Keep on turnin'
My recorded memory of Gears of War 3 was surprisingly positive, especially about the quality of its writing. What happened in that game again? I think... a grizzled old military scientist, the presumed-dead father of the franchise's protagonist, committed chemical-weapon genocide against the under-dwelling "Locust" bug-mutant people...?
Well, whether or not that memory is reliable, I know it's possible for an action-oriented shoot-bad-dudes game to also have great writing and showcase compelling characters (like Nate and Sully). And I know that Gears of War 4 doesn't come anywhere close.
I'm not complaining about its non-subtle, obviously-reiterated premise of "human-on-human conflict interrupted by gross monsters" -- hell, a prologue chapter goes out of its way to remind you that this has happened before. The theme of failing to learn from past wars' mistakes is practically in the title.
But this iteration's cast of characters is summarily, thoroughly uninteresting. JD Fenix (hey, legacy) is the leader, 'cause he's mildly decisive; Del is the comic relief, with all of three or four jokes throughout the campaign; and Kait is present. Uncle Oscar has a little curmudgeonly charisma, so of course he dies in the opening act.
Dialog in Gears 4's cutscenes has all the dumb bravado of a space marine stereotype without any over-the-top self-parody. There are brief, as in fleeting, as in blink-and-you've-missed-it, hints of interesting stories behind these characters: JD rebelling against his father, JD and Del going through COG training together, Kait and her mother raising an "outsider" village. But the game doesn't tell any of these stories, or even leverage them for meaningful characterization.
Alright, alright, so the story is a flimsy excuse to stitch action setpieces together. How are those? They're ... fine?
For most of the campaign, Gears 4 succeeds at re-doing what previous Gears have already done. Not just in the abstract, like coordinating with your team behind chest-high cover, and paying close attention to your reload timing; but even in specific mechanics, like swarm nests which are the same thing as emergence holes, and wave-based defense sections demonstrating "Horde 3.0" which doesn't really stand out from version 2.
There are some new robotic enemy types who bring a few new weapons with them ... in the first third of the campaign, before they virtually disappear. Then the "swarm" enemies, who have the same archetypes and behaviors as the Locust, show up carrying Lancers, Hammerbursts, Longshots, Torque Bows, and Mulchers.
Even Gears 4's lowlights, super-annoying swarm grubs and occasional bullet-sponge mid-bosses, are overtly (1) familiar (2).
I know I'm sounding pretty down on Gears 4, and its seeming contentment to exist in its predecessors' shadow, but it's worth keeping in mind that a different development studio made this. From a technical and production perspective, it's pretty impressive that The Coalition was able to replicate Epic's trilogy so competently.
Still, as a player, I would've been "meh" on Gears 4 if not for its genuinely fresh and awesomely satisfying final act where
Gears 4 shows that the new crew can do what the old one did. Now I'm looking forward to seeing what else they can do.
Better than: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Not as good as: [my memory of] Gears of War 3, Titanfall 2, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
I just hope that Gears 5's campaign: reaches a little higher than "somehow, the Locust returned."
Progress: Finished the campaign on Normal.