Genre: Third Person Cover Shooter
ESRB: M (machine gun violence and gore, profanity)
Estimated hours of gameplay (thorough play/quick play): 8/6
Developer: Epic Games, People Can Fly
I still say it's spelled "judgement!" Spelling arguments aside, I think this might be the best game since the first one. Gears 2 and 3 took themselves too seriously. Although I'd still give all three of them two stars because they all have such polish, this one is stronger because it's simply more fun. I do sense the same problem that God of War: Ascension had in that this is a sequel that was crapped out simply for more money, this time these guys come off as just goofing off rather than lazy. I'm rather pleased with the improvement this attitude has had on the franchise.
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| This Loomis guy is a real comedian. |
Previous games tried to be more "emotional" to connect with the audience. While I love a good story, a story about beefy meatmen with machine gun chainsaws being led by Bender B. Rodriguez lends itself to a light-hearted fun ride. Rather than focusing on how depressing this post-apocalypse is, it's more about shooting the mean aliens in the face and spouting one-liners. The basic premise is absurd off the bat: Baird- the leader of the rag-tag group of player characters- is standing trial right in the middle of a giant battle. From there the team recollects all the events that led to the trial. There's a bunch of cliches and "you're a loose cannon!" type shouting. Truly a narration befitting the ridiculousness of video game nonsense.
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| The enemy: slightly more monster-ish than the good guys. Clearly evil! |
I have nothing to say about gameplay in this game other than that is is identical to the previous three games. Really. We've got some Dynasty Warriors-level change-ups going around. There are extra challenges during the levels and you can carry one less gun, that's about all I can remember. It's still good, though. Possibly the cleanest animations and smoothest controls in a third person shooter out there. But one thing they could have changed more is the button configuration. I want to click the left stick to run and have moving to cover be another button. I am freaking tired of getting stuck to cover when I'm trying to run and dodge around!
My notes on multiplayer are even shorter. I'm not really sure what's different here. Some of the names seem different. None of the modes are called "Horde mode," but I'm pretty sure that's what "Survival" is now. They all proved to be fun in co-op (Although me and my co-op partner were inexplicably locked out from earning achievements when doing so in split screen. I guess all people in the group need to be on Gold accounts? Regardless, it was annoying.) but even just a few months out I found the number of players to be too thin to use the matchmaking system. Not only that, but it kept telling me I didn't have all the DLC so I wasn't allowed to play. It was too much effort to even find a game, so I gave up.
Conclusion:
A well-polished shooter for everyone, but I recommend it most as a fun co-op adventure if you're the type who has a buddy to play some split-screen with.
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