The human side of Gears of War

Words by: Jennifer Allen | Posted on: Saturday 17th September, 2011 | Filed under: Features.

We gamers appreciate the considerable benefits that playing games offer. It’s not just the fun factor that can make all the difference, not even the socialising aspect of gaming alongside friends or the competitive urge to win. There’s more to it than that, namely the escapism that it offers and the memories it provides. Think about it. How many times do you recall something in your life that has a game connected to it? Discovering the wondrous landscape of an RPG alongside your co-pilot friend during the best summer of your life, the early FIFA sessions with your new housemates at University instantly forming a common bond between you and people you’ve only just met. It’s not always as obvious as that even with remembering the game you were playing when you were interrupted by a call from that person you’ve been fancying for ages. They all define you just like any other life experience.

In the time that has passed from the first Gears of War to this latest instalment, much has changed and drastically so. This is my story.

Before the release of Gears of War 1, I hadn’t been gaming hugely for a while. The final year of University had taken its toll on my free time, even more so once combined with a busy part time job that became practically full time during the summer. Once September arrived, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Gears of War was out in a mere 2 months time. Yup, I was a very different person back then. By that time I had moved away to Stafford to pursue post graduate studies. Fortunately, living mostly on my own meant that I had plenty of free time so I vowed to use this to return to gaming. While Project Gotham Racing 3 and Dead Rising were fun, they didn’t quite hook me in the way that Gears of War 1 would compel me over Christmas once I returned home.

The path to true love never runs smooth supposedly and neither does the path to Gears of War 1 ownership. It turns out that it was actually quite a popular game. Who’d have thought it, eh? So despite living in an area that normally never ever runs out of stock of anything games related due to an aging population, this actually happened with Gears of War. Bit of a bugger for me who was desperate to buy it before Christmas and had left it too late for online delivery. Even more awkward, due to some very long working hours in retail in a store nowhere near any games shops I was very limited in my options. Who came to my rescue? My Mum. Yup, good old reliable Mum.

Under her own steam, she phoned every games store she could think of till eventually she found a copy in a Gamestation about 10 miles from where I was working. It was a long bus ride, stopping at every single place you could possibly think of. No word of a lie, it took over an hour despite being relatively easy to get to by car. It was worth it of course otherwise I wouldn’t be bothering to reminisce about it here.

By the time I got home, it was evening and I was worn out. Instead of resting and instead of playing alone, I thought it friendly to show my parents this fancy new game I’d acquired. My mother having only ever played the likes of Columns and Tetris before and my Dad having never really played a game, it was an interesting experience. It turned out it was a fantastic experience too – iconic memories of that Christmas were mostly connected to Gears of War 1. Neither parent could get the hang of the right analogue stick meaning it was technically a disaster but emotionally it was a fantastic series of memories. Over the course of that time home, mostly my Dad would check how I was doing on the game, fascinated by the title and wistful at his lack of ability at games playing. While the gameplay mechanics were revolutionary at the time, the main feeling I felt when tackling the storyline was that it was pretty lightweight. I suspect that was more of a reflection on my mood at the time. Life was good. Time away from home had made me appreciate the place I was from once more and I vowed to return soon.

Unfortunately nothing lasts forever. It was a deeply dark return to the Gears of War world when it came to Gears 2 and not just because of the grim storyline. In the intervening period between Gears of War games, my life had changed drastically. My Dad died suddenly in April 2008 and everything fell apart. A week before finally returning to employment, Gears of War 2 was released and I scraped up some pennies to afford it. It was my first ever midnight launch, at the same Gamestation as I bought the original. I went with my Mum which may sound odd but in that time, she’d become a bit of a gamer too hooked to my old PS2 mostly. Gaming becomes good therapy and escapism at times of need.

Gears of War 2 was indeed excellent escapism even despite the storyline. Heightened emotions meant that the tragic death of Maria was all the more poignant. Throwing myself into the multiplayer, especially Horde mode, rekindled friendships that had become awkward in recent months. The curse of having friends around the country means when life gets complicated, it’s not so easy to catch up with them. Xbox Live and Horde mode meant a reuniting of a group of friends. We had a terrific time frantically working our way up to Wave 50 collecting achievements along the way. It was one of the few certainties of my life for a time. A friend was always playing Gears 2 at some point and I could just jump in and forget all my worries. It was a comfort to know it was always there. The camaraderie meant that I never felt alone during this time – something I’d struggled with for many months prior to the release. Focusing on battle tactics kept me entertained and distracted. A friend and I coined the phrase ‘battle biscuit’ as I munched my way through packets of Chocolate Hobnobs that I was determined boosted my playing ability.

Life has changed again for Gears of War 3. Even the Gamestation I faithfully attended for previous Gears games has moved. I’ll still be going there but alas they won’t have a midnight launch. Most of the friends I played Horde with regularly are now happily married, some have children or they’ve simply drifted away from the gaming scene. Life has moved on, the moment gone. Me? Life is better. Work has changed for the better with self employment keeping me happy and giving me some much needed self confidence once more. I’m off to London shortly after Gears of War 3′s release in order to meet up with new friends and have fun at the Eurogamer Expo – something I never would have been able to do at the time of Gears of War 2′s release. I’d still class my life as a work in progress but it’s going the right way.

It makes me wonder what could be next. Already I’m hopeful for a Gears of War 4, whether it is a prequel or not. I wonder how my life could be for the next game. I wonder what the iconic memories of Gears of War 3 will be. I haven’t got a co-op partner lined up this time nor a group of friends destined for regular multiplayer sessions but I’m fine with that. I’m keen and comfortable enough to know that things will all click together.

Gaming is more than just the simple pleasure of having fun. It’s escapism, it’s fun times with lifelong friends, it’s memories of not just the game but of what happened during that time. Gaming is so much more important than many let on. Here’s to another Gears of War infused period of my life.

About Jennifer Allen

Jen's been playing games for longer than she can remember (20 odd years) and has been writing about them for 4 years. In her spare time she likes to pretend she can train her guinea pigs to do tricks. She should stick to chocobos.

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