A masterpiece that transports the frenzy of the Gears saga

As I already did a Microsoft IP in the past, Halo Wars, the transfer from a traditional shooting game to the traditional turn-based strategy has been a success, thanks to a troop customization system and a very interesting playable development that, although in the first few bars it seems simple, it gets complicated with the passing of the hours until we have real mental puzzles to deal with in each of the acts and chapters in which an adventure unfolds that has been extensive enough for us to give a good account of it.

A story that serves as a prequel

Fans of the Gears franchise will love to know that far from offering us a superfluous and lightweight storyline without weight in the saga, Gears Tactics takes advantage of its prequel status (set 12 years before the first installment) to bring us, with spectacular action sequences, but also with abundant dialogues in each mission, an interesting development, full of twists of script, and that has many surprises for lovers of IP.

Fans will also be aware that Gears has never been characterized as a saga that deals with philosophical themes taking advantage of its post-apocalyptic setting: testosterone and action are the two main elements that are impregnated in the Gears Tactics script. But as it happened, above all, with the last two main installments of the franchise, there is also time to deal with human dramas within the main characters.

¿What story will we find in this spin-off? We begin with the fall of Sera and the death of most of its inhabitants due to the threat of the already known Locust, the most recognizable enemies of the saga. Ukkon is the one behind this invasion, since thanks to his power, his subjects continue to be improved versions, each one having different tactics and strategies (this is important at a playable level). And who will we be? Gabe Díaz, a Gears who will act as a manager of his troops (another essential aspect, since the personalization of these is essential) and who must eliminate the danger that hangs over them.

Customization is the best asset against spectacular final bosses

Gears Tactics is not going to be a video game within the genre of real-time strategy that is going to invent the wheel: its playable bases are what we can find in numerous franchises that work under this range of ideas, but there are two elements that we have loved and that they have allowed us to enjoy each game: the customization of their troops and the great combats against final bosses.

The development of each map is what everyone could expect: we start on one side of the screen and we will have a goal, but while we are looking for coverage, we are realizing that Gears Tactics does not work, always staying in the rear: as it happens In its main saga, in this spin-off we must be aware that we have to take risks, and it is here that frenetism finds its place within the tranquility of turns. The player must be aware that there are times when being behind a wall can serve to stand guard and attack any enemy that moves, but that with another character his thing is to advance and defeat that other enemy that has the look set.

The objectives are happening, and although from almost the beginning we usually have our final destination, there will be unexpected events that put us on the ropes, such as the fact of destroying a Locust nest with a fragmentation grenade so that new enemies stop coming out. In weapons we find another important element of the Gears Tactics gameplay: each character has a different type, and within each, different abilities. For example, a 'healer' is essential in any turn-based strategy game, a fact that is solved with a special grenade that, if thrown, fills our health marker. In addition, the executions of each character not only leave us several surprising visual moments that remind us of the Gears saga: they are the moments when we must put all the meat on the grill to charge against the enemy.

The customization of our troops ensures that no player is able to have the same equipment as another: chargers, weapons, protective equipment... Everything can be modified with the equipment we are acquiring, giving Gears Tactics a very careful management component. and that makes us carefully consider each mission before undertaking it, especially if they are final bosses.

And it is these battles that will really pose a problem for us: although the AI of most enemies is quite good, the huge bosses we will face, with unique tactics and very different from each other, will force us to plan our tactics so as not to lose the fighters on the playing field. They're not just beasts on a visual level: their powerful attacks can take down characters in an instant.

Adequate mission design, until the secondary ones arrive

The design of the main missions seems adequate to us: it is still the basic one that we find in any quality production within the genre of turn-based strategy, advancing across the playing fields, with surprise objectives that are revealed every so often and with various ways to get to the end (we can end up with a swarm thanks to a fragmentation grenade, or face all the enemies that come out until they are finished to save this projectile object and use it against stronger Locust).

Problem: Side quests are repeated many times, and sometimes they become mandatory in order to progress through the main campaign. Although the situations that occur in each of them are varied, the ways of proceeding against the dangers that lie in wait are not so varied. For this reason, sometimes we will have the feeling of spending more than an hour without delving into the main plot, thus limiting the high pace that we do find in the rest of the missions.

Powerful technical section, with technical ballasts

Far from being in front of a smaller installment of the Gears saga when it comes to graphics, Gears Tactics offers a powerful technical section that is weighed down by some loads of textures that are not done at the right time. But the executions, the visual effects and the camera do an enviable job that translates the isometric view to which we are used to in the main saga, managing to get on the shoulders of the characters at the moment to let the title show all its spectacularity.

We have not had any slowdown problems on our PC, and we have been able to enjoy it in Ultra mode in each and every aspect of the graphic configuration. These were our specifications:

• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64 bits.
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 CPU 2.80 GHz (6 CPUs)
• RAM memory: 8 GB
• Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 1050 ti

The Gears we all expected: a spin-off that does not lose its essence

Although the use of side missions to artificially lengthen the duration of Gears Tactics may be a point against for some players, the rest of the elements of this spin-off work perfectly: frenetism, personalization of the troops, spectacular battles endings and an argument that adds new details to the 'lore' of the saga are the main hallmarks of an essential title in this 2020.