The first installment in the Gears of War franchise came out ten years ago. I remember playing it for the first time at a friend’s house, and I was so impressed by the game that it single-handedly veered me into purchasing the Xbox 360. It was a game that was simple in many ways but its design was solid, and that alone was enough to push it to orbital levels. Gears of War set the bar and tone for every other future game that would sprout forth in the genre, but not many of them were up to par. *cough* Quantum Theory *cough*.
The following iterations of the franchise all strived to mimic the charm of the first installment but they all sort of missed the mark. This isn’t to say that the successors were bad but they never really felt fresh and genuine like the original. Gears of War Judgement, as debatable as it was, saw quite a massive departure from the game’s original formula in terms of pacing and gameplay. For many, this was a sign that Gears of War was no longer going to be what they always knew to be, it was quite the irksome possibility to swallow.
But then Gears of War 4 happened. And it came in guns blazing.
The game kicks off 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3, the Locust are all dead and it’s time for the rebuilding process. You would think that after years and years of getting attacked and slaughtered by a bunch of blood-thirsty aliens, that the remnants of humanity would band together to form a stronger front. But nope. Instead, on one side you have the COG, who play the role of an oppressive regime that has enacted martial law and barricaded citizen within walled-off cities. And on the other side, you have the Outsiders who vehemently fightback against the COG order.
Within that context, you have the characters of Kait Diaz, Del Walker, and the protagonist J.D. Fenix; all of them are a part of the Outsiders. The story follows the aftermath of an attack that takes place on their encampment; an attack that led to the kidnapping of Kait’s mother. Thus, they journey to find out who or what exactly attacked them and where Kait’s mother was taken. But before they go any further, they need the aid of someone who is adept in all things alien, violent, and scary.
And who better to help them than the expert in chainsawing the faces off any living thing – Marcus Fenix.
As with the previous Gears of War titles, the stories always felt focused on the aspects of fighting the Locust. Everything was more or less ‘Go get this explosive so we can go kill all these Locust’, ‘Go get these documents so we know how to obliterate all these Locust’ or ‘Go find this person who will proceed to tell you about documents that can help you make explosives that will exterminate all the Locust’. In that sense, Gears of War always felt cyclic in its themes and narrative. But Gears of war 4 takes a route that hits closer to home, it does away with a narrative centered on the tribulations of war and fighting an oppressor.
This time around the story of Gears of War 4 is of friends, camaraderie, and family.
The whole focus of the game is about saving a set of individuals, which in the grand scheme of the game’s story has nothing to do with overthrowing the Locust 2.0 (or as they game puts it – ‘The Swarm’). Yes, the narrative flow is the same – you try to go to one place and on the way you battle a horde of creatures, only to find out you need to go to another place, and that same trip to the new location requires you to kill a whole bunch along the way. Oh, and mini bosses. Yet, this tedious journey is enriched with such witty dialogue and wholesome interactions between characters, to the point that you start feeling empathetic for them.
Something that fans of the franchise might find delightfully peculiar about the game is how it’s humorous at times. It’s strange but Gears of War 4 has actual tidbits of lighthearted moments that can actually make the player chuckle quite a bit; these moments extend out to cut-scenes, in-game dialogue, and even certain moments of gameplay.
What are the chances you would ever hear Marcus Fenix say – “Damn it, they are going to mess up my tomatoes!” Now imagine that during the precipice of a firefight.
Coalition studios have embraced a more human side to the Gears lore, and it does wonders to create a world in which it isn’t all testosterone-fueled, roid-induced carnage.
Speaking of testosterone, it will come to the joy of many that Coalition has gone with an almost anatomically correct character design this time around; begone oversized chest proportions! While in the avenue of changing things up, Gears of War 4 has finally accepted that maybe the world isn’t all monotone shades of brown and grey. The franchise has always had sharp graphics and it always knew how to set the mood with its colors but after a point, it almost seemed as though the studios only knew off three colors.
This time around Gears of War is actually beautiful and oddly colorful (I never knew I would be alive to say that). There actual moments in the game where the game’s pace slows down, not just to build upon the characters, but for players to soak in the vistas.The Gears of War franchise always knew how to set the tone using the environment but it never managed to make the environment feel alive or as though it actually existed before within the confines of the story.
Gears of War 4, on the other hand, brings those environments to life with an eclectic palette of colors while simultaneously ensuring that it doesn’t draw away from the mood that each set piece is intended to set.
Story and aesthetics aside, there is one thing the franchise has always been known for, and that is the gameplay. Here’s the kicker – the gameplay is great but it does nothing relatively new, and that’s alright. You run from cover to cover; peak over and shoot; bludgeon and curb stomp foes; you know the usual Gears of War M.O. All the core mechanics feel fine-tuned as ever, and that’s what makes or breaks a Gears game. Yes, there are some nifty new features that add an element of variation, such as the ability to pull enemies from the other side of the cover and then proceed to repeatedly stab them with a pointy object on your person. It’s even remarkable to note how A.I. seems to be at its smartest in Gears of War 4. Enemies were genuinely a challenge even on a medium difficulty, and not because they were bullet sponges. They flank, they take the high ground and try to suffocate you into a certain spot, and this only pushes you to keep moving and always be aware of your placement.
There are also some new weapons this time around, and they actually feel like a big leap forward from the conventional set of weapons the Gears games always provided. By this I mean some of the weapons are absurd and they are so for the pure reason that it lets players have unbridled chaotic fun. My personal favorite was the Buzzkill, which basically was a saw-blade shooter, and the cool thing was that the blades would ricochet off walls.
As much as one would think this weapon would require some level of strategic use, in reality, you just end up spraying these blades all over the place and watch as the Swarm try to flee only to get sliced off at the legs. It’s quite a morbidly beautiful sight to behold.
I was quite surprised by the horde mode set piece within the main campaign. Initially, I was worried it would completely derail the game’s pace but in actuality, it improved the pacing. I mentioned earlier how most Gears games are about going from point A to Point B to Point C and so on and so forth. But these tower defense-esque sort of moments helped break that monotony a little bit, and as much as one would fear these set pieces might feel clunky, they were on point. The rush of a firefight is still there in these moments but the way you move through the environment is so different because now you’re backed into a corner, and you not only have to account for your personal resources but even the defense resources, such as the condition of the turret.
I was not able to play the multiplayer or Horde mode on the Xbox One due to a lack an XBLA subscription. Therefore, the multiplayer and Horde mode section of this review is by Kevin Sebastion who played it on PC.
Arguably, the worse part of Gears of War 4’s multiplayer, is getting to play Gears of War 4’s multiplayer. While I had little luck getting into versus games, I did, however, sink quite a bit of time into Horde 3.0 .
Horde mode revolves around deploying a movable construction unit called the Fabricator and resources are shared among a team. You have to build emplacements, like turrets or traps that will try to delay the inevitable of you being swarmed with every increasing wave of difficulty. However, I’m at odds with its class based system. Engineers can repair placements quickly, scouts can pick up double energy and there are, of course, snipers, soldiers, and heavys who have different variations of weapons. You can switch weapons or pick up any from fallen enemies.
Let me warn you though, if your heart is set on playing Horde mode for the whole ride, you’re going to be spending a few hours. It took me two hours to complete the entire run on easy with a team that slowly dwindled apologetically due to time constraints. The best part though I was able to play with Xbox One players on the same server with no trouble at all once I connected.
Multiplayer mode does have in-app purchases that will let you buy card packs that will help you in the game or give you cosmetic upgrades to your arsenal. Horde works because the mode lets you strategize with every wave giving you time to plan between them. Should you fail, you start the same run but with a penalty of points.
Should we see competitive multiplayer ? The ingredients are there and it all falls down to how Microsoft and The Coalition will see it through.
The community of Gears fans is many and with the studios releasing DLC maps for free, they show that they are committed to keeping what is possibly the best multiplayer in the gears franchise to boot.
Gears of War 4 does many things right, and even builds upon its previous strengths. Yet, it isn’t without a few kinks in its oversized chest plate. As with most Gears game, the pacing slows down heavily in the middle of the campaign to the point that it almost became forgettable as to what was my current objective at that time. Also, for all the plaudits I made about the game’s story and characterizations, it still seems to have that issue with having a token black character that has no depth to him other than to provide slightly comedic relief. Coalition studios, it’s 2016, get with the times.
When it’s all said and done, Gears of War 4 is a breath of fresh air. There is something so wholehearted about this project; there’s a sense that Coalition studios did not go into it with the intention of just recreating a Gears game but with the passion to build a video game that captured the soul of the franchise, and added to that was a piece of themselves. Gears of War 4 will always be distinguished as a Coalition Studios game and they deserve that because they were able to make the franchise feel wholesome once again. This game is a step in a new direction; the right direction. The mechanics and gameplay are familiar and solid as ever but it’s the story that will feel new to many, and that’s a great thing. Don’t get this review misconstrued, I’m not saying the narrative is something on the level of Witcher 3 but in terms of Gears of War, it is compelling.
The Gears franchise always had the potential for great narratives but they were always swept under an ocean of mangled bodies, blood, and bullets. However, Gears of War 4 will have you come for the gameplay but you will stay for the story.
