If “remastering” can simply be described as improving the presentation of old media for newer hardware, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition could be used as the perfect example. If you’ve never played the original Gears of War, never experienced the new acts from the PC version, or have never touched the series at all, this is now the perfect opportunity. The Coalition, who are also developing Gears of War 4, have put together an excellent remaster of a game that introduced the idea of the cover-shooter gameplay to the mainstream.


Welcome to Gears of War’s ruined yet beautiful world of Sera. The game also holds the title of being the first to combine a chainsaw with a machine gun, creating the now famous “Lancer”.

For those new to the series, the Gears universe is one of near-constant warfare. Even after a “Golden Age” of peace and prosperity, human factions of the planet Sera went back to decades of fighting over resources – primarily the energy source “imulsion” – and were subsequently left unprepared for an invasion from below. The Locust Horde emerged on what became known as “Emergence Day”, devastating nations, butchering the population, and resulting in the Coalition of Governments – the COG – turning superweapons on their own cities to deny the Locust a foothold.

Fourteen years after E-Day, protagonist Marcus Fenix is sprung from jail and reenlisted into the diminished COG forces to assist on a mission that could end the Locust threat. What follows is a non-stop, frantic 36 (narrative) hours of cover-based shooting with a simple-yet-engaging plot. The characters may embody the space marine cliché in both appearance and actions, but the world itself is rich in lore and the story does a great job of shifting the action from all-out daylight assaults to tense nighttime battles and races against the clock.

For those who have already played the original title on the Xbox 360, the Ultimate Edition includes five lengthy acts that were originally PC exclusive – light on story, but heavy on strategic combat against overwhelming numbers and a final showdown with an angry Brumak. Additionally, the collectible COG tags found during the campaign now unlock five comics that expand on the lore and explain the build up to the events of the sequel. All-in-all, the Ultimate Edition is a great way to re-experience the original game and provides a lot of additional backstory that enriches the Gears experience.

...the Ultimate Edition includes five lengthy acts that were originally PC exclusive – light on story, but heavy on strategic combat against overwhelming numbers and a final showdown with an angry Brumak.

Collectibles now provide more than just achievements. The unlockable comics reveal more about the Fenix family and the events leading up to Gears of War 2.

Core gameplay remains identical to the original, right down to some frustrating flaws. If you’re new to the series, Gears of War is the quintessential third-person cover-shooter. Unless you’re playing on the easiest difficulty, you’ll go down quickly in a hail of gunfire when not clinging to the nearest wall or waist-high barrier. Each combat sequence is a mini-puzzle, requiring you to assess cover placement, enemy position, and then carefully position yourself to avoid fire and flank entrenched foes. Weapon choice – both yours and your opponent’s – determines your optimal engagement range. You always have to keep an eye on various enemy types, ranging from shotgun-wielding chargers, distant snipers, and an annoying late-game enemy that wields an insta-kill explosive bow. The game can be incredibly tough in places, so the developers have included an additional “normal” difficulty to ensure everyone is catered for.

While I primarily enjoy the campaign – which can be played cooperatively online or splitscreen – multiplayer retains the same chaotic feeling of the original. The shotgun remains ridiculously overpowered, resulting in matches with players desperately rolling towards and away from one another, hoping to land an inaccurate blind-fire first. Objective-based game modes like Assassination and King-of-the-Hill (a new mode from Gears of War 2 and 3) encourage more tactical team play. Unfortunately, the excellent Horde mode was not retroactively added to the Ultimate Edition.

Each combat sequence is a mini-puzzle, requiring you to assess cover placement, enemy position, and then carefully position yourself to avoid fire and flank entrenched foes.

While the gameplay mechanics remain solid, there are some frustrating elements that were left unchanged. Firstly, cover is incredibly “sticky” at times. In both the campaign and multiplayer, it’s not uncommon to find yourself unable to detach or roll away from a structure. Too many times I died to a shotgun-wielding enemy while my character writhed back and forth against a wall. Secondly, the friendly AI is often awful. Even with another human player in co-op, there are typically two AI teammates who will happily run ahead and die unless constantly commanded to “cease-fire” – returning them to the player position. As soon as a battle is over, AI scripting will kick in and they will run off towards the next encounter only to go down in seconds again. Mercifully, AI have infinite bleed out time, so at least they won’t die and force a reload.


You’ll experience a lot of the game crouched behind waist-high walls. Mobility, strategic use of cover and correct weapon choice is often just as important as your ability to aim.

Visually, the game is completely overhauled, including new CG cutscenes. Yet even with all the visual improvements, it retains the exact same level geometry as the original, ensuring gameplay is unaltered. Textures are more detailed, there are more objects in the environment, and lighting is often brighter, yet more realistic. The framerate is a locked 30FPS, but feels smoother than the original titles thanks to some excellent motion blur. The audio quality and sound-mixing is improved, but the game retains all the original dialogue. The presentation is not perfect – there are a few low resolution textures that really stand out and plenty of pixel-shimmer on edges – but the Ultimate Edition looks as good as I “remembered” it. It was only in the second half of the game that I realized just how much better the environments and lighting look and it is well worth checking out a comparison video to see the changes side-by-side.


It took a while to realize, but the visuals are hugely improved while still retaining the atmosphere of the Xbox 360 original.

...even with all the visual improvements, it retains the exact same level geometry as the original, ensuring gameplay is unaltered.

The cutscenes are now all CG but only serve to enhance the original script and still use the original dialogue.

If you have somehow never played a Gears game, the Ultimate Edition is a fantastic place to start. While not as epic or as diverse as the sequels, it has a focused story, fun solo and cooperative gameplay, chaotic yet enjoyable multiplayer, great visuals, and a string of extras to bring you up to speed on the lore. For fans of the original, the addition of five lengthy new acts in the final chapter, coupled with the visual overhaul, make it a worthwhile purchase. The game is not perfect, with some annoying control issues and AI, but it was the right choice of game to remaster as it formed a solid base for the rest of the series and was influential in the design of many other titles.