In Microsoft's biggest game of the year, Gears of War, mankind invades planet Sera, builds occupational colonies to pump out resources, and winds up on the losing end of a long, bloody war against the native, underground-dwelling Locust Horde (feel free to make your own modern politically relevant analogy). The game hails from the same developers as Unreal Tournament, and their experience shows. It's also heavily influenced by Resident Evil 4 and Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and the melancholy world feels straight from the bleaker half of Full Metal Jacket.

The graphics reflect a truly psychotic vision not seen before in games. In fact, I was so inspired by the intricate, bombed-out cityscapes that I invested in a new HDTV for a bigger optical buzz. The spewing blood and carnage of war paints the screen and stabs your eyes. Combat is a bad acid trip of fear and danger; the massive violence and claustrophobic desperation demand an emotional response—and managed to get the title banned from sale in Germany. The over-the-shoulder camera zooms in for the kill when you're aiming a weapon, and the game makes use of a unique cover system: You must constantly dive behind walls and rubble in order to survive the onslaught. Because of this, the "dodge and take cover" button gets more use than the reload button.

Other marines accompany you, and keeping each other alive is essential for survival. Your comrades are tough as nails with their armor and assault rifles complete with chainsaw bayonets—but, perplexingly, they never wear helmets. Grenades are aimed by visually projecting a trajectory, allowing you to blow baddies up real nice like. The Horde often pop out of the ground in "emergence holes," and range from humanoid zombie troops to unholy giant insect spawn.

Gears is not only brutal but extremely difficult, even on the "casual" setting; the most hardcore player can count on being blown into assorted chunks of meat repeatedly. It can be disheartening when your AI-controlled squad member manages get himself fragged—and then gets you wasted when you attempt to revive him—but thankfully, the story can be played with another player via Xbox Live or split-screen, so you're not stuck with the "meat-sack" prone AI partner. Online play, however, is severely lacking—the absence of even a simple "capture the flag" mode is sorely missed.

With its paranoid, visceral combat, Gears of War is actively redefining the entire concept of the war game. It's a devilishly engineered designer compound of war and testosterone so good it made me lose my desire for more Halo. Every red-blooded American who loves violent first-person-shooter games should not only buy this one, but also sell their precious bodily fluids to get an Xbox 360 on which to play it.