Feelings on Gears of War

Before Epic Games made billions with Fortnite they were a smaller company working on the Gears of War series under Cliff Bleszinski. Now if "Cliff" isn't a manly name, I don't know what is. I never played the series until the second one came out which left an impact on me. The first game is fine but flawed, too much good stuff in the beginning (the developers let you lose a space laser on the second or third level when that should be a final level weapon). The story? You are Marcus Fenix, a former Cog turned prisoner, turned Cog again. Cogs are the trained soldiers on this world. You fight against a hoard of monsters called the Locust. The developers went all out in the monsters. There's a creature called a "Corpser" which is a giant hand mixed with a spider. There's also the Brumak which is a blind juggernaut, my other favorite besides the Corpser, and a host of smaller and larger creatures ranging from the size of a dog (tickers) to two-story behemoth called a "Brumak." The greatness of a game isn't just by its story and graphics but by the gameplay and the baddies you fight. Donkey Kong Country is a perfect example of that. 

But what made this game series famous was the two innovation introduced in the first two games. Cover-based shooters weren't a new concept, but one that hadn't been pefercted. The idea was for the character to latch onto cover with the camera closed in allowing the player to shoot over the shoulder. This gave rise to the "cover shooter" genre of games. Many have tried to copy and some have perfected it. Naughty Dog's "Uncharted" series is an example of mixing platforming with cover shooters. This type of what I call "over the shoulder shooter" gameplay was perfected by the Gears series. You could toss grenades, hold the line while the enemy shot at you, or dive and duck for cover in another arean. As opposed to most shooters, the camera was on your back rather than seeing through a first person mode. Looking back, the gameplay was a little simple. You had obvious markers around the levels that showed you where the player could get cover. And for close ups? The game boasted the most iconic gun of the game, the "Lancer Mk 2" which had a chainsaw for a bayonette that would rip through enemies. And if you're following, you can see how the form follows function. The developers obviously needed something for the player to do when the enemy got too close. The solution was the chainsaw bayonette. 

The second innovation came with the second game called "Horde Mode." An innovation in a new type of gameplay where the player and his friends fought against hordes of enemies in waves. Between each wave you had the chance to gather ammo, heal up or set traps for the next wave. The game style has become a staple of the series and has continued to this day. Even with the seventh game coming out the Horde Mode remains one of the fans favorite modes.

Both of these mechanics set Gear as a popular series in the gaming market. Especially in the Xbox market. But what series is complete without a good story or world? Set on the fictional world of Sera, monsters known as "Locust" sprang up from the ground one day and attacked humanity. In a few short weaks mankind was reduced to a fraction of itself. This came just after the humans fought a war against each other, leaving them weakened. After disobeying orders, Marcus Fenix is placed in jail, which is already such a masculine theme to start on. The "bro-ship" continues with Marcus being busted out of jail and given a squad to lead against the Locusts. The series has basically continued from that point of being overpowered with masculine themes, to my and other's delight. There's this real grittiness to the game world and the lore that was built up with the comics only highlights the effort Epic Games put into the series. 

The comics dive deeper into the world of Gears, including these birthing hospitals where fertile women were forced to have children to repopulate the world. A destible act but one that you almost sympathize with after you see how desperately warriors are needed. I say "almost" but there is obvious implications of rape. Anyone who can fight is sent to the field or works in the tech industry developing new weapons and technology for the Gears. The government is obviously corrupt and by the third game, society has broken down into smaller groups who despise the Gears for serving as the government's dogs. My favorite cover from the Gears comics has to be this one that perfectly illustrates the Gear's war. It's a scene of Marcus and his allies rushing towards battle while below we can see Locusts looking up. Like they can hear their footsteps. A haunting picture that sticks with me even twenty years later. There's even a petition to get Netflix to do a Gears of War series. I doubt it will go through given how much the series has fallen.

By Gears of War 3, the plot still remains a mystery to me. There's a great world build up and a fantastic story, but why are the Locusts attacking? No one knows. Theres some hints in Gears 2 and 5 that the Locusts were made to be super humans by some crazed scientists who were experimenting with Imulsion, a volitle gas that's used as fuel in the series. There's this hint, at least one that I saw, that the Imulsion is somehow sentient, like it's the lifeblood of the planet. Based on a curious glance, the Locusts see humanity as the enemy due to their tampering with Imulsion and the destruction of their natural habbitat. They want to become the dominate force on the planet. That explains why some of them have humanoid forms and others are more like bugs. Theres no "lets all get along" kind of theme like there is in the Halo series. This is all out extinction of the species. There is no forgiveness, no redemption. So what if the Locust's goals remain a little vague, there's lots of things to shoot and kill. I'm not an expert on the lore of Gears but I always liked the idea that the Locust were an alien species that hates the humans. That seems to be somewhat the case but it was ruined when Gears 5 revealed that humanity caused the Locusts to be created. It kind of throws a wrench into the series for me. 

Despite all this lore, the series has fallen. The gameplay has remained largely the same with a few minor tweeks but the story has shifted to a more human aspect. They're trying to add emotion to a game that was built for testosterone. It would be like if I added guns to the Barbie franchise. Since Gears 3 came out the developers have shifted. Epic went on to make Fortnite which makes them their billions, and Gears went to a new team, "The Coalition." They don't seem to know what to do with the series. Gears 4 started as a small reboot focusing of Marcus' son but without the grit and themes of war the old spark seems missing. Gears 5 focused on a girl character, which isn't a bad thing, but she lacks the tough attitude that was present in the oringal trilogy. Things might pick up as the next Gears game is a prequel to when the Locust first emerged from the earth. Maybe we'll get some more answers and maybe we'll be able to complete the series with Gears 6. After that, put it to bed, there doesn't need to be more games. Like the Halo series, Gears has been lost thanks to the changes in developers and the shift in tone. Now might be a good time to sunset it and try a new IP.