It may be a pretty bog-standard Gears of War narrative all told but it's wonderfully presented through some spectacular cutscenes that provide a satisfying backdrop to the game's gung-ho brand of turn-based tactical action. You and your squad, consisting of central characters Gabe, Sid Redburn and Mikayla Dorn - alongside a bunch of fully customisable and perma-death vulnerable Gears who you'll rescue and recruit along the way - must cut a bloody path through the remains of Sera in an effort to put a stop to Ukkon's plans, encountering stiff resistance from crack teams of Locust and some absolutely enormous boss beasts as you go. Set some twelve years before the events of the original Gears of War, here you take control of Pendulum War hero Gabe Diaz - father of Kait from Gears 4 and 5 - as he leads a perilous mission to assassinate a shadowy Locust scientist named Ukkon, who's been genetically engineering enhanced soldiers in the immediate aftermath of the Hammer of Dawn strikes on the planet Sera. You'll need to study your foe, take stock of emerging situations and utilise all of the many skills at your team's disposal if you're to blast your way to victory. Engagements between your rag-tag Gears squad and the Horde enemy are impressively tense, dynamic affairs that require you to consider each and every one of your movements carefully. Gears Tactics successfully manages to transfer the visceral third-person action of the long-running Gears of War franchise to a top down, turn-based strategy setting whilst keeping a surprising amount of the series' trademark cover-slamming, brutal chainsawing and constant wise-cracking intact. Overall then, we're mighty impressed with the Series X version of Gears Tactics and, beyond the handful of changes detailed above, this one is more or less identical to the rather fabulous PC version which we reviewed back at the time of its release, a review you can happily jump right into below! ![]() Shortcuts to the most commonly used moves are available and highlighted on a bar at the bottom of your screen and the UI has been tweaked slightly from the original to make the whole thing that little bit easier to follow on a television screen. The left and right shoulder buttons cycle through your team members and the d-pad allows you to browse your currently available attack and defensive options. Controller support has also been very nicely implemented here, with the game's camera controlled via the thumbsticks and the right trigger allowing you to zoom in at any point for a closer look at the bloody battlefield. ![]() ![]() Honestly, we can't see any reason to play through the story sans Jack now that we've had a go with him on our squad as his initially quite spartan loadout very quickly expands, resulting in a highly capable and versatile addition to your roster who can easily adapt to play support or attacking roles.Īlongside a brand new robot pal, Xbox players also get treated to a handful of powerful new enemy types, "supreme" equipment with which to devastate your foes and, overall, this really does feel like the ultimate version of an already fantastic title. This enhanced version of the game, which performs at a rock solid 60fps/4K and looks a perfect match for the PC version in terms of its ultra crisp and detailed visuals, brings a brand new character to the chainsaw party in the form of robot sidekick Jack, who you'll gain access to should you choose to play the very cleverly titled "Jacked" version of the meaty main campaign. This really is an excellent - and very well-timed - addition to the console's Game Pass offerings, a thrilling top-down tactical effort that manages to bring clever XCOM-style action to the Gears universe while still managing to feel absolutely part of the same world we're all used to roadie-running through from a third person perspective. Just over six months since it originally released on PC back in April, Gears Tactics finally makes its way to both the Xbox One and Microsoft's brand new Series X/S consoles.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |