One of the bigger surprises fromMicrosoft’s E3 2018 press conferencewas the reveal ofGears Tactics, a new turn-based strategy game based on theGears of Warfranchise that looked to be borrowing heavily fromXCOM. While some hardcoreGears of Warfans may not have been sold on the concept initially, anyone that gives it a chance will quickly discover that theGears of Warfranchise lends itself quite well to a turn-based tactics game.
Set prior to the events of the firstGears of War,Gears Tacticsfollows the exploits of COG soldiers Gabe Diaz, father ofKait Diaz fromGears of War 4and5, as well as a grizzled veteran named Sid Redburn. The two of them are tasked with collecting information on a powerful Locust scientist named Ukkon, who is the creator of some of theGears of Warseries' most memorable and dangerous monsters.
The first act ofGears Tacticswill be very compelling for fans of the franchise. Not only does it give them a chance to meet Gabe Diaz, and therefore learn a bit more about Kait’s history, but it also shines more light on the origins of the Locust creatures. There are some pretty interesting twists and turns, and the story of each mission bleeds into the next in a way that gives it a lot of momentum. And while Gabe and Sid aren’t exactly the most complex or deep characters, they’re a nice change of pace from games constantly revolving around Marcus Fenix.
In Act 2,Gears Tacticsloses its momentum in terms of story, as it pads things out with side missions, and even some of the main story missions lack cut-scenes to provide more context for the tasks at hand. Padding the campaign by forcing players to complete side missions causes some pacing issues with the story, and players may find themselves losing interest in the plot until things inevitably start ramping up again later on.
Even thoughGears Tacticsstruggles with delivering a consistently engaging story, it never fails in delivering entertaining gameplay. EachGears Tacticsmission plays like anXCOMlevel with aGears of Warskin, with players selecting their squad and then completing a variety of objectives while having to account for enemies, status effects, and environmental hazards. Anyone expecting to just run head-first into encounters will have a hard time, as the game does require a genuine strategy for players to make it through most of the levels and enemy encounters.
Gears Tacticsis able to mimic the visceral combat in the coreGears of Wargames by focusing on cover-shooting and bloody, over-the-top executions. Players are able to rush enemy Locusts and chainsaw them in half, just like they can in the other games, and they’re rewarded with an intense, close-up view of the action.Gears Tacticsdoesn’t shy away from the blood and gore that helped establish the main series' identity, and players will find themselves demolishing countless Locusts throughout the course ofGears Tactics' lengthy campaign.
One of the big reasonsGears Tacticsis able to make the combat feel so intense is due to the game’s incredible sound design. Every gunshot is delivered with booming authority, and explosions literally rock the battlefield. Squad chatter often offers helpful hints in the midst of battle, and all the classicGears of Warseriessound effects are there and accounted for as well.Gears Tactics' incredible sound design is combined with better than average visuals that occasionally suffer from texture pop-in, but otherwise look just as great as the core series.
Something that may be disappointing to players as they play throughGears Tactics, though, is the repetitive level design. There are some levels that almost feel like replicas of one another, and there isn’t a ton of visual variety in the stages, either - an issue that is exacerbated by the forced side missions.
Even so,Gears Tacticsplayers will likely be having enough fun with the gameplay that the repetitive missions may not bother them that much. Plus, the side missions do give players the chance to collect more loot and level up their characters. And this is whereGears Tacticsbecomes especially difficult to put down. The game is generous with its loot, meaning players are always finding new armor and weapon attachments to improve their soldiers. Each class also has its own skill tree with no wasted space. Each new skill opens up a multitude of new strategic opportunities on the battlefield, and this progression is hugely rewarding.
Since the playable characters inGears Tacticsare constantly becoming stronger, the game has to do a couple of things to stay challenging. For one, there are many missions that restrict who can be used, and when players are doing side missions, they can only use each character in a mission once until the main story advances. This forces players to use some of their lower-leveled soldiers instead of their most powerful allies. Secondly,Gears Tacticsis always adding new enemies to the mix that will make players change up their combat strategies.
Combat encounters inGears Tacticsstart out simple enough, with players going head-to-head with standardLocust soldiers. However, they soon have to deal with Boomers, who are armed with deadly explosives that can wipe out an entire squad in one fell swoop, and Snipers that can pin soldiers in place. But regardless of if players are fighting Boomers or Wretches, every enemy in the game can be a headache if players don’t approach each combat encounter with a plan in mind.
Speaking of enemies, a highlight of theGears Tacticsexperience is definitely its boss fights, which play out like sort of puzzles and feel a little different than the standard combat encounters. Some players may find initialboss fights inGears Tacticsfrustrating, but there are often ways that players can make the battle much easier. It’s just a matter of figuring out the appropriate squad composition and where they need to send the characters on the battlefield.
Gears Tacticsproves that there’s a lot more that can be done with theGears of WarIPbesides just third-person shooters. The game has some pacing issues and some repetitive missions, but it’s otherwise a very engaging turn-based strategy game that should please both fans of the genre andGears of Warenthusiasts alike.
Gears Tacticslaunches on April 28 for PC, with an Xbox One versions also in development. Game Rant was provided a PC Steam code for this review.
