GSY Review PC Xbox One

Now that you've had time to check out most reviews everywhere on the web, we give you our verdict on the Gears of War 4 campaign. We had plans to talk about the multiplayer too, but Davton was supposed to take care of it and he ran into a series of technical issues and was unable to play the game. To make it up for you guys, we waited until the Australian launch of the Ultimate Edition to share some PC and Xbox One gameplay of the main campaign. If you've been waiting for some high quality footage of the game, look no further. As usual, the full review is only available in French, but the verdict and +/- section have been translated into English.

Verdict


Our first impression of the campaign was not particularly great, mainly because we didn't think the prologue was powerful enough, but also because Act 1 was not that interesting. Then when Act 2 kicked in, we simply could not stop playing to see the end of it. It is obviously too similar to the previous games, we would have wanted something bolder on The Coalition's part, but there is something in the series that makes it really enjoyable despite its flaws. The environments could have been more memorable, sometimes gameplay could have been a bit less redondant, but in the end, we had a lot of fun completing the campaign in 11 hours (Hardcore mode). Being the first game in a new series of Gears of War titles, it feels a bit like a big introduction to what's to come, but it's hard to be mad at the developers as the content is pretty generous. If you were worried after the release of Judgment, then you should be relieved to know that the Fenix has risen from its ashes.
  • On the plus side
  • Ratchets up in intensity from the beginning to the final bullet
  • The last 2 chapters are cool
  • The new enemies
  • Can't get any smoother without being a liquid (PC)
  • PC version runs like clockwork
  • Brutal, animal, bestial, Gears is back
  • Marcus
  • The short cutscene after the ending credits
  • On the downside
  • More of the same
  • Classic level design
  • We could have used more time in broad daylight
  • Less destroyed beauty than in the past
  • Nothing too crazy in the graphics department
  • Character movement is still pretty stiff
  • To be continued...
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2016-10-06 16:43:33
How is the companion AI while playing solo? I stopped playing the gears 1 ultimate edition because i got so frustrated with the ai and didn't want to play coop
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2016-10-06 16:54:22 In reply to AndreasZ94
They're pretty good when it comes to reviving you. Almost never died when I was down. Actually, usually when I died, it was a one shot kill.

Now in combat, they help a bit, but you're still the hero. It only bothered me once, against a specific boss. During the second phase, I had to aim at some precise parts of the boss, and I was clealry the only one doing it. There were so many other enemies around that it became tedious and I had to retry several times (thankfully, the game saves after the first phase).
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2016-10-06 16:54:54
Was the story/acting good?
In reply to
AndreasZ94
AndreasZ94
Commented on 2016-10-06 16:56:31 In reply to Driftwood
Ok, thanks. Sounds much better than the remaster which im glad to hear that's the case
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2016-10-06 16:57:17 In reply to AndreasZ94
Story is ok, nothing mindblowing, but it's engaging enough. Acting is pretty good as far as I can tell, but it's still Gears of War.
In reply to
yippee123
yippee123
Commented on 2016-10-06 18:34:06
My FHD monitor is outdated
In reply to
Wheat_Thins
Wheat_Thins
Commented on 2016-10-06 21:26:31
So gears used to be the unreal engine poster child. I don't get that vibe at all from Gears 4 even on these ultra settings. It just seems like textures are kind of 'meh' compared to what I was expecting. The effects occurring are great in the background are great, but after experiencing the dust storms in the BF1 beta and such it doesn't seem to put unreal engine up on the pedestal like previous gears used to?
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2016-10-06 22:52:03 In reply to Wheat_Thins
It's not Epic Games developing anymore, that's why I think.
In reply to
userxyz - Small bitrated whiner
userxyz
Commented on 2016-10-07 00:39:20
Can you possibly release a video with anti-aliasing entirely disabled?

The Temporal AA and FXAA of Unreal Engine 4 is incredibly blurry.

In Unreal Tournament 4, it's possible to disable the anti-aliasing entirely, which makes the image a lot lot clearer.

Any chance you could do a Gears of War 4 PC video with anti-aliasing turned off completely?
In reply to
GunsnSwords
GunsnSwords
Commented on 2016-10-07 01:21:43
"On the downside


- More of the same
- Classic level design"

Gears of war has always been and will always be Gears of war, both artistically and gameplay wise. So this new installment was clearly made for the fans and love the series as is. at least it's classic nature wasn't destroyed or the Gears image of years past.

I would have liked to seen the series embrace more changes in gameplay but as cliff bleszinski said with Gears 2, they already reinvented their wheel with the original Gears Of War. so now it's just about delivering the content. many franchises are on the same boat - Halo, Forza, Uncharted, Call Of Duty. supplying more content will be the usual with these franchises.
In reply to
Moonwalker
Moonwalker
Commented on 2016-10-07 03:34:06
More of the same is good if you ask me. Judgment tried things differently and well........ yeah. This is the developers first Gears, so I can understand them playing it safe for now. It sounds like they delivered overall and for that I give two thumbs up. I reckon it's not easy for this developer and such a beloved franchise. Kudos.

Two questions

Resolution for SP is 1080p/30fps and 60fps for MP, right?
In terms of graphics, especially anti aliasing. Is it done well?
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2016-10-07 07:28:05 In reply to userxyz
No, I have made more than enough videos for our servers. Sorry.


Moonwalker: on Xbox One yes, as far as I know (not sure if there's dynamic resolution though). Anti-aliasing seems to work ok from what I've seen, but I haven't played the game much on Xbox One. Check out our 2 videos.
In reply to
Riven326
Riven326
Commented on 2016-10-07 19:21:08
Great review. Have you guys considered doing video reviews?
In reply to
Driftwood - Dictateur en chef
Driftwood
Commented on 2016-10-07 19:37:59 In reply to Riven326
It would take us too much time sadly. :(
In reply to
Riven326
Riven326
Commented on 2016-10-07 19:52:21 In reply to Moonwalker
Posted by Moonwalker
More of the same is good if you ask me. Judgment tried things differently and well........ yeah. This is the developers first Gears, so I can understand them playing it safe for now. It sounds like they delivered overall and for that I give two thumbs up. I reckon it's not easy for this developer and such a beloved franchise. Kudos.

Two questions

Resolution for SP is 1080p/30fps and 60fps for MP, right?
In terms of graphics, especially anti aliasing. Is it done well?
Sometimes change isn't good. However, I am a little disappointed that it seems to look and play like a better-looking Gears of War 3. I was hoping for a little more than that given the jump to new hardware.
In reply to
infamouz956
infamouz956
Commented on 2016-10-08 10:01:52
i was going to get it but i've never gotten into gear s of war, it feels like its dying like halo has been
In reply to
TesticleTickle
TesticleTickle
Commented on 2016-10-08 15:52:05
did you guys really expect ultra improvements from a console port? First gears game on ue4 engine too, so the devs probably spent more time making things fluid rather than pushing the engine.
In reply to
GunsnSwords
GunsnSwords
Commented on 2016-10-08 23:12:18
Even If Gears were to play on 10 Tflops hardware it'll still look artistically the same as the other games. Because that is the way Chris Perna draws the characters.
https://pixologic.com/interview/epic/2/


the 2 million polygon version of Marcus Fenix sits in The PCs at The Coalition HQ.

Marcus Fenix CGI model
http://i.imgur.com/TIjsvRp.jpg
http://thisgengaming.com/2016/07/13/new-gears-of-w...

just putting that info out there.




Edit- It's no different with Metal Gear as well. Chris Perna is to Gear of war as Yoji shinkawa was to Metal Gear.
In reply to
eternaldragonx
eternaldragonx
Commented on 2016-10-23 03:47:59
I actually thought they did a lot to vary the gameplay from the originals.
1. Wind flare gameplay
2. Motorbike Gameplay
3. Mech gameplay
4. A few new mechanics and guns. Not sure what else you wanted really. GOW4 is everything I wanted and more from a reboot.
In reply to
About the game
Platform
PC XBOXONE
Published by
Xbox Game Studios
Developed by
The Coalition
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