User:Etad91/GearsTest

Gears of War is an award winning, bestselling science fiction video game franchise, created and owned by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The two games that currently make up the series take place on the fictional planet Sera and focus on a war between humans and creatures known as Locust. In Gears of War, the protagonist Marcus Fenix, a soldier or "Gear" in the Coalition of Ordered Governments, leads his squad on a mission to deploy the Lightmass bomb and destroy the Locust Horde in their underground strongholds. The sequel Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the events of the first game, and follows Delta Squad and the COG army as it launches an assault directly against the Hollow in an effort to end the war.

Setting
The Gears of War series takes place on a fictional Earth-like planet named Sera. The planet had a history of conflict that took Sera to the brink of destruction. This shocked the people into a rejection of their destructive ways, leading to a golden age. Although most conflict was solved peacefully, civil liberties and crime remained as troublesome social issues. A golden age of culture, science, and the arts ensued, yet one problem stood prominent above the rest: energy. Sera's sources of petroleum and nuclear fuel were not sufficient to meet the global demand. Imulsion - with its promise of near limitless energy - was thought to be the solution to mankind's great need. Humans discovered liquid Imulsion, which flows underground, and became a key power source. The value of Imulsion led to a seventy-nine year war over the substance, until the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) was formed to put a stop to the war. Shortly after peace settled, however, humans were attacked across the planet by the Locust, a race of beings that dug their way out from underground. Much of humanity was wiped out during the first Locust attack, otherwise known as "Emergence Day," and the remaining humans gathered their numbers on Jacinto Plateau, a mass of hard rock the Locust could not burrow through; the humans that could not make it became known as the "Stranded," and took shelter among the ruins. Out of desperation, the COG employed a "scorched earth" policy by firing orbital lasers across the surface of the planet to deny the Locust any spoils of war. The COG forces and the Locust continued to battle, each side desiring the complete destruction of the other.

The campaign mode of the series has focused on the character of Marcus Fenix, a COG soldier formerly imprisoned for abandoning his post during the early Locust attacks to save his father, Adam Fenix, a key scientist studying the Locust. At the start of the first game, Marcus is rescued from an abandoned prison facility by his best friend, Dominic "Dom" Santiago, who had lost his wife Maria during the Locust attacks and has been looking for her since. Marcus, after his rescue, is readmitted to the COG force and promoted to lead Delta Squad. They are later joined by Augustus Cole, a star "thrashball" player before Emergence Day, and Damon Baird, the squad's mechanic.

Gameplay
Gears of War is a third person shooter game, with its core concepts being derived from Resident Evil 4s "over the shoulder" perspective, Kill Switchs cover system, and Bionic Commando's swinging action akin to moving between points of cover. The series focuses on using cover to tactically engage the enemy in battle to avoid taking damage. While behind cover, the player can fire blindly and inaccurately at their opponent, or can look around the cover and aim carefully, though exposing himself to enemy fire; the player can also slide along cover, move between nearby cover, or vault over cover to race to a new point of cover. As the player takes damage, the "Crimson Omen" appears on the HUD, becoming more defined as the player nears low health levels. The player can regenerate their health by staying out of harms way for a short while. Should the player take too much damage, they will become incapacitated unless revived by a teammate; depending on game mode, the player may be able to recover from this state on their own, or may die after a short amount of time if not revived. When a combatant is down, a member of the other side may also attempt to execute the downed player via a "curb stomp" or other brutal method. Some types of damage will immediately kill the player with no chance of revival, such as explosive damage. There are five levels on both of the games, but they are referred to as "acts" and each act is formed into a certain amount of chapters.

Players in Gears can only carry four different weapons: one pistol-type weapon, up to four grenades of a specific type (Fragmentation, Smoke, and in Gears of War 2, Ink) and two other weapons which include, but are not limited to, two medium range assault rifles, a sniper rifle, and a grenade launcher (the Boomshot). Players can either obtain ammo or swap out their current weapons with any weapon dropped by a downed foe or from those scattered around the various maps. Most weapons feature the "Active Reload" ability: either after a weapon has run out of an ammo clip or when the player starts a manual reload, a meter is shown on screen, and the player can attempt to stop the meter in a certain marked area. If the player stops the meter in the marked area, their reload will be completed faster than if they didn't attempt an Active Reload, and if the player can stop the meter at a specific section of the marked area, they will gain a temporary slight damage boost with each reloaded shot and a faster reload. If the player stops the meter outside this area, their gun will become temporarily jammed and slow down the reload time. While most of the weapons are based on standard shooter archetypes, Gears's signature weapon is the Lancer, an assault rifle that has a mounted chainsaw bayonet which can be used in close quarter combat to instantly kill a foe. Most other weapons also can be used to bash opponents in melee, or in the case of grenades, can be stuck to a foe, exploding a few seconds later. In Gears of War 2, all three types of grenades (fragmentation, ink, and smoke), can be planted on any reachable surface, detonating when an opponent comes close to it. If the opponent spots the grenade, he or she can detonate it from a safe distance by shooting it.

Both Gears games feature a single player mode that can be played co-operatively with one other player. The two players take the roles of two COG soldiers, Marcus Fenix and Dominic "Dom" Santiago, respectively, as they fight the Locust. At various times, the campaign will offer a choice of paths the first player can select; if the second player is present, they will be forced to take the other path. In these areas, both players generally have to work together to get them both through the section, such as by one player providing covering fire while the second player opens a switch that allows the first player to then proceed. The campaign mode features several levels of difficulties.

The competitive multiplayer mode in Gears 1 features 8 players while in Gears 2 features up to ten players split between COG and Locust forces in a number of gameplay types. Modes include "Warzone" and "Execution", both similar to a typical deathmatch, and "Annex" and "King of the Hill" where teams have to control a marked zone on the map. In the mode "Guardian,"(only in Gears 2) one member of each team is designated as the leader. As long as the leader is still alive, his or her team mates can respawn indefinitely. As soon as the leader is executed, his or her team mates can no longer respawn.

Gears of War 3 brings a new dynamic to the series. In past games the AI went around the obstacle even if it had been destroyed. However, Gears 3 the AI will recgonize that the obstacle has been destroyed and are free to walk over it.

Gears of War
Gears of War is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released for the Xbox 360 on November 7, 2006 in North America, and on November 17, 2006 in Europe. While it was initially released as an exclusive title the Xbox 360 it was also released for the PC on June 11, 2007, and is currently the only game in the series to have a PC version. Gears of War follows Delta Squad's efforts to help deploy a Lightmass bomb deep in the Locust tunnels to wipe out the Locust threat.

Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is the sequel to Gears of War, and was announced by lead designer Cliff Bleszinski during the February 20, 2008 Game Developers Conference. It was released worldwide November 7, 2008. The game uses a heavily upgraded version of the Unreal Engine 3. Gears of War 2 takes place after the first game, where the Locust are now attempting to sink Jacinto Plateau, and the COG forces have decided to launch a counter-offensive to stop them before they can complete their attempt.

A PC version of the game was cancelled by the developers, citing poor sales of the original PC version of Gears of War as well as concerns over piracy.

Gears of War 3
Gears of War 3, the concluding part to the trilogy, has been officially announced by Microsoft. Originally with an April 5, 2011 release date, Gears of War 3 has now been pushed back to a November 2011 release. A teaser trailer has also been released. Gears of War 3 takes place 18 months after the end of Gears 2. Marcus, Dom, and the last remnants of humanity must band together to survive against a new threat even more terrifying than the Locust, the Lambent.

Other games
In an interview by IGN with Joshua Ortega (Gears of War 2 ' s writer), Ortega responded to a question regarding a Gears of War prequel dealing with Emergence Day saying, "You will not be disappointed in the next ten years; it's a ten-year plan. Gears is long-term. The Lancer is the new Lightsaber."

Music
The video game music for Gears of War was composed by Kevin Riepl who has previously worked with Epic Games on soundtracks for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Championship.

In Gears of War 2, the music was composed by Steve Jablonsky.

Books
A series of novels based on the fictional universe has been created, all written by Karen Traviss. The books expand on the games and detail events which occur in between installments. Gears of War: Aspho Fields was the first in an expected trilogy, although the total numbers of books known has since grown to five. It focused on the history of the characters and the battle at Aspho Fields, but also took place during the events between Gears of War and Gears of War 2.

The second novel, Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, continued where Gears of War 2 left off, with Jacinto's survivors fleeing the ruins of the city and searching for a new safe haven. Later they enter into a new conflict against the Stranded who have begun a guerilla war against the remnants of the COG. The book also detailed events 1 year after E-Day, when the new COG Chairman authorised the Hammer of Dawn counterattack.

Gears of War: Anvil Gate is the third novel, released on August 31, 2010. The novel details the COG attempting to establish themselves on the island of Vectes, while trying to contain a Stranded insurgency and the resurgent Lambent. A flashback story details a young Hoffman during the Siege of Anvil Gate.

A further two novels have been announced, with Gears of War: Coalition's End confirmed to be released on March 1, 2011, set 18 months after the end of the second game and leading directly into Gears of War 3. It is currently unknown when the fifth book will be released.

Graphic Novel
Gears of War: Hollow was the first graphic novel series based on the Gears of War world. It was first announced by Epic Games and DC Comics on 18 April 2008 and was released in December 2008. The graphic novel was published under DC's Wildstorm imprint and was written by Joshua Ortega, with art by Liam Sharp. The story arc followed Jace Stratton, a young recruit of Delta Squad who will be making an appearance in Gears of War 3 and Michael Barrick, a sole Gear found by Delta. The arc was 6 issues long and ended in May 2009.

Two stand-alone comic books stories were then released. Issue 7, "The Quickening", followed the life of Tai Kaliso from his home in the South Islands to the torture den of the Locust Horde. This was released in June 9.

The second stand-alone was Harper's Story. In Gears of War 2 there are collectibles which describe the end of Sgt. Jonathan Harper, a Gears Veteran. He was captured by the Locust during the events of the Hollow. He managed not only to survive the vile deeds of the Locust Horde but also to escape. He helped a family reach safety, taking the bullets into his own poor, broken body before falling to the ground.

Issue number 9 begins a new arc, Barren, the first part was released in September 2009. We are introduced to the "other side" of the life of humans faced by total annihilation. Birthing Creches, or Breeding Farms, filled with women who are there to do just what it says on the box ~ have baby after baby ~ and nothing else. With humanity dying out and no fresh faces to replace fallen Gears, new humans are needed. This disturbing, yet brilliantly written arc stars an escapee or a "failure" from one of these monstrous "prisons", Alex Brand. Declared to be barren at the age of 18, Brand was kicked from the Breeding Farm she was born in, sent to Boot Camp and trained to be a Gear. She accompanies Delta and Sigma Squads as they investigate a mysterious beacon call from the place at which she was born, which was thought to have been destroyed by Locust.

Film
On March 20, 2007, it was announced that New Line Cinema had purchased the rights to make a Gears of War film, with Stuart Beattie writing the script along with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, who will be producing it. Producer Wyck Godfrey said of the film adaptation, "I'm not a gamer, but what blew me away about Gears was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are." On August 3, 2007, AICN.com reported that Len Wiseman was to direct the movie adaptation of Gears of War. though on March 30, 2007, Godfrey stated that they have "a director we're about to attach" in order to film the movie during 2009 and release in 2010. Cliff Bleszinski, the lead designer of the Gears of War video games, will be an executive producer.

Wiseman was officially signed on in June 2008, with Chris Morgan performing script rewrites. Morgan hinted on G4's televised coverage of Comic Con 2008 that the film would be a prequel to the first game, "it could explain how Marcus Fenix got his scar." According to Morgan, Wiseman "wants to make it as realistic as possible, and to blur those lines where your mind says, 'Oh, it's a big CGI film.. On December 8, 2009, Wyck Godfrey sat down with MakingOf to talk about the "Gears of War" movie, and said that "to tell the epic story of an alien planet that's living in a horrific environment just feels like the wrong mood right now".

In April 2010, New Line considerably scaled back the $100 million budget and epic story, stalling progress while they wait for a rewrite. Len Wiseman is no longer involved as he shifts his focus to other projects.

Merchandise
TriForce Sales has obtained a license from Epic Games to create full-scale replicas of the armor and weapons from the game, with assistance of sculptor Sid Garrand of Nightmare Armor Studios. The units will be available for advanced order in July 2008.

In July 2007, NECA announced they would be producing Gears of War merchandise, including action figures. The first series, available in the second quarter of 2008, included Augustus Cole, Anthony Carmine, a Locust Drone, a Locust Sniper and Marcus Fenix.

Mindzeye Studios has created foot high statues of Gears of War characters.

In pop culture
Gears of War is seen being played in the films Live Free or Die Hard, The Hurt Locker, Tormented and "Fast & Furious". It can also be seen during episodes of One Tree Hill, Veronica Mars, Entourage, NCIS, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Chuck''.