Gears of War is third person shooter created in 2006 by Epic Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It was the first game in what is now a franchise.
The game centers around a squad of soldiers on the fictional planet Sera as they carry out an important mission against the Locust, a brutal and inhuman army of creatures from below the planet’s surface. The game-play itself consists of hyper-violent combat, with unrealistically massive soldiers using chainsaw bayonets and other over the top violent weapons against their enemies. In fact, for many the game’s use of violence is a major selling point.
In terms of the Bechdel test… Gears of War fails. Out of the entire cast of characters, only two are female, and neither of them ever get to interact. Anya Stroud, one of the two women in the game, is introduced as a former love interest to the main character, Marcus. Instead of armor like the main four characters, she is dressed in civilian clothes and does not engage in combat, instead offering support through the radio during game-play. The only other woman in the game is introduced at the very end of the game and is revealed to be the games narrator as well as the Locust Queen.
Gears of War is a game that is catered solely to crave uber masculine power fantasies. As a result, the franchise itself became popular with almost entirely young men and teenagers.
Shared by: John Horan
Image Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47003870