20 Jul 2020

Gears Tactics Review

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When Microsoft announced a tactical Gears of War game in the vein of XCOM, I believe many were like me in thinking: this is a match made in heaven. Gears of War has the enemy variety, the weapon variety, and inherent cover focused gameplay to make the transition from third person shooter to a tactical strategy game. I had blind faith that The Coalition and Splash Damage were going to execute on the tactical layer. Instead, my focus on how the strategic layer was going to function in the context of Gears of War.

I knew Gears Tactics was going to take place shortly after the COG disseminated their own cities in a failed effort to snuff out the Locusts. The idea of building up a small army to fight back against the Locusts made was a suitable premise that wouldn’t be too dissimilar to the aliens invading Earth in XCOM. I thought there would even be a research and development element considering the fact that Gears 5 had upgrades to tech. The Baird of this prequel era could have been the head of R&D, for example. 

To my surprise, a meaningful strategic layer was absent. I initially thought Gears Tactics would have been fine without one because other games like Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle fared very well with just a simple character management layer. 

Gears Tactics focused on their cast of named characters for story missions while customizable nobodies filled out the roster for side missions. I originally set out to play the game at the intermediate difficulty with Ironman mode on, but that turned out to be a mistake. If a named character like Gabriel Diaz or Sid Redburn died in battle, the game was over — save file deleted. Turns out character story driven games are a lot tougher to play through when you have VIPs to progress with.

I initially found the level of challenge fair on the intermediate difficulty. The different mixes of classes, objectives, and maps kept me on my toes for about a third of the game. It didn’t take long before I started to see familiar scenarios crop up. XCOM: Enemy Unknown was no stranger to these mission reruns, but they had a bigger pool of scenarios and locales to draw from.

Weapons, equipment, and armor were necessary to keep pace with the growing challenge that was the Locust horde. However, focusing on maximizing grenades proved to be far too effective for me to give it up. Chaining executions for increased action points via classic chainsaws, curb stomping or bayonet charges gave Gears Tactics a puzzle element that was very reminiscent of Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. If played correctly, an entire squad of Locusts could be cleared before they took a shot. It may sound broken, but it’s also incredibly satisfying.

Those moments of self-gratification were dampened by the fact that many of the Locusts enemy units charged blindly towards the Gears. All I had to do was setup in a choke position and watch them all succumb to overwatch gun fire. This strategy worked far too often in regular mission encounters. Boss battles were a different beast altogether and were the game’s highlight moments. They took the Brumak and Corpser and made them even more satisfying to fight than in Gears of War proper. Mixing fodder units with the giant boss’ far reaching attacks and shifting strategies kept these encounters engaging throughout. After facing off with the Brumak in Act 1, I played through the rest of game hoping for more that. Unfortunately, there were only two other bosses that capped off each of the remaining acts.

I initially theorized Gears Tactics was so focused on its core action because they wanted to focus the Gears of War fan’s attention to it. I believed they didn’t want to muddy the experience with geeky R&D distractions and the like, but by the end of it all, I simply believe the developers needed more resources to make this brilliant union truly sing. There relatively minor issues with unit pathfinding causing said units to get stuck on things, but the most glaring issue is the lack of variety to sustain such a long game. It felt like they had an act’s worth of gameplay and story ideas and stretched out into three overly long acts. 

Verdict:
It was okay

Ratings Guide

30 Apr 2020

LTTP: Gears 5 [PC]

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The Gears of War franchise is now 13 years old. It’s now an awkward teenager trying to grow and establish itself. It’s even going out of its way to shed off its full name and wishes to be referred to as Gears now.  

It’s been a while since the Gears franchise found itself under The Coalition’s stewardship. Gears of War 4 was a safe but worthy modernization of the franchise. After coming to terms with what the franchise had to offer, The Coalition tried a slew of new ideas with Gears 5. Some it was fine but I found a lot of it fell flat. 

The most prominent additions were the giant open chapters where Kait and Del traversed from point to point on the Skiff — a wind surfing sled on skis. It offered Gears 5 a bit more breathing room between the action. We’re exploring abandoned mines, cities, and the like which yielded opportunities for collectibles and world building. I like the tidbits that I picked up about Sera and its history. I also certainly enjoyed seeing the giant vistas. However, I was less enthralled about trekking across these desolate lands for a second time. 

Gears 5 was a looker and was performant on my NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 powered PC. I only experienced issues with sporadic juddering when I was a passenger on the Skiff. I lowered settings and resolution in hopes to rid of it all, but no luck. An equally irksome issue was the sound mixing that resulted with speech audio coming in way too low. I tried to adjust the audio settings but I kept missing out on key information. As result, Gears 5 was one of the few games in recent memory that I had to use subtitles for.  

I liked Kait in Gears of War 4 and was happy to see her take the lead in Gears 5. She was driven to accomplish her goals but not stupid enough like JD to endanger others. I hope they continue this trend of changing leads and give opportunities to explore other characters. We witnessed Kait’s diplomatic skills and strength in the face of inexplicable (and undeserved) tragedy. Regardless of how events unfolded, I was content with Kait at the helm of it all. 

This franchise offers some of the more satisfying third person shooting action in the industry but when I’ve played 4 games worth of it already without drastic inclusions: it’s going to get stale. There were, of course, new weapons, enemies, and refinements to systems introduced in Gears of War 4 like the stealth mechanic. They even gave Jack new upgradable abilities to influence the battlefield. Unfortunately, it’s a bit cumbersome to coordinate the use of Jack in co-op play.  

It was evident that they were trying to expand horizons but I felt the ideas were hobbled by old habits. It’s about time the Gears were allowed to mantle over cover without having to take cover first. I realize mantle vaulting is a thing but that requires running at cover. And is it not time that the Gears stop roadie running across open spaces? I bought the conceit when we’re in the thick of it with bullets flying and we’re moving cover to cover, but when all the fighting is done? It’s just highlighting an unnecessary clinging to traditions.  

While I’m at it: How is shoulder switching not possible in this game? 

Gears 5 was in its element when bullets were flying, enemies were piling in, and the Hammer of Dawn was online. Things were popping off and I loved it. Unfortunately, we found those moments too fleeting. Glitches or inexplicable insta-deaths were too prevalent. I don’t ever recall succumbing to so many oneshot kills before. I also cannot recall ever dreading the damage sponge nature of some of the enemies. We were playing on “Experienced” difficulty and I found certain enemy combinations like the Bastion protecting Swarms and the Flock the antithesis of fun.  

They were dumb damage sponges when their A.I. routines were working but at least they were moving. My brother and I experienced at least a dozen instances of enemy A.I. breaking down and just standing or hovering around areas oblivious to our presence. We were even able to repeat a specific A.I. bug during an encounter towards the back third of the game.  

I obviously want Gears of War to grow into a modern third person shooter while retaining all the trademarks that give it character. I know there are fans who live and breathe the way it plays, but they will lose fans like myself if they continue to down this path. The next Gears game needs to finally grow up and “get with the times”. It can learn and draw inspiration from its past but it doesn’t need to feel beholden to keeping things the way they are because it’s always been that way. 

Verdict: 
It was okay 

Ratings Guide

25 Jan 2017

Game of the Year 2016 Day 3 of 3

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2016 was a hell of a year for games. Long awaited games like The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV finally made their debuts. First person shooters received a massive jolt in the arm with the fantastic Doom and invigorating Overwatch. Even long running franchises showed that their respective fourth iterations can be amazing. It was a good year, indeed.

Best Old Game of 2016

Winner: Picross 3D

I had finagle a way to acknowledge the majesty that is Picross 3D. Picross is fine but blow it out into 3D dimensions was a mind expanding moment for me. I wanted to buy Picross 3D Round 2 but seeing how it was $40+ CAD and I didn’t even play the original, I went on Amazon.ca and bought a cart. It’s charming, weird and addictive to boot. The difficulty curve is a bit erratic at times but I feel it’s been fair. I’m playing for the perfect run so I restart any time I make a mistake and chip off the wrong piece.

While I’m technically not done with this game, I feel it’s easily one of the best games I’ve played this year.

 

Best Game of 2016

Winner: Overwatch

It’s my most played game the year but that alone doesn’t warrant the number one spot. It’s also incredibly well designed from top to bottom with its unbelievable ability to entice me into trying new things. Blizzard managed to get me to play a ranked Competitive mode and even convinced me to use online voice chat with strangers on the internet which in itself is a small miracle. 

With a timeless aesthetic and strong free support including seasonal events, costumes, characters and maps, I see myself coming back to Overwatch over and over again.

Runner-ups:

2. Doom – It invokes the Doom games of the past but doesn’t use it as a crutch. The campaign was so tightly designed with systems feeding off other systems, music, story and gorgeous fluid visuals designed for the sole purpose of making me feel like a total badass. 

3. TitanFall 2 – Likely the most complete package of 2016 with both a surprisingly great campaign that invokes Super Mario Galaxy and a multiplayer mode that I thought was a write off after the less than stellar Tech Test. Respawn Entertainment will be supporting the game with free content as well which is a trend that I would love to see continue.

4. The Last Guardian – I love Trico. I wish I could have one as a pet. I don’t own a pet but my patience with Trico is highlighting the fact that I do have the mentality to be a decent owner. All I need is to pet them regularly right?

5. Uncharted 4 – The perfect ending to the adventures of Nathan Drake. If there was a single game that made me feel old and reflect on what I was doing with my life, it was this.

6. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past – Some of the most depressing stories ever told in an JRPG were found in this epic. You can say it was needlessly long at times and they could have trimmed the fat but the long winding journey was essential to create attachment to characters.

7. Inside – It may not have been as impactful as Limbo but Playdead still knows how to unsettle people with the simple gestures and actions.

8. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided– Iffy performance in the hub world didn’t prevent me from rummaging through other people’s personal belongings, read their e-mails and hack their wall safes. It’s more of Human Revolution than I expected but more of a good thing isn’t bad. 

9. The Division – End game issues stopped my brother and I from returning to The Division but for a very brief couple of months, The Division’s loot driven brand of third person shooting kept my brother and I coming back everyday to do our “dailies”.

10. Gears of War 4 – It’s been years since Gears of War 3 – both in-game and out of it. Creating a likeable cast of new comers isn’t easy but The Coalition managed to package them and the classic Gears of War formula into a game that still plays in 2016. I look forward to the “dark middle” chapter and hope they’ve learned to run around like normal people by then.

16 Nov 2016

Gears of War 4 Campaign PC Review

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The first Gears of War was a landmark moment for the seventh generation of consoles. It was the title that many people including myself saw as the beginning of the new generation. It ushered in the cover based shooter and introduced the world to the power of Unreal Engine 3.0. I have fond memories chainsawing Locusts and roadie running from cover to cover with my brother via split screen co-op. It was a momentous start for the franchise that would later spawn two additional sequels and a prequel on the Xbox 360.

I had a lot of questions going into Gears of War 4. It’s been five years since Gears of War 3 and the industry let alone the genre has evolved in significant ways. Epic Games relinquished the reigns of the franchise to Microsoft and aptly named team, The Coalition. Will I like the new cast? How will the old cast be reintroduced? Will we see the return of the Locusts and all the gameplay trappings they’re known for?

Gears of War 4 also marked the series day and date debut on both Xbox One and PC. I bought an Xbox 360 because the game came bundled at a retailer, so it’s only fitting that I acquired Gears of War 4 in similar fashion courtesy with my NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. As an Xbox Play Anywhere title, my brother and I were able to complete the campaign on PC and Xbox One without any fuss. (Although, we did have to burn through a couple of Xbox Live! Gold trials to do so.)

The Xbox One version looks fine but I cannot judge it on its own merits. Seeing Gears of War 4 supersampled from 1440p down to 1080p at mostly Ultra settings running at a near flawless 60FPS was a positive experience to say the least. I had to make some tweaks to a few settings in order to maintain framerate throughout but the excellent graphical options available made tuning an easy process.

Gears of War 4 was a remarkable example of what the Unreal Engine 4.0 can do. I don’t know if it will go on to gain the market share that Unreal Engine 3.0 did but one thing for certain is that it doesn’t have a distinct look that defined early Unreal Engine 3.0 games.

The Gears of War games grew more varied with each passing installment. Greenery and a move from the dreariness of wet concrete gave the franchise more vividity. Gears of War 4 continued that trend to the point where I’m getting Uncharted vibes from some of the levels. Some of the early campaign spots reminded me of Uncharted 2’s Nepal and Tibet locales.

Women were a weak spot for the Gears of War franchise both character and rendering wise. Anya and Maria were the only two that I recall but they weren’t front and center like Kait. She’s a lovable member of the new cast of characters including James Fenix and his fellow ex-COG, Del. They’re part of the civilian population who chose not to live in walled cities. The citizens of Sera may have rid itself of the Locust threat but traded a living threat for environmental ones; they cannot do much against giant tornadoes of fire and electricity other than dwelling inside COG controlled cities.

I couldn’t tell if life under COG rule was terrible or not but apparently it was bad enough for groups of people to leave and form settlements outside its walls. It is no surprise then that the Locusts’ return in the form of the Swarm went unnoticed until it was too late. Kait’s village was decimated, her mother abducted along with the rest of the village and it was up to her and her buddies to get to the bottom of the returning threat.

I liked the new characters and got a kick out of seeing the returning ones. The were all likable and entertaining throughout. I would go as far as to say that there were numerous charming and funny moments involving the bunch. The reintroduction of Marcus Fenix as a grumpy old man who doesn’t give a shit will be a key takeaway from this game for years to come.

No one will mistaken Gears of War 4 as anything but a Gears of War game. They introduced a few gameplay tweaks to the cover system but the inability to switch shoulders while aiming and forced roadie run continues to look silly outside of combat situations. They flirted with the ability to nab enemies from behind cover and vault over cover quickly but fail to present that as a viable option (at least) in Hardcore difficulty.

New weapons, destructible cover and environmental influences such as wind and lightning shake up shootouts throughout the campaign but if I’m being honest: they didn’t do enough to break the mold. As I enter every new area, chest high walls continued to stick out like sore thumbs and I expected enemies to pour in for some good ole fashion cover based shootin’. It’s a known quantity but it’s still satisfying to hear the distinct pop after a Longshot round does its deed.

Including a tiny bit of horde mode into the campaign was novel at first but to see it return a few more times felt unnecessary. The same can be said with all those lightning segments. I was glad to see Gears of War 2 try something new with the crushing digestive teeth (lovingly referred to as Thwomp) section but they didn’t bring back the teeth again and again throughout the campaign.

I wished the gameplay aspect of Gears of War 4 ascended to greater heights and explored new frontiers but in the context of reintroducing Gears of War with a new team of developers and new roster of characters, it wasn’t too shabby — it felt too safe at worst. I was far more intrigued by the Locusts’ revival and how the people of Sera will cope with the threat again. The Coalition have built a solid foundation for the new trilogy and I look forward to what they come with next.

Verdict:
I like it

Ratings Guide

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