The spring beta season is in full swing, and Microsoft Studios is getting involved in a big way. For Ultimate Edition owners (and everyone starting tomorrow), Gears of War 4 is flexing its multiplayer guns with a preview session for a few PvP modes that will be included in the full release later this fall. After Epic Games stepped away from their franchise in 2014, a new development team, The Coalition, was formed to continue the series into the Xbox One era. To date, their sole contribution has been the aforementioned Gow:UE. While that was a very well put together remastering of the original Gears for the 360 and illustrated adroit design ability, The Coalition still need to show they can build something from the ground up that can stand beside the previous four Epic Games’ entries.
For this preview, we’re treated to three modes and three maps to display classic Gears gameplay mechanics. Despite the jump in hardware, not much has changed in perspective, control, and weapon design. The patented “2nd person” over-the-shoulder viewpoint is retained. This collation of first and third person affords familiar FPS combat handling combined with freedom of camera movement when sunk behind cover. With low HP and an emphasis put on conscientious positioning, perspective and movement continue to work in harmony. Of course, this theory very often devolves in practice on the conviction of one culprit: the Gnasher shotgun. Oh yes, the bane of every GoW player that doesn’t enjoy flailing about from dodge roll to dodge roll in an effort to land a shell at close range and circumvent the prescribed stealth conventions. Dawdling in haphazard patterns for a positioning edge in an “arena” style shooter like Unreal Tournament or Doom is advised, if not necessary. Gears has always fancied itself as a more contemplative shooter, rewarding smart engagement and accuracy. Sadly, LIVE matches are very often decided by the team whose participants spam B and wildly swing the left stick the best. I know some will say this “strategy” takes more skill than I’m affording. While that may or may not be true, the point of GoW gameplay shouldn’t be temerarious “rushing,” even in PvP. Despite this gripe, the beta plays very well. The other weapon mechanics are solid, collision detection is mainly dependable, and those sweet executions are still oh so satisfying! Lithe adjustments while roadie running seem a little more stiff than in game’s past, but this is actually a welcome change that slows the overall tempo of matches down a few notches. Not being able to duck & run ad nauseam without a lack of control efforts to create a more pedantic pace.
Three modes are available: Team Deathmatch, Co-op TDM, and Dodgeball. Straight up TDM is prescribed as 5v5 with flesh and blood competitors. In a pinch, the dedicated servers will fill up open roster spots with AI, but those are usually relinquished quickly with people trying to find a match. Fifteen respawns are afforded to each side in a best of 3 rounds format. The amount of lives seems just right and match length usually hits the sweet spot of 10-15 minutes. Co-op has the same scoring format, but is strictly PvE. This is a great way to get educated on map tendencies, power weapon locations, and such. For anyone who doesn’t have much, or no, previous experience with Gears, I highly suggest starting in Co-op to get acquainted with rise & repeat aspects like the rhythm of active reloading and just general controls. For those hoping for an edge in PvP, look elsewhere. Becoming proficient in Co-op will more than likely not translate to the same success against real competition for a litany of obvious reasons. Of the available play types, my favorite is Dodgeball. Technically, there aren’t any respawn “tickets.” The only way to re-enter after a death is when a teammate gets a slay, a la catching the ball. There is a distinct running counter at the top of the screen that clearly shows the survivors for each team so that everyone is aware of the situation at a given moment. The back and forth tug o’ war aspect as well as the proverbial penalty box for a death sets the pacing imbalance of TDM back to a reasonable speed. Maps are also in a trio: Dam, Harbor, and Foundation. Each of them have a symmetrical floor plan with medium stature. Dam has two main features to the north and south with spawn points to the west and east. The spawns are rather open with paltry cover, which forces action to the midfield spots. Expect smoke grenades to setup movement in cover for CQC confrontation. Harbor has multi-tiered sensibilities, but the top and bottom layers aren’t even in terms of accessibility and square footage. A Longshot spawns in the back of the map with decent sightlines on key positions. Excessiveness of cover spots makes it tough for matches to get into a groove; the action often feel disjointed. Out of the three, this is the weakest, but can foster decent Dodgeball skirmishes. The best of the bunch is Foundation. Top level spawns on either side are bridged by ramps that lead down to a middle dust bowl. There are back corridors that act as ways to avoid center crossfire and store high value items like the Torque Bow. Also on the map is the new Dropshot, a projectile weapon that lobs short range grenades with a very low cook time. Used as a bunker buster, you can make a crowd of opponents camped behind cover scatter in all directions. And the COG building architecture oozes that signature GoW grandiose macabre motif.
After many matches in each playlist, one thing is certain: The Coalition has a firm grasp of how a Gears game should play. Despite my proscription of all things Gnasher related, gameplay is of the same ilk as the predecessors. Brash, yet subtle. Forceful, yet stealthy. These rolling contradictions are main components to the “cool factor” of GoW that not many franchises have managed to amass since its emersion almost ten years ago. This sampling of Versus action shows a ton of promise and avoids many ostensible pitfalls that often besmirch early live trials. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the incubation process fairs over the next several months. Look for Gears of War 4 on Xbox One October 11th.
