Gears of War: E-Day Preview
When I was growing up we were still in the midst of the console wars. You had the big three of PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox, all working to take the top spot. Even if it wasn’t a “real” thing that the businesses cared for, it was a huge debate amongst my friends. Each of the combatants had their own champions on the battlefield. But there were always stand outs. I will never forget the first time I saw the trailer for the original Gears of War with the song “Mad World” playing through an extremely dark trailer while I sat on my couch watching G4 in my parents basement. It was one of those trailers that has ingrained itself in me even until this day. From that moment on I watched all the coverage, interviews, and previews leading up to the game. Never did I imagine I would be here to give you my thoughts on the preview of Gears of War: E-Day.
So to say I was honored to be asked to join in the gameplay preview of Gears of War: E-Day by Xbox would be underselling my excitement by a thousand times over. I knew it meant I had to get my Lancer and chainsaw out to head into the first days of the emergence.
Something that has always made third person shooters my preferred action style is the cover systems. Gears of War is the king of cover systems because the core of the gameplay is built around it. I was curious to see how it played after so much time away from the franchise after my Xbox 360 days. I was not let down in the slightest. The controls are still tight and the cover system is smooth. I never found myself cursing the controller or the game for me not connecting with cover before I had my head blown smooth off by the locust horde. I found myself easily finding cover in the big battles I got to play through in the preview. The gun gameplay is as strong as it’s ever been, especially with the reload system. When I was younger, I hated the reload quick time because I was so bad at it. But now I love it as it breaks up the monotony of reloading. It gives you a quick fun burst to hit something in the sweet spot that betters the stopping power of your next few bullets. When I hit the sweet spot with the marksman rifle and could go right back into popping locust’s heads like pimples, I knew this game would be a must play.
For the Gears of War: E-Day preview, we were given access to Act II Chapters 1 & 2 so it starts a bit ahead in the game but picks up at the perfect time. We start as Dom and his companions transition from street clothed civilians and into the Gears life with massive armor and weapons. I don’t want to tread onto any story elements directly because I believe those should be saved for the game itself. But I will say that each character has a very unique look and personality.
In previous installments, I found that the personalties of each of the characters was the best way to tell them apart. Everyone seemed to be wearing a similar set of armor that made these human muscle boulders look too similar sometimes to tell apart. But with this installment, everyone’s armor has a unique flair to it that makes it distinct for the characters. The design elements of Gears of War have always had a dystopian steampunk accent to them but with modern graphics, it just keeps getting cooler to look at. There is one character in particular that has a formal Gears uniform on that looks so distinctly Gears but with the clear defined inspirations that make it feel familar in ways.
You didn’t come here to talk fashion though. You came here to find out if you can chainsaw a bug freak in half while getting splattered in their blood, right? Well boy howdy you came to the right place then! The combat is incredible and so punchy. You could probably do some real damage just running and gunning these levels if you were good enough with your weapon but it wouldn’t be easy. I found myself trying to move with more strategy than usual because when I ran around without cover, I was more often than not turned into minced meat. The enemy AI’s seemed to be a lot smarter than they were back in the days of the 360. They were flanking me, overtaking hiding spots, and generally being a real menace. It was a challenge in the most rewarding way because once I came through on the other side, I was covered in blood and had a real sense of accomplishment.
Through the two chapters I was given access to, I kept thinking about the actual art of creating a video game. Games like Gears of War: E-Day rely on big set pieces to guide the player through their story. A number of modern games use that yellow paint to guide players through their world which has always bothered me. I never felt my hand being held through what I played of Gears of War: E-Day. The world and environments were designed with care to naturally guide me to where I needed to move or investigate.
There were never elements that took me out of my experience. There was one scene in particular where I needed to move forward but there was a stack of cars in my way. That is until a behemoth of a locust burst through that not only opened my path forward but introduced me to a new enemy unit I would be seeing and getting the snot beaten out of me by moving forward. Everything was paced extremely well while never losing it’s high octane momentum even when maps have more open elements than what I am used to. I was locked in from the moment I picked up my first weapon until I finished the preview.
When the preview ended, all I wanted was to keep playing. I felt naked without the chainsaw gun in my hands. The cover, combat, design, and world feel as fresh as they did when I first picked up that 360 controller on Christmas to play the first game. Everything is different but all of the elements that made it a stand out as one of Xbox’s champions is still there. There is no other game like Gears of War and that’s a good thing. Gears of War: E-Day proves that even after all this time, it still kicks ass to slam a chainsaw through a bug monster.
Experience the horror and brutality of Emergence Day. Fourteen years before the original Gears of War, join Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago in a gripping origin-story campaign as the Locust Horde first erupt from below, igniting a desperate fight for survival.
