Gears of War 4

Gears of War is another series that I've had to catch up on since hopping on the dual-console train. It's also been one of my most anticipated and I'm-jealous-they-have-that series for quite some time now. 

About a year ago I started my foray into the world of the Gears, the Locusts, Emergence-Day, and the like by picking up Gears of War Ultimate Edition that also came with the entire series. I'll offer some brief thoughts on those in order to give context to my review for Gears of War 4. 

I found that, despite the remaster, the original Gears of War, didn't age all that well. It's controls, while revolutionary for the time, felt overly weighted and tank-like to me, but I knew that came with the territory. I enjoyed the story and the plot as it described an intriguing world, but the campaign itself is probably the weakest of the three (now four). It's fairly straightforward and in hindsight I think most of the high regard that people hold it in was for how much of a game-changer it was at the time. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. 

Gears of War 2 is a significant step in the "better" direction and I liked it very much. Much like the developers recognized in Uncharted 2 vs. Uncharted, this was a series ripe for invention of gameplay and awesome action setpieces. Gears 2 has a fantastic continuation of the story, fixes some of the control issues of the original, and features some entertaining, edge-of-your-seat setpieces and boss battles. 

Gears of War 3 was truly the high point of the series for me though. Its slightly tweaked controls felt great, I enjoyed the "finale" of the story, the graphics were the best of the bunch, and the campaign is a taut, well paced thrill ride with some of the series' best moments throughout. I even remember thinking that it might be one of my favorite campaigns ever. 

Cue: "He's a bad mama jama..."

Skipping over Judgment (I couldn't quite fit that one in before the release of this one), we're presented with Gears of War 4. Supposedly gone are Marcus Fenix and the other main protagonists from the first trilogy and now we're outfitted with a new bunch of much more proportionally-sized soldiers. It's got new enemies, it's on a brand new console, there are new weapons, and it's a new trilogy. You get the point...there's a lot of new stuff here. Frankly I found the fast forward of generations quite bold and even refreshing. Gears of War 4 really does feel like a new start for the series and one that feels appropriately rooted one foot in the past with one foot looking forward. 

One of the best aspects of this new Gears of War is the story. I don't spoil game stories just like I don't spoil movie stories, so feel safe to keep reading as this is more of a paragraph praising its accomplishments. It takes a strong cue from The Force Awakens (although I don't know how since that movie basically just came out) in rooting itself with some very nostalgic moments, but also creating something that's worthwhile and new. Outside of the gameplay, the things that are familiar are things that you'll appreciate and the story builds upon the trilogy that came before it. The characters are all great additions to the world and they feel like they have very similar camaraderie to the original group of soldiers -- often throwing some funny jabs or making cheeky one liners throughout. The voice acting, led by Spartacus actor Liam McIntyre, is top notch and really brings life to these characters, just as life was brought to Marcus, Dom, Baird, etc. back in the day. Unfortunately, the game ends on a bit of an anticlimactic note with a decently large cliffhanger. Once it's all said and done, the stakes feel pretty low compared to previous games and I just felt like there should have been an epilogue mission or something of the sort. It didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth, just more of a "that's it?" thought. 

How many times does it count that you got "struck" if
the lightning is a continuous stream?

"I believe I'll be having the half
portion entree this evening."

Gameplay is truly how Gears has defined itself throughout the years though and it remains strong in this newest installment. I'd argue that some tweaks are needed here and there though. Players still feel like tanks with a horrible turning radius (designed for a semblance of realism, I know) and the cover system was surpassed earlier this year by The Division's superior one. After getting back in the saddle so to speak, Gears' unique controls and gameplay gels together just like riding a bike for your first time. Roadie running, taking cover, active reload, grenade arcs, chainsaw kills, and executions are all back and as pleasing/grotesque as ever. Gears does a particularly good job at creating and maintaining intensity within its firefights. 4 throws the kitchen sink of enemies at you a few times and its equal parts stressful and rewarding as you have some trial and error periods with some particularly difficult enemies. Weapons are unique and feel different, including most of the new fantastic ones (Overkill, anyone?) and general running and gunning feels mostly fluid. Enemy variation is fantastic throughout except for the very, VERY annoying "Juvies". These simple charge-and-melee enemies are plentiful and easy to chainsaw kill, but the game relies far too heavily on them. I feel like every shooter game has those enemies that are more pestering than anything and Juvies are Gears 4's. It's a shame that they use them so often, especially considering how awesome and threatening most of the other enemy types are. 

Delicious, delicious strawberry jam. I swear!

Related to the gameplay front, Gears 4 also features some cool set pieces that vary the gameplay considerably. A few becomes series highlights, though I'm not sure anything beats some of Gears 3's best moments. This game has some really fun on rails segments as well as some awesome Windflair portions. Ever since the previous games' conclusion, weather is rather unpredictable and storms called Windflairs are full of strong, hurricane-esque winds, and streams of traveling lightning. It's here where Gears 4 campaign shines brightest and is at its most gorgeous. 

Gears is probably at its most fun however in the fantastic, and upgraded Horde Mode 3.0. It should be noted that I have played enough competitive online to make comments about it -- mainly a casualty of Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 being so superb in that regard -- but I have spent time in Horde mode with friends. And it's a blast. A very tough blast, but fun nonetheless. Horde mode is a Gears staple and probably one of the best industry-used modes to come from the game. Wave after wave of enemies, becoming increasingly more difficult, attack the players. At times all hope seems lost, and at times it totally is. You'll die. Your friends will die. You'll be forced to start over. But it always seems to remain fun because it's rarely cheap; it's just challenging. Horde mode in Gears 4 gets some much appreciated improvements and tools and it allows you and your squad to be stronger which means the game can throw more chaos at you. With strangers it's pretty fun (though I played with a lot of quitters unfortunately) but with a group of buddies it's a real treat. 

"I hope you've been bulking this season, breh.
Or else you're going to get blown away!"

Gears of War 4 isn't the best Xbox One exclusive that ever existed, nor is it the best Gears of War game. But, it's up there in both regards and it represents a smart, fun, and exciting new start for one of Xbox's best exclusive series. It doesn't outright fail at anything and it excels at so much that is important that it really is a must-buy for fans of the series and Xbox owners. The campaign is a fairly lengthy, well-paced and entertaining ride and the addition of Horde and competitive MP make it a beefy $60 package. 

The Gears are back in town. And it feels like the start of something special. 

CONS:

• Ending feels a bit anticlimactic and the scope of the entire plot feels a lot smaller than the previous trilogy
• Certain gameplay elements need to evolve. Turning and cover-to-cover moving specifically
• Way too many "Juvie" enemy types. They get really annoying really quickly
• The graphics are pretty damn good, but I feel like they could have been pushed further. This should be a flagship game for the Xbox One's graphical power

PROS:

• Overall fantastic story with great tie ins and relation to the original trilogy
• Features a wonderful and enjoyable new cast of characters. The voice acting for this group is also really well done
• Retains core Gears gameplay. It feels like slipping on an old glove and fantastic inventions like active reload remain staples that make the series feel unique. Oh and Lancer chainsaw kills. Those are awesome
• Awesome collection of old, classic weapons and new, inventive weapons
• Other than the aforementioned "Juvies" the enemy variation is challenging and consistently exciting
• Fun setpieces and the Windflair segments are jaw-dropping spectacles
• Really strong graphics and sound editing
• Horde mode is a blast and features some really smart evolutions 
• Overall it's a very complete package with a beefy, fun campaign, an improved Horde mode, and classic MP

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10