Messing around with customization between missions sucked up way too much of my time – and that’s not particularly a bad thing. The equipment menus could’ve been redesigned for more convenient loadout swaps, sure, but the high volume of tweakables was pleasantly surpris

Despite some stumbles, Splash Damage has successfully taken the essence of the Gears franchise and transferred it into a turn-based strategy game. Gears Tactics is a true Gears title with a campaign that builds and expands the franchise’s lore, all while introducing new characters and adding new wrinkles to old ones. The turn-based gameplay fits well within the universe, providing plenty of strategy both on and off the field. Combined with some genuinely excellent main missions, Gears Tactics comes together nicely. It does frequently stumble thanks to the repetitive and frequent side quests that vastly hurt the pacing, but remains a joy to play throughout its many hours. Gears Tactics is a solid turn-based game that’ll make Gears and tactics fans happy.

After years of teases, 343 finally showed off actual gameplay for Halo: Infinite . The demo gameplay showed Master Chief infiltrating a new Halo ring, fighting some familiar alien enemies, and racing around a large open landscape in the Warthog off-road vehicle. The gameplay seemed to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, looking similar to some classic areas from the first SLG game story guide, even with new and modern features built in like the grappling hook and drop wall equipm

The weakest part of Tactics is its mid-to-late-game objective variety. I’m looking at you, accursed side missions. Like many strategy games before it, Tactics ends up relying on the same few formulas for a good bit of its meat. This time around, you’ll be getting a whole lotta “hold these supply points,” “rescue these two POWs,” or “collect these loot crates before you get nemacyst'd in the face.” Rinse and rep

It may sound like a given, but Tactics truly impresses in its presentation as another quintessential Gears entry. All of the smells and flavors that helped characterize the series are seamlessly translated over. Cinematic cutscenes are smartly interwoven throughout the story, filled with plenty of tension created by the cast of fantastic voice talent. Low, brassy orchestral lines to add to the gritty, dark atmosphere – it’s all th

It’s entirely possible to kill two enemies in Gears Tactics with a single shot. Bullet penetration is a thing in this game, with shots capable of traveling not only through certain objects, but enemies (and allies)

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 game, 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

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

Heavies exist to deal tons of damage. Thanks to their wide field of overwatch fire, they can carry plenty of ammunition. Later on in the game, they can develop the Ultra Shot ability, which allows them to continuously fire on an enemy until the enemy d

Gears Tactics rewinds the clock twelve years before the events of Gears of War and centers around a new squad led by Lt. Col. Gabriel Diaz. Sera is overrun with Locust and the threat is only deepening thanks to Ukkon, the Locust scientist responsible for creating monstrosities like the Brumak and Corpser. Out of options and with little time left, Diaz must raise an army of COG and Stranded to track down and assassinate Ukkon before he unleashes new terrors.

The game even gives players the gear from fallen soldiers back, so they'll be able to give the replacement soldier the dead soldier’s great armor or weapons straight away. This only works for random recruits though, letting one of the main characters die in battle will result in a game o