Gears of War was one of the original games that made the Xbox 360 a household name. A brand new IP that made the console a smashing success and for years after through countless console generations, continues to be a household name amidst Xbox and PC owners. With a new approach to publishing, this iconic IP has now made its way to PlayStation and this is one entry I am most excited to play through.
Story
You play as Marcus Fenix, leader of the Delta Squad. After the Earth has been taken over by an underground threat called the locusts have taken over. Humanity has been pushed to the near point of extinction and their fate rests in the hands of Marcus Fenix and his squad.
The first game has one of the best stories in gaming and as Delta Squad you will go through various locations on what remains of Earth, above and below ground to try and stop the locust threat as best you can.
Presentation
With the latest release, Gears of War: Reloaded does away with the familiar brown filter that was a staple in Unreal Engine games at the time and brings a modern look that makes the game look a lot better. Pair this with the 4K/120 FPS (albeit the FPS can fluctuate) on the PS5 Pro, and this is a game that looks leaps and bounds better than its original port.
Unlike Metal Gear Solid: Delta, this is one game I will thoroughly enjoy with its new look over the original look any day.
Gameplay
Gears of War may not have invented the cover-based shooting mechanic but it made it the industry standard. Similar to what Dead Space and Resident Evil did for the horror genre. It still feels awkward holding down X to sprint instead of holding down the left stick, but that is a minor trade-off in exchange of great mechanics by using the cover system, active reload, and other great features of the Gears games.
As Marcus you can utilize a lot of weapons made by the humans, but also pick up the weapons dropped by locusts to use against them. Certain weapons definitely provide an advantage when used against the enemy but for the most part I found the default weapon, the lancer assault rifle with near-instant chainsaw action the most satisfying weapon to use.
Conclusion
As I continue playing through Gears of War: Reloaded on what feels like an alternate timeline, I am excited at the idea of getting the other games on the system too and going through the games on a system I was not able to enjoy.
Gears of War is eaisly one of the most iconic video game series in modern day gaming and the ability to experience the best entry (so far) with 4K/120 visuals is a whole other experience in itself.
