Gears of War 4

Over the past year or so, I've made a concerted effort to distance myself from the gaming industry’s preview hype machine. So outside of a few major details, such as the new, younger cast, I haven't really followed Gears of War 4's development. As a result, I went in with a relatively open mind as to what new developer The Coalition would do with a franchise that had all but wrapped itself up at the conclusion of Gears 3 back in 2011. I hadn't really thought about Gears of War since then and, if I'm being honest, would've been perfectly content if Microsoft had let the franchise be after the original trilogy.

That being said, I've found myself pleasantly surprised with a lot of what Gears of War 4 has to offer. It’s a solid Gears of War sequel that just happens to have a different developer’s logo on the box. However, Gears 4 also has its fair share of issues keeping it from being a truly great game.

Story

I definitely wouldn't classify myself as a Gears of War super fan, but each new iteration always seems to rejuvenate my enthusiasm for the series. Chalk it up to a staggered release schedule, the series' popularity among my friends, or Epic Games' ability to craft its own unique brand of third-person shooter. Whatever the reason, I went into Gears of War 4 fully willing to accept whatever narrative contrivance The Coalition ginned up to justify the series' continuance. It's not like anyone takes the Gears of War fiction as gospel. For me, Gears campaigns have always served as a sort of primer for Horde mode with a bit more substance than the annual Call of Duty roller coaster ride.

To this end, the campaign in Gears of War 4 seems very much at odds with itself. There are moments of ambition throughout it that show The Coalition’s desire to make Gears 4 something more than a by-the-numbers Gears of War experience. Unfortunately, the campaign is also weighed down by trite Gears of War-isms that drag the overall experience down a bit.

For instance, the story ditches it vibrant autumn countryside and oppressive COG robot army in favor of all-too-familiar dark caves and not-Locusts far too quickly. It would have been nice to see The Coalition take Gears 4 all the way in a different direction than its predecessors, rather than half-heartedly dip their toes in Uncharted waters.

After a brief series of introductory snippets spread across the Gears timeline, we’re introduced to the series’ new generation of gun-toting potty mouths: JD, Del, and Kait. Former COG officers JD and Del have taken asylum with Kait’s group of settlers living under the thumb of the now-wayward COG authority. Though sadly brief, the little frontier village vs. overbearing government dynamic makes for a strong opening and sets the scene well for the events that follow.

Despite the circumstances, the trio is decidedly more light-hearted than Delta squad’s early 2000s MTV brand of edgy. At times, they have more in common with Nathan Drake and company than any of Gears’ former frontmen. The series has always managed to inject its fair share of character-building in between engagements, and Gears 4 is very successful in this regard. The new cast is undoubtedly the campaign’s biggest positive, and their banter and development carried me through much of the game’s slog-heavy middle chapters.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say Marcus Fenix, former protagonist and JD’s father, makes a return. He’s featured heavily in the marketing, from what little I’ve seen, and plays a pretty big role in Gears 4 despite having hung up his COG armor and do-rag at Gears 3’s conclusion. His temperament hasn’t improved with age, and it’s actually pretty entertaining to see Marcus approach Clint Eastwood levels of old man grump in dealing with JD’s youthful indiscretion. At one point, Marcus literally yells at intruders to get off his property during a firefight. He’s also basically a prepper, minus the Spam.

At one point, Marcus literally yells at intruders to get off his property during a firefight. He’s also basically a prepper, minus the Spam.

As good as Old Man Marcus and JD are together though, I feel that they’re somewhat emblematic of Gears of War 4 as whole. The Coalition took what they inherited from Epic Games and did a pretty dang good job meshing it with their new material. I wonder what they could have done with the series had they made a clean break from the previous trilogy’s timeline and conventions, but that doesn’t take away from the admirable job they did melding old and new together. If nothing else, the campaign is still a great source of co-op fun.

Horde

Horde mode! I love Horde mode. It’s fun. You team up with four people, kill waves of bad things trying to kill you back, build defenses, and when it’s over, you look at your phone and realize it’s 2 a.m. and you need to go to bed. Gears of War 4 has Horde mode. It’s fun too, and The Coalition made some interesting additions to keep things fresh.

Currency used for building defenses and buying weapons is now dropped, similar to dog tags in Call of Duty’s Kill Confirmed mode, rather than being earned directly from killing an enemy. In addition, you need to physically deposit your purse at your squad’s mobile headquarters in order to pool resources among all five members. It’s all the fun of pre-direct deposit banking without having to buy deposit slips or checks. The whole system adds an element of mobility that was missing in the previous games. Make no mistake, Horde still revolves around camping a singular defensible position. But for those so inclined, taking on a more aggressive role as a sort of point man-bagman hybrid is a bit more fulfilling.

The other big addition is the introduction of a class-based system à la Battlefield, Team Fortress, etc. Each class has its own loadout and fills a specific role, from the defense building Engineer to the long range Sniper. At lower difficulty levels, classes don’t play that big of a role, but a leveled-up, diverse squad is absolutely necessary to surviving on higher difficulties. Gears 4 shoots itself in the foot a bit in how you progress and upgrade classes - we’ll get to that, don’t you worry - but I found the added variety to be a pleasant surprise in my already favorite mode in Gears of War.

Multiplayer

Epic Games implemented a lot of smart changes to make the cutthroat, shotgun-heavy arena more palatable, and The Coalition continues that progression with Gears 4. To my admittedly casual eye, there aren’t a great deal of changes from Gears 3, so I’ll be brief. Multiplayer runs at 60 frames-per-second, for those who care about such things, and map layout and visual variety are on point. There are a wealth of modes and playlists for varying levels of competitiveness. And, to my utter satisfaction each and every time this occurs, shotgun rushers still slow to a crawl when hit with a Lancer barrage. Actually, my only real gripe thus far is the removal of the retro lancer as a default loadout option, relegating it to “map pickup” status, in favor of a quick-reloading bullet hose SMG.

I don’t really play competitive multiplayer a lot, but my experience with it has undoubtedly improved as the series has evolved. This continues to be true in Gears 4. Of course, if you don’t want to play against people, Gears 4 also includes co-op vs bots and private matches. Gears of War’s bots continue to be among my favorite. They’re close enough to real people, minus the fun of being cussed out by a stranger in a public match, that they provide a fun break from Horde every once in a while.

Micro-transactions

I’d be remiss in neglecting to mention Gears 4’s micro-transactions. Rather than tying unlocks to player level or specific accomplishments, like in previous entries in the series, Gears 4 offers packs of randomly generated goodies. These include player and weapon skins, class perks for horde mode, and experience-boosting bounties. They can be purchased with real or in-game currency. There are a couple of problems I have with this system.

First off, I’m not fond of the whole “random loot box” mechanic. It’s semi-acceptable in Overwatch, for example, because you get them at a reasonably quick interval, whereas Gears 4 drip-feeds its COG-bucks at such a glacial clip that I lost all desire to buy loot packs entirely.

Secondly, the inclusion of non-cosmetic upgrades, especially in a $60, Microsoft-published game, is borderline unacceptable. By comparison, Overwatch’s loot is purely cosmetic. The only silver lining, for me anyway, is that they’re really only useful on the higher difficulty levels of Horde mode. Conversely, Horde mode basically has a hard pay wall now, forcing players to grind matches and bounties or pay up for the possibility of getting something useful. This is the new reality of video games, and it’s gross.

Conclusion

Gears 4 is a true blue Gears of War experience. Chainsaws will be revved, curbs will be stomped, and roadies will be run. We've seen this song and dance for the better part of the past decade. Actually, let's just take a second to let that sink in. The Gears of War franchise is 10 years old. Damon Baird for a decade. Yuck.

I’m sure diehard fans of the series will appreciate Gears 4’s faithfulness to its predecessors. Unfortunately, that’s also its biggest flaw. Over three iterations, Epic Games made a lot of really smart additions and changes to the Gears formula and then they closed the book on their trilogy. Gears of War 4 could have marked a huge new step for the franchise. Instead, they made a sequel to Gears 3.

Sure, there are additions and tweaks here and there, but nothing The Coalition has done upsets the Gears status quo. It’s another Gears of War game, for better or worse. If that sounds good to you, then you’re going to be happy with what Gears 4 has to offer. But chances are, if you weren’t a fan of the series in the past, Gears 4 will do little to change your mind.