is one.

[RoboPlato]

I remember looking forward to this but I completely forgot about it. Will check it out if the demo is on PSN later.

[IOnEI Falcon]

Demo is not bad. I liked it. A couple frustrating moments when running and taking cover. Just annoying to go back to after Gears 3 finally worked out most cover kinks.

[Diamond]

Liked the demo. The game seems, as expected, to make solid efforts on the story/atmosphere side. It makes up for a very classical gameplay. I like the setting too : empty buildings full of sand, it's haunting. If they nail the psychological aspect of the game, it'll definitely be interesting to play.

[Apdiddy]

I actually liked the demo -- it scratches that Gears/Uncharted itch but felt like Battlefield: BC as well....just slightly more serious. The controls are very solid and decent. The story is intrguing.

Still, the time the game gets released is not very good -- I guess I'll grab it when it's cheaper (towards Christmas/November).

[Imp the Dimp]

Blurriest IQ I've seen in a loooong time.

[NinjaBoiX]

If the game looks like it's visually and mechanically generic, it follows that there's no real reason for it to have an extended development time.

Didn't GT5 take like years and years to develop? And you can't get much more generic than a car sim.

[Feindflug]

Blurriest IQ I've seen in a loooong time.

Besides the lack of AA the IQ was sharp...I haven't played the PS3 demo (if there is one) but the 360 version looks like it's running at 720p with no AA.

The lighting is beautiful (the latest version of UE3 is great) and the game runs silky smooth, which was a surprise for me because the preview videos had horrible tearing issues and frame-rate drops.

I'll keep an eye on this one, the gameplay/mechanics were very good and the setting and story looked really interesting.

[Stallion Free]

Blurriest IQ I've seen in a loooong time.

There is a PC release and UE3 has become progressively easier to clean up there IQ-wise.

[Xater]

Game seems competent. I liked that there is not an abundance of ammo, you can give some basic commands to your teammates and your mates are actually useful. Other than that it is nothing we haven't seen before. It's not a bad game but it will probably be totally overlooked because of better/more popular alternatives. The separate button to vault over cover seems questionable. Why mes with a control scheme that works?

[kaskade]

I remember hearing about this a while ago and it sounded pretty cool but then I never really heard much after that. Cool that we get to try it.

[Backfoggen]

Demo pleasantly surprised me.

[S1kkZ]

demo seems ok. animations are way to stiff/bad keyframing but otherwise, it looks nice.
demo is a bit to linear and scripted but i hope this is just for the demo.

what i dislike is the feedback (or lack of feedback) when you shoot an enemy with your rifle. the enemy doesnt react at all when you shoot him, he just collapses in a bad animation. but when you use a pistol, everything seems fine.

[EYEL1NER]

I remember not being interested when it was unveiled at the VGAs, but I'm interested now I guess.
It doesn't seem like anything too great but it will entertain me. The Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness-type story seems like it might be good. And I loved the way the game looked. I don't really have an eye for bad graphics. A lot of time I don't notice jaggies or screen tearing or anything. But the demo looked damn-good in my opinion.

I think I'll pick it up after the first sale or price drop.

[dark10x]

There is a PC release and UE3 has become progressively easier to clean up there IQ-wise.

I still have major performance issues when using some of the more effective AA solutions with UE3 games. I'm always stuck with FXAA or SMAA. Nearly every other option hurts performance (if it works at all). :\

[rainking187]

I liked it a lot when they first showed it off, but it's been so long. If the demo is released on the PSN today I'll give it a shot though.

[Sec0nd]

I'm actually really interested in this game. Story seems interesting and the gameplay wasn't that bad apart from the waves of enemies. Not going to pay full price for this though.