As for actual Gears Tactics gameplay, it’s fun and punchy Gears of War fare from an all-new top-down perspective, but players well-versed in squad tactics will find it doesn’t offer much in the way of anything groundbreaking beneath its well-executed franchise veneer. Combat is the name of the SLG game Building Guide, bundled into the expected disparate mission and level format, and it’s all mostly genre standard stuff. Story and side missions will variously task players’ squad of up to four Gears with moving from point A to B (and often back to A) in hostile Locust territory, clearing areas of enemies, rescuing imprisoned COG soldiers, defending control points, and m
To start things out, players will often find themselves in a helicopter which will act as a sort of mobile command center. From here, they can deploy to an open area and do missions therein. Side operations and primary missions co-exist in an area, and can be tackled at the same time. The way this works is players typically deploy from the mobile command center, where Snake sits with his selected buddy. The buddies, at least that which have been revealed for now, consist of either the mute, bikini-clad supernatural sniper Quiet, the loyal eye-patch-wearing D-Dog, and the mechanized, multifunctional D-Walker. An interesting thing to note is Quiet’s demeanor towards Snake can change depending on how their relationship progresses over the course of the game. When deploying to an area, players will have a wide variety of customization options to go through. For example, the weapon loadout can be customized to a great extent; colors, insignias, attachments, even parts from different guns can be used to customize a weapon to your liking. Vehicles can be painted as well, and decorated with custom emblems. Speaking of, if the player so chooses, they can even deploy to an area in a vehicle and even then they can choose from deploying in a nice variety of different types of vehicles and different vehicles of each type, tanks included. Since players can recruit other soldiers in the field, either by rescuing them or abducting them, they can also once again deploy as a recruited soldier. Though it is unlikely always the case, playing as Snake is again optional. Each one of the soldiers at Snake’s command have unique skills and different stats in different areas which will determine their effectiveness in areas like combat and stealth. People who have played Portable Ops and Peace Walker will be familiar with this feature. Once players have selected a loadout (which may be upgradeable and seems to consist of two primary weapons and a sidearm), a vehicle, a deployment time, and a buddy, they will be dropped off on the map. Buddies, it should be mentioned, have their own customizable loadouts. These are not as intricate as say… Snake’s, but there are options, for example D-Dog can be given a stealth suit with a stun rod.
It’s a fun adaption of mostly old and a little new into something any tactics player will enjoy as much as the uninitiated fan who just want more Gears of War after the most recent entry’s controversies . That former group of masochists will surely be looking for punishment, and Gears Tactics has them covered. There are four difficulties, with the Insane option being just as delightfully painful as in the main series. However, XCOM popularized the Ironman mode for the squad tactics genre, (wherein squad perma-death is enabled, missions can’t be restarted, and saves auto-wipe after a Gear bites the dust), and fans of meaningful fail states will be glad to know that Ironman is present here and can be used to modify playthroughs of any difficulty, rather than cruelly reserving it exclusively for Ins
Yes, Gears Tactics too has emergence holes! They spew enemies in turns until they expire or they are closed. Note that enemies popping out of the emergence holes can attract characters immediately they spawn. A strategically located grenade can help solve this issue, though an ally will have to be relatively close. Another idea is to plant a grenade on the e-holes before enemies pop quickly. They will close immediately they o
Tactics’ status as a prequel allows it to further flesh out the overarching Gears story. For example, fans of Gears 5 protagonist Kait Diaz get to discover her father’s origins. The story also serves to further flesh out the COG and Stranded’s relationship and explain why, even following Gears of War 3, things are so icy. Aside from fleshing out the Gears universe, Gears Tactics’ story stands on its own. Gabe and his companions have strong chemistry from start to finish, though it does take a while for their gruff personas to soften up. Though many of the revelations may not be that surprising to longtime fans of the franchise, there are enough twists and turns to keep players on their toes. Ukkon, Tactics’ main antagonist, may not be as physically intimidating as RAAM or Skorge, but he does pack more personality than them or any of the franchise’s other signature villains, besides Myrrah.