Gears of War: E-Day - Campaign Review
It has been seven years since the release of a brand new Gears. Now that this time has passed and they finally added “of War” back to the branding, that sentiment of back to basics is strapped to a rocket with the newly released E-Day. While the original trilogy remain masterpieces, I thought Gears 4 and 5 just tried really hard to throw whatever they could at the wall hoping it stuck. While E-Day is the best game The Coalition has made thus far, as a longtime fan I was left wanting more, particularly where narrative is concerned.
This is solely focused on the campaign, as I do feel like this will be the main attraction for a lot of people. If you want the short version, Gears of War: E-Day is a cathartic third person shooter with excellent gunplay bringing Gears back to its horrific roots while attempting to tread some new ground along the way. However, for me personally it didn’t hit all the marks I expected it to. The narrative is the weakest part of E-Day, however since blowing grubs away never gets old it mends some, but certainly not all, of the Campaign’s flaws.
Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel story, taking place 14 years before the events of the very first game. This means E-Day can serve as a great starting point for anybody. You don’t have to know anything about Gears prior if this is your first time. I think going back in time, especially to the very beginning of everything, was a fantastic idea. It makes everything fresh for everyone whether you’ve been here before or not.
Initially, the game focuses on Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, two soldiers coming home six weeks after serving in what’s referred to as the Pendulum Wars. During their ceremony, Marcus and Dom exchange words grieving over the loss of Dom’s brother, Carlos. This leads to the two sitting in a bar later that evening where Dom talks about getting out for good. Unfortunately these plans are shot down as they’re brought up, because there’s a contingency warning over an emerging threat. Creatures are coming out of the ground, meaning a new fight followed them home.
I cannot overstate just how much I enjoyed Act 1. It sets up the stage wonderfully. The Locust are perfectly established to be a looming, dangerous threat at all times. They genuinely feel terrifying as you face them because they are all much bigger and certainly stronger than you. Even as you slowly arm up, the odds are always stacked against you and that feeling of hopelessness is ever present among the cathartic, violent action. The Locust never waver from being a foreboding force which makes them always satisfying to fight.
However, E-Day doesn’t just star Marcus and Dom, the characters most already know and love. Before Marcus was in Delta Squad, he was in Bravo Squad with two other squadmates: Lucas Reyes and Mags Carter.
Lucas Reyes is a first class cadet serving towards the end of the Pendulum Wars. He’s young, well-mannered, and full of useless fun facts ala Sheldon Cooper. Slight name bias here on my end, but I didn’t mind Lucas as an addition to the squad, even though realistically he is far from a highlight. His rather kind demeanor is a nice break from all the serious “army speak” for lack of a better phrase.
However, now we have Mags Carter who has brought the most contention to the discourse surrounding E-Day. Now I must preface this immediately. I have absolutely no problems whatsoever with any form of representation in any media. In fact, it’s dumb if you do. Everyone deserves a shot to shine, no matter what the person’s identity or personal orientation may be. That being said, I found Mags to be the weakest member of the main cast. Not for the reasons you may think or have seen online elsewhere.
The problem is there are multiple moments where the campaign focuses on Mags, giving her multiple story focused sections with her at the forefront pushing everyone else to the background, especially Marcus and Dom. It’s not the whole game, but enough to where it’s noticeable as Mags gets more screen time than Dom does. Mags is the one who discovers how to close up the holes on the ground with grenades. You mean to tell me we have to retroactively thank her for a vital gameplay mechanic we’ve had since 2006?
It would not be such a problem if Mags wasn’t so brash and abrasive, which in turn just makes her boring. She was a COG soldier who then became a refinery worker after being discharged. The very first line she speaks of the whole game is “Rudy, can you change this bullshit?” watching the Mayor lie on the news about Imulsion refineries playing a part in arming The Coalition. That sort of “fuck off” attitude is the one note personality she possesses throughout the entire game.
The reason I am spending this much time discussing her is simply because the game does. E-Day desperately wants you to cling onto Mags, even stopping the fighting during Act 2 so all of Bravo Squad can go to her apartment to get her inhaler for her lung disease. It’s there you see all of her medals and photos and her old armor tallied with Gears she lost.
This goes for any story of any medium. If I am forced to witness the accolades of a character by stopping the flow of everything else to specifically entice a sense of attachment, it means your character has no confidence to stand on their own. It’s downright insulting to the character, the actor, and the audience to try and fabricate these sorts of emotions when the material can’t speak for itself.
That’s not to say a character like Mags can't work, but the adoration for a character has to be earned, not compelled. That goes for whether the character is on screen for five minutes or five hours. Look no further than Benjamin Carmine. E-Day’s campaign does feature some new, likable characters such as the twins Mako and Manu. The problem is none of these characters are assigned to your squad.
Even if Mags was the next Arthur Morgan it wouldn’t help that E-Day suffers from the same issue as its 2006 contemporary. That being the main story itself just strings you along from objective to objective with little extrinsic motivation. You have a clear cut bad guy you’re tracking down, but he only shows up a handful of times. Instead of hearing “Delta, go here” you hear “Bravo, go here”, mindlessly taking your orders and shooting anything that moves.
At the end of the day that’s why we’re here, to kill, but by the end of the game when all is said and done I just wish the plot had more meat on its bones. The Locust always being scary as hell is fantastic, I just wish we could get some more tugs on the emotional strings as it did happen to me at a point and I just wanted more. Though, with 14 years of history to tread from here anything’s possible.
However, despite all that, the moment to moment action here remains as some good old fashioned violent chunky shooting that made Gears fun in the first place. No matter what anyone out there says, the bottom line is Gears of War: E-Day is just really damn fun to play. This combat never stops feeling visceral with the weight of everything adding to the phenomenal feedback.
This is easily the best gameplay Gears has had since Gears of War 3. Everything in the game feels heavy and I mean that in the best possible way. You’re no longer a superhero that can warp between walls as if your name was Barry Allen. There’s a level of commitment to all of your actions here.
Running, sliding, jumping, even shooting and reloading, every aspect of the gameplay has been fine tuned very reminiscent of the first Gears. All the new movement options feel natural and the new controls do feel natural after some time, especially clicking the left stick to sprint. But sliding, jumping, every animation can be beautifully blended (not spammed mind you) together and it makes every Gnasher push more satisfying than ever.
Every firearm sounds punchy as hell, the hit feedback from the hitmarkers, the gore, and the sound feel amazing. Especially on headshots. Watching body parts fly or listening to a brain pop just never gets old. Every weapon has its purpose and anyone can use anything. Plus, for the first time ever your guns and even your character’s abilities can be customized.
I know that may sound gross to purists, but the new upgrading system blends in super well for E-Day. You get to witness firsthand how the Lancer MK1’s bayonet isn’t reliable against armored enemies, which explains the improvised and soon to be standard chainsaw. The way I see it, these Gears are adapting to a new enemy, so tweaking weapons and armor stats fits in line with the narrative. The best part is how these changes actually make a difference.
For example, one of the armor mods rewards critical kills with an immediate perfect reload. Since my favorite weapon to use is the Longshot, rapidly popping head after head brought a level of catharsis I can’t begin to describe. However, there are quite a few you can mess around with to match your specific gameplay style. One mod lets you heal on close range kills incentivizing aggression, whereas another heals from cover kills incentivizing suppressing fire.
Luckily as I mentioned, the Locust are absolutely terrifying in E-Day and that’s a really good thing. Given their ruthless nature, it’s the perfect incentive to kill every single one you see. Not only do you have your standard Drones and their variations, E-Day has plenty of special enemy types to keep you on your toes. I’d argue that special enemies have a tad too much health, but that’s arguably because I played solo.
This campaign was clearly designed with 4-player co-op in mind, which is fine. However, when playing solo it has to be said that the friendly AI, whether they’re your squadmates or the other Gears NPCs, is simply unreliable for just hitting anything. Sometimes they do beeline it straight to you if you need a revive. However, if any of them get themselves killed, not downed, you’ll have to restart from the last checkpoint. This made the final fight a tad more annoying than it should’ve been.
All nuances aside, there is no denying how much The Coalition has made a game that truly echoes the style of the original Gears of War. If all you’re looking for is a fun action game to shoot, shoot some more, and keep shooting, E-Day absolutely suffices. Hell, I’m addicted to Horde Siege because it’s just more of the same gameplay from the Campaign. I cannot overstate just how good it feels to play.
While in the plot department I wish there was more to digest and latch onto, I can’t help but appreciate what Gears of War: E-Day accomplishes. The gameplay here is top notch stuff, it’s why I can’t put it down after finishing it, but the story needs more focus going forward. There are some really great moments here, and I know it’s possible to have a story to make us cry the way Gears of War 2 did.
All complaining aside, I’m just so damn happy Gears of War is back.
Gears of War: E-Day (Campaign)
Gears of War: E-Day is a gratifying return to form. Though suffering from a lack of narrative focus and lackluster castmates, it's too damn fun to play.
