This is basically a meat-and-potatoes super-basic cover shooter. Which makes sense, as it was one of the first in the genre (was it the first?).

On PC Game Pass, this is a much nicer-looking remake than Halo Reach. Although, after watching a story recap to prepare for Gears 4, even the Xbox 360 versions of the Gears games looked fairly decent.

The story isn't much to write home about. You're basically going from place to place, trying to kill off the tunnely-aliens. And then you do.

Regarding gameplay... Going from Halo straight to this, it took me awhile to train my brain back into cover shooters. With games like Halo & Doom, the basic strategy is to run all over the place and shoot at aliens. With Gears, if you're not planted firmly behind a barrier, you're going to get shredded. Fast.

When the game strayed from basic cover shooting and plopped you in a vehicle, I wanted to be done driving as soon as possible. These sections were unusually buggy (I got stuck in the terrain three times on a particular bridge level, and had to restart from the last checkpoint), and just plain not-fun.

Gears 1 is a competent, but basic, cover shooter. It's just a shame that Gears 2 & 3 aren't available to play on PC.

Active remaster...

When a game is announced as a remaster of a beloved classic often questions begin being asked: did it need a remaster? Is it worth a remaster? Isn't this just a shameless cash grab?

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition came out before a bit before the backwards compatibility program and so an argument could be made for its existence. A Gears of War game didn't exist on the Xbox One yet and it's an IP that had been recently bought by Microsoft. Obviously, money was on the mind. However, with cynicism put aside, I would argue that this game is a massive love letter to the original. It also gave The Coalition the chance to show what they were capable of before making Gears of War 4.

Rev that chainsaw!

Gears of War 2 should rightfully be regarded as one of the best sequels ever released - maybe not on the same level as Super Smash Bros Melee or Pokemon Gold and Silver but on the same level as Assassin's Creed II. The argument here is that each game improved drastically upon their original template and make the previous game hard to go back to while staying true to the original game. Bioshock 2 and Dead Space 2 are both decent examples of this pattern. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition does not have any of the improvements made to the later Gears of War games. It retains its clunky yet intuitive controls. The controls are fine and the mechanics sound but coming back to Gears of War 1 feels cumbersome in places and small tweaks made to the game since then feel missed. It was a missed opportunity to address some of Gears shortcomings.

Two - no three coats of paint!

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is pretty. Like, extremely pretty. It retains the greys and browns of Gears 1 while simultaneously improving the effects such as dust, lighting, blood splatter. Cutscenes are completely re-done with extra sound effects, altered voices, new layers of music and different angles and extensions to the cutscenes. The scene with Raam killing Kim Minh is especially beautifully done. I felt it was worth a second playthrough on this alone - it completely changes the experience surprisingly.

Must we talk multiplayer?

I'm not huge on multiplayer games but I have been big on Gears of War in the past so I will touch upon it. The game mechanics can be a struggle - particularly in this game mode as it asks you to be fast. The install base still has people playing but it can be a hard time because everyone is so good and Gears has always had a high skill ceiling. The addition of TDM to the remaster was welcome. It allows new players to survive a bit longer. The game - compared to Gears of War 4 which has been out for a while now - is clunky and the experience can be an extremely unforgiving challenge.

What's the status?

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is a brilliant remaster. It enhances the experience of Gears of War, adding new depth to a game. The mechanics remain untouched which are fine in the single player but make the multiplayer much more difficult to get into. Blasting locusts with a shotgun has never been more fun. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is worth a replay.

I wanted to try getting into this series since it is all on Game Pass. To start, this is a rough game to force myself through.

The "Stop-and-pop" gameplay is fine but the game goes on for too long for what it is and every time they try to break up the pace it gets REALLY annoying.

The driving segments are dull and there were other "diversions" I remember being really annoyed by, but I cannot remember what they even were! The final boss fine is really annoying. I guess because I am bad at videogames but it took me like an hour to beat it! Anyway, basically anything not the main cover-based shooter was rough to play.

Not to mention how technically messed up it was. I got stuck and frozen quite a few times in my playthrough.

I am still going to give the second one a try because I realize this is based on a pretty old game. I hope the next one makes the objectives clearer and the variations on the main game more fun. Also, please having clearer level design and clearer objectives because in this one I spent a lot of time just wandering around looking for what to do next.

Gears of War opens in a prison, where Marcus Fenix is released in order to lead a squad in a last ditch suicide mission to stop the Locust Horde. Delta Squad is seeking a device to map the Locust’s network of tunnels in order to destroy their underground habitat. The plot of the game is straightforward, and while a series of difficulties arise that must be overcome in order to complete their mission, these obstacles only push back deploying of the Lightmass Bomb to destroy the Locust’s tunnels.

The plot and the character in the game are simple and straightforward. There is no nuance. There is little exposition of the setting or backstory for the characters in the initial entry of the Gears series. While later games (I hear) do a much better job filling out the other character’s histories and motivation, this entry throws the characters into the action. The game begins with Marcus’ release from prison without any explanation of why he is there, and no explanation of why some character hold him in near reverence while others treat his presence with unveiled contempt. These questions are left unresolved throughout most of the game, What scant expectations are offered do little to expand the mythology of the world or its inhabitants. Story is not central for Gears of War, the gameplay is.

In considering the gameplay, Gears of War fares much better compared to its lackluster narrative. The basic weapons are powerful (how can a gun with a chainsaw at the end be anything but) and the shooting mechanics are tight. While a few levels require the use of specific weapons, the Lancer is such an effective weapon, that there is little need to explore the other weapons. The few instances where the player is able to use the Hammer of Dawn are highlights, as the weapons overwhelming power is truly awesome. The environments are well-designed for combat with plenty of options for cover and plentiful ammunition to be gathered scattered around and from fallen enemies. Cog Tags are scattered throughout the game to encourage further exploration, but they offer no in-game benefit.

Gears of War is an exceptional shooter, but a shabby story. The weapons, level design, enemies and set-piece encounters are some of the best in the genre. However, any depth beyond that is hard to find. The mechanics are solid, but anything outside of the game’s design and mechanics are mediocre and forgettable.