Gears of War 4 [XO, XPA]

[Arnold Beckenbauer]

Play Gears 3 and you will cry like a baby!

Here in Germany you can now buy GoW 2 officially - 8 years after its release. Waiting for my GoW2 code.

 

[Nesh]

Play Gears 3 and you will cry like a baby!

Here in Germany you can now buy GoW 2 officially - 8 years after its release. Waiting for my GoW2 code.

If you mean Gears 3 was touching, I didnt get connected enough with the characters so it was just ok for me. But at least that was better than just having space marines that feel nothing and never die.
It was an awesome game though. Loved all 3.

Judgement....was passable. The game ending was improper. It felt sudden, unconcluded, unmemorable. I was expecting the game to reach a climax and it simply ended. This was an example of a walking simulator.
Shame as the graphics in some areas where outstanding (and in others not so great)/

 

[RobertR1]

Started playing the campaign on Hardcore. Good fun so far. i don't play many games these days so I'm quite fine with not introducing too many changes to the gameplay. Story seems ok enough. Typical video games like story.

I really like the Play Anywhere between my PC and xb1. Been using that for forza horizon 3 and Gears and it's really nice!

Gears maxed on the PC looks great and is well optimized. Forza....not so much.....

 

[BRiT]

I wanted to share the following post with everyone who plays Gears of War 4 Horde mode. It has several good tips that you may not even know about since not everything is straight forward. I'm going to share 2 items that weren't obvious to me until after many-many rounds of horde doing things incorrectly then landing in a group that really knew how to make things easy (blew through 50 Waves on Hardcore like it was Casual).

Initially Weapon Lockers and Decoys may not seem that useful but they play very important roles when used properly.

The Weapons Locker will not only hold onto power weapons (any weapons really) but will also reload ammo over time! Never ever use up a Rocket Salvo or TriShot when there is a Weapons Locker available. This is a godsend for Heavies and Snipers. They can rotate between weapons like Boomshots/DropShots,LongShot/Embar to have a nearly bottomless supply of ammo on their weapon of choice. It works amazingly well with Rocket Salvos and Heavies who have the following skill cards equipped: 100% explosive damage, 100% heavy weapon damage, +10 explosive rounds, and +50% marked damage boost. This gives 30 salvo rockets at 250% damage! This is even more overpowered than Turrets.

Repairing items does not count towards upgrading the Fabricator. It's actually beneficial to have fabrication items be destroyed or upgraded if they are lower levels. Decoys are useful because they will draw the mobs attention when placed as a group. When they are destroyed they will return energy that does go towards upgrading the Fabricator.

https://gearsofwar.com/en-us/forums...ow/f7739ec8-fc5f-4a25-a7c5-379b999be61f/posts

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I wanted to share the following post with everyone who plays Gears of War 4 Horde mode. It has several good tips that you may not even know about since not everything is straight forward. I'm going to share 2 items that weren't obvious to me until after many-many rounds of horde doing things incorrectly then landing in a group that really knew how to make things easy (blew through 50 Waves on Hardcore like it was Casual).

Initially Weapon Lockers and Decoys may not seem that useful but they play very important roles when used properly.

The Weapons Locker will not only hold onto power weapons (any weapons really) but will also reload ammo over time! Never ever use up a Rocket Salvo or TriShot when there is a Weapons Locker available. This is a godsend for Heavies and Snipers. They can rotate between weapons like Boomshots/DropShots,LongShot/Embar to have a nearly bottomless supply of ammo on their weapon of choice. It works amazingly well with Rocket Salvos and Heavies who have the following skill cards equipped: 100% explosive damage, 100% heavy weapon damage, +10 explosive rounds, and +50% marked damage boost. This gives 30 salvo rockets at 250% damage! This is even more overpowered than Turrets.

Repairing items does not count towards upgrading the Fabricator. It's actually beneficial to have fabrication items be destroyed or upgraded if they are lower levels. Decoys are useful because they will draw the mobs attention when placed as a group. When they are destroyed they will return energy that does go towards upgrading the Fabricator.

https://gearsofwar.com/en-us/forums...ow/f7739ec8-fc5f-4a25-a7c5-379b999be61f/posts

I'm surprised people didn't know about the Weapons locker ability to reload all weapons. It's why I always built ~2 of them early game. Eventually you can build ones that hold 2 weapons at which point you want to replace the early ones. Explains why in most games I and at most one other player bother to use them.

Did not know about repairing items not counting, however. That's unfortunate. It does make sense though as repairing something wouldn't realistically have an impact on the fabrication machine itself.

I really hope that a lot of Gears 4 Horde players read this (probably wishful thinking) so that non-scouts and non-engineers can stop doing things that the scout and engineer should be doing.

Regards,
SB

 

[BRiT]

Weapon locker holds 1 item per level. So at level 4 it holds 4 weapons.

When the fabricator is upgraded you can upgrade existing items by hitting (Y) to pick the item up then you should see hit (X) to Upgrade if there is enough Power in the Fabricator or (Y) to Place down again.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Weapon locker holds 1 item per level. So at level 4 it holds 4 weapons.

When the fabricator is upgraded you can upgrade existing items by hitting (Y) to pick the item up then you should see hit (X) to Upgrade if there is enough Power in the Fabricator or (Y) to Place down again.

Ah, I'd been wondering about how to upgrade items. I haven't played it at all here in Japan since my machine here is just running Windows 8.1. Over 1.5 months without being able to play Horde mode, makes for a sad panda.

Regards,
SB

 

[Rangers]

Nice to see them show some of the enhancements beyond just a resolution increase for XBO-X. Took them less than a day to get all that up and running.

That's cool. The thing is Gears 4 really is an amazing looking title as is. Easily one of the top of this gen, but it's really not talked about as such. I'm playing through campaign still on XOne, and a lot of stuff is spectacular. Of course it is the style of game (linear) that can really amp the graphics but, hot damn.

 

[eastmen]

That's cool. The thing is Gears 4 really is an amazing looking title as is. Easily one of the top of this gen, but it's really not talked about as such. I'm playing through campaign still on XOne, and a lot of stuff is spectacular. Of course it is the style of game (linear) that can really amp the graphics but, hot damn.

game was amazing on my 290 non x machine . 1080p silk smooth too. Can only image how it looks at 4k with all the bells and whistles

 

[Rangers]

Finished this campaign finally. thoughts:

Overall I didn't enjoy it much. Coming off destiny, the controls felt super archaic. Constantly struggled with the controls, cover, all of it.

Now some of this could be attributed to 2500 hours of Destiny hard wiring my brain to different controls. But overall I'm not prone to letting Gears off the hook that easy.

Enemies are also way way too bullet spongy. Guns mags are too small, AND the clunky reload mechanic makes it worse and more frustrating. You can either let the reload play out and wait an hour and a half to reoad your tiny mag, or try for the power reload, screw it up half the time and wait two hours. I could overall sum up the gameplay as "frustrating".

Grenade system is also a longtime super annoying debacle in this game. That's been the same since Gears 1.

Weapons are also terrible. All the so called power weapons are just annoying crap. Eventually I gave up on picking up any of them. The standard guns, while weak pea shooters due to bullet sponge enemies, were better than the supposed power guns. All of the power weapons had some terribly annoying, obtuse, method of operation, as well.

On the positive side, the visuals are fantastic. Not talked about among the best looking current gen games but it definitely is. Also lots of color, no more constant brown.

I also enjoyed the last segment which (spoilers) sees you piloting a giant mech.

On a down note though, there weren't really a lot of proper boss fights. The bosses weren't notable or creative and were too few.

The story was lightweight but much better than 2/3. At least it was just pleasant fluff not trying to be some super dark, serious novel.

I will say I know a guy who is deep into the online horde mode stuff. That's the stuff that has longevity these days.

Overall this series is archaic IMO. I dont know if it has a place going forward in a world of Destiny's, GTA's, and Overwatch's. I honestly feel the same about Sony's Uncharted/TLOU, but at least those are more approachable for the non male gamer, and you can pack them in millions of consoles and stuff if they dont sell by themselves. Phil likes this series, but I'm not sure if it's the right call.

The minute to minute gameplay is just not fun in a world with super smooth destiny gameplay. Maybe the theme, story and characters can continue, but IMO the controls need a overhaul.

Will I get hyped for the next one? Probably, but this series has passed it's time and I haven't honestly loved one in a long time. Now, if you can get into horde mode online, maybe it's a different story.

 

[Scott_Arm]

The default shooting controls were pretty garbage, I think, until I turned down aim acceleration. I'm not sure why that's become a thing. I also just discovered they put it in Battlefield 1, and once you disable it the game becomes glorious.

As for the reload mechanic, it's a minor thing, but it's a nice touch unique to gears that sets it apart from other games. Personally think it's one of the best overall gameplay features in the series.

Grenades are a bit slow, but I like that you can really precisely aim them with the target line.

I pretty much stick with the lancer because I like to chainsaw enemies. It's just too good to pass up. I found a lot of the guns to be pretty useful, and used them all through the course of the game. The saw blade one is a bit weird to aim though. It's like the reticle is not in the correct spot. Once i figured it out it was good. I liked the new mechanics for pulling enemies over cover, or vaulting into them.

There is something a bit weird about movement in the game. Hip fire when enemies rush up close can be a bit wonky, I think. It's not too bad, but it can be improved.

Overall, my main issue with the game was maybe that it didn't take enough risks at times. I would have liked to have seen a new enemy instead of a variation on the grubs that are effectively the same as the enemies in the previous games. The robots are kind of cool, and change things up, but they don't really fit the atmosphere of the game that well.

Pretty solid game though. I'd recommend it to anyone with an xbox. It didn't seem to have quite the same production value as the original trilogy though. Gears 3 at the time was a standout. This one seems like they played it very safe in design and budget, made it smaller again.

 

[Nesh]

Finished this campaign finally. thoughts:

Overall I didn't enjoy it much. Coming off destiny, the controls felt super archaic. Constantly struggled with the controls, cover, all of it.

Now some of this could be attributed to 2500 hours of Destiny hard wiring my brain to different controls. But overall I'm not prone to letting Gears off the hook that easy.

Enemies are also way way too bullet spongy. Guns mags are too small, AND the clunky reload mechanic makes it worse and more frustrating. You can either let the reload play out and wait an hour and a half to reoad your tiny mag, or try for the power reload, screw it up half the time and wait two hours. I could overall sum up the gameplay as "frustrating".

Grenade system is also a longtime super annoying debacle in this game. That's been the same since Gears 1.

Weapons are also terrible. All the so called power weapons are just annoying crap. Eventually I gave up on picking up any of them. The standard guns, while weak pea shooters due to bullet sponge enemies, were better than the supposed power guns. All of the power weapons had some terribly annoying, obtuse, method of operation, as well.

On the positive side, the visuals are fantastic. Not talked about among the best looking current gen games but it definitely is. Also lots of color, no more constant brown.

I also enjoyed the last segment which (spoilers) sees you piloting a giant mech.

On a down note though, there weren't really a lot of proper boss fights. The bosses weren't notable or creative and were too few.

The story was lightweight but much better than 2/3. At least it was just pleasant fluff not trying to be some super dark, serious novel.

I will say I know a guy who is deep into the online horde mode stuff. That's the stuff that has longevity these days.

Overall this series is archaic IMO. I dont know if it has a place going forward in a world of Destiny's, GTA's, and Overwatch's. I honestly feel the same about Sony's Uncharted/TLOU, but at least those are more approachable for the non male gamer, and you can pack them in millions of consoles and stuff if they dont sell by themselves. Phil likes this series, but I'm not sure if it's the right call.

The minute to minute gameplay is just not fun in a world with super smooth destiny gameplay. Maybe the theme, story and characters can continue, but IMO the controls need a overhaul.

Will I get hyped for the next one? Probably, but this series has passed it's time and I haven't honestly loved one in a long time. Now, if you can get into horde mode online, maybe it's a different story.

The game awards accuracy and skill and punishes you on purpose. I suspect that these elements are designed with the hardcore multiplayer in mind. But I know what you mean. This is one of the reasons why the gameplay was never the most enjoyable aspect of the SP campaign. I didnt play the last one but I did play the previous 4 which I found somewhat repetitive as we moved from sequel to sequel. The bullet sponge enemies, animations and gameplay didnt see the necessary improvements in order to feel fresh and up to date with the gameplay advancements of other games.

 

[Johnglen]

That's cool. The thing is Gears 4 really is an amazing looking title as is. Easily one of the top of this gen, but it's really not talked about as such. I'm playing through campaign still on XOne, and a lot of stuff is spectacular. Of course it is the style of game (linear) that can really amp the graphics but, hot damn.

It isn't talked about because it's an Xbox title .

 

[DrJay24]

That's cool. The thing is Gears 4 really is an amazing looking title as is. Easily one of the top of this gen, but it's really not talked about as such. I'm playing through campaign still on XOne, and a lot of stuff is spectacular. Of course it is the style of game (linear) that can really amp the graphics but, hot damn.

ehh, I was not impressed. It was the first Gears that wasn't grey and brown, but once the color wore off it was a standard UE looking game. I think it's not talked about because most people were not impressed.

 

[ultragpu]

ehh, I was not impressed. It was the first Gears that wasn't grey and brown, but once the color wore off it was a standard UE looking game. I think it's not talked about because most people were not impressed.

Indeed, I came in with expectation that it's gonna be the one finally but was left sorely underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong tho it's still one pretty game overall but certainly nowhere near around the big boys. Nothing about this game stands out from a graphics perspective, everything just seems above average ish. The terminator bots also turn me off, I'd much prefer the good old locust horde like the beginning of the chapter, the design just flows so much better with the series and graphics engine.
Tho the HDR was fantastic, it's like having the lighting on Ultra setting.

 

[Nesh]

Indeed, I came in with expectation that it's gonna be the one finally but was left sorely underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong tho it's still one pretty game overall but certainly nowhere near around the big boys. Nothing about this game stands out from a graphics perspective, everything just seems above average ish. The terminator bots also turn me off, I'd much prefer the good old locust horde like the beginning of the chapter, the design just flows so much better with the series and graphics engine.
Tho the HDR was fantastic, it's like having the lighting on Ultra setting.

My friend who is a Gears fanatic had similar complains. It certainly didnt manage to stand up to the expectations the first 3 had set up. They were the XBOX juggernaut games that pushed the console to its very limits both technically and artistically.
My friend was complaining that it looked "cartoonish" in relation to the older games, he disliked the new type of enemies, he was asking more of the locusts and where this game was supposed to be the Uncharted equivalent he saw visual omissions that he least expected from a title with so high expectations. Like for example how inconsistently the extreme weather conditions were affecting certain aspects of the environment whereas others were totally unaffected

 

[Scott_Arm]

Indeed, I came in with expectation that it's gonna be the one finally but was left sorely underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong tho it's still one pretty game overall but certainly nowhere near around the big boys. Nothing about this game stands out from a graphics perspective, everything just seems above average ish. The terminator bots also turn me off, I'd much prefer the good old locust horde like the beginning of the chapter, the design just flows so much better with the series and graphics engine.
Tho the HDR was fantastic, it's like having the lighting on Ultra setting.

I think some of the environments were very good from an art standpoint, especially Act 3 onward, and the weather sequences looked great. There really were some beautifully designed backdrops. My biggest complaint is the characters, vehicles, enemies - The things the world gets populated with. I've never liked the designs in Gears. A lot of the vehicles looked downright ugly, and the human characters never looked very good. The weird proportions and the design of the armour just never did it for me. The locusts I guess were the best character design in the series, and that probably remains true in Gears 4. The main human characters are just pretty bland, and a strange mix of the old design and a slightly cartoony looking new design. Oh, and Act 1 just looks plain bad in it's entirety. The environment, the colour scheme, the robot enemies, it's just not good. Fighting the robots was a nice change from the original series though.

With better art design, I think the game could have drawn a lot more attention.

 

[ultragpu]

I think some of the environments were very good from an art standpoint, especially Act 3 onward, and the weather sequences looked great. There really were some beautifully designed backdrops. My biggest complaint is the characters, vehicles, enemies - The things the world gets populated with. I've never liked the designs in Gears. A lot of the vehicles looked downright ugly, and the human characters never looked very good. The weird proportions and the design of the armour just never did it for me. The locusts I guess were the best character design in the series, and that probably remains true in Gears 4. The main human characters are just pretty bland, and a strange mix of the old design and a slightly cartoony looking new design. Oh, and Act 1 just looks plain bad in it's entirety. The environment, the colour scheme, the robot enemies, it's just not good. Fighting the robots was a nice change from the original series though.

With better art design, I think the game could have drawn a lot more attention.

I mean yeah I liked some of the environment effect like the lightening vortex and the night time scenery that's heavily moon lit but like you said the quality isn't consistent throughout. I actually liked the human and locust design in Gears which is what got me into the series, the bots not so much, somebody get them a new robot designer. The game also needs more epic boss fights, not countless of defend the fortress mode.

 

[BRiT]

Unless I'm forgetting something, there was only 3 extensive horde-like waves in the game. The first part was in the outpost villiage before the bots drop, second was in the large platform taken down underground, third being in the area before you get the big bad. I had forgotten about the 2nd one until just now.

Or are you counting all the other few times you can use the fabricator as that same experience even though those encounters are really brief?

 

[ultragpu]

I forgot about how many times exactly but they've taken a fair portion of the game when they could have been more interesting boss fights. Horde mode in campaign was just a cheap and lazy execution taken from the MP, nobody wants that tho I have no issue with the fabricator.