I’m not saying it was a good idea but every society has tried to solve the problem of “society needs organization to function but power tends to corrupt people” and I like how ancient Rome’s answer was the position of the tribune, where you get to have unchecked power with no accountability for one (1) year but after that you’re just a guy and everyone you pissed off can beat you to death with hammers.
Larsa here bringing you a special feature on Gears of War: E-Day's beta. Gears is a really important series to me so why not talk about what's going on with the future of the series with a first look at the upcoming game.
The Xbox brand has felt like a brand in freefall for over a decade ever since the disastrous reveal of the Xbox One in 2013. Between regime changes, studio closures and micro-transaction nightmares stuffed into a string of mostly middling games, Microsoft's snakebitten Xbox brand has never quite regained the cultural foothold it had in the Xbox 360 golden age.
Once upon a time Gears of War was a major series for the Xbox brand during the aforementioned period and it is a series I have a lot of history with. Shooters as a genre were something that missed me in the early days of their relevancy in the home console market, but that all changed when I was introduced Gears of War on the Xbox 360 by my older brother and from the moment that I got my first chainsaw execution in multiplayer I was hooked. I have been with the series ever since 2007 and put countless hours into each and every entry since.
The upcoming Gears of War: E-Day is slated for a release in October of this year and it is the first new mainline installment in the Gears of War series since Gears 5 was released in 2019. It is hard to sidestep the fact that Gears 5 was a title mired in controversy, so much so you will likely get a different answer for why the game was a disappointment depending on who you ask.
I strongly disagree with the perception that the game was actually bad outside of its awful launch state and the absolutely predatory micro-transactions that plagued the multiplayer initially. After listening to the community's feedback developer The Coalition managed to fix many of the problems with Gears 5 and now it is quite an enjoyable experience to play. However it is undeniable they blundered the campaign's story at the finish line which makes a sequel set after the fifth game seem unlikely.
Due to these complications with the series The Coalition decided to look to the Gears universe's rich history as established by the incredible novels for inspiration resulting in the latest title being a prequel set well before the events of Gears of War 1.
Much to the excitement of millions the series has decided to return to its roots announcing Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago would be starring as the lead characters for the first time since the original Gears of War trilogy developed by (a pre-Fortnite) Epic Games over a decade ago. The fact that this game is a prequel may feel like the safe move, backpedaling to more comfortable times, but considering how fantastic the Gears of War novels were (written, unfortunately, by Karen Traviss) in expanding the series' lore in my opinion there is still a lot of meat left on the bone for subsequent games in the Gears universe.
Far from playing it safe Gears E-Day does a lot to immediately to break away from the established gameplay formula of previous Gears titles. Perhaps the first thing any veteran to the series will notice is that iconic "roadie run", the Gears version of sprinting hunched over complete with shaky cam, has been replaced by more a more standard upright sprinting you might see in another game.
The most radical change made to the movement systems is the introduction of the ability to slide along the ground with momentum akin to Apex Legends. This is a modern game design trend that Gears E-Day puts its own spin on in an attempt to update the game for more modern tastes. To its credit the slide feels right at home allowing for movement not previously possible in the series and even allows the players to squeeze under large enough gaps in the environment opening up new routing possibilities through maps.
The iconic bulky characters of Gears of War can also now jump which can be used to hop across gaps and even climb up ledges. Even the classic Gears of War cover system has been completely revamped in conjunction with these new features, allowing you to do things such as sliding into cover and then things are taken even further by allowing players to scale applicable obstacles such as standing atop rubble or large shelves.
These sorts of changes to movement have informed the map design which now emphasizes verticality in a way never previously possible in the series. The beta only features two playable maps but this is hopefully a look at the kind of quality that has gone into all of the full game's maps.
For as many bells and whistles were added to the gameplay experience so far your playable character still feels appropriately heavy and weighted without feeling unresponsive which is a good thing in a game like this where tactical decision making is so important. The gameplay changes add to the initiatives players can take in combat and further emphasizes how important positioning yourself is in Gears.
Unlike the two previous mainline games in the Gears of War series you can no longer cancel movement options in the middle of an animation which in effect has drastically toned down the amount of' "wall bouncing" tech which to me is a more than welcome change.
This renewed emphasis on commitment to actions and punishment for poor timing and positioning is a fantastic breath of fresh air and an important glue to the gameplay because all of these new aggressive moves have consequences when used thoughtlessly. These design choices keep the player always thinking of their next move which ultimately helps the game still feel like a Gears of War game even with all the changes to core mechanics.
Gears of War: E-Day's open beta features two main suites of online play: one for PvE and of course online Versus PvP. The biggest new addition to the game is the main PvE mode called "Horde Siege" and is what the developers call their evolution on the series iconic Horde Mode. Horde Siege features three squads of four players each sharing a very large map as they battle the Locust horde separately and at times intertwining together to complete various mission objectives with the end goal of extraction.
Not unlike a hero shooter there are four available classes to play and each of these classes has their own set of abilities and an ultimate skill. Each class has their own individual level progression with customizable abilities, loadouts and their own distinct styles to get things done. All of the classes are fun and capable at the moment though Medic and Marksman seem like the two standouts in my experience with how much value they can bring to a squad.
There are several different difficulty modes and flavors of play to choose from in Horde Siege and my recommendation for new players is to stick with rookie difficulty until they unlock more weapons and abilities for your class. Another factor is that classes gain more of their kits at intervals of levels so it will be more feasible to tackle higher difficulties when you are able to do more damage to the enemies besieging Kalona.
My first impression of Kalona (debuting in this game) is that it feels right at home in the Gears universe and is a familiar enough setpiece practically plucked from a previous Gears campaign. Any longtime player will feel right at home on the streets of Kalona as they dig in and defend against waves of monstrous enemies and complete side objectives in the ultimate pursuit of collecting a currency for meta progression of your character through weapon and ability augmentation.
The point where The Coalition's vision for Horde Siege becomes truly apparent is the mode's 'invasion' feature in which all of the squads will converge to tackle a massive boss. The two monsters at the center of these events are two of the series' most iconic enemies in the Corpser (who pops up from the ground to smash humans into paste) and the Armored Brumak (who is like a cousin of MetalGreymon with more firepower).
Some of the most fun I have had in a shooter in recent years is running around the map helping other squads with their objectives when suddenly a Brumak showed up to pin us down and required all hands on deck to manage, playing out much like a scene straight from the novels.
For all the positives it is true that Horde Siege does have some glaring shortcomings such as matchmaking not replacing empty squad slots after the occasional quitter leaves at the first sign of adversity (something that has plagued the series forever) and the mission involving collecting parts being seemingly impossible to actually finish if one player collects a part then refuses to bring it back to the objective.
Overall despite this Horde Siege is a very enjoyable multiplayer experience which is a good first impression considering it has a lot to live up to in comparison to the established 50-wave-based formula of Horde Mode is most known for from earlier titles. I'm not sure I will enjoy Horde Siege as much as classic Horde mode but that isn't a knock against Gears E-Day's new signature PvE mode. My early impression is that Horde Siege will make for a fantastic base to build off of assuming Microsoft keeps supporting the game post-launch as sufficiently as it deserves.
Kalona also plays host to Gears of War: E-Day's competitive PvP multiplayer which consists of two teams of four players battling it out over two modes. The first being Team Deathmatch (a mode in which each team races to deplete the others shared pool of lives) and the second being Conquest (a mode in which each team must control a zone on the map for long enough until they earn a point then rotate to capture the next objective location). These modes themselves are pretty easy to get the hang of while the gameplay itself is anything but.
As has been the case with this series since the very first game the versus modes will no doubt be the most controversial part of this game for playerbase new players and old players alike. The versus might feel overwhelming for new players as what is expected of you to do well in multiplayer feels a lot different than what is expected out of you to do well in the PvE or even other competitive shooters.
And there is no doubt in my mind that the removal of wall bounce cancels and dialing down momentum are going to upset a lot of players who enjoyed the ability to move around like an air hockey puck like what the Gears titles of the past decade created after the initial trilogy greatly encouraged.
Maybe the most controversial gameplay change of all is the return of center-screen shooting as bullets will most often spawn from the center of your screen (like the very first game in the series as opposed shooting from the weapon's barrel like in Gears 2-5). Both methods have positives and negatives though personally I would prefer the latter because it has been what I've grown used to over the years and rewards intimate familiarity with animations.
Both the additions and subtractions the developers made when crafting E-Day are felt more in Versus modes than anywhere else.
The learning curve can be a harsh as the range of skill expression is massive but once you understand the basics you can flourish much like a well designed fighting game. The Gears of War games have always struggled with identity and player expectations with the series of games known for being as a tactical cover shooter just as much as a high speed wall bouncing shotgun fest when you play online. The Coalition did a great job of balancing the dual identities of the series when designing E-Day which in my opinion has found a happy medium.
There aren't a lot of weapons available in the versus multiplayer yet but I'm impressed that it feels like for the first time since Gears of War 3 that they got starting weapon balance close to being right with the Gnasher shotgun being deadly up close, Lancer assault rifle being good for stopping opponent running carelessly at the mid range, and the Snub pistol being an often underestimated supportive gun that can be useful to last hit in scrambles. Unfortunately it can be harder than you might think to find a group of players who can work together as much as is necessary but when it does happen the competitive multiplayer really shines.
All in all I have had a blast with the Versus modes of E-Day so far as mentioned earlier the return of commitment to your choices in a competitive game has made every fight whether it ends in victory or defeat more enjoyable which makes it more worthwhile to attempt to get better at for me.
However I do have some hang ups with the current offering of multiplayer modes as they feel generic to me and I hope in the final product we get modes comparable with classic Gears modes like the round-based Execution, Escalation, and Guardian from older titles which offered their own unique brands of fun in my opinion.
The Gears of War: E-Day public multiplayer runs until the morning of August 17th. If you have ever been curious about Gears of War or wanting to return to the series this beta is a promising look into the future. I'm cautiously optimistic for the ability of The Coalition's to deliver another great Gears of War game and my fandom hopes that maybe the series can reclaim a foothold in the current world of gaming despite all the chaos surrounding Microsoft for over a decade.
The Coalition is certainly saying and doing a lot of the right things so far and we hope that all the dedication and commitment to getting E-Day right pays off for them on release. We will definitely be there to find out.
[Image ID: Tumblr tags reading: #adding to this #'we're so tired of reading smut' #but will engage with smut more than anything else #'i need more of this story' #but won't engage with or share it to let the writer know how much they enjoy it and why it should be continued #'why is there so much xyz but not enough abc?' #because xyz sparks a discussion with the writers whereas abc collects cobwebs and dust #'i wish more people wrote--' #but won't open a document or a book to write it themselves to save their lives #'why hasn't my favorite writer posted something new in months?' #does your favorite writer know that they're your favorite writer? /End ID]
your weird obsession with having a fully formed white picket fence found family who all speak like they've inhaled their therapist who you subconsciously want to be adopted into is ruining your ability to interact with the source material
Following the commission and success of Rhapsody in Blue, conductor and director Walter Damrosch commissioned a a full-scale piano concerto for the New York Symphony Orchestra, closer in form to a classical concerto and orchestrated by the composer (unlike Rhapsody in Blue).
According to a newspaper reporter in attendance of the first draft's first run-through, Gershwin's pipe "wandered in and out of his mouth all through the rehearsal. In particular, he used it to point accusingly at members of the orchestra who were not solving their jazz problems successfully."
The concerto was very well received by the general public; however, the reviews were mixed, with many critics unable to classify it as jazz or classical and a great variety of opinion among Gershwin's contemporaries. Sergei Prokofiev found it "amateurish", while Arnold Schoenberg praised it in a posthumous tribute in 1938.
I was intending to attend this Prom tonight; however, the temperature today was 36C in central London, and that, combined with my planned volunteering being cancelled and the cost of train tickets, meant that I opted out and stayed inside practising Jeux d'eau until I felt my fingers would fall off.
You know, I think everyone needs to take a break from making music for, like, a year. There's just so much to discover as is, and there's always more being made? Absurd, we need to pause for a little bit while everyone catches up.
everyone post your biggest hear me outs my friend just showed me two conventionally attractive white men in a row i need to teach him what a real hear me out is
Pokemon fans really need to learn how the character design process works. I just read someone saying they wish GameFreak put more thought into Mega Darkrai's design and I had to pause and stare at the wall for a few minutes
