If you already have them, you'll get a reward

You'd be excused for not realizing that Gears 5 has a map builder, and just as some of us are finding out about its existence, the feature is going away. On Twitter today, the Gears of War developers announced plans to remove the map builder �but with a fun twist. The two related Gears 5 map ach??ievements will be unlock??ed automatically for all players.

These achievements are related to the Escape mode, specifically:

• I Made It All by Myself (10) â€?Create and publish an Escape Hive.
• Homegrown Give (10) â€?Complete a Featured community build Escape Hive.

According to The Coalition, if you already got the Escape Hive achievements before the map builder's departure, you'l??l g?et an "exclusive banner" and 10,000 coins, respectively.

//twitter.com/GearsofWar/status/?15189??99780390748160

While the tweet didn't specify an exact timeline, I just hopped into Gears 5 through Xbox cloud streaming?? and, after hitting the main menu, both achievements popped for me.

More games should handle achievements this way

I've absolutely engaged w??ith map makers and other supplemental content in games purely to round out my achievement/trophy lists. And with games often shedding content in thei??r old age, the completionist community has made a point to always call out time-limited or otherwise questionable unlock criteria so that players are informed with plenty of advance notice. I get why "retired" achievements and trophies aren't always handed out, but it should be the standard practice; it should be future-proofed, if possible.

So why is Gears 5 ditching the map builder, anyway? Presumably, too few players engaged with community-created Hive maps for it to be worth dealing with from either an ongoing technical, cost, or customer support standpoint. These modes tend to be pretty finite. I'm not trying to downplay this for folks who liked the map bui??lder, but the writing is often on the wall. Maybe next time the mode will be more exhaustive and have more visibility.

In today's map builder removal announcement, The Coalition noted that it's focused on "future projects." The next Gears and a new IP? I hope those rumors pan out.

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Hivebustin' makes me feel good

Gears 5 has gotten a steady cadence of multiplayer support ever since it launched in fall 2019. Next week, it gets something no Gears game?? has gotten since 2011: Singleplayer story DLC.

We learned in October that The Coalition is planning a story expansion for Gears 5. It's called Hivebusters and it tells the backstory of Team Scorpio (later renamed Team Xbox One X), who makes up the trio in Gears 5's Escape mode. This DLC chronicles thei?r first mission as a squad.

Today, Xbox released this launch trailer for Hivebusters and confirmed that the add-on comes out on December 15. It carries a $20 price tag, but it's free for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Note the "Ultimate." If you only subscribe to the base level Game Pass, you'll have to buy Hivebusters.

The trailer's worth a watch just to see old man Hoffman if nothing else. There's a curious bit at the end where they willingly get gobbled up by some Pouncers. As for gameplay specifics, Xbox confirms t??he expansion will run about three hours and supports three-player co-op (split-screen and online). 

Gears 5: Hivebusters Expansion Arrives December 15 with Xbo??x Game Pass Ultimate [Xbox Wire]

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Welcome back to Gridlock

Gears 5? got a lot more technically-impressive with the launch of Xbox Series X. Versus mode runs at 120fps now, input latency has been reduced upward of 57 percent. The Coalition has managed to squeeze a lot more performance out of this old dog.

The Coalition has also managed to squeeze a lot more content into it. Today's Operation 5 update is the largest in Gears 5 history, and it brings 5 new maps into the fold. Two of them, Nexus and Regency, are brand new. Three of them are retreads from Gears and Gears 2 as Gridlock, Clocktower, and River join the rotation. I've sunk a lot of hours into Gridlock over the years.

There are also seven new characters debuting on the multiplayer roster. Dizzy and his iconic cowboy hat, Tai Kaliso, Anya Stroud, Skorge, Lambent Drone, Lambent Grenadier, and Lambent Theron Guard. Anyone who played classic Gears of War&nb?sp;during the original trilogy will recognize eve??ryone here.

Accompanying the content additions is a handful of quali?ty of life improvements. In Horde and Escape mode, characters have been separated from class so you can mix and match to your delight. Other features are: "A suite of Ranked?? PvP updates, PvE balance updates for decoupled classes, new heroic cosmetic rarity, all-new daily and weekly PvE challenges and rewards, 13 new achievements."

There's one more exciting inclusion. The WWE's New Day will be introduced as playable characters in Versus mode. Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods will be bouncing off walls with their Gnashers blasting away. Following Batista's lead, Gears 5 is now a place where wrestlers go to become immortalized in non-wrestling games. At least they already have the body types as the meaty, ?muscular COGs.

Gears 5: Multiplayer Relaunches Today with ?Operation 5: Hollow Storm, Twice ??the Content Since Launch [Xbox Wire]

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One more COG in the machine

Gears 5 isn't dead. Well, technically, no one thought it was. Developer The Coalition has been steadily supporting the multiplayer side, as Gears continues to make a push to be an esport game. But, in a surprising move, Gears 5 is getting some post-launch content that no game in the series has gotten since Gears of War 3: Story DLC.

In an interview with IGN, The Coalition confirms that Gears 5 is getting an add-on in December that's called Hivebusters?. It features Keegan, Lahni, and Mac, which is the trio of p?rotagonists in the Escape mode. It's not a giant piece of content, as it's estimated to take three or four hours to play through. It's also coming to PC, Xbox Series S/X, and Xbox One, along with optimizations for new consoles. No other details were given, including a story overview or whether this is a free or paid-for add-on.

That's far from all that Gears 5 has in store for the Xbox Series X launch. It's getting a big update that adds New Game+, 120fps support in Versus mode on both Series S and X, and (most importantly) the ability to replace Marcus with WWE star Batista in the campaign. Nothing like throwing the emotion and lore of four other Gears games -- and especially a super big plot beat toward the end of this gam??e -- out the window so that your long-belov?ed character can be swapped out with a Monster Energy can.

Here's an unexpected and most welcomed improvement though: The Coalition has managed to significantly reduce input lag on nex?t-gen consoles. Both Xbox Series S and X see a reductio?n in latency by 36% in the campaign and 57% in Versus. I wasn't even really aware that was on the table in terms of next-gen perks. More responsive controls are obviously nothing but a good thing.

All of this goes live alongside the Xbox Series X launch on November 10. We're likely to learn more about the ??story add-on a little bit after that.

Gears 5 Story DLC Is Coming Later This Year [IGN]

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Strategic crossover

Gears fans should play Gears Tactics. It's not an essential part of the lore and it's not the classic Gears formula, but there's a lot of familiarity in Gears that translates well to turn-based strategy. I know I'm going to be lobb?ying fo??r its inclusion in some Game of the Year discussions.

As if being a totally quality game weren't reason enough, here's another carrot on a stick: Gears Tactics protagonist Gabe Diaz will be a playable character in Gears 5 multiplayer. All you have to do is play Gears Tactics on PC or Xbox to unlock him. Gabe joins the roster on November 17, one week after Gears Tactics emerges on Xbox.

Playing a separate game isn't as arduous in this case because of Xbox Game Pass. Both Gears 5 and Gears Tactics are included with Xbox Game Pass, so there's no nee??d to own both of them in order to unlo??ck Gabe. One subscription will have you covered.

Gabe brings another branch of the Diaz family tree to Gears 5. He's Kait's father, and nothing says Daddy Daughter Day like curbstomping some Locust. Don't let him die in multiplayer, though. Canonically, t?he Rustlung has to do him in.

Gabe Diaz Coming to Gears 5 [Gears Tactics]

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Rev up your Lancers

If, like myself, you've yet to try out Xbox Game Studios shooter sequel Gears 5, then this weekend may prove the perfect opportunity, a??s the full game is going free-to-play on PC from now until April 12. Simply download Gears 5 from either Steam or the Windows Store, and you've got the whole weekend to take it to The Swarm.

The free-to-play period should offer you enough time to grind out the entire campaign, which sees protagonist Kait Diaz investigate the origins of the Locust, its former leader Queen Myrrah, and Diaz' own connection to both. If you have any time left, then Gears' legendary multiplayer modes are at your service, complete with the recently added new COG soldier, Batista.

Gears 5 is available now on PC and Xbox One. A new strategy title, Gears Tactics, l??aunches on PC April 28, with an Xbox One port to follow later in ??2020.

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Dave drops Drones

Would you like to pick up a naked monster and slam it into chunks? That's it. That's the lede, the highlight, and the premise of the whole damn article. ??Grapple a nude beast and? powerbomb it so forcefully that all its limbs going flying in separate directions.

WWE star Batista is already part of the Gears 5 COGs, but now his trademark finisher has been turned into a multiplayer execution. The Batista Bomb stands tall among Gears of War's other classic executions like the Curb Stomp and the Longshot Sledgehammer. It is equal parts savage and ridiculous. Pause the trailer at 14 seconds and that Locust's expression screams "[Recor??d scratch] Yep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation."

Unlocking the Batista Bomb is easy enough. Just play Gears 5 between now and ??April 18. Then, and only then, you will be fully equipped to pick up a n??aked monster and slam it into chunks.

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It's nearly there already

Microsoft dropped a ton of new information about the Xbox Series X this morning, a deepdive into the technical potential that some games will be able to achieve. As tends to happen with new hardware, everyone's daydreaming about how it'll be implemented in future games. Ho??wever, Microsoft framed some of it against a recent already-released game that gives us a good idea of what to expect.

Gears 5 was specifically mentioned as a title that'll be better on Xbox Series X. Developer The Coalition put a couple weeks' work into optimizing Gears 5 and got the game running at 100 frames per second at 4K resolution. The team wants to hit 120fps for multiplayer mod??es, a target that (to the layman) sounds achievable considering what the developer managed to accomplish in only a couple weeks.

Microsoft also confirmed that the Xbox Series X version of Gears 5 will have the following: Extremely fast load times, an opening cutscene that runs?? at 60fps at 4K (the Xbox One X version was 30fps), volumetric fog, a 50 percent higher particle count than the PC version on ultra settings, contact shadows, and self-shadow lighting on vegetation.

All of this comes free to Gears 5 owners (and anyone playing on Game Pass) via the Smart Delivery feature across Xbox? One and Xbox Series X. It's not clear how many third-party publishers will make use of Smart Delivery -- the ones who don't offer free upgrades will look mighty greedy, but that's never stopped anyone before -- but we have assurance that it'll be implemented for Xbox's first-party games.

Xb?ox Series X: A Closer Look at the Technology Powering the?? Next Generation [Xbox Wire]

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But not enough to topple the mighty FIFA

It was a good week for Nintendo this week, as a string of new Switch releases made their presence known in the UK Charts, though all of these titles ultimately failed to dislodge Electronic Arts FIFA 20 f??rom the top slot, which it has now held for four weeks.

CD Projekt Red's Switch port of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt debuted at number four, followed up by the bendy wheel shenanigans of Ring Fit Adventure. Minecraft for Switch also returned to the Top Ten at number 6, while Blizzard's Overwatch fell just outside at number 11. Oddly enough, the highest selling Switch title this week was none of these releases, but 2017's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which revved back into the number two slot. The debuting Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville launched at number seven.

While FIFA 20 maintains its place upon the throne, the likelihood is that this will all come to and end next week. October 25 sees the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, practically guaranteed to debut at number one, and sit there for quite some time afterwa??rds, su?ch is the way of the winter charts.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: October 19, 2019
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. FIFA 20 - Electronic Arts
2. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Nintendo
3. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint - Ubisoft
4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Complete Edition - CD Projekt RED
5. Ring Fit Adventure - Nintendo
6. Minecraft: Switch Edition - Mojang
7. Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville - Electronic Arts
8. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Nintendo
9. Grand Theft Auto V - Take 2
10. Borderlands 3 - 2K Games

U.K. video game charts [GamesIndustry.biz]

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But sorry, no Carmine...

Operation 1, the first major DLC update for Xbox shooter Gears 5, goes live today. This drop brings with it six new characters, four from the Gears of War universe and two from the upcoming blockbuster movie Terminator: Dark Fate.

DeeBee, Warden, COG Gear, an?d original antagonist General RAAM will all be made available to the multiplayer roster. Whilst these additions are mere skins when used in standard multiplayer, every one of the new characters has their own bespoke abilities when selected for use in other modes, such as extra ammo for active r?eloads, or X-ray vision on nearby cover. In Arcade and Horde mode, COG Gear also has the ability to revive downed comrades when merely in their vincinity, helping them to fight on another day.

Meanwhile, the Terminator: Dark Fate character pack includes one of the upcoming movie's lead characters, Grace - complete with the voice an?d likeness of actor MacKenzie Davis - as well as the Rev-9 Model Terminator. These two characters join the previously released characters T-800 and Sarah Connor.

Both character packs a??re live in-gam?e today. Each individual character costs "500 iron" each (roughly five bucks), or can be earned in-game via the "Totem" grinding system.

Gears 5 is available now on Xbox One and PC.

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That was liquid football

Regardless of last week's controversies and mixed reviews, Electronic Arts' football sim FIFA 20 continues to rock the top of the UK charts, making it three weeks in a row for the latest entr??y in EA's legendary franchise.

FIFA 20 managed to fend off the release of Codemasters racing sim, GRID, as well as continued strong showings from shooters, including Ubisoft's Not Good Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Microsoft's Very Good Gears 5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, much like Grand Theft Auto V, continues to shift phy?sical co??pies years after release, pushing its way back into the Top Three.

Elsewhere in the charts, smaller titles such as Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair and Concrete Genie are floating in the mid-30s, further solidifying the idea that physical charts are essentially the domain of the heavily-marketed mainstream releases. With that in mind, as we head deeper into the year's end, shakeups can be expected from the launch of Shenmue III, MediEvil, Death Stranding and, of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: October 12, 2019
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. FIFA 20 - Electronic Arts
2. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint - Ubisoft
3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Nintendo
4. Gears 5 - Microsoft
5. GRID - Codemasters
6. Minecraft: Xbox Edition - Microsoft
7. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Nintendo
8. Borderlands 3 - 2K Games
9. Grand Theft Auto V - Take 2
10. Sea of Thieves - Microsoft

U.K. video game charts [UKie]

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Taking your eye off the ball

The latest entry in Electronic Arts' legendary football series, FIFA 20, has successfully retained the number one spot of the UK Charts, holding fast against the debut of Ubisoft shooter Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, which came in strong at number two.

But this was the least important news around the EA offices this weekend, as it was also revealed (via Dextero) tha??t the publisher accidentally leaked the private details of a glut of players who signed up for the FIFA Global Series. Reports came in that fans attempting to register for the league were being presented with the personal details of previous signees on-scree??n - including some of the pro-scene's star players - in just the latest in a long line of security breaches within the gaming industry.

Once the glitch was realised, EA quickly removed the registration page, but estimate around 1,600 players were affected. This is obviously another incident that sees a major industry player fail to lock down security around their customers' private info, and while each and every one of these incidents should be expected to receive backlash warranting investigation, it's worryingly become so commonplace that a quick apology is often all t?hat is required before t?he gears begin turning once again.

In regards to the rest of the charts, the remastered edition of Ghostbusters: The Video Game successfully pulled in enough sales to make it into the Top Ten, debuting at number six, while heavy hitters Borderlands 3 and Gears 5 retained their number three and four slots respectively. Bandai Namco's gothic adventure Code Vein has already peaked in physical sales, dropping from number 13 to number 36 in its second week of release. And the Xbox One trinity of Sea of Thieves, Minecraft and Forza Horizon 3 also continues to enjoy success in the back half of?? the Top Ten.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: October 5, 2019
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. FIFA 20 - Electronic Arts
2. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint - Ubisoft
3. Borderlands 3 - 2K Games
4. Gears 5 - Microsoft
5. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Nintendo
6. Ghostbusters The Video Game: Remastered - Mad Dog
7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Nintendo
8. Sea of Thieves - Microsoft
9. Minecraft: Xbox Edition - Microsoft
10. Forza Horizon 3 - Microsoft

U.K. video game charts [UKie]

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Last year's entry in football series finally leaves Top 40

Electronic Arts' annual football franchise FIFA has returned to the top of the UK Charts, still pulling in big sales some 25 years since the series' 1993 debut. FIFA 20 succeeded in knocking cute Switch remake The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening off of the top ?spot to become king of the premier league.

Similar success was not found by some of this week's other new releases, however. Bandai Namco's gothic adventure Code Vein failed to break the Top Ten, landing at number 13, while Focus Home's violent mech-based title The Surge 2 barely made an impact, debuting at number 3?5. As always, bear in mind these charts only reflect the physical sales of? all titles.

The was a surge in Xbox games. The Xbox One edition of Minecraft leapt from number 22 to number nine, followed up by racer Forza Horizon 3, which jumped from number 20 to number 10. Pirate adventure Sea of Thieves also made a huge comeback, ??climbing from number 21 all the way to number seve?n.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: September 28, 2019
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. FIFA 20 - Electronic Arts
2. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Nintendo
3. Borderlands 3 - 2K Games
4. Gears 5 - Microsoft
5. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - Activision
6. Tom Clancy's The Division 2 - Ubisoft
7. Sea of Thieves - Microsoft
8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Nintendo
9. Minecraft: Xbox Edition - Microsoft
10. Forza Horizon 3 - Microsoft

U.K. video game charts [Gamesindustry.biz]

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Classic adventure finds new success decades later

It may be over 25 years since it first blessed us with its amazing adventure, but it seems that the video gaming community is still ready and willing to accept The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening into its heart. The Switch remake of the 1993 Game Boy classic has debuted sat number one of the UK ?Charts.

Link's desert island epic topples Gearbox shooter Borderlands 3, which drops into second place. Amazingly, Nintendo's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still going full throttle, rounding out the Top Three and even overtaking Microsoft's Gears 5. In fact the Top Ten is mostly an alternating mix of ultra-cute characters and???? extreme violence. Such is life.

Elsewhere in the charts, Maximum Games' imaginatively-titled Truck Driver just missed out on a Top Ten spot, debuting at number 11, while Bandai Namco's Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Switch port appears at numb??er 23, with the PS4 remaster of the gorgeous anime RPG landing at number 26.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: September 21, 2019
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Nintendo
2. Borderlands 3 - 2K Games
3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Nintendo
4. Gears 5 - Microsoft
5. EFootball PES 2020 - Konami
6. Tom Clancy's The Division 2 - Ubisoft
7. Grand Theft Auto V - Take 2
8. Spyro the Dragon Reignited Trilogy - Activision
9. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - Activision
10. NBA 2K20 - 2K Sports

U.K. video game charts [UKie]

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Excited to see him in Dune

The time has come to play as Dave Bautista in Gears 5.

Starting yesterday evening, you can log into Gears 5 and grab the "Batista" skin for free: so long as you do it until October 28. Yep, it's that simple, you just need to actually sign in with the game running, which is a clever way to avoid the whole "download the DLC for free during the limited promo period now, then actually buy it later when it's on sale" scheme. Developer Coalition boasts that he has "over 700 lines" recorded for Gears 5, with an emphasis on multiplayer.

Rod Fergusson, big boss of Coalition, had this to say on the collab: "Adding Batista to Gears 5, we started with the fantasy of ‘Batista as Marcus,’ putting Batista into Marcus’ armor, and starting with Marcus’ script. Then we added elements of “The Animal”?? Batista into his voice performance and onto his look b??y adding his signature Hollywood shades to his character. Batista was great in the booth and I can’t wait for Gears and Batista fans alike to stomp some Swarm as The Animal."

Don't be confused: "Batista" was his stage name in the WWE (right after it changed its name from WWF), and this is a sort of play up on his "The Animal" character. It's even?? bei??ng cross promoted as a "reward" after the completion of the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view. Synergy!

What's Up [Gears]

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Another Xbox Game Pass success story

Gears 5 is a big game in a few different ways. It's big in that it's robust, packed with more content and modes than ever before. It's big in that it's important, the latest entry in one of Xbox's flagship series. And, it's big in that it's popular, expected dividends after the original Gears trilogy helped shap??e the direction of m??odern triple-A shooters.

Today, Microsoft announced that Gears 5 had the best launch of any of Xbox's first-party games during the Xbox One generation. The first week attracted more than three million players. That's more than double Gears of War 4's debut. You have to go back to Halo 4 in 2012 to find an Xbox Game Studios title that exceeded three million players during its first week. Also, Gears 5's PC player count is nearly triple that of Gears of War 4's.

Gaudy, yes -- but all of this is expected rather than extraordinary. Gears 5 is the crown jewel of Xbox Game Pass in 2019, the absolute most popular and anticipated game that people can play at launch because of a $10 subscription. Gears of War 4 and Halo 4 didn't have that luxury. They relied on $60 one-time purchases, whereas the lion's share of Gears 5's player base presumably comes from Xbox Game Pass. (And, Gears 5 coming to Steam plays some sort of ??role in this success story.) 

Microsoft is likely to continue advertising its accomplishments through raw player counts without ever divulging actual sales or number of Xbox Game Pass downloads. These figures will always look impressive when compared to pre-Xbox Game Pass numbers. Records will continue to be broken -- although, Gears 5 might not be surpassed until Halo Infinite arrives. This is the ecosystem of Xbox games now. It all rings sort of hollow, but that's fine. These triumphs speak less to the quality of any individual game, and more to the tremendous value o??f Xbox Game Pass as this subscription service becomes increasingly essential for Xbox owners.

Gears 5 breaks records as biggest launch for ??any Xbox Game Studios game this generation [Xbox Wire]

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Still plenty of war

It was the best of Gears, it was the worst of Gears. It was an amplification of everything every Gears before did well, and it was a maturation of everything those same games struggled with. It was an identity crisis, a dysmorphi??c preoccupation with fixing shortcomings that weren't actual shortcomings. It was bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter.

Gears 5 is the best Gears game to date, but just barely. In its second go-round, developer The Coalition shows a real proclivity for wringing every drop of tension out of a firefight and for constantly crafting larger-than-life sequences. However, as the new-guard stewards of Gears, the studio puts its mark on the series with game design that's already dated. It's not nearly enough to sink the whole effort, but it's enough to anchor Gears 5 down.

Gears 5 (PC, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Released: September 10, 2019
MSRP: $59.99; included as part of Xbox Game Pass

Not surprisingly, Gears 5 picks up right where Gears of War 4 left off. There are macro- and mic??ro-level stories being told. The large-scale conflict revolves around bringing the Hammer of Dawn network back online in order to protect the COG capital city from the Swarm; the more-personal narrative deals with protagonist Kait's lineage and how she comes to t?erms with it. The former propels most of the gameplay, but the latter is undeniably more interesting.

Although Gears 5 employs the ghosts of its past (again) to make a splash, it's Kait's conflicts that lend the most emotional heft. Her moments of revelation, despair, determination, pain -- it's mostly all effective and nuanced, whereas past Gears titles' handling of similar moments came off as hamfisted. Kait's relationship with Del, who accompanies her for the entirety of the campaign, is natural and empathetic. He's a great sidekick, and their camaraderie adds weight to an already-heavy choice that Gears 5 asks players to make.

Gears 5 navigates its narrative more elegantly than any previous game, and it imparts a very real sense that this is Gears growing up. The action is similarly elevated in a way that feels... bigger? Setpiece sequences pack explosive punches the way eve?ryone has come to expect. Combat, however, ratchets up the pressure, always stretching shootouts slightly past the point of comfort. It's intense. The Coalition has done a magnificent job designing weaponry, enemy patterns, and arenas that prevent the player from sticking to the same piece of cover until everything's dead. A certain degree of mobility is necessary, and that makes it all the more dangerous.

But, the best complement to all the shooting is all the not-shooting. Gears 5 is confident enough to rely on long periods of quiet, asking its characters to take in the environment and the exposition. It's some of the most fascinating moments Gears 5 has to offer -- especially a mid-game robot-guided tour through a? carnival of horrors -- because it affords the opportunity to think and absorb. Then, when the bullets start flying again, it sounds that much louder because it's contrasted against silence.

All of that is stitched together by Gears 5's most flagrant miss. The Coalition has introduced a pseudo-open-world component, as the middle acts are strung along by vehicle traversal that's lifeless and unexciting. Piloting a skiff through huge and barren areas, it's an uninspired way to make Gears f??eel less linear. It also brings the pacing to a screeching halt between chapters. As it's implemented, this approach to an open world is a relic in 2019 -- something that would've seemed novel many years ago but doesn't hold up to present game design standards. It's not all bad, though; at least it facilitates an impressive setpiece: a race against a train through a lightning storm.

Likely the biggest justification for the open-world system is tha??t it's in service of adding side missions. These are found in locations that a??re off the critical path, always signposted by a flag. Side missions are rudimentary and not very well-varied. They're nothing more than quick combat sections, usually only a single wave of enemies. But, their rewards make life significantly easier.

Gears 5's other (and better) major addition concerns Jack, the do-it-all robot that supports Kait for the entirety of t?he campaign. The world is littered with resources to upgrade Jack's capabilities, and the side missions unlock its ultimate abilities. In the early game, Jack seems superfluous -- a decent companion but not a necessity. Later, Jack becomes more essential. Abilities like flash freezing enemies and deploying a giant barrier shield open up new combat opportunities rather than just cowering in cover until it's t?ime to strike.

The Gears 5 campaign is a tale of competing interests. When it's comfortable enough to stick to Gears' roots, it does those things better than any game before it. The story and the action are unmatched (and I don't think this is just recency bias kicking in), proving that The Coalition absolutely knows how to create a Gears game that can transcend anything in the original trilogy. But, when Gears 5 tries to ?forge its own identity, it's a split decision. The Jack stuff can stay but the open world has to go.

However, Gears 5 is more than just a campaign. Three dedicated multiplayer modes capture the essence of Gears in different ways. The purest is probably Horde, the beloved cooperative wave-based onslaught that boils Gears down to its base experience. This iteration expands on classes, outfitting each player with a role to play within the team. Tanks draw fire, engineers build things, etc. A neat addition is Jack as a support class, a robot buzzing around and helping out where needed rather than the traditional Gears go??al of just putting bullets in everything. It's a Horde mode that emphasizes and requires strategy more than ever before.

Versus is still the competitive draw, pitting? players against each other in five-on-five modes that have been a staple of the series. Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Guardian, and more -- it's all back, mostly untouched from previous iterations. The notable addition is Arcade mode, which leans more toward casual rather than super serious. It's a team race to 50 kills, and each kill you personally rack up earns you a skull. These can be used to purchase new weapons: a few skulls for some sort of minor improvement, or a lot of skulls for the heavy artillery. Arcade is fine and it's fun in short spurts, but it doesn't have the appeal to lure the competitive players away from their wall-bouncing Gnasher battles.

Last (and least), there's the brand new Escape mode. Escape drops three players in the center of a Locust hive, planting a bomb with the intention of blowing the whole thing up. The idea is to, you know, escape. A steady-moving wall of poisonous gas to their back forces players to keep running through rooms. If feels very antithetical to the Gears formula to dash past enemies without ensuring everything's dead. Its urgency can be exhilarating, though. Escape subverts what Gears should be, and that's interesting. But, of all the modes, it's the most fleeting??. It doesn't have the depth th?at established modes have. That means most players will just find it a pleasant distraction, not their go-to game.

The Coalition has achieved a lot with Gears 5. The writing and action often rivals the best moments in the series, even surpassing its predecessors at times. The overall package is the most robust Gears has ever seen. But, the big structural alteration feels like an unequivocal misstep. Gears 5 is a rousi??ng success, b?ut it could've done without the needless change.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Gears 5 appeared first on Destructoid.

This past weekend was rough

Online games are known for bumpy launches, and Gears 5 was no exception.

Although it may seem like Gears 5 officially launched last week, it kind of didn't. Only the Ultimate Edition went live on September 6, with the full game arriving today. The thing is folks were expecting stability during that soft launch, and were met with connection issues that impacted both multiplayer and the campaign. As an apology, developer Coalition is giving folks five days of XP boosts an?d 600 scrap (which is used to craft items). It's not much, but will be coming "in the next 48 hours" as of last night, so it might?? already be in your account.

Having played both horde and the campaign this past weekend, I can attest to the connection issues. Not only did my auto-saves get bugged in the campaign (yikes), but I had a lengthy horde mode session cut short. Folks recommend playing Gears 5 offline if you're tackling the campaign?? (go to your Xbox One settings and go offline there) until everything ??is ironed out.

As a token of our appreciation for your patience and support during this weekend’s Early Access, we’re awarding 5 days of Boost (Faster progression) and 600 scrap (Craft Skills or Supply cards). Look out for it in the next 48 hours.

Thank you so much playing Gears 5!

— The Coalition Studio (@CoalitionGears) September 10, 2019

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Evolution for evolution's sake

Gears 5 takes risks, more than just dropping the "of War" from the title. There are structural changes so that developer The Coalition can sincerely call this the biggest Gears game ever. In service of that goal, it works. Gears 5 feels huge at times.

But, in service of feeling like a Gears game, sometimes those changes are too much. Gears 5 strays from its roots and that's commendable. But there's also a cognitive dissonance when the formula feels different from what we've come to expect from Gears over the past 13 years. Sometim??es bigger isn'??t better.

Gears 5 (PC, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Released: September 10, 2019
MSRP: $59.99; included as part of Xbox Game Pass

It's not always like that though. Halfway through the campaign, and I'm just now being introduced to Gears 5's major overhauls. The build is deceptively slow, considering that there's always something explosive and ridiculous afoot. The ??end to Act 1 had me rolling my eyes with astonishment, convinced I wouldn't see something more delightfully stupid in video games this year.

For a long time, Gears 5 feels exactly like the Gears everyone expects. Heavy-handed exposition stitched together by loud setpieces. Corridor shootouts that lead to more corridor shootouts. So much shouting. Gears has never been sub?tle and it's not about to start now. ;

Sometime in Act 2, it changes. Steering a skiff, we're asked to traverse a snowy pass at our own leisure. There are optional locations that probably hold side quests, collectibles, or resources. There's a map to help navigate. It's big and it's bleakly barren. It's quiet. It's starkly not-Gears.

That's all kind of just a diversion. Once back in pursuit of the critical path, Gears 5 returns to form. The locales are self-contained and rife with detail. The combat sequences are punchy and tense. The story can continue. Gears is best when the setting is small ?so that the action can be focused. That's when it can hit the hardest.

That being said, Gears 5's combat is predictably excellent. This cover-based shooter shows no signs of aging. Waiting in cover, popping up for a few seconds of sustained fire, ducking back down, hitting an active reload, repeat until everythin?g's dead -- that's a loop that never really gets old. (Also, I still maintain that active reload is one of gaming's neatest simple mechanics.)

T??here's another relatively-major addition. Jack, the robot that always accompanies you, can be upgraded. Components are hidden throughout the levels that let you enhance Jack's abilities. Apart from Jack's passive traits, he has active abilities that can be swapped out. For instance, you can switch between having shock traps or an area-of-effect scan that highlights all enemies.

It's a superfluous but inoffensive system. Jack's abilities aren't really necessary except for sections where they're shoehorned in. However, Gears 5 features three-player cooperative play, leaving one person?? to control Jack. Under these circumstances, Jack's build would be far more useful and important.

Gears 5 focuses on Kait, and unraveling her lineage is a narrative I want to see through to the end. It's a personal story, a cue this game carries over from Gears of War 4. The original trilogy was, for the most part, a tale of large-scale conflict. The tonal shift with the new games isn't necessarily more inte?resting, but it's more intimate.

Thus far, Gears 5 is shaping up to be a solid Gears game, even if I'm not keen on the new things it's trying. Gears works best as a linear cover-shooter, not as something with "open-world" sensibilities. Sometimes things don't ne?ed to evolve. Sometimes you just want to keep wrecking shit with the chainsaw gun.

_{[This review in progress is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review in Progress: Gears 5 appeared first on Destructoid.

Demo for the film

I guess all that campaigning to star in the Gears of War movie has paid off. In Gears 5, players will be able to assume the identity of Dave Bautista and kill some grubs??. The former WWE superstar announced his inclusion in The Coalition's upcoming sequel on Twitter, today, with the message of, "It's ??about fucking time." Yeah, it definitely is about time.

With Bautista, Halo: Reach, and Terminator: Dark Fate all being included, what's next for Gears 5? Will we see an Evil Dead crossover just to further crush our dreams of Ash being in Mortal Kombat 11? Maybe we can ge??t The Rock and recreate some Smack?down moments online?

Dave Bautista [Twitter]

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Still out September 10

We're officially at the point where you don't need the "Of War" bit: Gears 5 is arriving on September 10. It's tru??e! We already knew this, but the kickoff of Gamescom Opening Night Live, an extension of The Game Awards, wants to remind us that it's happening.

To celebrate the near-arrival of this big Microsoft sequel we're getting a new story trailer, which features a meandering cover of "Head Like a Hole" from Nine Inch Nails. This is the second cover of Head Like a Hole in 2019 already, with Miley Cyrus already killing it with her Black Mirror double-cover: one poppy and one punky.

As our own Jordan Devore puts it, the whole damn trailer is "very Mountain Dewy." I immediately knew what he was talking about! Gears 5 will launch on September 10 on PC and Xbox One.

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Unexpected but perfectly welcomed

Gears 5 formally arrives on September 10 on Xbox One and Windows 10. We've known that much since E3. However, a lingering question mark has been when the Steam version would launch. It's reasonable to think Microsoft might give itself a little timed-exclusive advantage by appearing on its ow?n platforms first.

That won't be the case. As part of the info dump from gamescom, Microsoft revealed that Gears 5 is coming to Steam day-and-date with the Xbox One and Windows 10 versions. Additionally, Gears 5 is ava?ilable for pre-order on Steam now. (Actually, Steam currently lists the release date as September 9 instead of September 10.)

It was definitely up in the air, too. Until recently, the Gears 5 Steam page read "Planned release date: Coming soon." ?But, those fears are assuaged as Microsoft c??ontinues to treat Steam users with renewed consideration.

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We'll need all the help we can get

Some familiar-but-entirely-unexpected faces are showing up in Gears 5. Those other space marines are gonna joi??n the fight. 

As part of today's Inside Xbox presentation from gamescom, it was revealed that a Halo: Reach character pack is coming to Gears 5. Noble Team's Emile-A239 (the guy with a skull etched into his helmet) and Kat-B320 (the squad's second-in-command and spiritual best friends with the Carmine brothers) will both be playable c?haracters in Versus and Horde modes. They'll also have their own unique Ultimate abilities in Horde. Emil has a Drop Shield and Kat has a hologram decoy.

Xbox mentions that the Halo: Reach character pac??k also comes with the following: Noble Team Jack skin, Noble Team Banner, Noble Team Blood Spray, Noble Team Mark, and the Noble Team Weapon Set.

This isn't the first-announced crossover content for Gears 5. In late June, The Coalition showed off Sarah Connor and T-800 characters Terminator: Dark Fate. So, if you think being a Terminat?or will give you the leg up on ??the battlefield, well, you're probably right. Those things are way less squishy than humans.

Microsoft hasn't yet revealed sales plans for the Halo: Reach pack, but it's being packaged with some premium bundles. It's included with the Ultimate Edition of Gears 5 on Xbox One, Windows 10, and Steam??. It's also thrown in for anyone who's an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber.

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Wave goodbye to traditional horde

Horde mode is going to have a different feel when Gears 5 launches in early September. Character selection is no longer a cosmetic prefe??rence; it's a strategy.

During today's Inside Xbox at gamescom, developer The Coalition debuted Gears 5's Horde mode. The biggest evolution is that it fun?ctions akin to a hero shooter. Each character has their own Ultimate abilit?y. For instance, Kait has a cloaking maneuver, and JD can call in air strikes.

In a fun twist, players can also select Jack as their playable character in Horde. Jack is the robot "Jack of All Trades" sidekick that has accompanied COG soldiers ever since the first Gears of War game. The?? Coalition says "Jack doesn't need cover," and mentions that it can hack enemies and buff nearby players. It'll be interesting to see if Jack can be just as useful as a standard character.

This format is a significant departure from the way Gears 4's Horde 3.0 worked. That was set up so that each person played a class, but any character could represent any class. There was also a card system for earning new skills and perks as the match progressed; a similar card system is in place for Gears 5's Horde but with some tweaks. But, now you have to select your charact?er wisely. Your team composition might be the key to your s??urvival.

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His laser eyes aren't a new weapon, unfortunately

Not long after players fire up Gears 5 next month -- assuming they go straight into the campaign and not the versus mode or the horde mode or the Escape mode -- they'll earn an achievement that ?nods knowin??gly to a well-worn gaming meme. That alone isn't surprising, but the man behind the meme steered one of Xbox's biggest competitors until recently.

Gears 5 went gold ahead of its September 6 launch. Alongside that milestone, developer The Coalition revealed the game's achievements. The campaign's first achievement is called "My Body is Ready" and it's earned by completing boot camp (presumably the tutorial section). The phrase "my body is ready" was turned into Nintendo ex-president of North America Reggie Fils-Aime's catchphrase after he said it live on-stage at E3 2007 during a Wii Fit presentation:

Fils-Aime retired ?in April, going out as one of the more popular and beloved executives the video game industry has ever seen. That means Fils-Aime has time to notice and acknowledge the reference, publicly thanking Xbox head Phil Spencer along the ??way:

I hope the team shows off the “My Body is Ready†achievement! Nice tip of the hat my friend @XboxP3 //t.co/X6Q5AuZeoB

— Reggie Fils-Aime (@Reggie) August 9, 2019

It also means Fils-Aime now has all the time in the world to play Gears 5. Go get Seriously 5.0, Reggie??.?? Put that time to good use.

Here are Gears 5's achievements (minus descriptions of story-based ones th?at might ac??t as spoilers):

Campaign achievements:

• My Body is Ready (5GS) -- Complete Boot Camp
• It Takes Three to Make a Thing Go Right (10) -- Complete an act of Campaign in 3-player co-op
• Jack of One Trade (5) -- Complete an Act of the Cam??paign?? as playable Jack (any difficulty)
• I Was Born in a Crossfire Hurricane (10) -- Use Jack's Flash ability to?? stun 3 enemies at once i??n Campaign
• Back Atch??a (10)?? -- Get a kill with ricochet bullets using Jack's Barrier Ability
• Back on Your Feet, Soldier -- (10) -- Use Jack's Stim upgraded ??ability to revive a? DBNO friendly in Campaign
• Shock and Awe (10) -- Use Jack's ??Shock Trap ability to shock 6 enemies at once in Campaign
• Seraninja (10) -- Use Jack's Cloak ability to cloak and execute 3 en??emies before de-cloaking in Campaign
• An Enemy Among Us (15) -- Get a ki?ll with a Hijacked Pounder, Warden, Stump, and Elite Hunter i?n Campaign
• Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie (10) -- Use Jack's Fetch abi??lity to acquire each He?avy Weapon in Campaign
• Jack of All Trades (25) -- ?Acquire all of Jack's Ultimate upgrades in Campaign
• JACKed Up! (25) -- Fully upgrade Jack's Abilities and Passi???ves in Campaign 
• Relic Hunter (1?0) -- Equip 3 Relic Weapons?? at one time in Campaign
• Relics ??of the Past (20) -- Kill an enemy with every Relic Weapon in Campaign
• Not There to Buy a Timeshare (10) -- Unlock during Act? 1 of the Campaign
• And??... He's All Yours (10) -- Unlock during Act 1 of the Campai?gn
• Now I Gotta Get Up Again (10) -- Unlock during Act 1 of the ??Campaign
• A Mouthful of Boom (10) -- Unlock during?? Act 1 of the Campaign
• It's Time We Figh?t Them Together (10) -- Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign
• Jameson Shipping Depot (10??) -- Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign
• That Old COG Technology (10)&nbs??p;-- Unlock during Act 2 of the Camp?aign
• Let's Get You Some Answers (10) -- Un?lock during Act 2 of the Campaign
• We Need the Old Plan (10)?? -- Unl?ock during Act 2 of the Campaign
• Safe and Sound (10) -- Unlock during Act 3 of? the Campaign
• Cutting It Close (10) -- Unlock during Ac?t 3 of th?e Campaign
• Throw a Switch, See What Happens (10) -- Unlo??ck during Act 3 of the Campaign
• Let's Keep Pissin It Off!?? (10) -- Unlock during Act 3 of the Campaign
• Then We Watch Each Other's Backs (10) -- Unlock d?uring Act 4 of the Campaign
• You Know I Ain't Going Out ??Like That (10) -??- Unlock during Act 4 of the Campaign
• Discovered the True Threat t??o Sera (20) -- Complete all Acts of th??e Campaign (Any Difficulty)
• All ??Aboard the Crazy Train! (25)?? -- Complete all Acts of the Campaign on Insane
• It's Not?? Hoarding if Your Stuff is Cool (15) -- Collect all Campaign Collectibl??es
• Pennies from Heaven (10) -- Scavenge supplies from all ??fallen Condors in Act 2 and 3

Escape and Map Builder achievements:

• Pass the Soap (5) -- Pass through a refuge shower with 3 Hivebusters in the same shower cubicle
• Master of My Domain (25) -- Complete an Escape Hive on each difficulty
• Who You Gonna Call? Hivebusters! (10) -- Complete 5 Escape Hives as each one of Mac, Lahni, and Keegan
• The Three Muskateers (15) -- Inflict 9,000 damage in Escape while 3 Ultimate Abilities are active
• On the Razor's Edge (10) -- Get 100 kills while inside Hivebuster Venom
• Brought a Knife to a Gun Fight (25) -- Complete an Escape Hive without firing a shot on Master Difficulty
• Who's Your Escape Main? (10) -- Reach Character Level 15 with a launch Escape Character
• Master Escape Artist (20) -- Reach Character Level 15 with Mac, Lahni, and Keegan
• I Made It All by Myself (10) -- Create and publish an Escape Hive
• Homegrown Give (10) -- Complete a Featured community build Escape Hive

Horde achievements:

• Can't Stop, Won't Stop (25) -- Beat 50 consecutive waves of Horde (Any Difficulty)
• Who's Your Horde Main (10) -- Reach Character Level 15 with a launch Horde Character
• Compulsive Hoarder (20) -- Reach Character Level 15 with Kait, JD, Del, Marcus, Fahz, and Jack
• And I'll Form the Head (10) -- Kill a Boss in Horde while all 5 players have active Ultimate Abilities
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (20) -- As Jack, convert one of each weapon to Power using the Forge in Horde
• Withdrawal Symptoms (20) -- As a team, collect Power from all 4 Power Taps within one wave of Horde
• Perky's Revenge (10) -- Get a kill with 3 Perks active in Horde

Versus achievements:

• Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (5) -- Play a match of Arcade
• One Sec, I'll Be Right Back (10) -- Switch characters in an Arcade match and kill an opponent who previously killed you
• Where's My Product Endorsement Deal? (10) -- Win 5 matches of Arcade
• My Place in the Machine (5) -- Complete placement matches for a Ranked Playlist
• Grind Season (25) -- Win a Ranked March in each week of a Ranked Season

Progression and Other achievements:

• Sire, Interrupted (5) -- Kill a Sire while it's kidnapping a teammate (any mode)
• A Good Plan, Violently Executed (15) -- Execute 100 Rejects (any mode)
• You've Got a Friend in Me (5) -- Make a new Ally in Gears Allies
• Did We Just Become Best Friends? (10) -- Reach Level 5 with an ally in Gears Allies
• BFFs (15) -- Complete a Versus match with a team of four Level 5 Gears Allies
• Once More from the Top (20) -- Re-Up!
• One, Two, Three Sorties (5) -- Complete all 3 Objectives for Tour of Duty in a day
• Corporal Punishment (10) -- Reach the Rank of Corporal in a Tour of Duty
• Sergeant at Arms (15) -- Reach the Rank of Sergeant in a Tour of Duty
• LOOTenant (20) -- Reach the Rank of Lieutenant in a Tour of Duty
• I'm the Captain Now (25) -- Reach the Rank of Captain in a Tour of Duty
• Generally Awesome (50) -- Reach the Rank of General in a Tour of Duty
• Seriously 5.0 -- Chapter 1 (100) -- Complete Insane Campaign, Master Horde & Escape Launch Maps & Characters, Get 20 Re-Ups, and reach General in a Tour of Duty

Gears 5 Has Gone Gold -- Celebrate w??i?th Our Full Achievement List [Xbox Wire]

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Launching in September for $499

It's about time Microsoft came out with another limited-edition Xbox One X, wouldn't you say? Right on cue, the next major bundle is a Gears of War-themed console with a laser-etched, partially translucent case. Pre-orders will begin later today for the Xbox One X Gears 5 Limited Edition Bundle.

For $499, the package includes a 1TB Xbox One X console, a matching Kait Diaz Limited Edition wireless controller, one-month memberships for Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass, and more Gears than you'll know what to do with: Gears of War Ultimate Edition, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5 Ultimate Edition. I'm still getting used to that shortened title for the latest game. As a reminder, Ultimate players will get four-day-early access to Gears 5 on September 6, 2019.

If that Gears gamepad catches your fancy, note that it will be available separately, but it's a bit of a wallet-buster. Microsoft will begin selling the Kait Diaz controller for $74.99 beginning August 20, 2019.

On top of the icy limited-edition console, Microsoft is also planning a standard-looking Xbox One X Gears 5 Bundle for $499 and an Xbox One S Gears 5 Bundle for $299. They're packed with games, too.

I haven't gone back to the original Xbox 360 trilogy in years – not since that console was the dominant platform in my household – but I do still think about the Big Worm from time to time. Microsoft is smart to include the rest of the Gears of War series (sorry, Judgment!) in these hardware bundles. I can easily see them pulling a subset of hibernating Xbox fans "out of retirement," so to speak. Gears resonates.

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More skulls than Predator's trophy case

It's nearly time for the first widespread hands-on with Gears 5. It comes this weekend via an alp?ha technical tes??t for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers on both PC and Xbox One. Heads are gonna roll.

A few days ago, we learned that this multiplayer stress test will feature the new Arcade Deathmatch mode. Today, developer The Coalition explains how Arcade Deathmatch works. It's a mode that counts kills, as the first team to stack 50 bodies is the winner. Howeve?r, the "Arcade" part of the name comes into play in an interesting way.

As this trailer demonstrates, players accrue skulls by getting kills and assists. These skulls function??ally act as a currency. They're used to buy more powerful weapons; naturally, the better the weapon, the more expensive it'll be.

It's a fun angle that could turn the tide of battle at any moment. As the trailer points out, anyone can spend skulls at any time. A strategic purchase in the middle of a firefight could give you the firepower you need to come out alive. Also, skulls aren't tied to any sort of killstrea?k. They're permanently banked until you spend them.

It seems as though no one will be able to accuse Gears 5 of lacking for things to do. Campaign, cooperative play, Horde mode, the new Escape mode, and competitive multiplayer which is even getting new game types -- it's a lot. Who knows if this Gears will be better than ever, but it's undoubtedly bigg??er than ever.

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Bring home the bacon

Get that Lancer revved up, as this weekend sees the coming of the first Versus Tech Test for Microsoft's upcoming shooter Gears 5. allowing Xbox Game?? Pass subscribers and pre-order customers the opportunity to get an early glimpse at the sequel's body-splatting multiplayer mode.

Running from July 19 to July 21, players will have the opportunity to check out Gears 5's Arcade Deathmatch mode, a first-to-50-kills battle between two teams of five. As opposed to some of the simply aesthetic character choices of early Gears games, Gears 5 makes each character their own distinct type, complete with pass?ive skills and personalised load??outs and upgrades. Despite these changes, the trailer still shows a heavy emphasis on cover-breaking, melee attacks and the all-important headshot.

A second Tech Test is planned for next weekend, and will hopefully add some new modes and features to the gory action. You can find out more about the tech test and Gears 5's new modes over at the official website.

I was a huge fan of the Gears of War games, particularly the multiplayer, but have taken a sabbatical since Gears of War 3 (No Myrrah, no point). But I?? have to admit that my trigger-finger is itching, and it might be time for me to don the oversized boots and falsely-inflated sense of self-i??mportance once again.

Gears 5 launches September 10 for PC and Xbox One.

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Decision was made solely by The Coalition

[Update: A recent Tweet from The Coalition's Rod Fergusson clears up some confusion with the initial story. From what Variety had quoted, it sounded like ??Fergusson changed his mind after Truth Initiative brought up concerns. That is contrary to the truth, though.

"Just to clarify, I've always been anti-smoking and have pushed back on having it in Gears since day 1," Fergusson wrote. "There was no smoking to remove from Gears 4 or 5 because there never was any smoking to begin with. And as long as I'm in control, there never will be." I wasn't under the impression that Fergusson previously agreed with smoking, but at least the record has been set straight. The original story can be found below.]

Gears 5, the latest entry in Microsoft's long-running Gears of War series, will not be featuring any tobacco imagery a report from Variety reveals. Concerns from anti-smoking non-profit Truth Initiative brought to Turner Broadcasting's ELeague esports division resulted in Gears developer The Coalition agreeing that smoking is bad and has no place in its game. In a decision made solely by the developer, this and all future Gears installments will not contain references or iconogr?aphy r??elated to smoking.

"I've seen firsthand the devastating impact of smoking," said The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson. "It's always been important for me to not use smoking as a narrative device, which is why we made the conscious choice to avoid highlighting or glorifying smoking in 'Gears 5' and throughout the Gears of War Universe moving forward."

Many of us likely don't even remember characters smoking in previous Gears of War games, but apparently, there have been scenes of occasional tobacco use. After this was brought to the attention of The Coalition, the studio began work on scrubbing out the imagery in future titles. Seth Ladetsky, senior VP of Turner Sports Sales, explained that the process has been in the works f??or months and is the right image for not only the game but Turner's esports? league.

"This took a lot of time and a lot of good thinking. It's the right image for ELeague — and the game itself — to project," Ladetsky stressed??. He further elaborated that studies show a correlation between exposure to tobacco products in entertainment and higher incidents of smoking adoption. "As you remove? these images, it does have an impact," he said.

As for why news of this is breaking now instead of closer to the game's September launch, it has to do with a tournament taking place this weekend. ELeague will be holding the "Gears Summer Series Invitational" ?today and tomorrow with sponsorship coming from Truth Initiative. Getting all of this news out there is merely a publicity stunt, even i?f it's for a good cause.

CEO and president of Truth, Robin Koval, agrees too. "In the midst of the pervasive reemergence of glamorized smoking imagery in pop culture, we commend [The Coalition] for taking smoking out of 'Gears 5' and ELeague for featuring this tobacco-free game during this weekend's competition. We are hopeful that this decision will encourage other game developers and streaming tournaments to follow this lead and level up the gaming experience?? by going tobacco-free."

I initially scoffed at this story because of the M-Rating that the Gears series carries. Kids shouldn't be playing this game anyway, so why does it matter if smoking is depicted? As I read more of the story, though, I can see the stance that everyone involved is taking. I've also witnessed the effects that smoking can have on someone and how their lives can be ruined by it. You also have to consider how something like Gears, despite carrying a mature rating, is targeted more at teenagers than adults. Factor in the rise of streaming and how people of any ?age can watch and this decision starts to become clearer. While it seems dumb at face value, I agree with The Coalition's decision here.

'Gears 5' Will Eliminate All Smoking Depictions After Concerns Raised by ??Youth Anti-Tobacco Org (EXCLUSIV??E) [Variety]

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Playable with Xbox Game Pass on PC and Xbox One

You won't have to wait until launch in September to try out Gears 5. The Coalition is running two technical tests in July with access to V?ersus modes like Arcade, Escalation, and King of the Hill.

While you can pre-order the full game for an invite on Xbox One and PC (through the Windows Store), Microsoft is also extending the Gears 5 beta to Xbox Ga??me Pass subscribers. Here are the dates:

• Pre-loading for the 15GB tech test begins July 17 at 10:00am Pacific.

• The first Gears 5 technical test period runs from July 19 at 10:00am Pacific until July 22 at 10:00am Pacific.

• The second test runs from July 26 at 10:00am Pacific until July 29 at 10:00am Pacific.

Aside from the aforementioned Versus modes, the Gears 5 tech test will also have a Boo??tcamp training mode a?nd a "mini Tour of Duty, where you'll complete Medals to unlock exclusive Tester Weapon Skins."

The Coalition notes that it's using an "access queue system" to keep the servers ??stable during these test runs, so there's probably going to be som??e match queuing during peak hours.

Lastly, for those of you considering Gears 5 ?on PC, the developers have outlined the system ??specs. As a quick aside, while the final game will release on Steam, the tech test is on the Windows Store.

Minimum Spec (AMD)

• Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update
• CPU: AMD FX-6000 Series
• GPU: AMD Radeon R9 280 or RX 560
• VRAM: 2GB
• RAM: 6GB
• HDD: 15GB

Minimum Spec (Nvidia)

• Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update
• CPU: Intel i3 Skylake
• GPU: Nvidia GTX 760 or GTX 1050
• VRAM: 2GB
• RAM: 6GB
• HDD: 15GB

Recommended Spec (AMD)

• Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 3
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 570 or RX 5700
• VRAM: 4GB
• RAM: 8GB
• HDD: 15GB

Recommended Spec (Nvidia)

• Windows 10 May 2019 Update
• Intel i5 Skylake
• Nvidia GTX 970 or GTX 1660 Ti
• VRAM: 4GB
• RAM: 8GB
• HDD: 15GB

Ideal Spec (AMD)

• Windows 10 May 2019 Update
• AMD Ryzen 7
• AMD Radeon VII
• VRAM: 8GB
• RAM: 16GB
• HDD: 15GB + SSD

Ideal Spec (Nvidia)

• Windows 10 May 2019 Update
• Intel i7 Skylake
• Nvidia GTX 2080
• VRAM: 8GB
• RAM: 16GB
• HDD: 15GB + SSD

I haven't been good at Gears of War Versus since the original game, and despite finding the basic experience tense and stressful as hell, I'm still in. As much as Horde is my main attraction, I glossed over Gears of War 4, so that time away from the series has me paying extra attention to Gears 5.

Versus Tech Test FAQ [Gears of War]

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