Action points can also be consumed by reloading, firing, performing executions, and special traits you earn as you develop each character. There’s the Overwatch tactic that means your Gear can cover an area with gunfire during enemy turns so they can’t sneak up on you, and there’s skill trees for each character, letting you grow and develop your own team of Gears.Įach member of the team gets action points per turn, so you’ll only be able to move so far. XCOM fans will adore this as you can rename your squad mates, adding that personal touch to them before – well, you know what – stylise them with cornbeads and facial hair. Halo Wars has more of an OG Warcraft / Command & Conquer style to it – focused on base building and zerg rushing Covenant, whereas Gears Tactics is turn-based, almost wave shooter esque, tasking you with rescue and capture the flag style hold missions. I’m not entirely sure why Microsoft like to turn their hottest properties into top-down games, but Gears Tactics has the feeling, tone, style, and finesse down so appropriately, you almost wonder whether this is actually the genre the franchise resonates with most of all.
Gears tactics base game full#
There’s even epic boss battles that make full use of the battlefield rather than confining you to small spaces. Smartly, it’s all been brought across so that it feels distinctly Gears of War – taking care of Emergence Holes by dumping grenades in them, chainsawing Drones in half. It all fits the Gears of War franchise like a glove. XCOM has always been about hunkering down, finding the best angles to pepper aliens with bullets, and managing your squad at base camp. I think the use of cover-based shooting makes the genres a natural match. And guess what, it, too, also makes that jump across genres seamlessly. So it seems Microsoft are taking that gamble again with another of their poster franchises, bringing us Gears Tactics, an XCOM inspired, cinematic prequel to Marcus and Dom’s bloodthirsty romps. When Gabe is ordered to track down Ukkon, he discovers that the Locust is now using Imulsion to create a new breed of biological horrors.Halo Wars was a surprisingly great game, converting one of the most popular online shooters of all time into an engaging, well oiled RTS. This Locust scientist genetically engineered the creatures that have terrorized the people of Sera since E-day, including the Brumak, Reaver and Corpser. Ukkon is the monster who creates monsters. Jack played a critical role in the events of Gears 5, and will bring his unique abilities to wage war against the Locust in Gears Tactics. Built by Damon Baird, Jack was named in honor of a support bot that was embedded with Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad during the Locust War. Jack is a one-of-a-kind prototype with powerful artificial intelligence and a suite of upgradeable abilities. Gears of War’s signature companion bot, Jack has joined Gabe and the heroes of Gears Tactics*. When Gabe and Sid help her civilians fend off a Locust attack, Mikayla grudgingly agrees to help them hunt down the leader of the enemy: Ukkon. Now leading a group of survivors, she harbors an intense hostility against the COG, whom she feels have abandoned their own people. Mikayla Dorn was a civilian engineer who took up the fight against the Locust after Emergence Day. But Sid has his own motivations for helping Gabe and the COG with their mission to track down enemy mastermind Ukkon…and those secrets could put their entire mission at risk.
Major Sid Redburn is a veteran Gear who has long been entrusted with the COG’s top-secret missions, including the one that brings Gabe Diaz back into the fight. When the COG calls Gabe - now a mechanic in the motor pool - back into action on the eve of the Hammer strikes against the Locust, he has no choice but to follow orders, and uncovers a dire new threat to the people of Sera. But victory came at a tremendous cost, and Gabe refused to put his skills to work for the COG any longer, busting himself down to Sergeant. Gabe Diaz was a decorated Lieutenant Colonel in the Pendulum Wars, and his tactical brilliance was key to the COG victory over the UIR at the Battle of Gatka Ridge. Rise up and Fight Gabe Sid Mikayla Jack Ukkon Gabriel “Gabe” Diaz