Gears of War 4 marks a change in the franchise and the passing of the torch inside the game’s story. I remember my cousin introducing me to the first Gears back more than ten years ago. It was a masterpiece. As a kid, I was almost scared to play it, the Locust, the environment, the story – everything was dark and very immersive. Shooting mechanics felt fluid and gamers along with myself fell in love with the franchise which became a trilogy and now, there’s a fourth one…
A crazy jump from the first three games sees Marcus (the main protagonist from the previous games) now playing more of mentor, guide role. He teaches his son JD and his two companions Kait and Del how to fight and think as a bunch of warriors. Set 25 years after the events of Gears 3, the story opens with a TV scene of 25th anniversary of ending the Locust War. It’s sad that the Locust aren’t the main villains anymore, but now you have a fearful bunch of robots known as DB’s or DeeBees. They were created by DB industries after the Locust War to handle hard and dangerous tasks. There are many types of these robots which can perform and carry out various tasks, but nonetheless these are extremely dangerous and you have to hit them with everything you’ve got. You also have swarm enemies: Drones and Juvies, Pouncers and etc. They are familiar to the fans of the series.
In terms of gameplay – Gears of War 4 feels back where it should be. Gears 3 felt rather a bit disappointing to the series hardcore fans because the difficulty was reduced according to them, in order to attract new players. Gears 4 changes that, difficulty is back with full force. The shooting, running, cover mechanics all feel fluid and a lot better than in the previous installment. What’s great is the variety of environments that you fight in. From fields to industrial areas – the scale and amount of maps is huge and they’re all quite fun. But in addition, they are all used up well, these areas and maps aren’t just big zones with nothing to do. You have to think a bit to find out the best possible approaches, fighting positions and etc. Probably the coolest thing is the weather effects. Not only from a visual standpoint do they look gorgeous, such as tornadoes, hurricanes and winds, but they also affect bullet trajectories which you have to take in account when firing upon an enemy. This adds a factor to choosing gear and making you responsible for your actions.
Campaign can also be played out online and in co-op. Online has always been a flagship, but now it’s even better (mostly). With old game modes improved and best of 13 duel modes will keep the most intense gamers on the edge of their seats while for others this can become a pain. Other multiplayer game modes allow for very memorable moments whether you’re playing with friends or randoms. Enemies drop loot of resources that you have to spend as a team to improve your “Tower defense mechanisms”.
Overall, I found a lot to like about Gears of War 4. Although there were some minor drawbacks like not very likeable characters, imposed multiplayer mechanics and some other minor details, I consider this to be a solid addition to the Gears of War franchise and a very good game overall.
8.8/10
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