• Articles
  • Comics
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Shows
    • 60 Minute Access
    • Unscripted Access
    • Playing God
    • Bronson Rants
    • TGA GameKraft GameKast
    • Super Mega Awesome Go Play Time
  • Videos
The Gamer Access
The Gamer Access
  • Articles
  • Comics
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Shows
    • 60 Minute Access
    • Unscripted Access
    • Playing God
    • Bronson Rants
    • TGA GameKraft GameKast
    • Super Mega Awesome Go Play Time
  • Videos
  • Register
  • Log in
Home  /  Reviews  /  Gears of War, Now Prettier – Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Review

Gears of War, Now Prettier – Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Review

August 24th, 2015 Anthony Ta 5 comments

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Review

When the Xbox 360 launched in 2005, I had no intention to purchase it until Halo 3 hit store shelves. Halo was, after all, the only reason why I had the original Xbox. That was until I was invited over to a friend’s house to play this new game called Gears of War. I was blown away by the insane multiplayer and the incredible weapons, most notably the chainsaw bayonetted Lancer. The gore, graphics, and cooperative campaign were a huge part of why I went home and began saving up for the 360. Now it’s nearly a decade later and the Xbox One’s remaster of Gears of War is here. Does Gears of War: Ultimate Edition recapture that same, bloody magic that made the original so special or is it just a subpar port with a new coat of paint?

I am pleased to announce that the Gears of War franchise has made a fairly good debut on the Xbox One with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. Ultimate Edition is a complete remaster of the original Gears of War and retells the story of Delta Squad, led by Marcus Fenix. Taking place fourteen years after Emergence Day, the appearance of the evil Locust, Delta Squad is tasked with acquiring and using a lightmass bomb to defeat the Locust for good. In the pursuit of this, you’ll fight off hordes of Locusts in a very well-paced campaign that is identical to that of the original. While I still enjoyed the pacing of the campaign, the dialogue and story did feel a little dated. Sometimes I felt that the dialogue between Marcus, Dom, Cole, and Baird was cheesy and tried a little too hard to be funny and/or cool. Either way, it doesn’t really do much for the game other than create a very small annoyance.

As is the case of every remaster, Ultimate Edition has updated visuals that impressed me in every way, shape, and form. I often caught myself gazing at the surrounding environment, sometimes even admiring the visuals in the midst of combat. While the in game visuals look fantastic, the cutscenes look even better with improved detail in the environment, animation, and characters. It is really cool seeing a young Delta Squad looking as realistic as ever. Accompanying the fantastic graphics is a huge improvement in the game’s sound. The sound of a lancer firing or a grenade exploding is much improved over the original.

Multiplayer is still as fun, frantic, and infuriating as it has always been. Two-piecing is still present as well as ridiculous chainsaw counters. The inclusion of the 60 frames per second is awesome in multiplayer, and it feels and looks great, but it’s still a huge bummer that the single player campaign is only at 30. Overall though, multiplayer is still a lot of fun and is right at home on the Xbox One.

As far as the general gameplay is concerned, I did experience a few frame rate issues. This is incredibly disappointing in the campaign because it runs at just 30 frames per second. It’s also disappointing because the game runs at 60 frames per second in multiplayer and runs fairly well. I also felt that there was very little occurring in the game when the frame rate dropped. However, none of these issues were game-breaking at all.

As a whole, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is a great game. Everything that made the original Gears of War great is still present and improved. The graphic quality and sound is much better and the multiplayer is still pretty good. The game does, however, suffer from a few frame rate drops and some dated dialogue. As stated before, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is great and is well worth the $40 price tag for any Xbox One owner.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Previous article The Raid Episode 29: The Line Between Lasagna and Pizza
Next article 60 Minute Access: Call of Duty: Black Ops III Beta Part 1
mm

Anthony Ta

5 Comments

  1. CrayT
    August 24, 2015 at 5:43 pm Reply

    John may have sold me on this one, really debating it

  2. John Macaluso
    August 24, 2015 at 7:41 pm Reply

    Keep in mind that you’ll also be getting the other four Gears of War titles through the Xbox One’s backwards compatability. I meant to add that but completely forgot!

  3. Bronson Fiori
    August 26, 2015 at 8:13 am Reply

    The Senpai Bros are currently going through the Halo games and Bloodborne. When we are done would you want us to go through the Gears games

  4. CrayT
    August 26, 2015 at 3:37 pm Reply

    Going through the Gears games would be cool! I would love to see you guys play through MGS as well

  5. Bronson Fiori
    August 26, 2015 at 4:05 pm Reply

    Sadly Ray and I don’t have a capture card and if we did we lack PS3/Wii (I’d do the Twin Snakes if we were to do the first game) component cables. So Ray and I at least are stuck on PC/ PS4/X1. So we will add Gears to the list. I know I’ve considered doing World of Warcraft and Warcraft 3.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

UNSCRIPTED ACCESS
Reggie Retires – Unscripted #275

Reggie Retires – Unscripted #275

Playing God
Playing God - Scorbunny and Male Trainer (Pokemon Sword and Shield)

Playing God - Scorbunny and Male Trainer (Pokemon Sword and Shield)

Mar 22nd, 2019 836
60 Minute Access
60 Minute Access - Apex Legends

60 Minute Access - Apex Legends

Feb 15th, 2019 477
TGA Gamekraft Gamekast
TGA GameKraft GameKast Episode 199: Sex, Violence, and Hipsters

TGA GameKraft GameKast Episode 199: Sex, Violence, and Hipsters

Nov 3rd, 2016 417
Bronson Rants
Bronson’s Soapbox Episode 73: Nintendo Switch Impressions and Future

Bronson’s Soapbox Episode 73: Nintendo Switch Impressions and Future

Apr 21st, 2017 1454
Super Mega Awesome Play Time
Super Mega Awesome Go Play Time - Doom Episode 32

Super Mega Awesome Go Play Time - Doom Episode 32

Nov 29th, 2018 0
Timeline
Monday

Unscripted Access

Tuesday

60 Minute Access

Wednesday

Playing God

Latest reviews
4
OPSEAT Chair Review

OPSEAT Chair Review

Dec 19th, 2017 2410 689
3
Madden NFL 18 Review

Madden NFL 18 Review

Aug 28th, 2017 1 372
4
Bronson's Microsoft E3 Impressions

Bronson's Microsoft E3 Impressions

Jun 13th, 2017 1 553
Follow on Social

Founded on November 2008 by Nick McCandless, The Gamer Access is a rapidly rising portal of original video game industry content. With shows such as 60 Minute Access, Unscripted Access, and Super Mega Awesome Go Play Time, TGA boasts a reliable portfolio of media that is delivered to audiences around the world on a daily basis.

The site has delivered written reviews, launched its own web comic, conducted multiple gaming live streams on Twitch every week, and presented unparalleled cinematic video reviews.

Copyright © 2018 McCandless Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Advertise
  • WELCOME BACK

    Already a member? Sign in with your username.

    Remember Me

    I FORGOT MY PASSWORD CREATE AN ACCOUNT

    CREATE AN ACCOUNT

    Password will be emailed to you

    SIGN IN I FORGOT MY PASSWORD

    FORGOT PASSWORD

    Enter your username or email to reset your password.

    SIGN IN