At this stage you're either a massive Gears of War fanatic, or the series' overuse of tree trunk-armed protagonists and macho dialogue made you run the other way. Personally, there's nothing better than a game that knows exactly how to play to its strengths, and Gears retains its crown as the almighty king of third-person action, taking Resident Evil 4's over-shoulder setup and adding the best cover system we've seen yet. Sure, a ton of copycats would emerge in the following years that would definitely oversaturate its appeal, but you can't deny the impact of this back in 2006. Gears 2 and 3 tend to be regarded as being far superior, but this look back to where Marcus Fenix at co. first cleaved a few hundred Locust aliens in half with giant chainsaw-guns is worth a look for anyone - especially as it looks better than ever.
