Despite all the pressure by console manufacturers to let PC gaming slip into oblivion, it's far from happening. Fewer and fewer titles remain PC-exclusive, sure, but that isn't stopping developers from supporting the platform in different ways. Gears of War serves as such an example, offering a slate of unique features only available on the PC.
Gears of War isn't important because it brings one of the biggest hits of 2006 to the PC; rather, it's a crucial evolution of Microsoft's Games for Windows platform. The title itself brings much-needed dimension to the small portfolio of available games, not to mention initiating an expansion of the platform to include Windows XP. Epic wants the game to be as widely available as possible, tenaciously arguing for support for both Windows Vista and its predecessor. This doesn't guarantee success for Gears of War on the PC though, which is being packed with a wealth of new content in an effort to court sales.
Leading the charge are five new chapters in the campaign. Set right before the game's final level, the added section expounds on how Marcus Fenix and the Delta Squad managed to arrive at the city of Timgad. Given the rather poor narrative development of the Xbox 360 version, Epic hopes these new chapters will clear up any confusion over the plot. We're not so certain adding anything can explain away the game's gaping plot hopes, but there's no question that the level brings a heightened action unseen in the console version. Right before boarding the train to end the game, you must square off against a powerful Brumak--a massive creature previously only seen in cutscenes.
The new content doesn't stop there; in fact, multiplayer is getting an additional game type and three new arenas. King of the hill, which is a variation on annex, has you competing against another team for domination of a set point on the map. Winning requires holding it for a total of two minutes with at least one team member. What makes this difficult is that any opponent can breach the perimeter of the hill to break your hold. It isn't a wholly original game--it's been used in other titles--but it certainly is a welcome addition to the PC version.
A total of 19 multiplayer maps are planned for the game when it ships on November 6; however, there's limitless potential for the number of maps thanks to the inclusion of the Unreal Editor. Gears of War packs the full editor right in the box for the community to run crazy with, creating maps and missions with the exact same tools used to craft the game itself. This is, naturally, a PC-exclusive feature and none of the content created can be used in the Xbox 360 game. Even more, Epic remains adamant that all of the added content in Gears of War won't become available for console players given the technical differences between each version. Xbox 360 owners may lament this, but it provides a clear incentive to picking up the game on the PC.
As a Games for Windows title, Gears of War allows the option to use a keyboard and mouse configuration or Xbox 360 controller. The controls remain identical to the Xbox 360 version when using the controller, obviously; however, there's something to be said for using a traditional PC interface. The camera is controlled with the mouse and movement is handled with the WASD keys, with rodeo run triggered by a double-tap. Other functions are mapped to the keyboard, although you're free to reconfigure the controls anyway you want. Again, another advantage Gears of War possesses on PC.
Jumping platforms means a difference in the way Gears of War looks and it's looking great. The added power and support for DirectX 10 promises a vastly improved presentation. You won't need to be running Windows Vista to get a good run of Gears of War, but it seems to be worth it if you have a capable system. Epic is aiming for minimum specifications that aren't too terribly demanding: 2.4 GHz single core processor with 1 GB memory and a recommended 128 MB GPU. Meet these and you can be sure that the game looks fine.
