Gears of War 4 is an action-adventure shooter from developer Epic Games and publisher Microsoft Studios. The fourth installment in the franchise, it picks up a quarter century after the conclusion of Gears of War 3, with our hero JD Fenix and his friends Delmont Walker and Kait Diaz attempting to steal a weapon factory from the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG).
It’s not just about the campaign here, however; multiplayer is where this game really shines, and there’s plenty to keep fans coming back for more. There are some nice tweaks to gameplay – curb stomping enemy vehicles, for example, feels more satisfying than ever – while the introduction of eccentric new executions – chain sawing an opponent in half, for instance – are bound to get some people’s blood pumping.
The game also benefits from some nice visual enhancements, thanks to Unreal Engine 4. Those include screen-space reflections on puddles, physically based shaders for a more tactile look, and a persistent dynamic weather system that affects both the environment’s lighting and your gameplay.
If you’re a PC gamer, then this is the version of Gears of War to go for. It comes with more than 30 game settings that can be automatically optimized for 60FPS play, plus a dedicated server option that eliminates host advantage and makes the best possible experience on PC. Nvidia’s GeForce Experience is also bundled with this edition, allowing players to automate their profile and drivers, stream and record gameplay, receive free games and GPUs, and more.