Fans of the series and newcomers looking for a shooter challenge should flock to this prequel immediately.
The game follows Baird and his team at Kilo Squad, who are facing a military tribunal for actions I won't spoil here. But each member has a chance to tell their side of the story, and you re-enact these missions firsthand, playing through them and laying waste to Locust Horde soldiers. There's different structuring here, though. You play missions in segments, sometimes going from point A to point B, other times taking a Horde-like stance as you defend a position or a robot from harm. It works really well in the game's favor, though – especially considering the addition of the Declassified Missions.
These can be activated at the start of each stage, and doing so adds an extra layer of challenge, like extra enemies that strike from behind, limited vision, or a time limit before everything blasts to smithereens. Turning it on, however, lets you earn extra stars and XP, enabling you to unlock the supplementary Aftermath chapter, as well as being able to level up. Here, skill is everything.
Gears of War remains a beast to play, as you'll spend a great deal of time shooting and sawing enemies in half with your Lancer – as you should be. But People Can Fly managed to improve the controls in its own special way. Running around feels much tighter, and the aim feels a bit smoother as well, especially when you're surrounded and need to get your shots off right. It's also helpful being able to throw grenades without selecting them on a sub-bar – sticking them to enemies never felt so good. The only negative is, when you're playing on your own, your teammates can be idiots, sometimes running right past you when you're in the need for revival.
