Gears of War Online Guide

Gears of War is an amazing online game, but can be tough for those just coming into the online realm for the first time. In order to succeed in Gears of War while playing on Xbox live you'll need to understand basic survival skills during game play. Melee attacks, weapon choice, team play, and a variety of other factors will determine how well you do while playing online.

The fist thing you need to do is actually play the game through. This will help you understand the controls and camera angles involved with the game so you'll be prepared. The off centered third person angle is a bit tricky to get used to and the new "active reload" is something that you'll have to practice at for a while before really getting the hang of it. Also the idea of taking cover from fire is something different in this game, so practice against the computer.

Most of your fighting will take place at close range, although there are a few exceptions. Because Gears of War utilizes a lot of urban combat areas, like subway tunnels, mansions, graveyards, and so on there are a lot of opportunities for close quarter combat, so you'll need to be adept at close combat situations. Make sure you know how to use the melee feature by hitting the B button on your controller and don't be afraid to punch instead of shoot; this has proved to save many lives because a good melee attack will automatically knock out an opponent.

Weapon choice depends on the individual, but three weapons you need to defiantly practice and become good with are the shotgun, Lance machine gun, and sniper rifle. Most everyone online is very good with all three and can easy kill you in one hit with the shotgun or sniper rifle, so you need to be just as good.

The shotgun can be random at times, but is extremely effective in close quarters. When facing down an opponent try to roll at them and pop up and shot them with the shotgun. If done correctly they won't even have a chance to recover, they'll just be blown to bits. Also if your facing down multiple enemies from the opponents team the shotgun could be the key to your victory. Hide out until they rush you then shoot like crazy, in many cases you can take out 2-3 of your opponents if your good with the shotgun.

The Sniper rifle is just a good long range weapon, although it can be a pain to aim with. Many players have become exceptionally good with this weapon, and you'll need to be on par with them. Try to understand how best to use the sniper rifle in single player mode before trying it out online.

The Lancer machine gun is the best mid ranged weapon in the game, and the chainsaw bayonet is what makes the gun great. The chainsaw is a one hit kill no matter what, and can be used to score extra points. Also try and use the Lancer to help your team with support fire. Many times your stray bullets fired into the heat of battle is exactly the extra push your team may need to knock out multiple opponents.

Levels online are pretty much the same, although there appearance may seem different. Each team will start with the exact same weapons (most of the time) and the spawn locations are relatively the same. Before playing online try and scout out the levels and understand their layout. Know where the weapons are and where the best places to hide are. Once you play online you'll see where people tend to run into and fight one another, so keep that in mind.

Use cover to your advantage and take out your opponents from afar. Use anything you can for cover, but the best thing is to stick close to a wall. This will maximize your chance of survival from enemy machine gun fire, and give you a nice hiding spot to pop out and score some chainsaw and shotgun kills.

When an opponent goes down, kill them as soon as you can! Don't allow the opposition to have the chance of reviving a teammate. If you leave a downed foe too long not only will your opponent score additional points for reviving their comrade, but also you'll be looking down another foe that should have been dead.

Traveling in pairs is a good idea when playing online. Most of the time you'll have 4 people per team, so stick together, or split into groups of two. This is a good idea because if one of your teammates goes down, then you'll be there to bring them back into the fight, and vise versa. Also if your opponents team splits up, then you'll have more of a chance in killing individuals as a team. More people firing machine guns equals more or a chance to score a kill.

One major mistake that many players make, including veterans, is to leave a teammate hanging because of simple mistakes. Don't ever leave a teammate down just because they stole your kill, or took a weapon you wanted. Doing so is selfish and very unsportsmanlike, and you will be hurting your team as a whole by holding a grudge. Remember that teamwork is the most important element to winning a decisive victory.

My last tip is never give up! If you get knocked down during a fight tap the A button rapidly to slow your bleeding. This will allow you to live longer while down and increase the chance that a team member will come to your aid and revive you. Remember, it's not over until everyone's dead, and in Gears of War, being down is does not mean your dead, so keep your blood flowing and keep pressing A!

Experience is the key to getting better at any game, and online games such as Gears of War are no different, so just practice and learn from your mistakes, and before long you'll be making some major progress on the leader boards!