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Although their franchise trajectories crossed paths after their first iterations and Uncharted went on to become one of PlayStation’s crowned jewel mega hits, I’ll forever maintain that Gears of War had the better first instalment. After doing some minor research, I realise this mightn’t be the hot take I think it is, given a six-percent gulf in Metacritic averages when comparing the pair.
A decade ago, tribalism might have prevented me from being glad about Gears getting a second life on a “rival” platform. Now, I’m excited for PlayStation fans to experience it because just like they never really had an answer to Halo, there wasn’t anything quite like Gears either. The Order: 1886 sort of tried years later, but that game has but one passionate fan. Despite its clear sci-fi roots, it was grounded, graphic, and helped launch one of the more bountiful of Microsoft’s gaming chapters in terms of both success and online dominance, however short-lived it was.
Having spent time with Gears of War: Reloaded, a relatively modest remaster of the original game, I think I can confidently preach that Gears is still as gripping as it ever was, and, if anything, time has been far kinder to it than it has to the first game in the Uncharted franchise. Of course, even though Gears’ meathead sci-fi war epic is no slouch, Uncharted’s story and character craft are leagues ahead. People wax poetic for Nolan North’s Drake in a way they never would for John DiMaggio’s Marcus Fenix. I expect that people mistake the trade-off of charisma and gravel-toned bravado for a lack of depth, but that isn’t the case.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $49 FROM AMAZON
Uncharted is a globe-trotting, treasure-hunting adventure akin to Indiana Jones; there’s a light-heartedness that cuts through. Gears of War, as its title suggests, is about disposable heroes and is the polar opposite in terms of tone. There have been several interesting essays over the journey that suggest Uncharted’s story and your actions within the game are at odds with one another. I found the most fun in solving complex, treacherous riddles and scaling cliff sides while dodging gunfire. I’ve never disagreed with the sentiment that Uncharted was at its weakest whenever Nate guns down wave after wave of pirates, not because of the narrative dissonance, but because Uncharted, the cover shooter, was passable at best.
Gears of War, on the other hand, features evergreen combat that, twenty years on, remains as pulsating and exciting as it ever was. As hulking marines, clad in impossibly chunky armour, you throw yourself around each arena, crouching behind emplacements for cover, before poking out and dealing with the Locust threat using a memorable selection of iconic ordinance, from the Boltok handcannon to the Gnasher shotgun, right up to the Hammer of Dawn, a satellite-array deathbeam that triangulates to practically melt whatever it’s aimed at.
Mobility in the field was an important feature of Gears in its early days. In place of a standard sprint, players could carefully crouch-run from cover to cover, taking care to avoid the peppering of Locust fire while doing so. Combining this positioning tool with things like wall-bouncing tactics was often the one thing that separated wheat from chaff in online play; make no mistake, it led to countless gripping encounters during the game’s campaign, too. Even decades later, I’ll never forget the exploits of a certain mythical player whom I met in Canals one day; their control over the game’s mechanics was unbelievable and helped me realise there’s a higher echelon of player out there—a standard I’d never dream of reaching.
Gears of War: Reloaded, as a package, will be a case of “been there, done that” for a lot of players. If nothing else, it’s a good excuse to replay the legendary shooter. For all others, though, it’s a total package, pulling together all of the game’s original and downloadable content into one place, while adding modern necessities like cross-progression and cross-play.
If you’re able, play Gears co-operatively with a friend. It’s completely serviceable with the game’s AI; however, the game’s mechanics, even more so than Halo, which at the time was a couch co-op phenomenon, feel purpose-built for co-op and working together to suppress the Locust grunts and flank for a bloody coup de grace. Thankfully, the co-op experience, within this Reloaded package, is as optimised and accessible as it has ever been.
It doesn’t look as impressive as some outright “remakes” because that’s not what this is; it’s the original experience, scaled and powered up for today’s hardware. The original’s focus on presenting its “destroyed beauty” aesthetic isn’t lost, of course, as Sera’s grey, industrial ruins contrast nicely with the overgrowth—it trends toward “trauma porn” in the same way The Last of Us did, though its gore feels less egregious when the casualties are alien. That said, there’s a pop to the headshots that’ll make you grimace, despite providing a little shot of dopamine.
Of course, Xbox’s multiplatform push—which, this week at least, is being matched by PlayStation, which has offered up Helldivers II in an almost like-for-like trade—might mean that the next Gears game, focusing on the events of E-Day and serving as something of a prequel to this game, comes to PlayStation as well.
So, with any luck, after having just one home for the last two decades, Gears is welcomed into its new one.
Gears of War: Reloaded it out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The cheapest copy is $49 with free shipping from Amazon.
