Shift to high gear
ACTION games don’t come much bigger than the Gears of War franchise, and the latest title continues that tradition in fine form.
Developed by The Coalition and published by Microsoft for Xbox One and PC, Gears 5 is the latest instalment in the long-running series, famous for big guns, big explosions, lots of action and big personalities.
The best way to think of Gears 5 is being the gaming equivalent of a Fast and the Furious film – it’s big, it’s loud, it’s over-the-top, you know exactly what you’re getting when you go in, and it’s going to entertain you without expecting much more than you strapping yourself in and enjoying the ride.
The plot involves an Earth-like world that has come under attack from a reptilian-like menace known as the Locust Horde, and you play one of a group of soldiers – known as COGs (Coalition of Ordered Governments) – fighting the threat. For most of the game you are playing as a young woman named Kait, a COG soldier who is trying to work out her family’s mysterious connection to the Horde as well as stop the enemies threatening what remains of human civilisation on the planet.
I’m usually wary of coming into a franchise several games in, but Gears 5 was easy to pick up – there was a brief recap video explaining the previous game, a tutorial to explain how the combat systems worked, then it was off to deployment to start shooting things in the main campaign.
Despite being essentially a cover shooter, I was really impressed with the art style and attention to detail in the game. Even though you can’t interact with most of it, the levels still had lots of environmental touches that added to the sense of place.
The biggest change in the game is the introduction of a sort of open-world hub that you navigate on a land-yacht vehicle called a skiff, expanding the available area and helping the game feel less like a corridor shooter and more like a bigger action-adventure game.
The game has a few issues with level layout, though, including easily surmountable walls and ledges being impassable for no in-game reason, and sometimes the AI isn’t particularly great, but for the most part the game is a polished, fun experience.
In addition to the main campaign, Gears 5 also includes a number of additional game modes, including co-op, Hive Escape and a particularly fun Horde mode, where ever-strengthening waves of enemies come at you (and your friends).
I have to say I was impressed by Gears 5 – the action was good, the story was well done, the environments looked good, and the game knew exactly what it was and got on with doing it.