Gears aint for everybody, and this Gears aint for all Gears fans. Loved the campaign and always enjoy running a few Horde rounds now and then. The multiplayer is a mess tho, Im still playing a year later, but it has been a rocky road to say the least. I wish the developers would take it back to the roots and simplify the menus, ranks and playlists. Get rid of all the fluff, the oufits, the totems(thankfully gone now), the multiple rank systems, the skins, the emotes and banners, its all hot garbage and doesnt fit the Gears universe. But im still a fan, and this game rules. lol.

I enjoyed playing the Gears of War franchise since it’s start on the Xbox 360. However, like many franchises, the gameplay became repetitive and the story, especially in Gears of War: Judgment, lacked heart and emotion. Upon hearing about Gears 5, I grew curious about returning to play in this franchise’s once more. Spoiler-free, the story is amazing and hints a continuation. In short, it is a roller coaster of heart and emotion that I have grown to expect from the Gears franchise. Multiplayer returns, and it is a fun time to play. It is very forgiving to new players of the franchise and old veterans alike. There is a perk system in place that rewards players to access different type of weapons for the specific class of character you are playing as in multiplayer, which is great. Progression is documented through a leveling up system. There is no season pass this year, and The Coalition, game publisher, promises to add different types of levels, modes, especial events, and characters that can be earned through playing the game. There are micro transactions hidden in Gears 5 and are used to buy basic skins for weapons and characters that can be earned by playing the game. Overall, I am very content with my purchase of Gears 5 and feel that it is a must for any fan of the franchise and Xbox owner.

Gears 5 is a huge package which makes it a game that takes a good amount of time to have something all encompassing to say about it but after playing all the offerings it must be said that Gears 5 makes not only a case for being a must have game for Xbox but a must have game period. A potential game of the generation to go along with 2018's God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, and others mentioned in the same breath. The coalition has added so much to this entry that it'd take multiple breakdowns to go into the arguably important details but here I will try and summarize it all. The multiplayer, which has always had a difficult time being accessible to most players introduces modes like Arcade that puts a hero spin on itself introducing abilities and would-be super moves to some classes that are also new to the series. This mode creates an offshoot multiplayer mode that services players who are not interested in the pro-circuit stuff Gears of War has normally had as a staple of it's multiplayer component. Arcade mode deemphasis the use of the Gnasher shotgun as the biggest declaration of change from the formula for one, and adds varying range to the engagements with the aforementioned abilities while making use of the longer range weaponry that's tuned differently in the standard multiplayer modes to accommodate the Pro scene. That said, the traditional multiplayer offerings are also on tap and rebalanced in ways that do not compromise what the pro players like while also creating a slope to the high side of the skill climb. Tweaks like lowering the clip of the gnasher while also creating a path for use for ranged weapons by having their behavior controlled by the players ability to understand it's roll in the game does wonders to make the game learnable without expecting someone to master the gnasher or die. This comes from removing the random shooting patterns in the ranged weapons and replacing them with patterns that must be learned to get the most out of the shots taken for example. This leads to a multiplayer experience overall that is as approachable as a Gears game has ever been by remedying the normal mode making its skill slope non-intimidating AND creating an alternate mode for those who want something entirely different while still remaining a top tier third-person shooter. The third mode in the package is Escape, this is the sleeper hit mode within the entire game as it is a run-based missioned structure mode where instead of defending you and your friends are on the offensive moving through a "level" clearing out enemies on your way to escaping. The premise is you and your team have set off a toxic bomb within an enemy base, what you and your team must do is get through the level fast enough to outrun the poison gas creeping up behind you as you push towards the exit. These levels are varied and almost limitless in their potential as there are almost infinite versions of them due to the sheer amount of layouts The Coalition (the studio that made the game) has created for it. It is about as excellent as a co-op mode there is since it borrows from such concepts from games like Left 4 Dead, Evolve (minus the player controlling the enemies), World War Z, or the strikes in Destiny 1 and 2. What adds to this mode even more is that you total control over custom matches to control and create your escape mission as you see fit, think Mario Maker but in Gears of War, it is excellent. Horde mode has also been revamped to make it so much less of a tedious grind to level up and make your way to the higher difficulties. In Gears of War 4 the biggest complaint was that you had to level up your way before being able to complete the higher difficulties whereas here in Gears 5 the classes and defenses are complimentary hybridizing the best of previous horde modes creating a far more varied experience depending on the groups skill as opposed to it being a damage check dungeon type encounter. The progression here is deep as classes, skills, and defenses all return with their own compartmentalized progression for your to sink your teeth into. This allows for every run to be meaningful no matter where you and your team are in your progression while also incentivizing you to make it to the top of a class before doing it all over again with a different class as well. This leads to progression overall, which should be commended here, it works like I mentioned above across the board. There is no "barrier to entry" so to speak to any of the games modes. You're never working to gain access to the modes or their respective challenges but always enticed with worth while improvements and progress to compliment all you take part in. Now the campaign, I will not say a thing here other than to say go in blind and see it for yourself. It is grand, it is a spectacle, it is also the most well written and executed Gears narrative since we first got introduced to this world. Cheers and enjoy!

Admittedly I'm not the biggest Gears fan. I owned the first one back in the 360 days, but barely played it. Same goes for the digital copies that came with Gears of War 4 Ultimate Edition. Onto Gears 5...this game is awesome. I'd say I'm about halfway through at this point. Graphics, sound (new home theater *drool*), and the Jack commands are great and add another layer to combat. I like the story and especially the random banter. It all comes together well.

the gears stands out as being on f the best in the series why ??? because of how much they put into this game to let u know they really care about the franchise. the story is great with a choice that make u wonder and ready to see how it plays out and which would be the cannon ending out of what u chose, the multiplayer has in proved adding a new game mode called escape which is really challenging the higher u put the difficulty, horde mode is back with some improvements not more carrying the box around and not u have waypoints to get to earn more points while combating the horde, in the regular mp they added a arcade mode for new comers that want to jump in and learn how to play before jumping in with the hardcore the only reason this game is not a sold 10 out of 10 is because no game is there is always room for improvements and with that being said i highly recommend this game for old gears fans and new comers