GEARS 5 REVIEW – HALO HAS ITS MATCH

     When Microsoft acquired the rights to Gears of War, people were cautiously curious about the future of the franchise. The way the Trilogy had ended was a nice and definitive ending to a story. There did not seem to be much room for future installments, hence its sitting in an IP Basement at Epic for years. When The Coalition released Gears of War 4, it played things close to the script that The Force Awakens had done; Introduce new characters, have them collaborate with established characters, introduce enemies not dissimilar from before, and stay true to the source material. Gears of War 4 was a very well-done game, safe, but proved that The Coalition could make a proper Gears game.

     Fast forward a few years to the present and, The Coalition, (now that they had proven to be good stewards of the franchise), took off the white gloves, went to work, reimagining the franchise, and making it the best it could be. The result is a masterpiece. Gears 5 is the perfect mix of traditional Gears of War style, with new mechanics, quests, and other gameplay being added, taking and making the most of, clear inspirations from God of War and Bioshock Infinite.

     The characters, their close-knit bonds, the importance of family and friendships, explosive action, all has been taken to its zenith. The story does an incredible job of simultaneously answering long wondered questions about the lore of the franchise, and mixes them perfectly with the modern story. Finding a way to re-introduce the Sires, Dr. Niles, and the New Hope Research Facility and making it pivotal to Kait finding out the true nature of her dark heritage, was brilliant. Bringing Paduk back from Gears Judgement, and having he and Cole both be key parts to the story were wonderful moves, as well. By the time the credits roll, you are left in awe, and hungry for more. The new Delta Squad, (Kait, Del/JD, Fahz), along with Marcus, Cole, Clayton, Paduk, and Baird are a perfect cast of characters, with Kait as the awesome central protagonist going forward. Gears 6 can’t get here soon enough.

     The Skiff, as a means of travel, and a home-base was a really fun, and smooth addition to the game. Side-Quests were a seamless introduction to the game, allowing players’ fun, story focused quests that allowed one to further upgrade Jack and his abilities. (Jack and his abilities take combat immersion to new levels.) Being able to utilize ice environments in combat was a fun, and in some circumstances, essential element to combat.

     Moving on to multiplayer modes, Horde has been completely revamped, with new characters, abilities, combat mechanics, etc. Horde is bigger and better than ever. The new Escape Mode is a brilliant addition, bringing high intensity, race against the clock missions deep in Swarm territory. With different characters, abilities, and customization, it has high replayability. Traditional multiplayer has been tweaked, and still brings the heat.

     Halo has, since its inception, been the flagbearer of the Xbox Brand. Halo, deservedly so, is incredible, and means so much to so many people. Having said that, Gears 5 proves that going forward, Gears and Halo need to be co-flagbearers for Xbox. Halo has finally found its match, with Gears ascending to top billing status. The quality, gameplay, story writing, world building, — everything is on the same level a Halo’s. Going forward, Halo AND Gears will define Xbox, together, and unbeatable as a supercharged, story driven, shooter duo. It’s ironic, that while Sony has long sought a “Halo Killer”, the actual franchise capable of going toe to toe with the legendary franchise, is already in the Xbox Family. Here’s to Gears and Halo, co-champions of Xbox.