Played on Insane Difficulty, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition's campaign is both a test of skill and a test of patience. Enemies are both high in number and meaty in terms of constitution, forcing you to favor headshots with guns that are perhaps.....less than accurate. You truly have to learn the limitations of the weapons you are wielding inside and out to be successful. The previously PC exclusive levels added to the game significantly slow down the 3rd act in a tangibly annoying way that I can't seem to shake.

Level design is top notch, with quick and responsive movement between different points of snap-to cover emphasizing just how tastefully designed these environments are for playing this delightful game.

Honestly, it feels like the foundation upon which an entire generation of shooters chose their structure and style of storytelling; dozens of teams looked to Gears' emphasis on moments of adrenaline charged spectacle, interspersed with quiet moments for character development and dialogue as a template, and while Gears' attempt at storytelling doesn't seem to transcend kindergarten levels of dialogue , it does tease something greater on the horizon, which gets me more than just a little bit excited for Gears of War 2.

It's too bad about that final boss encounter though. Too darn bad. Sours the entire experience.

Bottom Line: N I C E