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The Coalition, People Can Fly, and Xbox Game Studios invite players to return to one of Xbox's most revered game franchises with Gears of War: E-Day.
For twenty years, across five mainline games and several spin-offs, players have faced off against the subterranean Locust army. A conflict that began on E-Day, a date often discussed and an important part of the series lore. It's a day that, finally, players get to experience firsthand in Gears of War: E-Day.
The Gears of War franchise follows the soldiers of COG, the Coalition of Ordered Governments. The games are set on a planet called Sera, which is uncannily like Earth, with cars, subways and buildings that are a familiar but different mix of brutalism and neo-classical architecture. Faced with an energy crisis that parallels our own, the humans of Sera discover Imulsion, an energy-rich liquid found in the planet's underground caverns. This leads to a 79-year war between the COG and the Union of Independent Republics, the UIR.
The original Gears of War game, back in 2006, was set 14 years after E-Day, Emergence Day, when the Locust horde burst forth from beneath the planet's surface. Gears of War: E-Day starts just after the UIR's surrender and hours before the Locust emerge.
The first three games tell the tale of court-martialled former war hero Marcus Fenix and his squad as they fight and eventually take down the Locusts. Gears of War: Judgement sought to recapture the magic of the original trilogy of games, telling the events of the early part of the Locust War. The subsequent games, Gears of War 4 and Gears 5, are set after the Locust War and, if you ask me, use a shaky bit of conceit to continue the series with Marcus Fenix's son, JD, taking the lead.
As Gears of War: E-Day begins, we join recently demobbed Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as they watch the victory celebrations after the UIR war ends. Their evening is interrupted by tremors as inhuman creatures crawl from the ground.
The game uses Unreal Engine 5, the latest iteration of the pioneering game engine used to such great effect in the original Gears of War. And the visuals are absolutely amazing. Playing on PC, with the settings all turned up to the max, the framerate still blistering due to Nvidia's sleight of hand, is stunning. Everything from the incredible vistas, the architecture, the character models and some of the most detailed huge monsters I've ever seen rounds out the package.
Gears games have never been for the squeamish, but advances in graphics technology make things even more visceral. Splitting an enemy in half with a chainsaw lancer leaves characters soaked in blood and treats players to all the gory details as the gibs splash everywhere.
The game retains the more open-world gameplay of Gears 5 but uses clever design to direct players without it feeling too linear. It's a good approach and one that I personally find more fitting for the game. It gives the developers better control of the flow and allows players to concentrate on the firefights that made the franchise so popular whilst still offering the option for exploration. The mission map shows you the main objective, any optional objectives, collectibles, and upgrade chests.
In keeping with the franchise tradition, the game does a good job catering to multiplayer gameplay. The campaign can be played co-op with two players in local split-screen or four players online. Beyond the campaign, there are dedicated multiplayer modes to enjoy. Horde pits up to 12 players in three variants of PvE co-op, plus the traditional PvP multiplayer mode.
Gears of War E-Day is a return to form for the series. Some may say it's too close to the original and it's a tale we already know the end of. I really enjoyed the opportunity to play a new chapter in the Gears franchise with modern graphics, but familiar gameplay. If you are a fan of the original but feel recent entries have lost their way, I seriously recommend you check this entry.