Available on Xbox One (version tested) and Windows PC
Gears
Of War 4 is a huge deal for Microsoft. Part of a pioneering franchise
on the company’s previous console, it’s an exclusive that still carries
significant weight and could very well be the most important release to
date for the Xbox One.
Harking back to a time where the Xbox 360 was undoubtedly the market
leader, the series has always been a major reason why people should own a
Microsoft console. Thankfully, nothing has changed.
While Gears
Of War 4 moves away from the original’s Delta Squad, it takes everything
great about the series and builds on it. It’s still one of the finest
third-person shooters you could hope to play, with every set piece
managing to outdo the last through sheer spectacle. It’s been criticised
over the years for being too "Dude Bro", but it wasn’t true then and
isn’t true now. The Coalition is the studio handling development duties
instead of Epic, but the foundations that made Gears such a success have
returned, and returned wonderfully well.
The most obvious of
these is what the entire game is built around: cover-based shooting. The
mechanic deserves far more credit than it gets and Gears 4 shows why.
Each level is expertly balanced so that it’s imperative to hide
effectively, and that cover-seeking tactic never gets old. From the
excellent prologue to the final fight, it’s constantly satisfying
whacking your shoulder against the terrain.
Watch: Gears of War 4 video review
That’s
not to say it feels just like its predecessors, however. If anything,
Gears 4 is actually a little faster, so much so that a hardened fan may
be surprised. It’s nothing too severe, and the pace is still a
methodical one, but it’s the first thing you notice.
It’s a smart
choice on behalf of the developers, though, as within an hour you’ve
completely forgotten about the increase in tempo. Gears Of War 4 settles
into itself with so much confidence that you’ll completely buy in
before the first act is over. Even in these introductory stages it holds
little back, underlining its motives before letting you kill things.
And trust me, you’re going to kill a lot of things.
The
Coalition clearly realises that Gears is at its best when you’re
engaged in all-out war so goes out of its way to deliver just that. It’s
never over-bearing or overdone, but you’re rarely too far away from
another firefight. When the enemy threat comes, it does so with fury –
it’s what you want from a blockbuster.
There is a slight
discrepancy in terms of your opponent, mind. Most of us are familiar
with the Locust Horde after four outings against them. Wiped out at the
end of Gears Of War 3, there was always going to have to be a changing
of the guard. Enter robots.
Certainly not the worst decision The
Coalition could’ve taken – and the story behind it is well told – it’s
just not as fun to shoot a machine in the head. The early stages of
Gears 4 tend to get bogged down in shootouts with chunks of metal, and
it takes the wind out of its sails.
This
is all rectified with the arrival of The Swarm, a menace that’s far
closer to the aforementioned Locusts. To say anymore would be unfair,
but their introduction is a turning point for Gears Of War 4, as is the
coming of one Marcus Fenix.
Certainly not bad beforehand, it’s
here where events really start to pick up and move into a league all of
their own. Unrelenting, bombastic, and over the top, the true nature of
the world slowly reveals itself to you, and it’s utter chaos. There’s
even a sprinkling of Uncharted-inspiration in there for good measure,
too. It may wear its heart on its sleeve a little, but such moments
break up proceedings and are, without doubt, entertaining.
The
real struggle any returning player is going to find is in relation to
the new characters. The original Gears Of War crew stood out because of
how ridiculous they were. Here, our new cast are a little too generic to
compare. They develop before all is said and done but none are as
memorable as Delta Squad. It’s why Fenix’s arrival takes the game up a
notch – he brings a certain personality previously absent. Gears has
always had a very distinct voice and on occasion, that’s slightly
lacking with the new guard.
The campaign itself is very well put
together, however, introducing a new era for the franchise that should
allow it to run for many more years to come. Outside of this, it’s
overflowing with content. As well as Horde 3.0 which remains the treat
of all treats – especially as it now features "the fabricator", a
weapons box which you’ll use to retool and requip guns and
fortifications – there’s the long-standing multiplayer.
Ultimately, not much has changed, but that’s exactly why it’s so good. It’s been over three years since Gears Of War: Judgment,
so jumping back in is like reacquainting yourself with an old friend.
There are new modes – such as Dodgeball where you kill members of the
opposition to revive deceased members of your own squad – but the real
joy comes in how unique it still feels.
There’s
such a deliberate pace to Gears online that you can’t help but warm to
it – even if it has been sped up a touch. New additions such as the
ability to reach over cover and grab your enemy (before pulling them
over said cover and stabbing them to death) up the ante higher still.
The learning curve has been reintroduced, and while it won’t take
skilled players long to master, this is the perfect balance between then
and now. Although, yes, the shotgun will still be most people’s weapon
of choice.
There’s so much more that could be said about Gears Of
War – from new weapons to the skillfully designed multiplayer maps, to
the well-thought-out story – that it’s easy to continually sing its
praises, but a large part of the joy is discovering these for yourself.
Does
it stick too rigidly to what came before? Potentially, but this is a
Gears game for Gears fans. If you’re among that group, you can’t help
but be won over.
Verdict
Gears
Of War 4 does everything required to get the franchise roadie-running
into 2016 without losing what made it so good to begin with. One of the
best games on the Xbox One.
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