Control the Battlefield
Gears of War is a franchise that has earned its classic status. From its birth as a flagship title for the Xbox 360, the over-the-top brutality and grim darkness has been a mainstay for Microsofts’ consoles. Gears Tactics, available on Xbox One and PC, is the newest installment taking the franchise into the direction of the XCOM-style tactical turn-based gameplay style. While the ground is wholly unfamiliar, Gears Tactics gets it right in both feel and action. The different styles of enemies and the customization options on each of your Gears gives the game depth. With the signature franchise aesthetic, Gears Tactics dives headfirst into a new genre and makes a solid landing.
Beautiful and Bloody
Undoubtedly, one of the main draws of the Gears of War franchise is the over-the-top violence and visceral gore. Gears Tactics takes this charm and runs with it, giving the genre graphic visuals that are both satisfying and unnerving in their carnage. The music and sound design also add to this, with the dark and creeping track that plays during the start of the enemy turn giving both atmosphere and personality to The Locust. It also makes the perfect backdrop for when they run into your gunfire, whose gunshots are also distinctly designed. When it all comes together, you will eagerly await the beginning of each enemy turn as they run into your hardened position, causing a symphony of gunfire and splats of gore against the wall.
The cutscenes are equally as impressive. The highly cinematic nature of the franchise is still in full force in Gears Tactics, offering some beautiful shots that bring a level of immersion that is jaw-dropping. While the environments are limited, the amount of assets in each one is vast and you never feel like you have been on the same map twice. This is fantastic due to the explorative nature of these complex levels considering the cases of gear scattered across each map. Combined with the excellent camera control, it is incredibly fun to explore these beautifully detailed environments
Dug In, Weapons Hot
While not incredibly difficult, Gears Tactics offers a good amount of Challenge on the Experienced Mode. Much like the standard Gears of War title, you will hunker down and take positions against the Locust Hordes as they march upon your squad to face down the enemy. From air drops to the classic Emergence Holes, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed in Gears Tactics as the stakes rapidly escalate during each mission. Unless playing on Ironman Mode, however, it is easy to undo mistakes made using the Checkpoint system. With a Checkpoint after seemingly each key turning point in a mission, you will always be covered to reload from there.
The customization and progression offered by this title is vast and satisfying. Each weapon type is, in essence, its own class and mods can be recovered through weapon cases across each mission. Each weapon has 3 moddable slots of various rarities which can not only give a stat boost, but also give perks as well which work with the various skill trees of each character to create definitive roles. This makes progression satisfying to watch unfold and tailoring each Gear to perfection is engaging and fun. While these are great offerings, the game does not lend itself well to long gameplay sessions as the action can end up feeling the same across missions and squads quickly. While it is a good way to use all of the recruited forces, the pacing of putting chunks of mandatory side missions between main story missions can grow tiresome. When combined with a lower standard of difficulty these problems become an even more glaring issue that solidifies the disposable nature of the title.
Bloodstained and Brutal
Gears Tactics makes a stellar first impression but unfortunately fails to keep your attention. While mechanically solid with a fine level of polish, the classes offered don’t give the amount of variety their skill trees would imply. It is fun to grow your entire force with the use of side missions but their mandatory nature is one that detracts from the overall experience. While the Checkpoint system is reliable, it can sometimes cripple the difficulty of any mission not run on Iron Man Mode since you can load from that point in time. While Gears Tactics is a solid title that positively oozes the signature charm of the franchise, it does little else to differentiate itself within the tactical turn-based strategy world. If you have Gamepass it is definitely worth checking out, but don’t rush out to buy this one.
