I guess I wanted multiplayer gameplay that's more like the campaign. We got that with Horde, so that's a plus. Vs. play online is very run-and-gun and in-your-face. That's not a bad thing, but it doesn't really feel like what Gears of War is designed to be like. Try playing some matches against teams of bots, and there's a HUGE difference.
After thinking about it more, I realized that there were a few problems on Epic's part moving from the campaign to multiplayer. Campaign requires you to fight from behind cover. Also, the enemies take much more damage than you can. Weapons like the shotgun and Lancer chainsaw are only useful in limited situations.
In multiplayer, all that goes away, since it's an even playing field. The chainsaw and shotgun become overpowered, and the cover system becomes a hindrance when your adversaries are running around.
I'm not really sure what the solution is, but the tweaks Epic made from Gears 2 definitely didn't help much. They tried to rebalance the chainsaw by making it more powerful against the shotgun (bayonet doesn't drop as easily). Then they increased the shotgun's accuracy and range to even it out with the Lancer. What we're left with are two starting weapons that are way overpowered, making it pointless in many matches to seek out other weapons. Cover is pointless too, since you're just a sitting duck for someone somersaulting around the map.
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