''Gears Tactics'' is a
turn-based tactics
Turn-based tactics (TBT), or tactical turn-based (TTB), is a computer and video game genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally s ...
video game developed by
Splash Damage
Splash Damage Ltd. is a British video game developer specialising in multiplayer first-person shooter video games. The studio is best known as the creators of '' Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory'' and '' Enemy Territory: Quake Wars''.
History
...
in conjunction with
The Coalition and published by
Xbox Game Studios
Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...
. It is a
spin-off of the ''
Gears of War'' franchise and a prequel to the
first game. The game was released first for
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
on April 28, 2020 and subsequently for
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...
on November 10, 2020.
Gameplay
The game is played from a
top-down perspective
A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
and is a
turn-based tactics
Turn-based tactics (TBT), or tactical turn-based (TTB), is a computer and video game genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally s ...
title in which players issue commands to a squad of human soldiers to eliminate the hostiles in a map and depending on the mission, complete secondary objectives. Players can freely explore the map without being confined to a
grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Common usage
* Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road
* Grid reference, used to define a location on a map
Arts, entertainment, and media
* News ...
. Each character can perform three actions, such as taking cover, shooting enemies, or remain in
overwatch
''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games f ...
to shoot any moving enemy in their
line of sight
The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/observer/ spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction. The subject may be any definable object taken ...
. When an enemy unit loses most of its
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, a friendly unit can move in and execute the downed enemy, which gives all units an additional action point. Players need to throw
grenades to destroy erupting Emergence Holes which spawn more Locust enemies. If a friendly unit is downed, players can revive them to bring them back into battle with reduced health. The game has five distinct
character classes, with each having its own unique abilities. The characters can be extensively customized with mods, armours, and they can acquire new skills after they
level up. Other than story-important "hero" characters, other friendly units are
procedurally generated
In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...
and should these units die in combat, their deaths will be permanent.
In addition to the main campaign, players can complete different side-missions. At numerous points in the story, the player is required to complete one or more side missions to proceed. After the player finishes the campaign, Veteran Mode will be unlocked. It allows players to remix the campaign missions with different modifiers such as bonus damages and accuracy penalty.
The game, however, does not have a
multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
mode.
Story
One year after Emergence Day, when a subterranean race of creatures known as the Locust Horde emerged on the surface in a campaign to kill every human on the planet of Sera, Coalition of Ordered Governments leader, Chairman Richard Prescott (Liam O'Brien), orders all major cities outside the Jacinto Plateau to be incinerated by the Hammer of Dawn. In addition, the Chairman had sent mop-up detachments in key-cities to eradicate the surviving Locust. One of the mop-up crews was Alpha Squad, stationed in Aldair City. Among them is Pendulum Wars hero, Sgt. Gabriel Diaz (Noshir Dalal), who had demoted himself to working in the motor pool. Mere hours before the Hammer Strikes, he receives orders from Prescott and Major Sid Redburn (Bruce Thomas) to retrieve classified intel files from the CIC building. Sgt. Diaz and Major Redburn find the files that reveal information about a Locust scientist named Ukkon (
Jason Spisak), who has been responsible for creating the various creatures the Locust have been using as instruments of war. The Hammer of Dawn then destroys the city of Aldair, but Sgt. Diaz and Major Redburn survive. However, Ukkon destroys the army base bunker and kills everyone. Prescott then orders Diaz to assassinate Ukkon and is granted the rights to do so by any means possible. In need of soldiers for the fight, Sgt. Diaz and Major Redburn set out to rescue one of the mop-up squads, Echo-Five, but discover that Ukkon has been killing the mop-up crews. After rescuing a Stranded group, a militia of civilians who survived the Hammer Strikes from a Locust attack, they also join Alpha Squad who help fix their Mammoth rig. Their leader, Mikayla Dorn (
Debra Wilson
Debra Wilson, also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton, is an American actress and comedian. She is known for being the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series '' Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's fir ...
), a highly qualified civilian engineer, has knowledge of Ukkon's activities and escorts Sgt. Diaz and Major Redburn to the city of Claybourne where Ukkon frequents. Upon spotting Ukkon, Mikayla manages to shoot Ukkon in the face, presumably killing him. Ukkon, however by inhaling an unknown substance, instantly heals himself, stands right back up and summons a Brumak to kill Alpha Squad. Alpha manage to defeat the Brumak by destroying the imulsion tanks mounted on its back. Sgt. Diaz then realizes that the COG is once again holding secrets like before, and fears that they will get them killed.
![GearsTactics Cinematic 1920x1080](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/GearsTactics_Cinematic_1920x1080.png)
Angry at Chairman Prescott for withholding information about Ukkon's immortal condition, Sgt. Diaz then relocates his entire squad into the deserts of Vasgar to teach them how to fight and prepare for the battle against Ukkon. Eventually, Alpha discovers an empty canister that Ukkon had used to inhale earlier to heal himself. Mikayla translates the Vasgari inscribed on the canister as belonging to the Nedroma Health Institute. Upon arriving, Mikayla reveals that Nedroma was a quarantine zone and research facility for Rustlung, a fatal condition caused by the exposure to Imulsion fumes. Upon finding Ukkon's stash of canisters, Mikayla reveals that the canisters are full of immune system boosters, but only work against Rustlung, and with devastating side-effects. Realizing Ukkon is dying of Rustlung and in need of the canisters, Sgt. Diaz prepares a trap to lure Ukkon using the immune booster canisters as bait. Alpha Squad is successful in luring Ukkon and capturing him. However, Ukkon reveals to Alpha Squad by recognizing Major Redburn as an old acquaintance. Major Redburn then knocks out Sgt. Diaz and prepares to drive off with Ukkon, alive and imprisoned, back to Ephyra. Mikayla stops him, and Ukkon manages to break free and escape. He proceeds to summon a Corpser to kill Alpha. Alpha successfully defeat it by dropping a beam hanging from a crane on its head.
Sgt. Diaz and Mikayla then detain Major Redburn, with Chairman Prescott ordering to execute him for treason. Major Redburn then reveals to them that when he was younger, he worked for a genetics lab called the New Hope Research Facility, who, like Nedroma, was trying to cure Rustlung. However, the scientists went mad and used genetic experimentation to try and evolve the patients into greater beings, but instead made monsters: the Locust. Most of the patients lost their minds and went feral, except for Ukkon. Ukkon had also developed the ability to quickly heal to the point of immortality. Major Redburn had safely stashed classified files containing this information located at an outpost in Winlock which Sgt. Diaz and Mikayla retrieve. When Chairman Prescott discovers that Alpha Squad had learned the truth about New Hope and the COG creating the Locust, he attempts to kill them with the Hammer of Dawn to cut any loose ends. With Alpha Squad presumed dead and no longer part of the COG, they decide to stick to their mission of killing Ukkon. Major Redburn also revealed that the scientists at New Hope had created a fail-safe called cytostatic gas that could neutralize Ukkon's healing ability. Major Redburn tells Sgt. Diaz that he can manufacture the gas and have Mikayla weaponize it into a gas grenade. After Mikayla creates the cytostatic gas grenade, Alpha Squad proceed to locate Ukkon's base of operations. Sgt. Diaz believes that Ukkon must be basing his operations out of the province of Zenic, which is the only region not to be raided or destroyed, while not wanting to leave behind any traces regarding his whereabouts. Upon investigating Zenic, Sgt. Diaz rescues a civilian taken as a prisoner of the Locust. She reveals that her father and herself were taking shelter in a nearby laboratory, but Ukkon arrived and transformed it into his own lab. For reasons unknown, he killed her father and everyone else in the lab, sparing her life. She then agrees to divulge the location of the lab to Alpha on the condition that she personally gets to kill Ukkon. Sgt. Diaz agrees to her condition and asks for her name in return, to which she replies is
Reyna (Melanie Minichino). Reyna eventually guides Alpha to the location of Ukkon's laboratory following which, all of Alpha and their civilian recruits besiege Ukkon's base. Mikayla weakens Ukkon by tossing a cytostatic gas grenade and wounds him with a few shots. He commands the Locust army to deal with Alpha and retreats inside the lab. While the recruits provide a distraction fighting the Locust army, in the meanwhile Diaz, Redburn, Mikayla and Reyna infiltrate the lab to locate and defeat Ukkon. He reveals himself on his Hydra mount and summons all his reinforcements he has at his disposal to stop Alpha Squad, who eventually defeat Ukkon's army and his Hydra. With his mount defeated, Ukkon, now severely wounded, is shot in the face and killed by Reyna avenging the murder of her father. She then retrieves an amulet from Ukkon and reveals that it belonged to her mother, who she never knew. Now surviving as Stranded, Alpha Squad decides to dedicate themselves to destroying Ukkon's remaining creations.
Development
The game's development was handled by
Splash Damage
Splash Damage Ltd. is a British video game developer specialising in multiplayer first-person shooter video games. The studio is best known as the creators of '' Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory'' and '' Enemy Territory: Quake Wars''.
History
...
with
The Coalition providing assistance. The Coalition wanted to introduce the franchise to a wider audience and the development team identified that there were a lot of similarities between the franchise, which was a series of squad-based
third-person shooter
Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D computer graphics, 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. ...
s with cover-based combat, and
turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a strategy game (usually some type of wargame, especially a strategic-level wargame) where players take turns when playing. This is distinguished from real-time strategy (RTS), in which all players play si ...
games.
According to Alex Grimbley, the game's executive producer, "
he team
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
actually just took existing Gears and just moved the camera up". The team took four and a half years to develop the game.
The game is not related to ''Gears of War: Tactics'', a cancelled spin-off developed by
Epic Games.
The team wanted the game to play at a faster pace when compared to other competing games in the genre. Thus the team decided to give each unit three action points instead of two to ensure that players can get to perform various actions within one turn.
The team put a large emphasis on the game's narrative, and the team aimed to tell a "personal and emotional story" and invested a lot of resources into creating the game's
cutscene
A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward th ...
s and employing the voice actors. The team consulted
343 Industries
343 Industries is an American video game developer located in Redmond, Washington, part of Xbox Game Studios. Headed by Pierre Hintze, the studio is responsible for the ''Halo (franchise), Halo'' series of military science fiction games, origin ...
, which worked on ''
Halo Wars
''Halo Wars'' is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Australia on February 26, 2009; in Europe on February 27; and i ...
'', a strategy spin-off of the ''
Halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
'' franchise. However, unlike ''Halo Wars'', the game was considered to be a PC premium title instead of a strategy game designed for console owners.
Publisher
Xbox Game Studios
Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...
announced the game at
E3 2018
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 (E3 2018) was the 24th E3, during which hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...
, alongside ''
Gears 5'' and ''
Gears Pop!
''Gears Pop!'' was a mobile real-time strategy video game in which two players battle using Funko, Funko Pop!-stylized characters from the ''Gears of War, Gears'' fictional universe. Its gameplay was modeled on that of ''Clash Royale''. The ga ...
''. At
The Game Awards 2019
The Game Awards 2019 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2019. The event was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Lo ...
, Microsoft announced that the game would be released for Windows on April 28, 2020, while
Rod Fergusson
Rod Fergusson is a Canadian video game producer, best known for overseeing the development of the '' Gears of War'' franchise, originally at Epic Games and then as head of The Coalition. More recently, Fergusson moved over to Blizzard Entertai ...
, the founder of The Coalition, later confirmed that an Xbox One version is being developed. Players who pre-ordered the game would gain access to the "Thrashball Cole" pack, which allows the player to play as
Augustus Cole
Augustus "Cole Train" Cole is a fictional character in the '' Gears of War'' media franchise. He first appeared in the first video game of the series as a supporting character, and has since appeared in some capacity for every mainline and spin- ...
.
The game was also released for
Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are video game subscription services from Microsoft. Both services grant users access to a rotating catalog of games from a range of publishers and other premium services, including Xbox Live Gold and EA Play, fo ...
subscribers at launch.
With the release of the game on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 10, the game received additional content with the addition of Jacked Mode which introduces Jack as a playable character, new "Deviant" enemies which are tougher variants of their regular counterparts, more powerful "Supreme" weapon modifications and 11 new achievements worth 400 gamerscore.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews upon release, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.
''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
...
'' called the game "...a great ''Gears'' game and a great tactics game", stating, "The core — getting onto the battlefield and agonizing over every move — is excellent." ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' criticized the game's stilted pacing caused by an excess of repetitive and stale side missions, but ultimately concluded that it was "...a solid new front in the Gears theater of war." ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' and ''
GamesRadar+
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' praised the ''Gears'' aesthetics, strong character customization, meaningful character progression, and innovative tweaks to the modern RPG formula, while criticizing the filler story and lack of mission diversity. ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' praised the game's graphics and animations, writing, "Character models are fantastically detailed and the ruined, mostly urban environments of the planet Sera are elaborate. Animations are top-notch as well...", criticized the
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
for not providing enough information, and concluded that while the campaign went on to wear out its welcome, it was strong, "...with some clever, ''Gears''-appropriate ideas". ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' criticized the narrative, side missions, and bosses, writing, "Each of the campaign's three acts ends with a setpiece boss battle, which is an exciting thing to have in a tactics game. Unfortunately all three bosses use essentially the same mechanics and they don't change throughout the fights...", while praising the combat, skill system, and top-notch presentation. ''
PCGamesN'' wrote, "Gears Tactics simply does not have enough variety in its environments, missions, or enemies to keep the campaign feeling fresh...It’s a shame, because given a little more ambition and variety, Gears Tactics would be something truly special."
It was nominated for the category of Best Sim/Strategy game at
The Game Awards 2020
The Game Awards 2020 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2020. It was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, and took place on December 10, 2020. The preshow ceremony was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. Unlike previous Game Awards ...
.
References
External links
*
{{The Coalition
2020 video games
Dystopian video games
Gears of War
Splash Damage games
Tactical role-playing video games
Turn-based tactics video games
Unreal Engine games
Video game prequels
Video game spin-offs
Video games developed in Canada
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games set on fictional planets
Windows games
Xbox Cloud Gaming games
Xbox One games
Xbox Series X and Series S games
The Coalition games