Before a little game called Halo 3 debuted, it was Gears of War that sent Xbox 360 systems flying off store shelves. Its intense graphics, style, gritty story and unparalleled multiplayer made it a must-have game for all 360 owners. A year after its initial console release, the game makes its way to the PC, where more gamers can find out what the hype is all about.

The story takes place fourteen years after an event called Emergence Day, when a group of creatures called the Locust Horde burst from the ground and launch a full-scale invasion on an otherwise peaceful planet. After countless losses, the humans exercised a scorched earth policy and destroyed their own cities instead of letting the Horde control them. However, the aliens continue their relentless invasion, and every capable person is called to arms, including Marcus Fenix, a soldier imprisoned for dereliction of duty. Players take the role of Marcus to continue the fight.

Gamers who already own the Xbox 360 version of the game won't find too many new features in the PC edition. Epic added five chapters to the campaign, and with them, a new badass boss named Brumak that didn't make it into the original. Multiplayer, handled by the Games for Windows Live service, includes three new maps and the addition of a King of the Hill mode. In addition, the developers bumped up the graphics to support higher resolutions and DirectX 10, and a full game editor was thrown in for modders to work their magic. Ultimately, it's still about 98% the same as the original Gears for 360, but the additions go a long way.

Very little was lost in the port from console to PC. The graphics look better than ever, and there's non-stop excitement, except we wish that Gears went a little further in customizing the controls for the new platform. It's painfully obvious that these controls were originally designed for a gamepad. All the basic elements are there, with the WASD keys for movement and the mouse for looking and shooting, but Epic mapped the sprint, leap and cover functions to the same key. Gamers can alternatively double tap the movement keys to go into a "roadie run" or dive out of the path of danger. The controls take some getting used to, since they're just different enough from the average first-person shooter scheme to annoy you. Thanks to the off-center camera position, there were numerous instances where we wanted Marcus to dive through a doorway, but he ended up pressing against the side of the doorframe instead, right in the path of enemy fire. Players could plug in an Xbox 360 style gamepad and even benefit from the rumble feedback, but then they'd lose out on the speed and accuracy of the mouse. All things considered, it's a pretty hefty trade.

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