Dont call it a comeback

Been here for years

Gears of war 4 feels like home. Sure it’s different in most of ways it’s supposed to be but when it comes down to it, when you’re holding the controller in your hands ready to bust a million bullets into the swarm headed your way, what follows is nothing short of nostalgia. It is slick. It is raw. It is just too damn fun.

The latest instalment in the Gears of War series is like a soft reboot. It’s like a new building but with a similar, familiar structure. Let’s rewind a year and a half back to the reveal at E3 we all knew was coming. Though intriguing, the overlong demo offered little in terms of premise and just left a sort of lacklustre vibe to it which is not what you want to do when you have to fill in the shoes of a major franchise which formed the backbone and showcased the power of the early years of the 360. Fast forward one year. E3 2016. A bright spot in an overall mediocre press conference, the demo was a good one. It showed gameplay quality, storms, the new threat and overall felt polished quality. However, none of those was the reason I wanted to play the game after the conference ended. I wanted to play it because it looked like a helluva ride and that is what Gears fans have come to expect of the franchise. It is with great relief that I say, Gears of War 4 doesn’t disappoint.

The story is set 25 years after the Locust eradication. What’s left of humanity on the planet Sera is kept together in a disciplined society which is built to fear stepping out of line. We take the role of one James Dominic Fenix, the son of the main trilogy’s protagonist, on an excellent paced, well crafted campaign which I was surprised to experience. In an era where most modern shooters tell tales of wars, of worlds coming to an end, what we witness in Gears 4 is a very personal, at times emotional and gut wrenching story about family. I found this fascinating primarily because it’s not like the stakes are not high. They’re as high as they’ve ever been but for once we as gamers aren’t asked to care about the whole world. Just the people who mean the most to us and that does the game good because it allows for effective character development. Del as a character does feel a little underdeveloped but still. 2 out of 3 isn’t bad at all. The story slowly unfolds as we move from well laid out infrastructure fighting robots titled DeeBees to more denser looking tight areas fighting the to be villains of a larger war which will inevitably occur. The Swarm as they are called are explained logically and so are their intentions. This isn’t the most unique story in the world. It is somewhat predictable especially in the ways it goes about it’s narrative. However a simpler story doesn’t have to be a bad thing so long as that simple story delivers which it does. After all, too ambitious projects can collapse under pressure (No Man’s Sky being a recent example).

All that is not to say that Gears isn’t Gears. A lack of ambition in terms of story if balanced by a final act which I doubt would disappoint anybody wherein the game pulls an Inside-esque turn. It doesn’t have a lot to offer in terms of new mechanics as the studio takes inspiration from the already established robust gameplay system laid down by Epic Games and that is somewhere people might think the game plays it safe. From a technical perspective, it is a dazzling experience. The game makes an effort to take itself back to the roots of the franchise, the horror/survival kind of thing. Remember the first Berserker fight in the original Gears. I do. And it was scary. The environments work perfectly to support that effort of the coalition as we see perfectly built areas which feel like they represent exactly what they were supposed to. No more and certainly no less. In between we’re treated with some gorgeous vistas be it the more civilised colonies or underground mines. Of course it doesn’t replicate the Jaw-Dropping marvels of Gears 1 but it still does plenty. And for those looking for a larger than life experience and a complex tale, all of that is set up in the last five seconds of the game in a terrific reveal, the implications of which I cannot wait to witness.

Lastly the multiplayer feels as good as ever and complimented by a 60 fps frame rate, movements feel faster, shots feel earned and gameplay feels smoother than it has ever been. This is high octane shotgun filled action and though I play Gears for the campaign as I do with most games, the multiplayer had me hooked for several hours. Horde 3.0 is obviously the highlight fighting waves of enemies along with a Fabricator to create defences accordingly and as per will. All other modes are a little generic but will play out exactly as you hope.

I have to admit, I was surprised by Gears of War 4. I knew it would be good but there’s a difference between something being good and liking something. I liked Gears 4. I liked it alot. There are a lot of nitpicks going around about the game. About the lack of innovation, too familiar gameplay etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.Bottomline is that when it comes down to it, Gears of War 4 is just too much chaos to care about what lies outside. Slamming into walls and chainsawing the crap out of aliens sounds awesome as f*ck. Now thanks to the Fourth instalment in a new series, it plays better than ever too.