Gears of War Franchise Overview

Developed by Epic Games, The Coalition, People Can Fly, Splash Damage & Mediatonic

First Release: Gears of War (7th November 2006)

Latest Release: Gears 5 (10th September 2019)

Gears of War has been and still is a heavy hitter for Microsoft in what is considered the console wars. Ever since its 2006 release, the game has been a worthy contender against Sony's exclusives such as Uncharted and The Last of Us. As a result, I'm going to look at the whole franchise (excluding spin-offs like Gears of War: Judgement) and ponder whether or not the series is still packing a punch for Xbox.

Gears of War(2006)

Before release, the game that would end up being known as Gears of War was simply an unfinished concept for a multiplayer game known as Unreal Warfare. However, after being put on standby and the industry shifting into campaign-orientated games, we thankfully got this gem. Being inspired by games like Resident Evil 4, Kill Switch, Band of Brothers and The Legend of Zelda, this game was clearly trying to head the right way. Therefore, when it was released, Gears of War successfully introduced the idea of a slower-paced firefight to the entire world of gaming. Being seen as the first cover-based shooter, its revolutionary advancement of the cover system was more than enough to put this game at the top of the charts. However, this game holds more than just that to justify its amazingness. In my review of Gears of War, I summarised that the story was an engaging action-adventure, with many fluid cover-based shooting sections, mediocre boss fights, and simplistic characters, some of which offer depth and a lacklustre atmosphere. This overall got the game a score of “GREAT” and I still stand by it today. The game's own strengths were its own flaws. What I mean is that amidst all the excellent quality content it delivers, it has a flaw or two, burrowed deep within it. For example, the story is great but lacks a special impact to make it top-tier, and the characters are memorable and help further my understanding of the world, but they are also presented as two-dimensional. However, despite the flaws, the game was crowned as one of Microsoft's bests and was in desperate demand of a sequel.

Gears of War 2 (2008)

After the success of its predecessor, the expectations for this game were high, but it managed to shatter those expectations with its greatness. Easily argued as one of the best games in the series, it managed to develop more on the premise of the original with helpful thanks from author Joshua Ortega. With more guns, enemies and ways of fighting, there is no doubt about its placement among the greats. Back in my review of Gears of War 2, I concluded that the game is great in most regards and where it isn't the best, it's still good, albeit a little disappointing when compared to the rest of the game. What I forgot to mention is that this is what all sequels should strive for; overall improvement in quality and advancement in what the original offer - this game accomplished that. A lot of the faults within the original were also fixed just like designer Cliff Bleszinski advertised. Things like ammo scarcity being a liability, bosses being mostly testing playgrounds and more. Considering the train of success that Microsoft was building, there was no doubt that a sequel would be approaching fast.

Gears of War 3 (2011)

Released 3 years after the humongous success of Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3 managed to stick to the top-tier quality, that many were hoping for. While it was critically acclaimed with over 1 million pre-orders and being the second best selling video game for a while, it wasn't any better than Gears of War 2. Criticized for its lack of innovation by critics, and progressive fall in captivation and more basic character personalities by me in my review of Gears of War 3, Cliff Bleszinski was heartbroken to learn of it.

“when people rated Gears of War 2 higher than Gears of War 3, it kind of upset me because I know Gears of War 3 is a better game on every level.”

However, this was a small defeat in the eyes of Epic Games and Microsoft, as it managed to win plenty of awards and receive an “GREAT” rating from me.

Gears of War 4 (2016)

And so, the downfall of the Gears of War series commences. While Gears of War 4 isn't inherently a bad game, the first red flag was that development would be handed over to another studio, the Coalition (because that ended up great for Halo, didn't it?). While critics are right to praise the visuals and maybe gameplay, the game is the definition of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". That being said, in my review of Gears of War 4, I ultimately gave the game a “GOOD” as it was generally a good game with refined mechanics that would make the original trilogy proud. However, its lack of innovation and semi-blatant copies of pre-existing weapons and enemies dampened the experience for me. This "playing it safe" attitude was probably for the best after the series took a 5-year departure, however, that didn't really work so well with this game's sequel.

Gears 5 (2019)

This game is horrendous. While I mostly have an unpopular opinion of it, critics praised the game to infinity and beyond, occasionally mentioning the deep-rooted flaws, such as troubled narrative, lack of innovation and more. Now, if you really want to know why I truly hate this game, then read my review of Gears 5. The game overall had some new additions that were preferable such as Jack's skill tree and semi-open world moments with mini-side quests, but due to the incredibly boring narrative, with unfavourable pacing, copy and pasted gameplay, boss fights with ruined potential and a mix of dullness and interest in characters, this game just flopped. Fortunately, the gorgeous graphics, sound design and more make it somewhat more bearable by being "a beautiful way to be bored".

Gears of War 6(?)

With no doubt about a sequel being produced for the series, I hope that whatever The Coalition attempt for their next game will actually be of worth. So here's what I would like to see in Gears of War 6.

Story

First of all, the story. I genuinely don't mind in which direction the story goes, whether it's more warfare-focused like the trilogy or a personal matter that needs attending like the previous 2 games. The main things I definitely need are a fixing of the pacing, a near 10/10 intro like in Gears of War 3, and an actually good ending unlike Gear 5 and more like Gears of War 2.

Gameplay

The gameplay shouldn't be that much of a problem, as the core fundamentals of the cover-based shooting have stayed refined throughout. The issue that's in desperate need of help is the innovative additions. While I understand that inventing new and original enemies and weapons may be difficult to do, there exist hundreds of thousands of video games from which you can take inspiration. Maybe instead of creating another shitty rocket-launcher weapon, add a crossbow that shoots a volley or throwing knives that act like proximity mines. Instead of doing a re-skin of the cleaver again, make a newly functioning melee weapon that's swifter and more nimble to use like a sabre of some sort. Maybe make a new enemy type that reacts similarly to the Witch from Left 4 Dead 2 or the Licker from Resident Evil 2 as these would be terrifying but formidable Swarm foes. I don't care what route the development team take to make this game great, but it better follow the sequel rules - overall improvement in quality and advancement in what the original offer.

Bossfights

I have nothing to add to the bossfights. I just hope that they make sure the bossfights are action-packed and engaging all the way through.

Characters

The characters need to stop being annoying and cringy to listen to and be actually well-written. The characters from the original are the best that they can be and the only not-flawed character I can think of is Del. Del reigns supreme as a supporting character and to change that would most likely damage him as a character. Kait definitely needs a whole new change to her unlikeable persona - that goes double for Fahz.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is literally nearly flawless in the recent games thanks to the amazing visual design that The Coalition brings out. All they would have to do is repeat what they've already done and make a soundtrack that's as melodic as Halo's theme and blood-pumping as Doom Eternal's soundtracks.

Good

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