Gears Tactics is able to mimic the visceral combat in the core Gears of War games by focusing on cover-shooting and bloody, over-the-top executions. Players are able to rush enemy Locusts and chainsaw them in half, just like they can in the other games, and they’re rewarded with an intense, close-up view of the action. Gears Tactics doesn’t shy away from the blood and gore that helped establish the main series’ identity, and players will find themselves demolishing countless Locusts throughout the course of Gears Tactics ‘ lengthy campai
Knights might not be the most tactful profession, but they will easily help the party by rushing to the frontlines, dispatching light infantry, and protecting their weaker allies. With a little more magic support, a Knight will turn into an unstoppable juggern
Unlike Halo Wars or Predator: Hunting Grounds where extensive strategy is the norm, Gears Tactics goes astray a bit with a more concentrated and pitched approach. The turn-based tactics game certainly has everything for both newcomers and genre veterans al
Gears Tactics is an adrenaline-packed strategy horde that throws tons of enemies at players because the developer knows the power that the tools at your disposal hold. The chainsaw gun has 99.9 percent odds of slicing even the biggest locust in half or turning a 5-pack of scurrying wretches into gra
Even so, Gears Tactics players will likely be having enough fun with the gameplay that the repetitive missions may not bother them that much. Plus, the side missions do give players the chance to collect more loot and level up their characters. And this is where Gears Tactics becomes especially difficult to put down. The game is generous with its loot, meaning players are always finding new armor and weapon attachments to improve their soldiers. Each class also has its own skill tree with no wasted space. Each new skill opens up a multitude of new strategic opportunities on the battlefield, and this progression is hugely reward
Gears Tactics’ structure crumbles around the side missions due to a lack of variety. The game features four types of side missions: Rescue, Sabotage, Scavenger Run and Control. In Rescue, you need to save two soldiers from torture pods. Sabotage sees the squad attack a Locust stronghold and destroy its Imulsion supply. Scavenger Run tasks players with grabbing equipment as Nemacyst bombings inch closer each turn. Finally, Control has the squad holding two positions to collect supplies. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these types of objectives, but Gears Tactics overly relies on them to its detriment. It regularly sidelines its own story and main missions to task players with these side missions. It’s not bad until you realize that the game interrupts the flow of the campaign after nearly every main mission and completely throw off the pacing of the entire game. One mission you could be laying a trap for Ukkon, and the next, rather than springing it, you must complete two side quests. In an effort to increase the length, Gears Tactics actively sabotages the pacing of its campaign. Considering the campaign makes up the entirety of the Gears Tactics experience, the amount of required side missions to continue the story is just too much.
Even though Gears Tactics struggles with delivering a consistently engaging story, it never fails in delivering entertaining gameplay. Each Gears Tactics mission plays like an XCOM level with a Gears of War skin, with players selecting their squad and then completing a variety of objectives while having to account for enemies, status effects, and environmental hazards. Anyone expecting to just run head-first into encounters will have a hard time, as the game does require a genuine strategy for players to make it through most of the levels and enemy encount
Gears Tactics, as a prequel, doesn’t answer any of the questions Gears 5 left us with, but is still a tale worth exploring, whether it be for the new characters or the additional context the SLG Game Guide provides to the universe. It will also provide many hours of gameplay. Gears Tactics will last players between 20-30 hours, depending on the difficulty. It’s a lengthy campaign with an additional Veteran Mode available upon your first completion. Unfortunately, not all activities in Gears Tactics are created equally. That length is split between main and side missions. Main missions are by far the best with impeccable design that forces players to study the battlefield and make smart decisions. It’s here that the gameplay and design come together to create truly fantastic moments that rival the best encounters in the main series. Boss fights particularly stand out as moments that require players to balance positioning, ability usage and range to stay alive and claim victory. Gears Tactics is at its best when playing these missions.
Gears Tactics proves that there’s a lot more that can be done with the Gears of War IP besides just third-person shooters. The game has some pacing issues and some repetitive missions, but it’s otherwise a very engaging turn-based strategy game that should please both fans of the genre and Gears of War enthusiasts al