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[Graciaus]

The final act of Gears 5 was great. Make 6 just like that.

Whoever had the brilliant idea of open world garbage should be blacklisted.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Sure, if they come up with a BR-esque multiplayer mode that catches on. A traditional Gears release? Certainly not.

 

[SkeletonQuays]

The first one was borderline horror, was very heavy and just had a threatening feel. The subsequent games just felt less scary, and the locus enemies lost their edge... or maybe I just got used to them... I dunno.

 

[The Skull]

Unlikely. The Devs that made gears 1-3 great have long since gone. Series was fine ending with 3.

 

[jaysius]

Gears took the WinBack gameplay and made it into a more competent idea, it was novel at the time and the decent story writing was pulling it through, 1-3 was great, the rest have been awful, they know the novelty of "stop and pop" has worn off in 2022, but they refuse to rethink or redesign the game I guess in fear of angering the dewbros.

I agree 1-3 are better, but then I can't help but post this whenever I get the chance to.

 

[DeepEnigma]

What happened?

Fortnite and hero shooters happened.

 

[Captain Toad]

Well, I give it more of a chance than Halo.

 

[Shifty]

Second trilogies rarely hold up to what made the original special. Gears is just another in a long line.

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

What happened? The first game was mind blowing at the time. There was nothing like it. Despite two successful sequels, the series stagnated after. It lost its identity. 4 and 5 were basically high budget gamepass fodder.

Is a God of War esque resurgence even feasible at this point? Memes aside, was Cliffy B actually holding this franchise up on his back?

Xbox ran the franchise into the ground because of their lack of being able to build out more first party games. This series had too many unnecessary sequels and spin offs that I think killed the interest over time.

But I do think they can turn things around and have a God of War esque resurgence but in order for that to happen they have to get the right creative director and be open to changing the single player experience which I don't think will happen because Xbox only cares about the multiplayer side of these games because that’s what’s brings in the most money over time.

 

[The_Mike]

Sory im confused

First you said that it lost its identity despite 4 and 5 are keeping the same thing and gameplay are esentially the same from the previous 3 game?

How can it lost its identity when they re not changed much?

And then youre demanding a radical changes ?

Bro haven't you heard of Kratos Phoenix?

 

[SteadyEvo]

No. Continued milking will only sully the high reputation the trilogy earned. They’re beating a dead horse. Same with Halo. Move on… It’s ok to try something new.

Obviously I have no idea how Gears 6 will turn out. But there’s a good chance it’ll suck compared to the 1st 3

 

[Tell’em Keb]

I played Gears for the stop-and-pop, the slower pace, the strategy of out flanking. The raw nature of the dead-room, where everyone was funneled when they died, to then have to watch helplessly as your team won or lost all while beefing with the opposition. Yes it was slow, Warzone was not for the faint of heart, and the lobby system required a bit of patience, but it was absolutely unique and made the 360 a viable console in my eyes.

Then they replaced much of that with a faster pace, matchmaking, and eliminated Warzone altogether in favor of wall bouncing-shotty rushing-revive yourself gameplay. It’s exciting no doubt, but it wasn’t what my group was looking for and found with Gears 1.

Still hoping some developers make a replica of this game.

 

[Shits_McGiggles]

Part of the problem with Gears 4 and 5 is that the enemies are so fucking bland. The Locust in the original trilogy not only looked badass, but had a very memorable aesthetic in their gear, architecture, and even their skin.
In comparison, the swarm are just dull colors, with no sense of identity (which I get is the point story-wise, but that doesn’t really help in making the game interesting to play).
If they want to revitalize Gears, then they need to embrace the original trilogy’s aesthetics. They need to bring back the “dude-bro” and the bleakness.

 

[Slicker than your average]

Usually in manual gears you only have 5 or 6, so I'd say the next one will be the last.

 

[mortal]

Seems people on Gaf have Gears of War on the brain this week lol

 

[Tiamat2san]

It’s still my favourite game series of all time.
Great universe, the story is way better than most people thinks.
It also has the best « one liners » of all video games (for my taste)
Music is fantastic.
Gameplay is tight and precise.
Multiplayer is really for skilled players.
Horde is the best horde mode of any game series. On master difficulty it can be fucking hardcore.

 

[GermanZepp]

I played 1 & 2 back in the day. Didn't like the characther or the story but graphics were good the game was fun to play and it felt fresh.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Seems people on Gaf have Gears of War on the brain this week lol

Surprised they took enough time away from the weekly TLoU temper tantrums.

 

[Robb]

 

[Syphon Filter]

What happened? The first game was mind blowing at the time. There was nothing like it. Despite two successful sequels, the series stagnated after. It lost its identity. 4 and 5 were basically high budget gamepass fodder.

Is a God of War esque resurgence even feasible at this point? Memes aside, was Cliffy B actually holding this franchise up on his back?

God of War was ruined with the awful 2018 game, the last good one was god of war 3. In terms of gears of war, its hard to be relevant these days with so many distractions and games from more places such as indies, free to play,etc.

 

[oldergamer]

Don't ever @ me boy.

who the fuck are you again?

 

[Starbuck2907]

The newest Gears 5 is actually very fun. I love horde mode.

I feel like they need to start fresh with a whole new cast of characters, maybe set 100 years in the future and colonizing a new planet or something, but gameplay wise, it’s still fun. Gears 5 is a lot better than 4.

Halo needs to bring the Flood back. I actually enjoyed the insane gauntlet that was “The Library”.

 

[lostinblue]

What happened? The first game was mind blowing at the time. There was nothing like it. Despite two successful sequels, the series stagnated after.

They have to reboot it. Halo is suffering from the same thing.

The arc and lore is not interesting enough to last as long but they can't stop adding to it if they're doing sequels.

 

[treemk]

Imagine if GoW 2 was an xbox one system seller and GoW 3 was a series x system seller instead of milking out 4 titles on 360.

 

[lostinblue]

Imagine if GoW 2 was an xbox one system seller and GoW 3 was a series x system seller instead of milking out 4 titles on 360.

what made it so strong was how they managed to do a combo like that in a generation.

Gears of War was ok, Gears of War 2 was really good, Gears of War 3 felt like a series finale.

Gears of War Judgement doesn't count.

 

[Fart Knight]

what made it so strong was how they managed to do a combo like that in a generation.

Gears of War was ok, Gears of War 2 was really good, Gears of War 3 felt like a series finale.

Gears of War Judgement doesn't count.

Back when trilogies were made in one generation

 

[treemk]

Gears of War 3 felt like a series finale.

Yep and they went into xbox one with no good IPs

What would have been far better is a 2.0 update for Gears of War 1 to keep it going, new single player co-op levels, horde mode, and better MP with dedicated servers. Then release Gears of War 2 as a system seller for the xbox one. Judgement absolutely counts as Microsoft's desire to milk IPs to death is unmatched.

 

[Negotiator101]

Yep and they went into xbox one with no good IPs

What would have been far better is a 2.0 update for Gears of War 1 to keep it going, new single player co-op levels, horde mode, and better MP with dedicated servers. Then release Gears of War 2 as a system seller for the xbox one. Judgement absolutely counts as Microsoft's desire to milk IPs to death is unmatched.

Microsoft never owned the IP till Gears 4 so not sure what you're talking about.

 

[lostinblue]

Yep and they went into xbox one with no good IPs

What would have been far better is a 2.0 update for Gears of War 1 to keep it going, new single player co-op levels, horde mode, and better MP with dedicated servers. Then release Gears of War 2 as a system seller for the xbox one.

That's wasn't up to Microsoft to decide.

Epic did the games they wanted to, in the timeframe they saw fit. They did them alongside their own tech, in a way making them a vehicle to showcase the new features they were able to implement on their engine.

They wouldn't have waited for Xbox One to do Gears 2. By the time Xbox One came along the UE3 boat had sailed, Epic had achieved everything they wanted and had no further interest in it. In fact I think it only happened in the first place because Epic saw the PS3 as a crap design for their plans (and Wii as a no-show) and actively decided to help Microsoft making a killer app for it when their business model is actually selling middleware to everyone and making multiplatform games based on it (hence, also about staying mostly neutral).

Microsoft kept all their IP, so it is unfair to say that they went into Xbox One without good IP's having kept the IP's they had. The problem is what they did with them and the fact they didn't actively pursue to do more new IP in that time.

Their IP decline actually started still on Xbox 360, Halo 4 and Gears of War Judgement were clear signs that whatever was ahead wasn't better than what both franchises had delivered before. Not without a reboot and a clear leadership/vision, that is.

Judgement absolutely counts as Microsoft's desire to milk IPs to death is unmatched.

I didn't like Judgement, but Microsoft didn't call the shots then, it was just clear that Epic's own team had done everything they wanted with Gears of War 3, then gave a co-developer the IP and let them do a spinoff for quick money instead of shelving it right away. I'm sure if you asked Microsoft, they would have preferred to have Judgement as a Xbox One launch title but it wasn't on the table.

And they did it on the Xbox 360 because they could re-use assets and tech that way instead of rebuilding everything. By their own admission, Epic thought game development costs were ballooning for these titles and they wanted out before the next generation hit:

"A funny thing happened in the console market, though. Budgets were being bid up," Sweeney pointed out. ""The first Gears of War cost $12 million for us to make. And it made us $100 million in profit. So that was awesome. But by Gears of War: Judgment, the game cost about $60 million to build, and made about $100 million still."

With the dawn of a new console generation just around the corner, Epic expected its costs to double again, while the audience went "back to zero," as it slowly adopted the new line of consoles.

"We felt we would be of questionable viability as a standalone developer in Triple A," he said.

Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/from-gears-of-war-back-to-pc-why-epic-returned-to-its-roots/

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

It is still relevant, the games still sell well despite the change in direction people didn't like. Even the remake of the first game sold over a million copies if i recall.

but the bigger gaps between releases makes it easy for the series to slip from memory. Forza Horizon has a new games every two years.

 

[Airbus Jr]

The newest Gears 5 is actually very fun. I love horde mode.

I feel like they need to start fresh with a whole new cast of characters, maybe set 100 years in the future and colonizing a new planet or something, but gameplay wise, it’s still fun. Gears 5 is a lot better than 4.

Halo needs to bring the Flood back. I actually enjoyed the insane gauntlet that was “The Library”.

That is what theyre doing now with new characters like JD, Dell and Kait

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

That is what theyre doing now with new characters like JD, Dell and Kait

Who are all terrible. Kait especially given how little actual passion or care they gave the character, instead using her to prop up slacktivist bent writing.

 

[Starbuck2907]

That is what theyre doing now with new characters like JD, Dell and Kait

None of the new characters have the charisma of the old characters. I mean, they try, but JD’s story arc is basically a coming of age story where he reconciled with his dad. It’s not awful, but it isn’t the badass machismo hero we like in a series known for ultra over the top macho characters. Maybe he gets more badass in Gears 6.

 

[Ash Sparrow]

Gears 4 and 5 were enjoyable. Its actually the one franchise i dont really worry about on the box. It pretty much delivers.

 

[godhandiscen]

Doubtful. They milked a graphics showcase and a core gameplay mechanic (3rd person w/cover) for all it's worth. Nothin else about GeOW has been special beyond that and even towards the end of the 360 generation, it had stopped being relevant.

 

[GooseMan69]

The question should really be:

Will GAF ever return to relevancy whilst console war threads are allowed to thrive and fester?

Console war? I loved the original Gears trilogy. I had hundreds upon hundreds of hours played across 3 games, in every mode. Gears 2 didn’t leave my disc tray for like a fucking year lol. I would love for this series to return to glory. 4 and 5 are fine games, but you really have to be delusional to not see that the series doesn’t have the relevancy it used to have.

 

[arkhamguy123]

Hey hey heyyyyy you can shit on gears 4 but leave 5 alone it's actually... decent. And graphically it's a beast. That said you description of "high budget gamepads fodder" is rather accurate. I bought a Series X recently and a PS5 even more recently, like a few weeks ago. And yeah I'm convinced gamepads is just killing the xbox output for me.

So no I don't think you'll see gears return to the glory of the OG trilogy because those were made by people with passion and charged full price and aggressively marketed as a flagship blockbuster xbox exclusive. Now? From my experience so far with each consoles exclusives, playstation will continue fell fledged finished blockbuster titles that offer a bespoke and immersive exciting experience. Xbox will craft gamepass fodder for casuals to download and go vroom vroom in Forza or pew pew in halo for a bit and turn it off. The former is fine for those that enjoy that but no I don't think you'll be seeing the gears franchise return to its old self. That just ain't the direction MS is going now.

 

[mxbison]

I don’t think you’ve played a lot of MP if that’s what you think the combat is about - even at an average level you have to use all mobility options to succeed.

SP in Easy/Normal difficulty isn’t a good way to judge a specific gameplay generally speaking.

Normal difficulty single player isn't a good way to judge gameplay? Come on...

I understand that it's popular MP and that could be a reason they don't want to change up mechanics, but the campaign is a major part of the game and it has very stale and boring gameplay. Can't just ignore that.

 

[Chukhopops]

Normal difficulty single player isn't a good way to judge gameplay? Come on...

I understand that it's popular MP and that could be a reason they don't want to change up mechanics, but the campaign is a major part of the game and it has very stale and boring gameplay. Can't just ignore that.

It’s true though, if you play Devil May Cry 5 for example at the base difficulty it’s very easy and you can finish the game using only a few combos. But the combat system has immense depth and only really makes sense at higher difficulties.

Gears is like that too, at base difficulty enemies will rarely charge or execute you so you’re pretty much invincible and can just camp and shoot. It’s the same difference as playing Halo in normal vs heroic or legendary difficulty, not the same experience at all.

 

[mxbison]

It’s true though, if you play Devil May Cry 5 for example at the base difficulty it’s very easy and you can finish the game using only a few combos. But the combat system has immense depth and only really makes sense at higher difficulties.

Gears is like that too, at base difficulty enemies will rarely charge or execute you so you’re pretty much invincible and can just camp and shoot. It’s the same difference as playing Halo in normal vs heroic or legendary difficulty, not the same experience at all.

In my opinion that's not good design then. Plenty of games have dynamic and fun combat at normal difficulty.

And even if you have to switch covers in Gears every now and then because of a grenade or a charging enemy, the combat encounters are still predictable and stale IMO.

 

[phil_t98]

if it returns to the horror based story of one and 2 then sure. huge moment sin them games, was so good

 

[SeraphJan]

It seems Gears series had become a pretty hot topic recently, I would says Its "relevancy" dropped had little to do with the quality of the games, but had to with the dropped of "relevancy" of the Xbox platform as a whole last gen.

Based on how well Series console in doing, Gears 6 will probably "return to its relevancy" as long as they could maintain the same level of quality

 

[DenchDeckard]

Gears is obviously relevant because there's so much convo around it. Makes me think that people are subconsciously starving for that kind of game.

Give me an awesome bombastic shooter killing crazy bug aliens that I can switch off and enjoy co op with my buds and not some 2022 political woke bull shit.

Classic gaming.

 

[Tomeru]

Maybe it will, maybe it won't.

But trust my on the sunscreen.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I dont think so. What made Gears so great and why it resonated so much with male gamers was it felt like classic 80s/90s action movies. Big muscles, big guns, big personalities, etc. It might as well have starred Arnold, Stallone, and Willis. The new Gears is no longer that. I still enjoy and play them but the magic is gone.

 

[Punished Miku]

It was one of the first good looking games on 360. It was one of the first games to popularize cover TPS gameplay. That's it. The IP was never good, and doesn't have any real value.

If they ever want to capture attention again, it'll be on graphics or gameplay.

 

[Imtjnotu]

how many gears threads do you want

Neogaf: yes

 

[PhaseJump]

"Will any once popular game franchise ever return to the relevancy it once had?"

 

[Kvally]

As far as I know, it was never irrelevant.

 

[ClosBSAS]

Not as long as the coalition is there. It's needs to go back to being the dark gritty next gen showcase it was for 360. Shits too colorful, too woke nowadays.