![]() ![]() ![]() This little detour summed up my initial attempt to get started, though once past that minor hurdle things sailed along smoothly as smooth a life in Gears of War could be, at any rate. If The Coalition aren’t reporting technical problems or downtime online, then restarting the game from the Xbox One dashboard may help. Hopefully, the larger player pool in open beta will alleviate that issue.įor the record, this truly is a beta – matchmaking servers periodically go down and, sometimes, things just don’t work out. While this isn’t a Gears-exclusive problem, the skill-based matchmaking, which kicks in after five battles, didn’t seem to help all that much. Given the mix of veterans and beginners in the beta, having one side completely outclassed by the other isn’t too uncommon. It’s also worth pointing out that the front line can, unfortunately, reach all the way to a team’s spawn zone. Unless it’s a fight unfolding far from the front lines, most duels are resolved by the generous application of more shotgun shells. While melee kills tend to be some of the game’s most iconic imagery, especially that of the chainsaw bayonet, they’re mostly a death sentence for both players due to the long, vulnerable animations. If I’m lucky I get to see a knife kill animation, and if not I find myself countered (there’s a quick button prompt for it) and subsequently punished with my own demise. Most notable is the Yank and Shank melee option, allowing me to reach out and pull over an enemy hiding on the opposing side of cover. Aside from the new Dropshot weapon – which launches explosive drill bits and is as spectacular as it sounds – or the bounty cards in-between matches, most of these additions can be found while up close and personal with the enemy. Just because The Coalition abides by past games doesn’t mean they didn’t sneak in a few new things here and there. Gears feasts on the blood of the new, and it does so unflinchingly. ![]() Smoke grenades and the map’s layout facilitate plenty of distance-closing tactics, so players must quickly grow adept at active reloading, covering one another as a team, as well as surviving in a one-on-one duel. Being a cover-based third person shooter, melee attacks and shotgun exchanges are essentially the bread and butter of Gears of War. It’s either that or a desperate scramble in close-quarters combat. While firearms such as the automatic Lancer, burst-fire Hammerburst, and shotgun Gnasher are always available, only the shotgun sees primary use online – ranged encounters almost always swings in the favour of those with unique weapons such as the Torque Bow or grenade-lobbing Boomshot. Each fight is dominated by the control of power weapons, found only at key locations. The fights are all 5v5, with adequate bots filling in as and when required.Īs with most competitive shooters, map awareness is key, and that’s not just for navigational purposes either. The latter two consists of Dodgeball, where respawns only occur when a teammate scores a kill, and a cooperative match-up against Hardcore-difficulty AI. Team deathmatch, along with two variations on it, are all that’s available during this now-public beta. Unlike Halo’s new developer, The Coalition plays it safe by sticking to proven series trends, resulting in a product that many fans will find comfortingly familiar. To say that a sequel stays true to its predecessors matters more than usual here, since the franchise now falls under the direction of The Coalition, a Microsoft studio re-purposed to continue a legacy. It’s a work spanning nearly ten years of genre-defining history, and the Gears of War 4 beta matches it beautifully. The symphony driving Gears of War’s online multiplayer has long been one of violent staccatos, each burst a representation of fleeting player lives. The purr of chainsaws, the rack of shotguns, and the booming thump of explosions.
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