It’s easy to dismiss Gears Of War as another cover based shooter, glorifying violence and testosterone fueled aggression. And while those elements are essential to the franchise, Gears Of War is a masterclass in gameplay, visuals, pacing, and sheer delightful fun!
The game starts with a series of flashbacks that pays reverence to what’s come before, and sets the stage for what’s to come. New series protagonists and characters are introduced in an affable manner, setting them apart from the old guard. JD and Kait are instantly likable, and those around are given enough attention and care so as to make them more than bystanders.
A new threat is introduced, known as the ‘Swarm’, and while they don’t feel distinctly different from the Locust, there are conflicts on multiple fronts to keep the game feeling fresh and thrilling. The level design is top notch, and has more than a few moments of utter fascination, and even more of set-pieces that are absolutely spectacular. The Unreal engine, and the vision of the creators is pushing the Xbox One to its limits, and Gears Of War 4 can easily claim the title of being a system seller.
Violence is glorified and is gratifying as ever, with new weapons like the Buzzkill, and Dropshot, and my personal favorite, the Overkill, adding more than enough to not make the game feel like more of the same. The cover system also sees a few tweaks, and feels tighter than before. The added takedown from around cover are fun, and encourages the player to take risks by popping out of cover more frequently and engaging the enemy at closer range.
The game takes you across abandoned forts, mines, forests, museums, dams, and more. there is enough variety here, and the game never drags a section for too long. there are in-between section of wuiet respite, and the chatter among the characters is done better than ever before in the series. These are well developed characters, and you want to see them win. While it’s fun to play with friends, the companion AI is actually really good, and put up a good fight, using clever tactics, and aiding you when needed.
There are also some really interesting weather effects in play here. The windflares slow you down and affect the trajectory of projectile weapons. In such situations, destructible environments also mean that any cover you take might not be there for long, and other flying debris can also be a threat. You are encouraged to always keep moving.
The same goes for the Co-operative mode, Horde 3.0, which is a blast to play, and is probably one of the best so-op modes to play around. Ramped-up challenges, balanced class system, and excellent map design kept me playing for hours on end. The online multiplayer feels tight, and 60 FPS gameplay surely helps. Sessions can get frantic, and the modes are designed to keep it so. The new maps are fun, making good use of the cover mechanics, and the varied weapons.
Gears of War 4 seems to play the best on NVIDIA GPUs, with Microsoft itself recommending the GTX 750Ti for minimum specs, GTX 970 or 1060 for recommended and GTX 1080 for the highest settings and 4K resolution. Playing on the GTX 1070 can provide you with the optimal experience, with all settings on the maximum. The game has more than 30 graphic settings, which you can tweak to suit your rig’s performance. Of course, the Xbox One offers a great experience, but we highly recommend playing the game on PC, because unlike Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, this title is optimized well for the PC and can offer the “definitive” experience.
Even after having completed the campaign, Gears Of War 4 keeps me hooked for hours daily with all it’s competitive modes, and co-op fun. It’s a true return to form for the series, and sets the stage for it ambitiously. More than that, it makes me excited for the series, because if this was the first part of the next Gears Of War Trilogy, then I can’t imagine the scales to which this franchise can grow.
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