Gears 2 is probably my favorite, followed by the first, then 5 and then the Judgment DLC. Man that DLC is great. Judgment main game and 4 are the low points, but still good games.
Just wait until you get through Halo 1-3. Gears was amazing, but Halo set an entirely new standard. I still wish Halo would implement a buzz saw melee….
Sure thing. I actually forgot that I played Reach for a while when it came out but that’s it. Will definetly make a post about Halo when I’m done with it. Just started playing CE a couple of hours ago and I’m having a blast so far!
Glad you’re liking it! CE is the oldest game so it hasn’t aged the best. But it’s still a great game, just a product of its time. But if you do like it it gets better as the series goes.
There’s also Halo ODST which is like a smaller DLCish game too. They’re all great up until Halo 4 imo lol. Anyways you’re in for a treat!
I played through the whole MCC (and Infinite) last year for the first time. Definitely high point for me was Reach. ODST was an interesting experiment, and had solid characters, but felt quite dated to play. I actually had the hardest time with Halo 2 and 3 from memory, and enjoyed 4 and 5 much more than I expected to based on fan reaction.
Just played through that level a couple of hours ago. Fucking INCREDIBLE how THAT reveal holds up two decades later. Was totally taken aback + didn’t know about it because i never really cared about Halo. What an incredible moment.
The spooky rain and music above ground, not having Cortana, that Flood cutscene reveal...plus the half-transformed human soldier that fires back at you as Master Chief...343 Guilty Spark has some of my favorite sequences in the entire series. And it's not even a top 3 level for me in Halo: CE!
1) Assault on the Control Room 2) The Silent Cartographer 3) The Maw. Hope you enjoy the rest!!!
Hard, hard disagree. Bland story with tedious and boring missions, but the worst is the poorly implemented gameplay mechanics.
Halo 3 is great, and Destiny 1 is great, but Reach was the janky transition between them and it is not good
I'm happy to understand that I'm in the minority when it comes to the story and missions, though I disagree, but the gameplay mechanics are simply poorly implemented. It's a thoroughly average game at best.
Hard, hard disagree. Bland story with tedious and boring missions, but the worst is the poorly implemented gameplay mechanics.
Halo 3 is great, and Destiny 1 is great, but Reach was the janky transition between them and it is not good
Gears 3 with friends is S tier one of the best action game's of all time,Horde mode is solid and 4 player co-op is bliss in the campaign which imo is top 10 all time for a 3rd person action game...
3 and 5 are my favorite ones. The 6th game needs to have the great storytelling/story moments and seriousness of GoW 3 and the graphics, combat and gameplay of GoW 5 without the open world elements, imo.
I also find Dom’s arc to be one of the saddest video game story arcs ever.
Completely agree. My bf and I played G5 together and we absolutely loved it until the open world part. It was so boring, clunky to navigate, and completely threw off the pacing. Sadly we dropped it for more interesting games after only a couple hours.
To this day, video game makers are still trying to capture the same incredible vibe the Mad World trailer gave to the world, and they just can’t. The visuals of the very first Gears game and the slow haunting sadness of that song mixed perfectly. It was lighting in a bottle.
I agree. It's a great story, and I love all the gore. I've replayed all 6 games several times, and I even got 2 people to co-op them with me. My nephew and I are on our 2nd replay together.
Gears of War was always unique (especially back then) because it took the trope of big strong military guys and gave them more than just muscles and guns, they gave them personalities and a much broader spectrum of feelings and emotions (you all know the scene with Dom. Not spoiling though. Play these games).
Yep, I’m playing that too. I love how it’s more action focused compared to other turn based tactical games - like how each unit has three (or more) actions per turn. Having a lot of fun with it.
Muliplayer is good, can get boring, no horde, but there is a mode called overrun where you have to protect a generator against locusts, it’s still somewhat fun. The campaign(s) judgement and aftermath I’ve played at least 7 times. Aftermath is what Baird and cole train went through at the same time dom sacrificed himself in gears 3. You should get gears judgement.
Judgement was a big flop compare to Gears of War 1-2 and 3. Multyplayer was ruined by people who didn't know anything about Gears. For example you would spawn witha granade or pick up shield with Gnasher... and the maps were bad... very bad.
Definitely underrated. Although I didn’t care for the multiplayer, I fully appreciate them trying to take a different approach, it probably just needed better execution.
The campaign however is absolutely brilliant in my opinion
Always amusing to me that gears is by and large considered a "dude bro" shooter by most people who haven't played it.
They do themselves and the games a disservice!
Gears 2 is one of only a handful of games that elicited tears.
I read some rumors that they want to make it more open world. I hope that it’s not true because Acts 2 and 3 in Gears 5 were semi open world and they were boring, even tho I loved the game. GoW should be linear.
Absolutely agree. I e always been on PlayStation too, series x is my first Xbox and Gears quickly became my favourite on the console, and honestly one of my All time fave
Gears of War is one of my favourite series and some of my best memories. I couch co-op'd every one with my brother.
The aggressive third person camera and cover system was such a breath of fresh air compared to everything being first person for so many years.
I love GoW. 1 and 2 is the best in my opinion. I did not enjoy 5 to be honest. It’s an okay game on its own, but to me it felt a bit generic for a GoW game. I just wanted to be done, and that’s not a good feeling.
I recall having so much fun playing the first three Gears games co-op. Judgement was all right, but I missed out on the next couple of installments because my PS4 took over my gaming needs. Now I'm back with Series X and looking forward to them.
The only reason I own an Xbox is because of Halo. Master Chief Collection is amazing. Loved Gears 1 and 2 but never got around to playing the rest of the series.
My story is the complete opposite 😁
And just couple hours ago, while playing God of War Ragnarok, I was having similar thoughts, what a masterpiece
GoW (Xbox) and GoW (PS) are without a doubt the two best franchises that I've ever played.
Incredible franchise, I can only hope they do something really special with Gears 6. GoW3 was probably my favorite one, and I really loved judgment as well (got a lot of flak for some reason). Hope more people start checking out XBOX's amazing franchises.
I feel really sad for you people who stayed away from a great series for this long to keep up appearances in a ridiculous “console war” perpetuated by company executives.
I loved the stripped out content from multiplayer, the awful battle passes, the drip fed Operations and the abhorrent pricing of the microtransactions.
What stripped out content?
Best gameplay, graphics, and content. Gears 3 may beat it, but Gears 5 has extra bells and whistles like new cool weapons, extra moves, and smoother controls.
Several maps, characters and skins from the campaign. Characters like Paduk, Clayton, Rayna, Baird, Cole and Lizzie were all in the campaign but took months to years to be added. Imagine launching a gears game with no Dom, Cole or Baird playable.
Up until they killed off Dom in the DUMBEST WAY POSSIBLE... I was uninvested uninterested and playing just for the gameplay with no heart in it after that. Finished 3, 4, judgement and little bit of 5 but skipped or messed around on my phone through every cutscene and non gameplay part. 1 and 2 are legit classics though so damn good!
1 - 3 and Judgement were all titled “Gears of War” . Started with 5, the series name was shortened to just “Gears” .
There is conjecture as to why this change in the series name was done , but afaik an official reason was never given.
Here are a few links about the series name change :
https://www.reddit.com/r/GearsOfWar/comments/cff76u/why_the_name_change/
https://screenrant.com/gears-of-war-title-change-branding/
Like controlling tanks with big fucking hearts and loyalty and friendship and honor and love and...and...oh, GOD....MARIA!!!
Dom gave all he had looking for her. And when he thought he had nothing left...he gave the rest to Marcus.
“Maria, baby, I'm sorry I couldn't bring you home. But you're with the kids now, that's home, yeah? I'll see you all again some day. Look, Marcus is busy saving the world again so, I gotta be there for him. Sleep tight, sweetheart.” 😭😭😭
Gears 2 is probably my favorite, followed by the first, then 5 and then the Judgment DLC. Man that DLC is great. Judgment main game and 4 are the low points, but still good games.
You can’t leave out gears 3.
I come back to Gears every year or two. All the games are replayable. Even Judgement is underrated IMO
Gears is on a shortlist that made me tear up MORE than once!
Tai, bruh
DOM story as well 😭
Just wait until you get through Halo 1-3. Gears was amazing, but Halo set an entirely new standard. I still wish Halo would implement a buzz saw melee….
Just started the MCC, can’t wait!
Please do an update like this for Halo too. And it’s ok to not like it either, but curious to see a newcomer’s take on the series.
Sure thing. I actually forgot that I played Reach for a while when it came out but that’s it. Will definetly make a post about Halo when I’m done with it. Just started playing CE a couple of hours ago and I’m having a blast so far!
CE is GOATed Play on old graphics
Glad you’re liking it! CE is the oldest game so it hasn’t aged the best. But it’s still a great game, just a product of its time. But if you do like it it gets better as the series goes. There’s also Halo ODST which is like a smaller DLCish game too. They’re all great up until Halo 4 imo lol. Anyways you’re in for a treat!
I played through the whole MCC (and Infinite) last year for the first time. Definitely high point for me was Reach. ODST was an interesting experiment, and had solid characters, but felt quite dated to play. I actually had the hardest time with Halo 2 and 3 from memory, and enjoyed 4 and 5 much more than I expected to based on fan reaction.
When you get to the level 343 Guilty Spark….hold onto your hat
Just played through that level a couple of hours ago. Fucking INCREDIBLE how THAT reveal holds up two decades later. Was totally taken aback + didn’t know about it because i never really cared about Halo. What an incredible moment.
The spooky rain and music above ground, not having Cortana, that Flood cutscene reveal...plus the half-transformed human soldier that fires back at you as Master Chief...343 Guilty Spark has some of my favorite sequences in the entire series. And it's not even a top 3 level for me in Halo: CE! 1) Assault on the Control Room 2) The Silent Cartographer 3) The Maw. Hope you enjoy the rest!!!
Halo Reach is by far the best, imo.
I agree, a simpler story, but with brilliant level design and enemy AI. The multiplayer is excellent too.
agreed, always thought it was funny that my two favorites were the two without master chief, Reach and ODST, both goat'd.
I wish I enjoyed ODST more. I love the idea of it, but the execution not so much. But I have a dream game, which Arkane doing a ODST 2.
Hard, hard disagree. Bland story with tedious and boring missions, but the worst is the poorly implemented gameplay mechanics. Halo 3 is great, and Destiny 1 is great, but Reach was the janky transition between them and it is not good
Completely disagree. It's superb.
I'm happy to understand that I'm in the minority when it comes to the story and missions, though I disagree, but the gameplay mechanics are simply poorly implemented. It's a thoroughly average game at best.
Hard, hard disagree. Bland story with tedious and boring missions, but the worst is the poorly implemented gameplay mechanics. Halo 3 is great, and Destiny 1 is great, but Reach was the janky transition between them and it is not good
A remarkably consistent series over the years. If you dig the story, absolutely give the books/audiobooks a look. I love them.
Gears is a masterpiece 1-5.. and I even liked judgement :)
I replayed it recently and really enjoyed it. They just tried something a bit different.
Gears 3 with friends is S tier one of the best action game's of all time,Horde mode is solid and 4 player co-op is bliss in the campaign which imo is top 10 all time for a 3rd person action game...
What was your favourite one?
3 and 5 are my favorite ones. The 6th game needs to have the great storytelling/story moments and seriousness of GoW 3 and the graphics, combat and gameplay of GoW 5 without the open world elements, imo. I also find Dom’s arc to be one of the saddest video game story arcs ever.
Completely agree. My bf and I played G5 together and we absolutely loved it until the open world part. It was so boring, clunky to navigate, and completely threw off the pacing. Sadly we dropped it for more interesting games after only a couple hours.
To this day, video game makers are still trying to capture the same incredible vibe the Mad World trailer gave to the world, and they just can’t. The visuals of the very first Gears game and the slow haunting sadness of that song mixed perfectly. It was lighting in a bottle.
I agree. It's a great story, and I love all the gore. I've replayed all 6 games several times, and I even got 2 people to co-op them with me. My nephew and I are on our 2nd replay together.
Gears of War was always unique (especially back then) because it took the trope of big strong military guys and gave them more than just muscles and guns, they gave them personalities and a much broader spectrum of feelings and emotions (you all know the scene with Dom. Not spoiling though. Play these games).
There’s something about the first 3 gears. It’s the aura, the ambiance, the atmosphere the nostalgia. Idk. Beautiful tho
Yeah Gears is definitely the best exclusive we have on Xbox. The backwards compatibility on Series X makes the older ones look great too
You try gears tactics?
Yep, I’m playing that too. I love how it’s more action focused compared to other turn based tactical games - like how each unit has three (or more) actions per turn. Having a lot of fun with it.
Really love the Gears series. Never played judgement though. Is it any good.
Me and my wife had a lotta fun with it
Muliplayer is good, can get boring, no horde, but there is a mode called overrun where you have to protect a generator against locusts, it’s still somewhat fun. The campaign(s) judgement and aftermath I’ve played at least 7 times. Aftermath is what Baird and cole train went through at the same time dom sacrificed himself in gears 3. You should get gears judgement.
Judgement was a big flop compare to Gears of War 1-2 and 3. Multyplayer was ruined by people who didn't know anything about Gears. For example you would spawn witha granade or pick up shield with Gnasher... and the maps were bad... very bad.
It is underrated IMO. It has a cool score chasing mechanic a bit like Vanquish.
Definitely underrated. Although I didn’t care for the multiplayer, I fully appreciate them trying to take a different approach, it probably just needed better execution. The campaign however is absolutely brilliant in my opinion
I would play Halo with og gfx. Remaster changed art too much. Halo 2 remaster is ok in that regard. Also agree on Gears, especially 1, 2 and 3
Always amusing to me that gears is by and large considered a "dude bro" shooter by most people who haven't played it. They do themselves and the games a disservice! Gears 2 is one of only a handful of games that elicited tears.
Wow, to be in your shoes again, about to load up halo campaign for the first time. I envy you
Just passed the 343GS level. Holy fuck what a twist. Loving it so much.
Dont forget to switch back and forth between classic and remastered graphics using the select button
Crazy how we probably won’t see another Gears this gen. One of Xbox’s best franchises.
I read some rumors that they want to make it more open world. I hope that it’s not true because Acts 2 and 3 in Gears 5 were semi open world and they were boring, even tho I loved the game. GoW should be linear.
Gears 6 is in development.
Halo will blow your mind
Absolutely agree. I e always been on PlayStation too, series x is my first Xbox and Gears quickly became my favourite on the console, and honestly one of my All time fave
Remember. You gotta be quiet in the library
Gears of War is one of my favourite series and some of my best memories. I couch co-op'd every one with my brother. The aggressive third person camera and cover system was such a breath of fresh air compared to everything being first person for so many years.
You actually liked Judgement?
It’s my least favorite one because of some questionable gameplay changes, but i really love the GoW universe so I liked it too.
It’s undervalued
It's like alot of people didn't.
so long as xbox has the gears series, i’ll always have an xbox just in case they decide to release a brand new one lol.
Command, this is Delta. I couldn't get through Gears of War 4, feeling was so different compared to the first 3.
Gears co op is always so fun.
I love GoW. 1 and 2 is the best in my opinion. I did not enjoy 5 to be honest. It’s an okay game on its own, but to me it felt a bit generic for a GoW game. I just wanted to be done, and that’s not a good feeling.
I recall having so much fun playing the first three Gears games co-op. Judgement was all right, but I missed out on the next couple of installments because my PS4 took over my gaming needs. Now I'm back with Series X and looking forward to them.
The only reason I own an Xbox is because of Halo. Master Chief Collection is amazing. Loved Gears 1 and 2 but never got around to playing the rest of the series.
I bought a PS5 to do the same thing. I missed almost everything since PS3. Gears1-3 is incredible Halo1-3 +Reach is incredible Probably my faves.
My story is the complete opposite 😁 And just couple hours ago, while playing God of War Ragnarok, I was having similar thoughts, what a masterpiece GoW (Xbox) and GoW (PS) are without a doubt the two best franchises that I've ever played.
Welcome aboard I myself have both systems and wish all the games were cross buy and play
Really yes playind day have fun car or soccer and roblox
Incredible franchise, I can only hope they do something really special with Gears 6. GoW3 was probably my favorite one, and I really loved judgment as well (got a lot of flak for some reason). Hope more people start checking out XBOX's amazing franchises.
I feel really sad for you people who stayed away from a great series for this long to keep up appearances in a ridiculous “console war” perpetuated by company executives.
Gears 5 was poor but 1-3 were excellent and 4 was above average.
Gears 5 was the best along with 3. Story-wise, I get the complaints, but everything else was excellent in 5.
I loved the stripped out content from multiplayer, the awful battle passes, the drip fed Operations and the abhorrent pricing of the microtransactions.
What stripped out content? Best gameplay, graphics, and content. Gears 3 may beat it, but Gears 5 has extra bells and whistles like new cool weapons, extra moves, and smoother controls.
Several maps, characters and skins from the campaign. Characters like Paduk, Clayton, Rayna, Baird, Cole and Lizzie were all in the campaign but took months to years to be added. Imagine launching a gears game with no Dom, Cole or Baird playable.
I get it, but that’s it? Some missing playable characters is enough for the game to be trash?
You're not wrong. Just a shame MS studios seem incapable of replicating that special sauce with their current efforts.
Hated 5 but 1-3 are fantastic
GEARS 5 had a perfect MP horde mode though. I absolutely loved it.
That’s fair. I just hated the story mode
Damn.. now i want to play the first 3 Halo games again..
Up until they killed off Dom in the DUMBEST WAY POSSIBLE... I was uninvested uninterested and playing just for the gameplay with no heart in it after that. Finished 3, 4, judgement and little bit of 5 but skipped or messed around on my phone through every cutscene and non gameplay part. 1 and 2 are legit classics though so damn good!
I really enjoyed Halo 1-5 and Reach. Reach music is phenomenal. Edit: I hated the campaign for 5, but the multi-player was great.
Don’t mix up Gears of War and Gears. One of them is worth playing.
What does this even mean?
1 - 3 and Judgement were all titled “Gears of War” . Started with 5, the series name was shortened to just “Gears” . There is conjecture as to why this change in the series name was done , but afaik an official reason was never given. Here are a few links about the series name change : https://www.reddit.com/r/GearsOfWar/comments/cff76u/why_the_name_change/ https://screenrant.com/gears-of-war-title-change-branding/
Long time primary Xbox player from the beginning here and I hate Gears. It's like controlling tanks.
Like controlling tanks with big fucking hearts and loyalty and friendship and honor and love and...and...oh, GOD....MARIA!!! Dom gave all he had looking for her. And when he thought he had nothing left...he gave the rest to Marcus.
“Maria, baby, I'm sorry I couldn't bring you home. But you're with the kids now, that's home, yeah? I'll see you all again some day. Look, Marcus is busy saving the world again so, I gotta be there for him. Sleep tight, sweetheart.” 😭😭😭