GEARS OF WAR ULTIMATE EDITION falls short of being something extra special
Gears of war Ultimate Edition is a prettied up version of the first game in the Gears of War series. You are once again resuming the roll of Marcus Fenix. After getting a surprise release from prison, you wouldn't think anything could ruin your day. Unfortunetely the locust horde is waiting to give you a proper death sentence.
If you have played this before, you will notice very little changes. The most notable is that the graphics have been polished up to bring it up to the modern era. It isn't quite the shock that we received when we first cast our eyes upon Gears of War in 2006, but it does look pretty as long as you don't look too closely. The biggest issue is the framerate. Even playing solo it can slow quite a bit, and the issue is only escalated when you split the screen for cooperative play. On the back of the case it advertises the multiplayer as a 60fps experience, so it is a little disappointing that they would stop short at the single player experience. Also lacking an ability to view the game in its original 2006 graphics is notable.
The action still feels great, maintaining the high flying gore we came to know and love from this franchise. Shooting enemies just right can cause them to blow into chunks, leaving pools of blood here and there. This is Gears' most shining feature. When you are not gunning down your locust adversaries, you will find yourself searching for unlocked doors, buttons or valves. These moments aren't exactly nailbiting, as you may find yourself longing for some sort of navigation assistance. It is puzzling considering that command is in your ear the whole game, yet there is no in-world method to make this a reality.
Another problem you may likely run into is the lack of single player balancing. Your AI teammates will run straight into enemy fire and die, leaving them typically impossible to revive until you clear out the surrounding enemies. This was somewhat tolerable for most of the game. Boss fights, however, were another story. Gears has never been an easy game. Even on the lowest difficulty you will die repeatedly if you are playing like a slacker. You need to keep bosses occupied so one player can shoot the boss. It is a big problem when your teammate repeatedly runs up the boss and dies, leaving you to run around the map with potentially innadaquite weapons for the situation at hand.
Gears of War Ultimate Edition is a mixed bag but all in all it is an exciting experience that will leave you feeling frustrated, yet macho. Whether you are a hardened Gears veteran or you are considering enlisting for the first time, Gears of War Ultimate Edition will still offer you a great deal of smiles and surprises as you rip up the locus for about 10 hours.
Gears of War Ultimate Edition receives 3/5 stars.
