REVIEW: Gears of War 4

Gears of War 4 is excellent and marks the beginnings of a solid new story in the acclaimed franchise. Even though some major questions are left unanswered—particularly the fate of a major character and the role of the main villain—the gameplay is definitely fan service especially when it comes to the final chapter. If you’re a fan of films like Pacific Rim, you’ll be blown away. There are many major changes to the gameplay and in general Gears of War 4 tells a more personal story rather than one that involves the complete destruction of humanity. It focuses on how those conflicts affect individual communities and those living inside them.

Before I discuss the campaign, the first aspect of the game you immediately notice are the breathtaking visuals. Gears of War 4 is by far the best-looking game on Xbox One and definitely trumps Ryse. Ryse had an issue with the character models but Gears of War 4 fixes that. You have to play this game on an Xbox One S because HDR lighting makes a unprecedented difference. It’s hard to explain but the advanced lighting takes the visuals to another level. I’ve played Uncharted 4 and The Order: 1886 but the lighting in Gears of War 4 elevates the visuals to a standard we haven’t experienced before. It’s mesmerizing and makes you wonder how this is even possible on a console.

Campaign

Parts of this review contain spoilers but they’re needed to explain how Gears of War 4 is different from its predecessors. I’ll avoid the major twists and turns but some basic information needs to be provided to explain how the tone of the game is different from previous entries. We’ve always known that the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) is a dysfunctional body because, well, the first Gears of War game opens with Marcus Fenix in a prison cell. They do what is necessary to maintain control and Marcus Fenix and his son, James Fenix, don’t agree with this philosophy of governing. Throughout Gears of War 4, you have to rely on your teammates more than a voice over the radio which is supposedly helping you out. Don’t expect helicopters to provide support or dozens of additional troops coming to your aid. You’re on your own on this one and it’s definitely a change. You’re the first people encountering this new threat so you have to figure out their weaknesses and even name them. I love how Gears of War 4 is new territory and plays out more like a mystery than anything else. The plot revolves around discovering the origins of The Swarm and all questions related to this are resolved at the end.

Another aspect to remember is that The Swarm aren’t really an organized forced—at least not yet. Maybe that’s why a proper villain like The Queen wasn’t introduced in this new chapter. Think of them as separate cells which are basically a collection of feral animals who are only obsessed with creating more entities. Do they need a leader? We don’t know but a clue at the very end might give us hints to the direction the franchise is heading in. This gives James and his friends the upper hand because instead of taking on an organized force, they’re fighting wild beasts. Additionally, remember that the COG aren’t your friends anymore and you’ll have to take them on as well. Their brutality and war crimes are hinted at throughout the narrative but no concrete answers are given as to why James Fenix dislikes the new leader. These questions will probably be addressed in the next few games but I had hoped we would get more information about the rift during this campaign.

Whenever you have a story, you should always at least try to touch on all of the questions and give proper explanations. Maybe all of this information is provided in the collectibles scattered across the game but many gamers won’t find them. I’m not sure if this lack of information is meant to enhance replayability—because how James Fenix was conceived is also answered in some of the collectibles—but it’s quite annoying. Collectibles are meant to give additional information rather than provide answers to basic questions presented in the narrative. This choice made by The Coalition is definitely bizarre in my opinion and will tick off many reviewers and gamers. A lot of people want to rush through the campaign to find out how it ends. Do you really think they’ll scour every corner of the vast and complex levels to pick up that one pamphlet which talks about genetic engineering or oppression of settlements? That won’t happen and people will feel unfulfilled by the story. This is like Destiny all over again. You have to read the Grimoire cards to get the answers you need. This approach to storytelling is flawed and if anything The Coalition should’ve learned that from the Destiny debacle. This definitely has to be my main complaint with the game by far. Gears of War 4 is solid when it comes to its technical aspects and multiplayer. Why couldn’t a few extra lines of dialogue have been added? This I will never understand. Microsoft Studios has a history of this and this is the third game which has suffered from the same problem—Halo 5 and Quantum Break being the other two. It’s either that they have no idea how to properly tell a complete narrative or just like to keep gamers guessing. Maybe it’s a ploy to make sure fans buy Gears of War 5. I just don’t know but it’s a disappointing decision.

The scale of the gameplay has also been increased considerably. While beforehand you felt like a tiny being fighting massive behemoths, the COG have definitely advanced their technology over the past 25 years. What I’m about to tell you is a massive spoiler so just go to the multiplayer section now if you want to avoid it. Remember the first Gears of War game where the final boss was a giant 500-foot kraken-type monster? Well, imagine fighting the same monster with a Pacific Rim-like mech. I’ve already said too much. You’ll have a massive smile on your face when you reach the final mission. It’s truly incredible and I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like that in any video game before.

The destruction is also astounding. Buildings collapse constantly and the massive wind storms that ravage the landscape are on a scale we haven’t seen in video games before. I keep on saying that but when you play it you’ll understand why I’m repeating that point. Everything in Gears of War 4 takes place on a massive scale than previous games even though it starts off from humble beginnings. You have to experience the scale of destruction for yourself.

For those wondering, charismatic characters like Cole and Braid also return. We obviously know that Marcus is in the game too given the countless images of him shared across the internet. This is a Gears of War game which is meant to introduce the new generation of fighters but doesn’t forget the legacy of the old ones. Where they end up decades later will surprise many of you but it all ties together with the narrative. Aside from the two major questions I hinted at earlier which weren’t adequately addressed, the campaign wraps up everything else neatly and circles back to reveal all. Just make sure to pick up those obscure collectibles to know more about the time between Gears of War 3 and Gears of War 4.

On a separate note, I have to say that Gears of War 4 feels more natural when it comes to human interactions. Maybe it’s me but I always found the original Gears of War games to have slightly odd dialogues. The chemistry between the characters wasn’t perfect. This game definitely fixes that and I believe it has to do with the stellar voice acting. All of the new characters, particularly Laura Bailey who voices Kait, are amazing.

Multiplayer

Let’s get this straight. Gears of War 4 is the best third-person shooter on the market right now. The controls are solid even with it comes to the single-player campaign which is locked at 30 FPS. In multiplayer the game runs at a locked 60 FPS and the shooting is sublime. Aiming is easy and this is a definite improvement over the remastered Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an easy time with a third-person shooter before. When it comes to aiming and shooting, I think Gears of War 4 might even be better than Halo 5. And Halo 5’s a first-person shooter. It’s hard to explain but you have to play it yourself to see how solid the mechanics are. The Coalition nailed the engine. Gears of War 4 doesn’t innovate but it perfects the third-person shooting mechanics and is definitely the industry standard now as far as I’m concerned.

There are many maps available and after launch, the time it takes to find a match is less than a minute. This is definitely appreciated because during the time we got access, we weren’t able to get into any matches. So far three of our writers have played the game and are reporting no issues at all when it comes to server integrity. However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed.

While the gameplay is as tense and hectic as always, maybe more so due to the addition of insane new weapons, there are severe balancing issues. For example, the Gnasher shotgun is overpowered and the damage from that needs to be reduced. You can have plenty of success if you go around shooting people with that during a match. It’s odd because even in maps that are expansive and require long-range strategies, people who duck and roll can basically destroy everyone with the shotgun. Hopefully The Coalition will balance the weapons soon because it seems a little unfair. I think I’m pretty good at multiplayer games and haven’t had this issue in any other titles I’ve played. I also positive this was a problem in the previous titles too.

Additionally, the way credits are dispensed needs to be reworked because gaining them right now is an absolute chore. I feel this is designed to force you to buy the packs. Thankfully, we got confirmation from Microsoft that the way credits are dispensed to unlock additional skins and perks will be revamped soon. I’m glad they immediately took notice because I can assure you I’m not the only one who was complaining about this. It’s incredibly unfair.

Aside from that, you’ll have fun and make sure you communicate with your team. There are so many corners and twists in the maps that staying on top of where enemies are can be difficult. They can pop out from anywhere. Coordination is key and sticking together is important. Maybe more so than previous Gears of War games.

Lastly, Horde 3.0 is amazing. While this multiplayer mode runs at 30 FPS unlike the rest of the multiplayer experience, it still features great shooting mechanics and I never encountered any issues. I do have to say that after you reach about Wave 10, the difficulty increases dramatically and it’s really hard to succeed. Make sure you have a full party of people because if you play with anything less than that, you will lose. Also, try to fortify one position thoroughly because placing turrets haphazardly will lead to ruin.

As far as glitches go, Gears of War 4 is a technically sound experience. I may have encountered some frame rate issues during the beginning of the game in the prologue but they didn’t occur again as I went further into the campaign. Apart from that, the only other problem I noticed was how certain objects like boxes disappeared when you approached them. These items aren’t vital to gameplay at all as they’re merely decorating the scene but it’s still odd when you see items simply vanish when playing any game. I couldn’t find any other faults in multiplayer. With that said, I do have to say that I wonder what Gears of War 4 would be like if the campaign was 60 FPS too on Xbox One. That would definitely be something to see. Maybe The Coalition will change that for its inevitable sequel.

Summary

Overall, Gears of War 4 is a great game which is let down by its campaign to some degree due to the unanswered questions. However, the ending teases a massive surprise and you’ll be shocked as to the direction the game is heading in. I wish I could tell you more but we’ll discuss it in the coming days when everyone gets a chance to play it. The multiplayer mode more than makes up for the missteps in the campaign and is a blast to play with friends. The servers are solid and while the weapons need some balancing, it doesn’t detract from the experience once you learn to take on the shotgun abusers. I can’t recommend this game enough and every Xbox One owner should purchase this title.