14 DAY TRIAL // Gears of War is one of the most popular new shooter franchises out there. It was developed by Epic Games, Cliff Bleszinski being the lead creative designer behind the series and heavily promoting it. The franchise gained an impressive number of fans after the first game was launched in 2006, and it will soon have its second installment launched on November 7, exclusively for the Xbox 360.
The game tells the story of a fictional Earth-like planet, which has been overrun by a species of underground aliens, called The Locust. The protagonist is Marcus Fenix, who, together with his team of soldiers, fights off the aliens and attempts to wipe them out once and for all by detonating a series of bombs deep in the creatures' underground layer. The series has often been accused of promoting stereotypes of big, testosterone-filled soldiers who only take pleasure in extreme acts of violence. However, most of the targeted gamers didn't find that very offensive.
That is why, in an effort to further create hype around his game, Cliff Bleszinski has revealed to Reuteurs that he hopes casual gamers will be interested in the upcoming product. He has emphasized the role of the story and how it will totally immerse players into it and, furthermore, added the fact that the Co-Op campaign might bring together friends in order to complete this game.
“We want casual gamers to play the game and be sucked into the universe and finish the game,” said Bleszinski. “We want them to potentially finish with a friend and become a fan of the characters and the setting.”
Still, the idea of big soldiers fighting off waves and waves of violent aliens, and leaving behind them massive amounts of destruction doesn't really look like it might get casual gamers interested. It is a pretty obvious move for the designer to profit from the large number of occasional players, who take fun particularly in titles that suit their interests, though Gears of War isn't something that most of them might be attracted to play.