Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is more than just a prettier skin on a nearly-ten-year-old video game. The Xbox One version brings some new tweaks to the third-person cover shooter, including refined mechanics and smoother gameplay.
For instance, there’s a new easy mode for the casual player which is nice if you’re just looking to go on an alien-killing spree and don’t care for more challenge. Toss in more checkpoints and better aim-assist, and the game gets that much more accessible. It also feels rather nice playing with the Xbox One controller, which is better in every way than the 360′s.
The Ultimate Edition’s developer, The Coalition, has remade every cut-scene and they really do look great. There have been some comparisons between both versions that made the difference seem less stark, and sometimes favor the 360 version, but I found the entire game really polished looking—a big improvement over the 2006 version. So it is a prettier skin on a nearly-ten-year-old game, but it’s more than that, too.
Better still, co-op is still possible in split-screen (unlike a certain other upcoming Xbox One exclusive) so if you’ve got a friend or a sibling to play along with you’re all set—and really, this is becoming something of a rarity in console shooters these days. Better still, co-op is now drop-in/drop-out with individual difficulty levels. This is great because you can play with a friend or girlfriend who may not be very good at the game, while you ratchet up your own difficulty.
The addition of five new campaign chapters to the game (new to console, these were all on the PC version already) extends the campaign, and while the chapters are nothing particularly special they are tense in a fun way—or fun in a tense way. Regardless, more content is great.
The game has some problems with AI still. There are no shortage of bugs, especially in later levels, that will hopefully be patched out soon. It’s not a perfect release by any means, even though I experienced fewer of these than some reviewers.
In multiplayer, The Coalition’s move to 60 frames-per-second really pays off. It’s a far smoother experience than I expected, and really shines even though I’m rather lousy when it comes to online play. It’ll be more fun to try this mode out once the game releases, as multiplayer is always more fun with a bigger player population.
Mostly, it’s just really fun to play Gears of War game on the Xbox One in 1080p and 60 fps. Microsoft desperately needs this kind of content, and Xbox One owners will certainly benefit from having another top-notch exclusive—even if it is a remaster.
Rather than score an old game made new, I will simply give the game a Buy on my Buy/Hold/Sell rating scale. It’s as good as the original, but also better thanks to all the improvements, but also familiar since we’ve played the original already.
It’s all of those things at once, and I guess I don’t see a score fitting into that equation very easily. It’s fun and you should play it and judge it for yourself.
Via: forbes.com
