Gears of War 4 Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by The Coalition
Released 11th October 2016
Played Co-op
Gears of War 4 not only signals the series is back, marking a new generation of stories to tell but it may have also foreshadowed the down spiral that would plague future instalments. After the classic trilogy was developed by Epic Games, Microsoft decided to step up and buy the rights to the IP, having it made in-house by The Coalition. It's almost as if Microsoft didn't learn their lesson when having a studio, that exclusively pumps out sequels for a flagship franchise - *cough cough* 343 Industries *cough cough*.
Story
The story of Gears of War 4 is simple and safe, but not disappointing in any shape or form. The game is set 25 years after the ending of Gears of War 3, and its end to the Locust War. This time, the player's protagonist is JD Fenix, the son of the badass everyone loves: Marcus Fenix. The story is basic and doesn't attempt anything bold, which is perfectly fine, seeing as this is the big comeback of one of the most popular franchises out there. The narrative focuses more on family and the relationship between parent and child than saving the world once again, which may sound odd but in return has some form of a friendly charm to it. The pacing throughout is great, picking up the pace with intense action sequences, reminiscent of those sections in Uncharted or the Brumak moments in the original Gears trilogy. It also can slowly smooth it down to the perfect speed with some exposition or regular gameplay. The problem is, however, how quick and abrupt the ending felt. I and my friend ended up scratching our heads saying "That's it?" as the conclusion didn't feel satisfying, but instead, rushed.
Gameplay
The gameplay follows the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". The cover-based manoeuvres of roadie-running and gunning, are back and feel really refined. The game doesn't attempt anything new, unfortunately, however, it definitely feels at home when compared to the previous 3. The enemies in the game have really switched up, ranging from the mechanical troubles of DeeBees to the evolved form of the Locust; the Swarm. The two groups don't range much in variety, however, they do enhance playstyles by having more offensive and rush-down mechanics, keeping the player, constantly on the move. To counter-act their pushing nature, the player can drag the enemies over cover and perform an awesome and somewhat violent execution on the enemy - pretty neat.
There's also not much of a differentiation in weaponry which is odd to see since you'd expect 25 in-game years to bring something new. The 3 weapons that did get added are fantastic and they're responsive, having an explosive kick-back which feels great (especially the Overkill) but they can be easily simplified to an over-glorified shotgun, grenade launcher and canon.
The enemy variety is minimal with the most distinction for each group being the drone Guardians for the DeeBees and the blatant Wretch rip-off of Juvies for the Swarm. However, the game does have some form of switch-up up its sleeves by having mini-boss fights that really pack a punch and ramp up the difficulty to a nice challenging state. The sly Snatcher or bull-dozing Carrier really stand out to me due to their nostalgic, yet unique concepts in design and gameplay. The swarm as a whole do, unfortunately, feel like the Locust 2.0 in terms of gameplay (not in the story though) which loops back to the perfectly fine but ill-fated story formula.
Bossfights
The bossfights of this game are as much of a rare re-occurrence as the mini-boss fights yet, that doesn't subtract from what spectacle, both in terms of gameplay and visuals, they are. From fighting a Kestrel helicopter, in a format of an Uncharted action sequence, in an impressive environment, to mowing down a Hive beast, with a colossal structure that puts your mechs to shame; these bosses felt fresh, entertaining and enjoyable. While they do have the same overlaying gameplay loop of "shoot this a million times with infinite ammo", their presentation is awing.
Characters
The characters, unfortunately, fall flat for the most part. Protagonist JD, has a decent arc, dialogue and overall persona, but he felt too cookie-cutter basic to be seen as the son of a legend. JD's companions of Del and Kate have a delightful aura to them but while Del is making somewhat of a unique impression on the player, Kate doesn't. It feels like the developers forgot she existed, so they made her significant at the last second, and this is something both me and my friend agree on, massively. The returning characters, however, still present the very same characteristics that made the player fall in love with them in the original trilogy.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is mediocre. Soundtracks in Gears of War games have never really struck any heartstrings or chords that genuinely make you fall in love with it. It's not bad in any way but it doesn't have a hint of impact like many fantastic games do. Visually, however, this game is fantastic. The attention to detail and impressiveness mostly pops at the moments where harsh weather is in motion as that's when the flare and sparks and lighting show off their console potential. In terms of sound design, the guns feel aggressive and your future shooting range candidates pack a wallop in their own regards as well.
Story- 7/10
Gameplay- 7/10
Bossfights- 7.5/10
Characters- 5/10
Atmosphere- 8.5/10
Good
A much-anticipated follow-up to the groundbreaking trilogy, Gears of War 4 serves to be a game that plays it too safe with its ambitions, however, is fully justified for it.
