“I’m so psyched about it – just seeing that chain saw gun makes me want to play it right now.” This is a shining example of the highly academic talk I encounter before my game design classes begin. This particular conversation was before the release of Gears of War. At the time, I shook my head, thinking, “Boys will be boys.” I knew little about the game and shrugged it off as another hack-and-slash testosterone indulgence.

While the idea of massacring large numbers of monstrous enemies often appeals to me (especially in an RPG environment), the whole idea of using a chain saw seemed a bit graphic at the time. My imagination began to wander…were people actually going to use such chain saw guns to hack up other humans in war? If so, I thought it was a bit extreme on the gore factor. Why couldn’t it just be a chain saw? Then it could be more or a melee weapon. The idea of combining a chain saw and a gun seemed ridiculous to me, but I guess I can’t be too critical. After all, one of my favorite games (perhaps because it was also one of my first) was Final Fantasy VIII, and that had a gunblade (which didn’t even fire bullets).

I guess video game weapons were made to be ridiculous, so maybe it was unfair of me to judge a game so quickly by its weapons. Fortunately, I was surprised a couple weeks later to find that Gears of War had been getting rave reviews.

I happened to watch some co-workers playing it at the end of the day. I was offered the chance to play myself, but, after watching one of my friends (with little more FPS shooting experience than myself) fail miserably, I politely declined. However, I was happy to discover that the game was not about killing other humans.

I watched the guy who brought in Gears of War as he played it. He went through part of a level, explaining how he liked the fact that it had depth, great graphics, and a viable plot. He loved the multiplayer (four on four). He was also explaining what he didn’t like: your partner’s A.I. had a tendency to run him into the line of fire and get him killed.

Then one particularly even co-worker began to play it. At first he was his calm, normal self. I admired the graphics and mechanics of the game, but decided to play Okami next to him after getting the feel of the game. Soon, however, he grew more and more agitated. He began to swear and became more aggressive. Our other co-worker chuckled and remarked on the difficulty of the game.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not against violence in video games, but it was pretty funny to see my even co-worker get all upset over a shooting game. I left that day, glad to have seen the game, but not filled with regret for declining to play. I am more easily agitated than my co-worker and definitely could do without the frustration and stress of a shooter.

The next week, when I walked into class, I heard my classmates talking once again about Gears of War. I was proud that I had seen it and had a little more knowledge than before. However, one of my peers did mention how "it's one of those games that becomes beautiful when you master the mechanics.” Even if I do not think I would enjoy playing Gears of War, I do think I should respect it for the beauty others have found in it.