After each mission is complete, soldiers earn experience based on how many enemies they killed and also get random loot to help upgrade weapons and armor. The game isn't afraid to throw massive waves of enemies at the player, but unlike the rather frail soldiers in the "X-COM" franchise, Gears are durable and tough to take down. Other classes include the Sniper, Heavy, Scout and Vanguard, all with varied skills and roles to play.Īlso accompanying the heroes is the flying robot Jack, who can help with tasks and has some limited combat abilities.Īs the narrative advances, the Gears soldiers take part in mission after mission, which in a way are like puzzles to solve. For example, the Support class can focus on healing or buffing allies - or dabble in both. Playable characters come in one of five classes, each with its own skill progression tree that allows for extreme customization. After all Gears action points have been used, the enemy (which often vastly outnumbers the Gears foursome) gets a turn. Gears spend action points on their turn to move, shoot or use abilities, and certain actions, like executing downed enemies, can boost those action points to keep the squad in the fight and allow it to mow down seriously crazy numbers of enemies. The standard "Gears" games relied on squads of players crouched behind cover, using flanking tactics to ambush enemies and a turn-based adaptation is a perfect fit for the play-style. In a shift from other games in the franchise, "Gears Tactics" is a single-player, turn-based game where players take a squad of up to four Gears at a time on missions to combat the Locust horde. The gore can, thankfully, be toggled off if it becomes too much. Said chainsaw can be used to carve enemies into pieces amid a bloody spray. It's rare to see an action-shooter franchise take the horrors of war so seriously, with loss and sacrifice as constant themes.Īlso a constant theme - gore - comes thanks in large part to the game's signature weapon, a full-auto assault rifle with a chainsaw bayonet. The "Gears of War" storyline is tragic and spans generations, and is in general quite good. Soldiers, known as Gears, battle to save those humans who remain, although most of the world is now holed up in just a few cities. Most of the "Gears" story takes place on the planet Sera and focuses on a war between humans and underground-dwelling creatures known as the Locust that one day emerged from the ground and brought humanity to its knees.
Traditionally a third-person sci-fi action shooter, the "Gears of War" franchise includes more than half a dozen best-selling games, seven novels, comic books and board games, and even a planned feature film.