Gears 5 review – another chainsaw cracker that adds new tricks to an already hypnotic shooter

THERE is a comfortable excitement that oozes from Gears 5.

A rock-sliding, chainsaw-whirring familiarity that settles you in for a hypnotic cover-based shooting session.

The Coalition

The Coalition

Story-wise this is a direct sequel to Gears 4. You play JD (to begin with), Marcus Fenix’s soldier son before moving on to Kait.

And boy what an amazing character she is.

Born after the end of the Locust War, you must uncover the origin of Kait’s family. She is a superb protagonist whom you find yourself caring for more and more as the game goes on.

The action is as satisfying as you might expect from a Gears outing.

The Coalition

The Coalition

The combat is incredibly slick, a big part of the game’s addictive quality which makes you hungry for more.

There are lots of new toys to play with too but the trusty Lancer is still a blood-lusting favorite by far.

Revving up the chainsaw is a whirring pleasure amplified for those glorious up-close-and-personal takedowns (not to mention a resplendent reverberation for my very comfy, very trendy Turtle Beach Recon Spark headphones).

Other old school favourites also return – the Longshot and Boomshot – and there’s a happy return from Gears 4 for the horrifically merciless Overkill shotgun. Get some!

New weapons like the Claw and the Breaker Mace are also worth a mention.

The former is a wild Horde light machine gun while the latter is a nifty limited-use melee weapon.

The are some good skills to acquire too. Activating Cloak is a lot of fun and allows you to be invisible as you stomp off on a killing spree.

Other powers to collect include Stim, Flash and the brilliant Hijack, which forces the bad guys to fight alongside you.

Floating robot Jack is a great addition to the series.

He picks up weapons for you and unlocks safes – and can also be used in the battlefield, whether it’s a cheeky flashbang or reviving your pals.

And you can upgrade Jack along the way with a skills tree that allows you to improve him as and how you want.

The Coalition

Another fantastic addition, and a move away from Gears as we know it, is the open world structure.

Previous games, though wonderfully fast-paced have been a bit linear. But now you are free to roam certain sections of the campaign mode to complete secondary missions.

You’re rewarded with upgrades for Jack and it allows you to take the pace off your adrenaline-fuelled killing sesh and admire the scenery, which looks stunning by the way.

The only slightly disappointing aspect of Gears 5 is that the campaign mode only gets you about 12 hours of gaming (a bit longer/shorter depending on difficulty setting and how far you explore the secondary objectives).

But fear not, as multiplayer makes up for this in abundance.

There are plenty of modes, including old favourites like Horde. However, it’s the new Escape mode which really took my fancy.

It’s fairly straight forward – you need to flee an enemy facility with hardly any ammo at all. But it’s a fun-filled 20 minutes of gaming.

You can also design your own custom levels and join up with pals for 3-player co-op.

The Coalition

Gears 5 is a great addition to an iconic family of the gaming world. And developer The Coalition’s attempt to adjust and tinker with a successful format is not only welcomed, but is also a success.

Meaty weapons with a kick-ass protagonist at the helm. . . it’s a Locust Horde hoot.

• Gears 5 on Xbox at Amazon for £44.99 – buy now

In other gaming news, leaked Sony sketches may reveal the secret PS5 design.

Sony’s PS5 has been tipped to cost over £450.

Read our round-up of the latest rumours about the Xbox 2 and PS5.

And find out why both of these consoles could be the last you ever own.

Will you be playing Gears 5? Let us know in the comments!

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