When a game comes back after lots of years, a decade in this case, it makes gamers nostalgic. This is exactly what is Gears of War Ultimate Edition is about.
Originally launched on the Xbox 360, with graphics which will be called awful in current generation, GOW Ultimate Edition is the remastered version of the Original Gears of War where a lot has improved including graphics, gameplay and it comes with FULL HD at 60 FPS. I actually had to try GOW First version to understand what changed.
Campaign Mode:
I am almost at the end of the Single Player Campaign, stuck at killing a Brumak hiding behind broken pipes, and the game has delivered both a great story, and presentation which looks good.
If you are like me who got into console only couple of years back, and have started with Gears of War 3. You will love the campaign mode because its a story which takes you to start. The game mechanics by large remains the same. Those who are from old school, this will be a solid dose of nostalgia and you have few new levels to play along with support of Xbox Live Campaign Mode.
Like I said, the game mechanics remains the same i.e. you keep moving from one point to another with checkpoints, this game takes you into underground tunnels, dark places, lets you rid vehicles to kill Krylls with UV light, passing through the mines and so on. It delivers fresh experience for sure, but make sure to keep the lights off. It way too dark at some place.
One thing which I really liked are the dialogues. Though they bully on each other all the time, they watch each others back always.
When it comes to level of toughness, I expected Normal levels to be little harder and AI to be smarter. The only level which I found really tough is the one I am really stuck since 2 days. I will suggest to choose Hard mode for challenging game experience.
Co-Op Experience:
One thing you should try is the Cooperative Mode on Xbox Live. You can drop in or out of any ACT you choose which is really nice. So lets say if somebody dropped out of a co-op mode, you get in from where he left. The only thing you will need is to watch each other’s back because its only limited to two. That makes it real challenging, specially when you are about to kill RAM which is like in a very closed space.
Multiplayer Experience:
Multiplayer did not impress me much. This is totally personal though, and it’s because I am missing the HORDE mode.
Taking that part off, this edition has two new two new multiplayer game modes –Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill–compared to the original along with 20 maps. This is actually more than enough for you to enjoy with all kind of guns around. I am still working on it, so expect a multiplayer review next week.
Ultimate Edition Gems:
Fans of Gears of War are going to appreciate it, big time. There are Extras which makes it totally worth. You get access to concept art gallery, Gears of War comics ( which gets unlocked when you collect n number of COG tags ), option watch cut scenes again and so on.
Is it worth buying?
Tricky Question! If you are too keen of getting new experience, and want gameplay to be different, scratch this off your list. But if you want to re-explore or play and know the history of Gears of Wars, this is a must have. While there are hiccups here and there where from gets a skip, but it’s still worth it.
There are two version of this. The regular one includes Anya and the Animated Imulsion Weapon Skin gives your Lancer and Gnasher. The Deluxe version has massive Add-on for Weapon Skins, and players like Anya, Marcus and Griffin.
Also, if you keep playing Gears of War UE for next 6 months, you will be able to download complete Gears of War Series in December when it’s launched with Xbox 360 compatibility…and the horde mode will be back with GOW 3.
