Gears 5

What was once a highly innovative rupture element, capable of revitalizing, if not actually creating, a new way of understanding the third person shootings, is now a custom like Bublé who sings the Christmas classics or a catchphrase that you will hate all summer long.

This can represent an element of strength, because Gears of War can count on a passionate community of loyalists who fell in love with the game with that beautiful trailer set to music with the cover of Mad World by Gary Jules (that also made school) and has always followed with interest the victories and mourning of the Fenix family, but also a negative point.

Arrived in the fifth chapter, for the occasion only Gears 5, it is evident that you can also add some new weapons (in this case a Lancer without a chainsaw, but equipped with a lethal grenade launcher and a faster and less wide rate of fire) and some new beast, but the soup is the one and there is nothing wrong if in the long run you get a little tired. If instead for you Gears of War is like pizza, we all know that pizza never tires. However, as we will see, the battlefield is not without some important elements.

Another tradition of Gears of War is a high profile graphic level and this fifth chapter is no different, also thanks to the open spaces and the atmospheres that every now and then take a break from the average gloomy look that usually dominates and offer more play of light, ice transparencies and highly detailed textures. I personally played on an Xbox One X, so expect something even better on a high-end PC and something less on a simple Xbox One S.

From the visual and chromatic point of view we are facing the perhaps most varied and interesting chapter, which in addition to the usual urban landscapes and swarm dens offers arctic forests, immense red deserts swept by lethal storms and underground laboratories. To be honest it must be said that the more the environment opens the more the polygons and the details become scarce, while in the "corridor" sections (so to speak) everything goes back to the levels to which we are accustomed.

Having said that, Gears of War 5 certainly makes an interesting operation in terms of narration, because if in the previous chapter the theme was that of a handover father / son still very tied to the figure of Marcus and often unable to give JD depth , Kait and Lem, here the point of view changes again, although the theme of descent remains central.

Kait has followed a mirror path compared to JD, if the first is the idealistic son of a war hero who embraces the resistance and then returns to the ranks, as if it had been a youthful skid, Kait was born in the barracks of the outcasts, has a strong blood link with the locusts. A dualism well interpreted by that suggestive trailer in which his face changed expression in an almost angry way to explicate his inner struggle.

If JD was almost crushed by a generation of heroes, Kait has ties that he would prefer not to have and a family that educated her to see COGs not as saviors, but as an oppressive, martial power and to keep away from, even at risk. of your own security.

From this point of view Gears 5 proves to be more layered and interesting than the previous chapter, at times even controversial. For a game born as a macho will to feel like a cool, big and slayed big man, it's an interesting evolution. I don't want to say that we are facing a game with a clear political intent, but there are scenes that still put the flea in your ear (no video game had ever openly called me a fascist) and a lot of moments in which the notorious the glory of the COG is seen in a very different light, highlighting all the bullshit, the wrongdoings and the terrible decisions that were made both in the clash with the Locusts and in the Pendulum Wars.

Marcus Fenix has grown old. The exertions of the last few years are evident in his face. The fight against the Locust. The losses. But retirement is out of the question: the Locust was followed by the swarm. The humans are once again at war against an opponent with an almost infinite number of larvae, scions and other monster-like creatures.

The developers of the latest series part have probably asked themselves this question and tried to bring some major innovations to the series. Sometimes it works great, sometimes only to a limited extent.

It does not get boring!

The plot of Gears 5 can be quickly summarized: The swarm, a people of partly humanoid, partly insect-like creatures, wages a war against humans. As in the previous campaign, the focus of the campaign is on JD, Kait and Del and Marcus, who hold their own against the brood with big guns and thick armor.

And this is where Gears 5 plays out the well-known strengths of the series. Gears 5 is a game that, despite its rather rigid gameplay corset of running and shooting, never feels one-dimensional. You can already see this in the first chapters of the campaign, which is divided into four acts and can be played completely in co-op: Sometimes we play a classic cover shooter in which we knock down one opponent after the other with a good dose of bullets and then send them with a chainsaw into the pixel beyond .

Then we find ourselves in a kind of horror scenario: dozens of small swarming creatures, so-called larvae, jump towards us in a narrow tunnel and force us back. If we survived that, we sneak past infected robots and snatch their drive cores from them in the best stealth manner - alternatively, we could shoot them down at any time.

The environment is not just a backdrop, but an extension of our arsenal: We activate a tank and burn enemies with hot steam. In a storm, the wind blows our grenades away, lightning flashes from the sky and creates new cover a few meters in front of us. In snowy areas we shoot up the ice from frozen lakes and let the swarm drown. And at turrets we get rid of entire armies of enemies. The ingenuity of the developers is impressive.

Creative opponent design

Opponent design and diversity are also impressive. In addition to the henchmen of the swarm known from Part 4, there are also some new creatures that are somewhere between "disgusting", "grotesque" and "terrifying".

Our favorite: A flying swarm of monstrous leeches that chase through the air in wild formations, fall down on its victims and either tear them apart or turn them into "swarm zombies". Individual leeches crawl across the ground towards us and explode if we don't let them burst with a few bullets beforehand.

The huge swarm creatures are no less impressive: In the fight against intermediate and end bosses like a giant as high as a house and armored by rock crystals, some tactics are always required. If we had to keep moving against the leeches and escape dive flights with evasive rolls, it would be fatal against the crystal giant to leave cover.

Because the colossus puts us under continuous fire with two guns. But since the environment is also partially destructible, we can never really feel safe, which keeps the voltage level in the shootings at a significantly higher level than in the previous series parts.

The diversity of opponents also ensures that we can never commit ourselves to a single tactic and should instead use the wide arsenal of Gears 5 to the full. In addition to the classic chainsaw lancer, the game offers us shotguns, revolvers, sniper rifles, submachine guns, chainsaw and grenade launchers, miniguns, cryo weapons, melee clubs and more.

The action is presented in a bombastic graphic splendor, which we can freely adapt on the PC using numerous options. The FPS are limited to 60 on the Xbox One X, there is no frame rate limit on the PC. Aiming is easy thanks to the mouse control, we can also freely assign the control. If you like, you can also play with a gamepad.

A tinny RPG sidekick

Gears 5 also plays with its action blockbuster charm outside of the fighting: the cutscenes and scripted events are fantastically staged and in places even make Hollywood green with envy. The main characters let off one humorous saying after the other and thus ensure a pleasant portion of comic relief in addition to the actually quite gloomy setting.

Also a little comic relief, but above all an important new game mechanic, is the flying robot Jack. He accompanies us throughout the entire campaign and supports us with his skills, which we gradually unlock like in a role-playing game Light.

This includes, for example, a scanner that detects and marks nearby opponents or a flash of light that stuns an opponent and drives them out of cover. In the game world, in addition to collectibles that enrich the background story, we also find components with which we can further develop Jack's skills and, for example, improve their length.

The bot also brings us ammunition and weapons when we point at them, so we don't have to leave our safe cover even in tricky situations. We also regularly send him through ventilation shafts so that he can operate switches and open entrances and use his skills to solve shallow puzzles - for example, we camouflage ourselves so that we don't get caught by lasers.

Despite all his talents: the tin can has no real added value. The puzzles feel forced and rather annoying. The fights get an additional component through him, but function perfectly even without him. From this follows: If you don't feel like Jack, you can ignore the search for components and enjoy the well-timed pace of the campaign. This also applies to the second major innovation.

A gears with open world?

After the first act, the plot takes on a slightly more personal tone. Kait is plagued by headaches and worsening visions from the swarm. To find answers, she moves to the cold north with Del and Jack. But instead of further staged hose levels, a novelty awaits us for the Gears series: an open world! Or at least the approach of it.

We explore the world on a skiff, a kind of snow sledge that is pulled by a stunt kite like kitesurfing. Whereby: There isn't really much to explore. The hub levels are quite small and empty and primarily serve as a collection point for optional and short side tasks. In these we usually clear an area of enemies, such as a water tower or a train tunnel. As a reward, particularly powerful upgrades await Jack.

In other parts of the snowy and later desert world, there are weapon relics, more or less improved versions of the standard guns. The Hammerburst relic, for example, increases its volley length with each additional trigger.

As positive as open world is connoted, the hub worlds polarize in Gears 5. On the one hand, they give the player the pace, leaving him free to decide how straight he wants to go through the campaign. On the other hand, the thoughtful pace and staged action are the core strengths of the Gears series - this can also make these open sections feel like an unnecessary stretch of playtime for some players.

The good news: As with Jack, whether you want to explore the world or not is largely optional. The game doesn't force you to do side quests and the next main quest only takes a few minutes.

As usual, extensive multiplayer

The campaign lasts around nine to twelve hours, depending on the style of play, and is therefore somewhat more extensive than its predecessors. Too bad: Similar to the fourth part, the end culminates in a cliffhanger, which is only dissolved in the sixth gear. Until then, the extensive multiplayer offers plenty of long-term motivation.

The multiplayer is divided into Versus, Horde and Escape. Versus is a classic PvP mode in which you compete in different modes in 5-on-5 matches. In addition to classics like Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill, you can also choose from more experimental modes like Dodgeball, in which we revive fellow players by eliminating an opponent.

Exemplary: We can also customize our matches, switch on AI opponents and determine details such as length and map.

The co-op classic Horde includes all new weapons and opponents from Gears 5 and otherwise works according to the usual fun principle: You have to protect your manufacturer with up to four friends from approaching waves of opponents, which get stronger with each round. For eliminating opponents, we get energy, which we use to create new weapons, barriers and turrets at the factory.

The playable characters are divided into different classes such as tank, scout and attacker and have their own loadout in addition to unique skills. After a match, you will receive experience points that we use to unlock new skins and level up the characters. So we get additional perks such as higher energy drops or more shotgun damage. The progression system motivates, the different classes invite you to experiment.

The multiplayer highlight: On the run in co-op

Our highlight from the multiplayer area is a completely new game mode called Escape. The scenario: We descend into a swarm building and detonate a bomb there, which detonates after 60 seconds and slowly floods the corridors with poison. We flee through several so-called acts from the building, which is made up of numerous corridors and turns.

Escape mode feels very refreshing because it forces us out of our usual comfort zone: we have to keep moving on the run from poison, fight for weapons and cartridges and even storm groups of opponents unprepared when time is running out.

This contradicts the classic gears design and presents us with new challenges, because we cannot comfortably walk from cover to cover and take apart hordes of opponents with a comfortable supply of ammunition. Instead, we actually feel like an intruder who is pressed for time to make do with what little he finds.

As in the Horde mode, the characters are divided into different classes with their own skills. There are three figures to choose from, specially created for the escape mode: the support team supplies its teammates with ammunition, the scout goes into close combat with her electric blade and the tank creates a barrier that intercepts bullets. With a progression system, we also activate new talents here after a game.

Gears 5 tries to reinvent itself in a few places, but does not forget its core strengths. The fifth part is also an action blockbuster, which is perfectly scripted in its missions and gets the most out of its gameplay corset. And those who are only through with the campaign will find enough content in multiplayer for dozens more hours of (co-op) action.

Marcus Fenix is a legend soldier who tried to save the campaign in Gears of War 4 . It was only thanks to his presence that for most of the fun it was possible to withstand the lousy jokes of his son JD and Co.. I don't know what the creators of The Coalition were thinking when creating heroes so thin compared to the veterans from the first trilogy , but I know that they drew the right conclusions from that slip-up, because Gears 5 is a step in the right direction. The same characters finally took on such a character that even the absence of Marcus for the vast majority of the game does not completely prevent you from reaching the true state of Zen.

The nightmare continues

Although the word war fell out of the official title of the game, the conflict with the so-called The locusts are in full swing. Chrysalises, guided by the will of their queen, have spread throughout the planet, and regular battles are fought in the cities. Humanity's victory can only be ensured by restarting the Hammer of Dawn, a powerful energy weapon placed in orbit. This is the main axis of the new Gears campaign, right next to the attempt to unravel the mysteries of Kait and her mother's origins.

If Gears 5 is your first attempt at the series, I would definitely recommend pausing for a while and finishing at least Part 4 first. The plots of both of these productions are closely related, and the "five" begins right after the end of the previous installment of the series. Although the creators consciously placed two videos on the menu, presenting what happened in both Gears of War 4 and other games in the series, but there is nothing like an organoleptic, personal experience. The more so that even in the Xbox version, this title can be bought literally for pennies.

It's hard to expect a heart-warming, fascinating story in an ordinary shooter in which the most important element is just pressing the trigger. However, I can say about the story in the game that it is satisfying. Quite simple, soldierly, and at the same time mysterious enough to delve into it with pleasure. At the end of the game, there is even a moral choice that the creators will have to deal with in part six. And this one will come out for sure, because the story ends with a light cliffhanger.

Huge, empty locations

In the campaign, playing alone, we play the role of two characters. In the first act it is JD, son of Marcus Fenix and the main character of the previous part. In the second act, Kait takes over the baton (right to the end). From that moment on, the series' approach to the gameplay is also changing. However, I do not mean the mechanics of clashes with opponents. Gears 5 is the same cover shooter as the other installments of the series , but there are large, open locations where we travel in a sailing sleigh.

On the one hand, it is definitely some variety of fun and overcoming the limitations associated with the corridor gameplay. On the other hand, there is unused potential and an idea, which basically boils down to the fact that now we have to "add" to some place, before we start the traditional destruction of it. I emphasize that the destruction in a fantastic way, but it seems to me that just moving around these quasi-open locations could be made more interesting , more interactive.

Hit the road Jack

In fact, the biggest change to the game is making the robot levitating around the team more than a porter. Because until now, this was mainly our mechanical companion. Now, however, we can teach him some useful tricks, starting from retrieving weapons scattered around locations, through the ability to temporarily mask the entire squad, to the ability to build a barrier that reflects incoming lead. The gradual improvement of Jack has a significant impact on the quality of the game and it is not just an unnecessary addition to be used in several scripted places.

The increasingly powerful Jack is a full-fledged member of the squad. What's more, in the case of a cooperative game, one of the players can play the role of a robot, penetrating the battlefield from a completely new perspective . The development of the device's skills takes place in a system of several simple technology trees, filled with components found in the world presented. A very cool and well-implemented idea.

Caught in the net

The online modes in all Gearsach are in a class of their own and in the "five" nothing has changed in this respect. The ability to complete the campaign on several difficulty levels with three friends is a great thing. Although during my game, for some reason, the console lost connection with Xbox Live a few times, which would probably stop the great fun, let's hope that the developers will eliminate this problem in the next patch.

The game, apart from the already well-known from the previous parts of the horde mode, received another variant of the PvE struggle called "The Escape". Specifically, it is about escaping from the inside of the swarm, in which ... it is swarming with all kinds of unwholesome people. Everything has been designed in such a way that the players are constantly plagued by a shortage of ammunition and that for a large part of the time they literally throw their fists at all the freaks. And this is only the lowest degree of difficulty. In the case of subsequent monsters, they become more and more resistant, and we are subject to further restrictions. Of course, as always in such situations, it is worth relying on proven friends to be able to get as much fun as possible and share failures together. Checkpoints are rarely deployed, so be warned as well.

There are also well-known deathmatch modes that provide amazing experiences for many months, if not years, to come. However, I was a bit consterned by all this wealth, because I found it not entirely clear to unlock various elements. One of the obvious ways are microtransactions, allowing you to buy cosmetic trinkets, such as new armor, country flags, weapon skins, gestures or blood splatter, but also to buy a real money boost to experience gained in duels. It is also possible to use the local currency, i.e. iron, which requires spending many hours in the game or taking shortcuts and spending real cash. The third way to obtain new skills, cards, and items is through Supply Drop. We receive this from the machine when logging in to the service and for the time spent playing.