Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Epic Games
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Intel 2.4 GHz or AMD 2.0 GHz; 2 GB RAM; Nvidia GeForce 6600 or ATI X700 or higher; 12 GB hard drive space; Windows XP or Vista
Genre: First-person shooter
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Smith

Die-hard PC gamers are quick to declare themselves the winners in the PC vs. Console wars, pointing out their platform’s advantages in graphics power and precision character control. They conveniently forget to mention, however, that DirectX 10 graphics horsepower costs a pretty penny. But, if there’s a reason to break open the piggy bank for new gaming hardware, it’s Gears of War, the long-awaited PC port of Epic Games’ mega-hit third-person shooter, originally released for the Xbox 360 in November 2006.

On the day humans would later call Emergence Day, life moved in its normal daily patterns. Little did they know that, in thousands of subterranean caves, the Locust Horde was gathering in strength. Most people thought the Horde was a character in horror stories parents told their kids before bed, but on this day, they became a frightening reality. Not long after they rose up from their underground nests, most of the cities of the world were laid waste and millions of humans were dead as the planet’s military forces tried to fight back against the insectoid invaders. Included in the ranks of humanity’s defenders: former soldier Marcus Fenix, who was serving a 40-year sentence for dereliction of duty until the Horde attacked and destroyed his prison. Now Fenix has joined with some of his former comrades in the fight against the Horde.

First of all, a word of warning: Before beginning the Gears install, have a book handy. Completing the install requires almost an hour and a whopping 12 GB of available hard-drive space, and since Gears is a Games for Windows Live title, you’ll be prompted to install and update the GFW Live client before you can enter any online multiplayer matches. Anyone who already has an Xbox Live account can use their existing gamertag info to log into GFW Live; players without current accounts can create one for free. And here’s a quirk that Xbox players don’t have to endure: You won’t be able to connect to GFW Live if you don’t reboot your PC after updating the client.

There’s much about the PC version of Gears that makes console players feel right at home. The menu screens and the art behind them are almost exact copies of the Xbox version, players can play the campaign alone or in a cooperative mode with a friend and achievements are unlocked at the end of each of the five chapters, with others available for completing certain tasks. But there’s also material in the PC version that Xbox players don’t get, such as an extra act in the campaign, an exclusive multiplayer mode and map, a game editor and DirectX 10 support for those who have the hardware to take advantage of it.

In the single-player mode, you play as Fenix. A comrade rescues you from your crumbling jail cell, then offers you the choice of working your way through the remains of the prison (during which you get a tutorial on how to move and defend yourself during the game) or taking a short cut directly to the action outside the building (for those who don’t need the hints). When joining the fray, you fight alongside your AI-controlled squad, moving from objective to objective, passing save checkpoints along the way. Some of these battles can become very intense; be prepared to reload often.

Online multiplayer Gears offers a wide variety of gaming options, some of which are only available to those with gold-level GFW Live accounts. Players can choose from five online modes, including the standard team deathmatch (“Warzone”) and a variation that requires close-range kills (“Execution”), a mode targeting team leaders (“Assassination”) and two that involve holding control points for as long as possible (“Annex” and “King of the Hill”). Servers can be found for ranked matches (featuring persistent updating of personal statistics), normal matches and list-play matches. (GFW Silver members can play and host games in list play, but only Gold members can create friends-only servers or have their statistics saved to the online leaderboards.) LAN play is also supported.

Currently, you can buy a new Xbox 360 for about the same price as a fast, dual-core processor and 2 GB of RAM, which are two of Gears‘ minimum system requirements. Is the PC version worth the expense to upgrade your rig or should you just buy a console instead? On to the numbers…