Among the various IPs that have dictated the fortune of Microsoft products, there is no doubt that that of Gears of War figure as one of the most important. It proved capable of bewitching millions and millions of players by becoming a real point of reference for countless TPS that would follow it, the creature of epic Games it eventually passed into the hands of The Coalition, a team that after a fourth chapter that proved not to live up to expectations, has finally managed to regain the attention of a large group of fans thanks to the excellent Gears 5. Then, however, here is that the team decides to pull out of sleeve a project to say the least unexpected, that strange Gears Tactics that in its premises aims to offer an experience in full Xcom style within that narrative universe that for years and years has seen us fight against the dangerous Locusts.
Since its first presentation, a lot of water has passed under the bridge and fortunately, the more the project was put on display, the more we realized that Splash damage he had very clear ideas on how to structure production. The work appeared solid and varied in all its forms, but only the field test would have allowed us to give that final evaluation that was so long awaited. Well, we at Resources4Gaming were able to embark on this new journey well in advance of the official release and now we are finally ready to give you our final judgment on it. Will Gears Tactics be remembered as a new possible starting point, parallel to the main series, or will it all be branded as a project without charisma?
Scorched earth
set ten years before the events narrated in Gears of War, the adventure will see us play the role of Gabe Diaz, a COG member with a dark past behind him and who will find himself in spite of himself having to face a dangerous threat that looms over humanity. The war against the Locusts is in full swing, between burning cities and fleeing survivors, and the enemy seems to have begun to adopt very different tactics than what was seen in the early stages of the invasion. The chief scientist Ukkon, feared by the COGs for his brutal experiments, would seem to have his hands on an unknown project which, if carried out, could lead to the defeat of the entire human race. As a soldier from the rear with little interest in the battle, Gabe will thus find himself having to shape a real army made up of experienced soldiers and novice recruits to guide him into a hell of blood and bullets that can put an end to Ukkon's plans, regardless of the cost of such a reckless plan.
Narratively speaking, Gears Tactics certainly does not shine for inventiveness, offering a script based on the classic stylistic features to which many other titles of the genre have accustomed us. Despair for the impending end, desire for revenge for fallen comrades, comradeship, are all themes that in-game we will find in a cauldron that, while presenting an aftertaste of already seen, in the end it works more than admirably. The player on duty will thus find himself pushed to complete one mission after another while discovering new background on events and characters within cutscene that can count on excellent direction. As usual, there will be twists and turns - in some cases easily predictable - and a high rate of pathos to season everything. What is thus taking shape is a pleasant adventure to follow and which does its job well, although it lacks that spark capable of keeping you glued to the screen from the introduction to the end credits.
Impending danger
As mentioned above, Gears Tactics is characterized by a playful component that totally changes the cards on the table compared to what has been seen up to now with the brand. The adventure, in fact, from the very first moments in-game makes its nature as a turn-based strategy very clear, an experience that drawing heavily from the epic of Xcom - which has come back into vogue in these last videogame generations - manages to offer extremely fun and varied gameplay. Once on the battlefield we will be able to use the various action points of our team to perform various actions, such as attacking, taking cover or using special skills within the checkerboard movement grid that makes up the map. The first peculiarity that Gears Tactics outlines with disruptive force it is summed up in the challenge it manages to offer, capable of putting even the most capable player in crisis, despite the presence of four different levels of difficulty designed to meet all kinds of users.
Often and willingly we will in fact find ourselves facing situations in which we will be visibly at a disadvantage and where the only hope of survival lies in our leadership skills ... without obviously disdaining that bit of luck that has always been felt in productions of this kind. Also in this case, in fact, when we have an enemy within range we will be shown the probabilities that our shot will hit (and by pressing a special button, we will also be able to receive some useful additional information, such as the probability that the bullet will be dodged or that the 'attack turns out to be critical), a peculiarity to which we are now accustomed but which, once again, it leads certain situations to be determined also by mere chance. In fact, it has not infrequently happened to us to miss targets with over 90% probability of success or, again, against all possible predictions, desperate attacks have turned out to be unexpected successes, a situation that in the long run could make more impatient than a few players.
The qualities of a good leader
Knowing how to position your units and manage every action will be of fundamental importance to achieve the desired victory, so always remember that a good cover will be your best ally. In total there are five types of units, classes characterized by different weapons and abilities, not to mention the presence of as many skill trees with countless active and passive skills useful to make the clashes even more varied. Among other things, in the maps there are also numerous crates which, once recovered, will give access to various improvements for their paraphernalia, with a real loot system which, although simple, works very well and represents a further merit of the production. The development team has also shown great ability in being able to give the product that adrenaline and violent taste of the Gears series with which it is difficult to get in touch while playing a strategy. Therefore, when we have injured an enemy, this can also be eliminated with a finisher which, if performed, will give an additional action point to all units (in fact, spurring us to adopt a more aggressive attitude), as well as those body attacks. a melee that if managed in the right way will allow you to eliminate tough opponents in a few simple moves. Fun is guaranteed and fortunately the experience offers a good variety of situations which help to eliminate any risk of monotony, without obviously forgetting the many secondary tasks that, if on the one hand they will make it more complicated to complete a mission, on the other hand they will allow you to obtain excellent quality equipment.
Gears Tactics beautifully blends the play structure of a turn-based strategy game with the charm of Gears of War
We were then pleasantly surprised by the excellent artificial intelligence displayed by the many opponents we will meet, all well diversified - with their own weaknesses and resistances - and where there will be no shortage of imposing bosses to be knocked down. The enemy is in fact extremely aggressive and at the same time capable of putting into practice particularly effective guerrilla tactics, with some really challenging clashes where we found ourselves with the breath of the Locusts on the neck until the last turn, also thanks to an excellent level design of the settings. In all this variegated symphony of choices taken with meticulous attention, there is also the presence of a mechanic that, if at first it may seem almost useless, in the long run will instead prove to be an integral part of all your strategies, that is the option. lookout. This mode will in fact allow you to put your man in a firing position to automatically attack anyone who enters his (clearly visible and modifiable) visual cone, an action that often and willingly will also interrupt the enemy unit, making him waste precious time; be careful, however, since even the opponents will be able to do the exact same thing and not infrequently we found ourselves with units unable to move because three other Locusts were in lookout mode, waiting only for our order.
What is clear from playing is that the guys from Splash Damage have managed to realize an experience that, even without betraying the works to which it refers, showcases its not obvious charisma, presenting in front of the player intense fights to be experienced round for turn, where victory will only be obtained by fighting tooth and nail. From an exquisitely point of view graphic, Gears Tactics is characterized by a first-rate job where, apart from some creaking animation, everything works beautifully, between textures of exquisite workmanship, excellent polygonal models, splendid plays of light and shadows, environments rich in details and general stability that allowed us to enjoy the entire adventure on PC at 60 frames per second fixed even in the most chaotic phases. Having said that, it is therefore a shame to have to see how the audio sector suffers from a strange problem that seemed completely random to us and therefore perhaps due to some missing patch to be installed on Day One. From time to time, in fact, we found ourselves seeing cutscenes where the general audio was desynchronized even by two seconds abundant compared to what was happening on the screen, a flaw that in part also ruins the excellent dubbing in other languages present and that we sincerely hope it can be resolved.
