Game review 09 September 2019, 17:08

author: Michael Grygorcewicz

Gears 5 Review – All Cogs in Right Places

We like it when creators are able to recognize their mistakes. Gears 5 lets go of the expedition company of rookie boy scouts, and serves a hard-boiled action shooter instead. Just like the old days.

The review is based on the XONE version. It's also relevant to PC version(s).

Marcus Fenix is a legend. He did his best trying to save the campaign in Gears of War 4. It was only thanks to him that we were able to cope with the goofy, dry jokes of his son, J. D., and company. I don't know why the developers from The Coalition thought it a good idea to create a cast of characters that simply seemed shallow compared to the veterans of the first trilogy, but I know the devs have learned from their mistakes, because Gears 5 is a step in the right direction. The characters were finally fleshed out, and even though Marcus is absent for the majority of game, it doesn't prevent us from achieving true Zen.

The nightmare continues

Although the word "war" is no longer included in the official name of the game, the conflict with the so-called Locusts is full-on. The monsters, guided by the will of their queen, swarmed the entire planet, and regular battles in the cities are still the daily bread. The victory of mankind can only be achieved by rebooting the Hammer of Dawn, a powerful energy weapon located in the planet’s orbit. It's the main axis of the new Gears campaign, alongside an attempt to unravel the mystery of the origins of Kait and her mother.

If Gears 5 is going to be your first contact with the series, I strongly recommend completing at least part four. The plots of both games are closely related, and the five begins immediately after the previous installment. However, the developers included two videos recapping the events of Gears of War 4 in the game menu, as did they in other games of the series, but it is not as organic and personal an experience as completing the game yourself. Moreover, even in the case of Xbox, the game currently costs peanuts.

It's usually hard to talk about a compelling, truly immersive plot in the case of regular shooters, where the single most important mechanic is pulling the trigger. One thing that can surely be said about the plot in this game, however, is that it's satisfying. This is a fairly simple soldier story, but it also offers a level of mystery that makes pursuing the conclusion worth it. At the end of the game, there even is a moral decision that may be problematic in terms of a sequel. Which, by the way, is very likely to appear, because the story ends with a minor cliffhanger.

Large, empty locations

In the single-player campaign, we enact two characters. In the first act, it's JD, son of Marcus Phoenix and the protagonist of the previous installment. From the second act, until the very end of the game, the perspective shifts to Kait. From this moment on, the series' traditional approach to gameplay also changes. I mean, it doesn't change in the sense of the mechanics of combat – Gears 5 remains a cover-shooter and is very much a Gears game, but there also are some larger, open locations, which we traverse in a skiff – basically, a sailing sled.

On the one hand, this definitely provides a nice diversification of the rail-shooter experience. On the other, the potential of the idea is untapped; essentially, it simply lengthens the transitions between subsequent combat scenes – we now have to skid for a while, rather than just enter the next area. I did love the mayhem during combat, but it also seemed to me that moving through those quasi-open locations could easily be a bit more interesting, more interactive.

Hit the road, Jack

In fact, the biggest change when it comes to the mechanics is the flying drone accompanying our team, which is now more than just a prop used for opening doors. So far, our mechanical companion was mostly useless. Now, we can teach it a few useful tricks, ranging from bringing us weapons scattered around the location, cloaking the entire squad, or putting a barrier that deflects incoming projectiles. Jack's gradual improvements have a significant impact on the quality of the game, and they're not just a fanciful addition to use during a few, scripted moments.

The increasingly powerful Jack is a valuable member of the squad. Furthermore, in coop, one player can play as the drone and infiltrate the battlefield from a whole new perspective. At the same time, the development of the drone's skills is done through a few simple technological trees that can be completed with components found around the world. That's a very cool, and well implemented idea.

Caught in the net

The online modes in all of the Gears games are benchmarks for the entire genre. In the case of the "five," not much has changed. Being able to complete the campaign on multiple difficulty levels with three other friends is always a good thing. About the only downside was that the console lost connection to Xbox Live for some reason a few times, which is, well, undesirable in an online game – but let's hope the developers will be able to mend this problem with the next patch.

Apart from the Horde mode, well known from the previous installments, the game also got a PvE mode. Namely, the Escape. In it, we have to escape a swarm of Locusts, full of all types of enemies. Ammunition is scant, so players have to engage in melee combat often. And that's on the lowest difficulty. Later, the monsters become stronger, and the game applies further constraints. Of course, as always in such cases, it's necessary to rely on a group of trusted friends in order to fully enjoy the victories, and swallow the defeats. Checkpoints are rare, so be warned.

There are also the familiar deathmatch modes that should deliver genuine thrill over the coming months, or even years. However, this whole abundance of features got me a bit confused, because the mechanics of unlocking stuff in the game aren't very transparent. One obvious method of unlocking items are the microtransactions, which allows you to purchase cosmetics such as armor, flags of countries, skins for weapons, gestures, or blood spatters, as well as boosters for experience gained in combat. There is also the in-game currency, iron, which can be obtained by packing tens of hours into the game, or spending real money. The third way to acquire new skills and items are supply drops. These we can get automatically when logging in, and as a reward for the time spent in-game.

The thing is that these different ways of obtaining items don't give access to the same stuff. Some of it can only be acquired by one of these methods. Whether or not it’s a problem is an individual matter. You can have a good time with Gears 5 even if you're completely not interested in microtransactions.

Worth it?

Yes. This installment in the venerable series is definitely superior to the prequel in all aspects, particularly when it comes to the campaign, and there's more waiting in the MP, to top it off. I really liked the fact that the campaign often harks back to the original trilogy with Marcus Phoenix. We even visit the same places, where our favorite veteran was fighting a few years back. At some point, the spirit of first Gears is evidently revived, when we travel amidst crumbling homes with textures straight from the Ultimate Edition.

The soundtrack, particularly the work of composer Ramin Javadi, also deserves high praise. The main theme entitled "Family" is the one song that really struck a chord with me, but the rest of the orchestral arrangements, from time to time fueled by a deeper beat, aren't half-bad either, and they perfectly intensify the fierce clashes with the Locusts.

The semi-open locations are only a partial success. If the creators decide to keep that idea in the future, it would be good if they further developed and diversified it in some meaningful way. The graphics are another thing that seemed a bit half-baked in this case. It's much less detailed than in the closed locations, and the developers apparently tried to limit the field of view in artificial ways. Thanks to that, however, the game runs in ultra-high resolution at sixty frames per second, and the animation only once visibly stuttered during a cut-scene.

Gears 5 is a must-have for everyone looking for some quality time with a proper shooter. It should cater to the tastes of a broad audience, since both the story campaign, and the multiplayer modes, are really well polished. Malcontents could say that this is, first and foremost, a game for people who already are fans of the series, since it admittedly feels very similar to any other prequel. That's true. But guess what? But in this case, it's a great recommendation.