Thinking about getting an Xbox for the first time in my life. Never really played any of these games. Is it worth going through the entire series?
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Is it worth playing through all of the Gears of War games?
- Thread starter CharlesAznable
- Start date
I found it very difficult to go back to the first, even withe the anniversary update. I'd jump into the four, honestly.
I did the same thing towards the end of the last generation, and out of the X360 entries I'd actually suggest skipping the first one. It's not bad, but very forgettable even by yesteryear's standards, and it doesn't hold up as well as later entries. 2 and 3 are a whole lot more enjoyable, both to play and look at. Judgment is pretty fun and a mechanically solid entry, but the gaiden style story is harder to get invested in. Haven't tried the X1 entries, so can't speak for those.
They're all good and worth playing. If you must skip something, skip Judgment, but honestly it's not that bad and has some lore ties to Gears 5.
In my experience I got super burnt out on the series and I played them day and date with their releases. 1 was incredible at the time. 2 was awesome. 3 was good but things were wearing thin. After that I seriously lost interest in the series. I had to force myself to complete 5 recently just to see what all the fuss was about. Your mileage will vary but the Gears games didn't do enough with each iteration for me.
I think Judgment is an interesting take, but I eventually just dropped it because I found it less fun than the main games.
I'd say definitely play the 5 mainline games, though. 1-3 might feel dated, especially if you've tried 4 or 5, but they're still great fucking games.
I'd say definitely play the 5 mainline games, though. 1-3 might feel dated, especially if you've tried 4 or 5, but they're still great fucking games.
Play them all, and I recommend the original over the remake for Gears 1. It has a sort of horror atmosphere that gets a bit lost with upgraded graphics.
All of them are better in co-op if that's an option for you.
All of them are better in co-op if that's an option for you.
If you're getting a One X, I believe Judgement is the only one that isn't X enhanced (1 has that remastered port so I guess that kinda counts as enhanced). It's also the only one I never finished. Judging by the posts here, doesn't sound like I'm missing much
As a very casual gears player I can only recommend that if you're gonna play the older games, try to play them co-op. I don't think they are bad but I feel you get Gears fatigue once you play more than 2 gears in a row. You might be fine watching a story recap and jumping to gears 4/5? Really depends what style of game you like (I have friends who skip all the cutscenes and love gears. It hurts me inside).
They are fun games, as others have said , maybe see if you can do them co-op, they really shine when you play with someone else. Especially as there is a little bit of asymmetrical play.
personally I really enjoyed judgement, it makes the experience a little more arcadey and gamey than they other titles, but still retains the core of what makes them great games.
personally I really enjoyed judgement, it makes the experience a little more arcadey and gamey than they other titles, but still retains the core of what makes them great games.
Just did this in a similar situation. As someone with no nostalgia, I actually found 4 and 5 to be my favorites. But also I wouldn't really frame it as "is it worth it to play them all?" Try 1 and if you still want more, fire up 2... That's what I did and ended up playing them all over about 8 months with some breaks for other games.
Also, yeah, they are good games in a weirdly addictive way. If you can get over the silly macho vibe in some of the earlier games.
I wouldn't recommend playing all of these in one go, you're gonna get burned out since they're all pretty similar. The first two are my favorites but it goes down from there, with 4 as the low point. 5 is better but not by much, the open world segments drag it down. I wouldn't bother much with the optional content there.
I'd play the first two and then see if you want more. But definitely play co-op if you can.
I'd play the first two and then see if you want more. But definitely play co-op if you can.
Voted thinking you meant God of War, finding it odd so many people voted for playing the entire franchise.
Sure. They are included in XGP, so if you have the time, you can always do a run through all of them in Casual. That's what I'm planning to do once I have some free time.
1 to 3 are really good and worth playing if you enjoy your first one. The rest is only worth it if you REALLY love the series.
1, 2, 3 are S-tier, 5 is A-tier, 4 is B-tier. Play those for sure (but spread them out, they're all more or less quite similar to each other so fatigue might set in pretty easily).
Judgment is skippable, I'd say.
Judgment is skippable, I'd say.
I think the series is pretty consistent in quality overall (though probably peaking campaign-wise with 2 and 3), so I don't think there's much reason not to start with the first and then keep going though the numbered entries as long as you're enjoying yourself. I'd skip Judgment unless you just want all the Gears possible by that point.
Co-op is the way to go if you have a friend that is up for it.
It's a lower-budget side-story kind of thing that is more like a sequence of challenge Horde Mode maps strung together by cutscenes than like the campaigns of the mainline numbered games. (It lacks in set pieces, bosses, and general variety by comparison.) It's not terrible or anything, and is fairly fun for series fans (particularly in co-op) if you just really want more Gears, but if you're already looking at working your way through the entire series, it's very inessential.
Co-op is the way to go if you have a friend that is up for it.
It's a lower-budget side-story kind of thing that is more like a sequence of challenge Horde Mode maps strung together by cutscenes than like the campaigns of the mainline numbered games. (It lacks in set pieces, bosses, and general variety by comparison.) It's not terrible or anything, and is fairly fun for series fans (particularly in co-op) if you just really want more Gears, but if you're already looking at working your way through the entire series, it's very inessential.
1 was pretty novel at the time and has a good atmosphere
2 is a great game all around
By the time 3 came out, I was bored of the formula, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it today if I booted it up.
Never played the new ones or judgement
2 is a great game all around
By the time 3 came out, I was bored of the formula, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it today if I booted it up.
Never played the new ones or judgement
OP
OP
I played through the entire series for the first time a few months back, all one after the other, and had a good time. For Gears of War 1, I went with the Ultimate Edition; I didn't enjoy it as much as the sequels, but it was tense and had its moments of brilliance. Gears of War 2 was great, Gears of War 3 was great, and Judgement, while a bit on the short side, was also a good game (I really liked how the Declassified Missions were incorporated).
I was expecting to be completely burnt out once I made it to Gears 4 and 5, but I enjoyed those as well. I'll definitely give Tactics a shot when it comes out, and maybe check out the novels, too.
I was expecting to be completely burnt out once I made it to Gears 4 and 5, but I enjoyed those as well. I'll definitely give Tactics a shot when it comes out, and maybe check out the novels, too.
I played through the series when I got an Xbox briefly. They have fantastic combat and well-designed encounters, so if you're looking for a good third-person shooter, you'll have a great time with all of the Gears games (even Judgment, if you ask me).