The ultra-violent third-person shooter franchise Gears of War just made its return in a weird way. The newest entry in the series, Gears Tactics, uses the iconic universe as a setting for a squad-centric strategy game.
The new take on the series has landed with mostly favorable reviews, applauding its commitment to a complete gameplay overhaul. Here are five of the best things about the new game, and five of the worst.
10 Worst: Repetition
One of the earliest and most consistent knocks against the new game is that a lot of it feels repetitious. The maps, even though they are reminiscent of many Gears staples, feel mostly the same.
Then there are the missions. The campaign does a mostly good job of diversifying, but the side missions start to repeat in a formula before the halfway point.
9 Best: The New Formula Works
Right out the gate, it needs to be addressed that taking a series that is built around sprinting and diving until you manage to shotgun your opponent into a billion pieces and turning it into a tactics game is a bold move.
The move pays off here. The game is well-designed, has great strategy elements, and most importantly, is fun to play. Admittedly a little surprising, but the team behind Gears Tactics has made a worthwhile addition to the action franchise.
8 Worst: Slow Skill Leveling
In a game where troops can be killed permanently, it is both a gift and a curse that the soldiers level very slowly. On one hand, it can make the pain hurt less when a troop is killed and they aren’t insanely strong.
However, when soldiers can be killed any time, it can be frustrating that dozens upon dozens of missions will level them into only slightly stronger versions of themselves. If you want to max out a specific soldier’s skill, you basically have to focus all your leveling into that skill to have any chance.
7 Best: Classic Gears Chaos
All of the Gears landmarks are here to be enjoyed, despite the new genre. Muscle-bound human trucks make up the squads, and all the body tearing weaponry they wield in the franchise is here, and just as destructive as always.
The gore is here as well, with even the famous executions system being present in a new innovative way. The gruesome aspects of the game make this feel like Gears game while still offering a completely new gameplay system.
6 Worst: Slow Start
While Gears Tactics eventually gives the player a plethora of troops and abilities to use in complex firefights, the run-up to getting there is a bit of a chore. Slowly unlocking new moves and increasing your arsenal is a video game staple, but in a strategy game like this, having a diverse range of choices is key to making the combat exciting.
Unfortunately, without that wide array of choices, the first leg of the game boils down to slow gunfights that feel repetitive and similar.
5 Best: Visuals
The game boasts nice visuals all around. It has the signature look of the Gears series, and despite being stripped down just a bit from the main entries, the graphics are great.
Along with the graphics come crisp animations that your team performs in the midst of combat. The movements and special moves, such as executions, make the combat cinematic. Plus, the entire story is delivered through beautiful cutscenes.
4 Worst: Required Side Missions
The side missions in Tactics aren’t inherently a bad thing. Many of them give players a chance to strengthen their squad and get a little bloody in the process. Simple objectives like defending central points from enemies.
The problems arise when you get to the late-game, as these side missions are often required to proceed to the next story mission. It can be frustrating to be forced to go complete two of these right when the story is heating up.
3 Best: Executions
I mentioned earlier that executions were back and it wouldn’t really be a Gears game if they weren’t, but the way that they are utilized in the new strategy game style is pure genius.
Sending troops to execute downed enemies not only provides a nice visceral animation to satisfy a player’s bloodlust, but it also fires up your team, giving squad-mates more action points, which are required to perform, well, actions. Stomping a locust’s head into the ground just might be the tactical move you need to win a large battle.
2 Worst: The Character Arcs
While Gears has never relied too heavily on complex characters or deep storylines, the squad of Tactics is still disappointing. They act like stock muscle-heads, but in a less fun way than the classic franchise team.
Plus, they all come in with personal issues that seemingly go nowhere, making the journey amount to nothing more than splattering a ton of monsters. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but in this slower-paced game, a more interesting story would have set it over the top.
1 Best: Strategic Depth
The number of troop types and the number of abilities that come with them make every turn feel like a game of Risk sponsored by an energy drink. Using stronger weapons, equipment, and even special moves can lead to some chains of kills that are more satisfying than anything achievable in traditional Gears shooters.
With this, comes inventory and troop management as well, creating the game’s deepest mechanic, and the aspect that will likely have you pouring hours into playing it.
NEXT: 10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Gears 5
