Players could no longer tag grenades on walls and the 'down but not out' state vanished from multiplayer, taking the over-the-top executions along with it. The new team attempted to shake up the formula with new weapons, new multiplayer modes, and distinct changes to how the combat functioned. #8 - Gears Pop! - The Worst Gears of War Gameĭeveloped by People Can Fly following the release of Bulletstorm, Gears of War: Judgment is a side-story for the franchise in more ways than one. Here are more details on which Gears games perfect the formula and which games rushed too far into enemy territory. Different weapons, gameplay tweaks, and newly-introduced mechanics bring more depth to the sandbox, even if every game retains that basic loadout of a Lancer rifle, Gnasher shotgun, and a pair of grenades. Like the output of a great heavy metal band, players outside of the fanbase may have a hard time distinguishing one game from the next, but there are certain factors that make it easy to determine. Related: Gears 5: Hivebusters Review - An Escape From The ExtraordinaryĮvery game in the Gears of War series retains a lot of the same elements, whether made by Epic or The Coalition. With high-quality action, a ragtag bunch of playable characters, and intense shotgun duels in its multiplayer, the series has been a sturdy pillar of Xbox through good times and bad. The Coalition has tried to inject variety into the formula but it's still very easy to tell when someone is playing Gears, and that reliability has kept players coming back for each entry. Gears of War did for third-person shooting what Halo did for first-person shooting, providing the framework that others followed beat-for-beat in the years after its debut. No matter who the developer is, the Gears of War series has retained a loyal fanbase, and it's not just because players get to chainsaw Locust goons in half. Somehow, lead designer Cliff Bleszinski made that premise believable and emotionally resonant, turning out a trilogy of great Xbox titles and leaving new developers The Coalition a blueprint for success when they took over in 2014. The third-person shooters feature football-sized men crouching down behind an inexplicable number of knee-high barriers and firing off weapons at glorified mole men who want to take over the surface. Emerging at the dawn of the Xbox 360 era and helmed by the people who now bring the world Fortnite, Gears of Warhas always been a reliable hit for Microsoft's line of consoles.

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