Review: Gears Tactics

A standard in the customization of soldiers for turn-based strategy games, each class has a skill tree that can be upgraded to allow them all to do different things. In Gears of War villains Tactics, the skills fall into four different subclasses for each cl

Gears Tactics is a great game, but it’s a complicated one, and there are a lot of things in there that even fans don’t know about. So to help new players and old ones alike, here’s our list of the 10 things everyone completely missed in Gears Tacti

While Gears Tactics doesn’t have the mod support XCOM 2 has, there are a few mods on the market that can improve or change the game. Most of them have to do with rebalancing weapons, spawning more enemies in missions, and changes to loot boxes. These mods can either be to make the game easier or harder, depending on which

One of the major diversions to traditional tactics games, a playthrough in Gears Tactics doesn’t end when the story ends. Veteran missions take place after the story is completed, and players lead their COGs in mission after mission, so anyone can keep playing with their favorite squadmates even after the story is o

For some, Gears tactics is plagued with volume changes or inconsistencies, while, for sound, it is either wrong, delayed, or missing sound effects. This is one of the main problems the game suffers from. Audio issues make the sound fade in or out and sometimes even disappear altogether, which is obnoxi

While the term Knight might conjure up chivalry or grace, the ones in Divinity Original Sin 2 are much more brute shock troops. They will prioritize a large heavy or long-reaching weapon, a bit of armor, and nothing much else. A first-level Knight probably won’t have any form of magic. But, one can work towards more combat-focused schools like death spells or metamorphosis at high levels. Still, the Knight’s role is to charge into the thick of battle, chop up enemies, and withstand enough damage to keep go

Gears Tactics is the latest game in the Gears (or Gears of War , as boomers may call it) franchise. A radical departure for the third-person shooter series, Gears Tactics is instead a tactical, turn-based RPG similar to XCOM or the recently released John Wick Hex . So far, it’s also only available on PC, not the Xbox

Gears Tactics’ structure crumbles around the side missions due to a lack of variety. The game features four types of side missions: Rescue, Sabotage, Scavenger Run and Control. In Rescue, you need to save two soldiers from torture pods. Sabotage sees the squad attack a Locust stronghold and destroy its Imulsion supply. Scavenger Run tasks players with grabbing equipment as Nemacyst bombings inch closer each turn. Finally, Control has the squad holding two positions to collect supplies. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these types of objectives, but Gears Tactics overly relies on them to its detriment. It regularly sidelines its own story and main missions to task players with these side missions. It’s not bad until you realize that the game interrupts the flow of the campaign after nearly every main mission and completely throw off the pacing of the entire game. One mission you could be laying a trap for Ukkon, and the next, rather than springing it, you must complete two side quests. In an effort to increase the length, Gears Tactics actively sabotages the pacing of its campaign. Considering the campaign makes up the entirety of the Gears Tactics experience, the amount of required side missions to continue the story is just too much.

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

Tactics’ status as a prequel allows it to further flesh out the overarching Gears story. For example, fans of Gears 5 protagonist Kait Diaz get to discover her father’s origins. The story also serves to further flesh out the COG and Stranded’s relationship and explain why, even following Gears of War 3, things are so icy. Aside from fleshing out the Gears universe, Gears Tactics’ story stands on its own. Gabe and his companions have strong chemistry from start to finish, though it does take a while for their gruff personas to soften up. Though many of the revelations may not be that surprising to longtime fans of the franchise, there are enough twists and turns to keep players on their toes. Ukkon, Tactics’ main antagonist, may not be as physically intimidating as RAAM or Skorge, but he does pack more personality than them or any of the franchise’s other signature villains, besides Myrrah.

Players can take up to four members into battle with units coming in five different classes (Support, Vanguard, Sniper, Heavy and Support), each with their advantages and disadvantages. Support’s weapon of choice is the Lancer and utilizes healing and motivational abilities. Vanguards serve as the tanks with their Retro Lancers. Snipers, equipped with the Longshot, cover allies from long distances. Heavy’s and their Mulchers plant themselves into a spot and lay down suppressing fire. Finally, Scouts and their Gnashers can move fast and hide from enemy troops. There’s lots of variety and strategic decisions to consider when building a team, especially since you can’t take every class with you and non-Hero characters can permanently die if you’re not careful.