Don’t believe everything you read in the internet, even if they came from so-called reputable game websites like GameSpot, GameSpy, IGN, or Eurogamer. The reviews they’re churning aren’t always as “spot-on” as people say they are.

Case in point: The previously-released reviews for Gears of War’s PC version.

I took the time to read all of them today. Yes, all. And you know what I observed? Aside from the fact that they’re full of crap, the reviews also had a very strong similarity to that of GameTrailers’. The reviews glossed over the important factors that turns Gears from Xbox 360 legend to PC gaming’s latest tragic port.

And indeed, Gears of War for the PC is a tragic port. Despite all my efforts to make the game work, tweak its settings, and update my drivers, nothing prevents it from crashing back into the desktop or causing the PC to reset.

At this point, I simply cannot review Gears of War until a proper patch is released. Why not? Because I can’t move any further than act two. What use is a review if the game isn’t finished or even quarter-of-the-way through?

I have a good question for these so-called reputable sites: How did you finish the game if it had so many hardware issues? It’s either:

1. You’re lying and that you didn’t finish the PC version;
2. You played Gears in Epic or Microsoft’s offices.

Either way, you can’t be trusted.

Unlike larger game sites, FPS Rantings is committed to providing unbiased reviews that are based on real-world conditions. You can be sure of that.

Post from: EveryJoe

Crap-Detector: Previously-released Gears of War PC reviews

Yes, that’s right. You don’t have to “upgrade” to Vista to run these shooters. All you need to do is buy one of the games using the links on this page. After this, Falling Leaf will send you the initial release of their Alky Compatibility Libraries, which will let you run these Vista-exclusive games on your Windows XP. Orders will be fulfilled through Amazon, and the software will arrive “within a few months.” This “few months” description could stretch from two to 11 months, for all we know.

Brian Thomason, CEO at Falling Leaf, had strong words for the games’ Vista exclusivity:

“Microsoft has, in typical Microsoft fashion, decided to launch their forced migration onslaught in full force with the release of two games that will only run on Windows Vista. First they claim that it was impossible to implement DirectX 10 compatibility atop Windows XP, and now they also want us to believe that they couldn’t successfully launch two DirectX 9 based titles on XP either. We plan to expose both theories as patently false.”

There’s still no confirmation if the software works, so we’ll have to sit tight on this one. If it truly does work, I’m curious how Microsoft will respond. Care to try?

Post from: EveryJoe

Software makes Halo 2 and Shadowrun playable on XP