Successfully bringing the frantic third-person action into the leisurely turn-based strategy speaks volumes for the work of Splash Damage. Far from settling for such a feat, its developers dare to capture a series of good ideas and combine them with one of the main brands in the Xbox universe. Welcome to Sera, welcome to the Gears Tactics review.
I don't know what it was, but from the mere mention of the development of a turn-based strategy with the Gears of War saga it seemed to me that Splash Damage and The Coalition They could build an experience that was like a finger on the franchise. To this day I still do not know what it was that led me to think about the correct cross-dressing of the CGO, but after finishing Gears Tactics I can confirm that yes, those of us who suspected that the brand and the new genre could fit as well as a machine gun and a chainsaw were right: it was a great idea.
Many others tried to bring their productions to new audiences and failed miserably. It is not the case. It may not drink from the honeys of excellence, but it does become a fresh experience for the license capable of fans of Gears and turn-based strategy alike. I do think that the context of the game's story could have given more than itself, immersing the player in a story that happens a few days after the Emergency DayBut it matters little when its developers are able to transfer one of the main representatives of the action in a third person to such a different genre.
At the moment the fans of Xbox One are left with the desire, but for what was exhibited in PC I can already guarantee that being one of the great games of the year for Xbox One and one of the must-have productions of the 2020 Xbox Game Pass vintage. With no news yet of a hypothetical Gears 6 on the horizon, what did we think of the new Gears video game to mitigate the thirst for locust blood? Welcome back to Sera.
Eat m ***** and die!
Perhaps one of the things that I have most disliked about Gears Tactics (and other video games in general) is that they lengthen unnecessarily to inflate their duration. It bothers me, particularly, when it occurs in cases like the present or, my favorite example, Alien Isolation. What is the point of expanding a production with an already optimal duration? In the end they end up deforming a good idea to please those who prefer count video games by hours than by quality. The Tactics way of doing it is anticlimactic and, dare I say, old-fashioned: forcing you to do repetitive side missions three by three with absurd limitations. For what? To blur his excellent ideas.
Gears Tactics' strengths flaw its flaws: it's a remarkable spin-offI admit to being more of a fan of Gears of War that of the turn-based strategy, but I have made my first steps in the genre of XCOM or Super Robot Wars as to know what I like and what not in games of this type. It is not my style to meet challenges in which the only way for developers to complicate my experience in the last bars of the game is to take away tools and abilities that, in fact, are an essential part of the experience; I do like and understand that these things happen supported in history sets that prevent heroes from using certain weapons or accessories during a mission due to specific circumstances supported by the plot, but eradicating them without any explanation seems to me vague and banal.
History could have given more than itself. Its close to Emergency Day and its little benefit from such a vital date for the saga seems more like a stray bullet than a virtue.
Naturally, the circumstance of artificial lengthening leads to a paid trip to see the (few) shame to a Gears Tactics accentuating the flaws of a game that would have made it easy to enter the door of excellence with a little more effort than has been put on the table. Your main problem? It is not as varied as we would like. The missions are limited to a few varieties, maintaining their bases and norms with a rigidity improper from the times that run in the genre. The missions of protecting resources? Not a difference between the first and the last. The ones to end a locust artifact? Identical to each other. In Gears Tactics there is no place for surprise, and that may be one of the few things that you can blame on the product.
But don't panic, Gears fan! Its virtues make its defects shatter, turning Gears Tactics into a remarkable spin-off of the saga on which it is based. The way in which the universe and its history have been used to enhance its playable section is commendable and shows the affection and good knowledge of Splash Damage for doing a job that meets the high expectations of the fans. Given the importance and importance of the brand, it was not cheap.
Floor soaps!
The management of movements is not limited only to action: in Tactics defense is also very important. All characters have a special command that allows them to perform a defensive action in which they cover and monitor a position. If one of the enemies passes through the protected area, a cloud of lead will fall, which will also cut off its action. During each shift, a specific number of actions can be performed that can add new movements if we execute enemies that we have shot down. Execution management and turn bonuses are vital to do maximum damage. on each user shift.
Gabe Diz is the protagonist of the adventure. What led Kait's father to drop the front line to become a mechanic?
With a maximum of four units You must face the different challenges proposed by Gears Tactics. Each character has its own class, allowing you to combine different play styles according to the needs of each mission. The acquisition of new weapons and equipment, spread across the map in button boxes and with the different rewards for successfully executing each level, is what leads the character to improve and evolve, but it is not the only way to do it: the main one is in the experience of each hero with points that help us add new improvements to apply on the battlefield. The options are varied and rich when it comes to create new situations and synergies in the team.
Don't be fooled by the confusion of lines, messages and attack zones: Gears Tactics is very clear in its actions and a simple glance allows you to understand the situation at all times.
The skill tree forks into two different branches per class. Naturally, you can hybridize the characters and make mixes from one category to another, but it will be difficult for you to reach the highest levels of each protagonist and access the skills that, without a doubt, make a difference in the game. Solution? Don't hesitate to use the soldiers you recruit in categories other than heroes and experiment to find your favorite style. The game, from time to time, offers you a theme that allows you to restart the progress of each character in order to accommodate them to a new situation or in case you want to correct the chosen course. The decision you make with each unit remains in your hand.
You can add new challenges by adding new limitations that further complicate each challenge, but also fulfilling the different secondary missions of each chapter, which translates into greater rewards. Squad management is vital, as bringing certain characters to repetitive and mandatory side missions will prevent you from using it in subsequent missions in the chapter. You will need a good wardrobe to be able to replace the protagonists in the most delicate missions, especially in the last bars of act 3, in which grotesque decisions limit certain abilities. You have plenty of tools for it, don't worry.
The gears of tactical warfare
Also notable is the unit customization added by Splash Damage to the game. Beyond the colors of each piece of CGO armor or weapons, you are also allowed to change the finish of each item and its texture, allowing you to your squad is unique to the rest of the players, keeping in the history videos the appearance and changes made, of course. There are dozens of options and it is very easy to waste hours to find the best combination for your units. The same can be said of the soldiers we recruit: you can change its name and appearance with a simple but optimal editor.
No, this "Wasp" doesn't seem like the most inspired hero of the rescued soldiers. Spoiler: None, beyond the main heroes, is.
And it is that, speaking of the visual, has been consistently upheld by franchise standards, with an exhaustive work to maintain many of the brands and elements that have made Gears of War great. It may not look spectacular or with changes that bring the series to new graphics standards, but it makes up for it by being a game with optimized requirements to be played with dignity. in teams of more humble ranges. I know it's true that you could have gone for some more animation that would help give the action a certain variety, but nothing overly worrisome. The same can be said of the Sabis recruits that sensation of finding characters that seem to have been created with the character editor random button? This feeling is a constant in Tactics.
The same can be said of what is heard: in sound it has opted for a new dubbing in Spanish for Gears of War. At the height of the great work done in the franchise, although with an insufferable interpretation for the villain of the game, who has been given a disturbingly uncomfortable wish. The rest shines great in sound, with a soundtrack with recognizable highlights from the saga and with some great piece that fits perfectly with the slow action of the turn-based strategy video game. At a good level and at the height of the franchise, which, obviously, is not saying little.
In short: the invention has turned out to be a very solid experiment that opens the doors to new experiences for the saga. Imagine a hypothetical Gears Tactics 2 starring Dom and Marcus, the new generation of CGO heroes or, who knows, one that addresses Queen Locust's point of view? The posibilities they are countless and attractive For the brand, and seen the quality printed by Splash Damage, it is in great hands. There is a range of improvement, of course, but any major brand will sign up to have a spin-off from the Gears Tactics category.
