Although the game is very different from previous entries in the series, Gears Tactics still feels like a Gears game. While the perspective and core gameplay experience have changed, the attention to detail for the things like characters, story, and the soundtrack has not. That being said, Gears Tactics is definitely its own beast and brings lots of new ideas to the table when it comes to the Gears of War franchise.

The game features a 20+ hour-long campaign, as well as some cool endgame aspects that we will talk about later. Gears Tactics is available right now on Windows 10 PC and can be purchased from either Steam or the Microsoft Store. A console port is in the works for Xbox One and will be released later this year.

Story

Gears Tactics takes place 1 year after “Emergence Day”, or 12 years before the events of the original title. Players are thrown into the shoes of seasoned COG soldier, Gabe Diaz, who is tasked with hunting down and eliminating Ukkon, the monster that makes monsters. Gabe must assemble a rag-tag group of soldiers in order to have any chance to take down Ukkon, all while dealing with the aftermath of the recent Hammer of Dawn strikes that were supposed to eradicate the Locust threat.

Gameplay

The gameplay experience is very different when compared to any other Gears game, but at the same time feels very familiar. All of the weapons behave as they would in the other titles, and the way players approach combat is very much the same; just in a turn-based format. The missions that the game throws at you are not very long and have great pacing.

When it comes to player choice, players have the ability to edit character cosmetics, apply attachments to their weapons (something I would be really interested to see in the other games), edit skill trees, and much more.

While there are only a few types of missions that you partake in (Control the area, sabotage enemy equipment, obtain equipment crates, etc.), the game does a great job at mixing things up by providing modifiers to the levels and limiting what characters players can bring with them. However, I will admit that the game did get a little repetitive, or dragged on towards the end as it just continued to throw side missions at me.

Visuals

Gears Tactics is definitely not as pretty as other games from the franchise, but that doesn’t mean the game looks bad by any means; it is still a great looking game. Although, there were some instances where structures, or characters and the gear they were wearing struggled to render, but this only happened very rarely during the beginning/ending sequences of a mission.

Audio

Just like every other title from the series, Gears Tactics features a very well crafted, beautiful soundtrack. I believe the soundtrack is a huge part of what makes a Gears game, a Gears game; and Edward Patrick White hits the nail right on the head. Each track has meaning and is well placed throughout the campaign.

The general sound design was also top-notch. All of the sound effects for character movement, weapons, and just the general ambiance of the environment were crisp and clear.

Replayability

On top of the 20+ hour campaign, Gears Tactics features “Veteran Missions”. These missions are unlocked upon completion of the Campaign and provide players a way to further level up their troops, as well as obtain better gear. These levels are similar to the side missions that were dealt out during the main storyline, with each one granting a reward upon completion. The missions also contain side objectives for players to complete in order to earn even more loot.

What It Could Have Done Better

There were some instances in the game where I would be setting up my squad for a mission, and the game would tell me that one of my selected squad members was missing armor, but wouldn’t tell me what type of armor or who was being affected. I was then required to run through each selected squad member and figure out who was missing what. I think it would be very helpful if the game would provide more information on who was missing what type of armor, so I could hop into the mission faster.

I also experienced some minor visual and audio bugs, but there wasn't anything game-breaking. The biggest problem I had run into was constant game crashes. During launch week, Gears Tactics would constantly crash and claim that my drivers were not up to date after providing an error code. This was a real bummer as it happened quite often, but that problem was quickly resolved.

Verdict

I highly recommend that everyone try out Gears Tactics, especially those that enjoy Gears of War for the story, as it provides background on some characters and events mentioned in other games. I will admit that I was skeptical at first because it wasn’t the “traditional” Gears game, and I am not well versed in the turn-based strategy genre, but I was very pleasantly surprised after getting hands-on with the game and had a blast with it.