By revisiting Marcus and Dom at the start of the Locust invasion, E-Day resurrects the visceral combat of Xbox’s golden age.
Not too long ago, Xbox could be counted on for at least one earth-shattering title each year. Halo, Gears of War and Fable consistently delivered experiences to get excited about, both in-game and with their over-the-top launches. While the giant launch nights with lines outside the local game store may be gone, Gears of War: E-Day brings back the feeling of a bygone era of Xbox exclusive blockbusters that genuinely felt like an event worth celebrating.
Rather than trying to reinvent one of gaming’s most recognizable formulas, The Coalition—the studio stewarding the series for the last 16 years – has taken the classic Gears experience, polished it for modern hardware and put its best foot forward. The result is a brutal, beautifully-made blockbuster that feels remarkably like the kind of games that defined the Xbox 360 era.
Set 14 years before the original Gears of War, E-Day puts Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago at the beginning of the Locust invasion, when the world has no idea what is happening or how to fight back. It’s a story the fans have always known existed but never got to see first hand…until now.
That premise gives the campaign a darker, more desperate atmosphere, but the real attraction is the return of the combat that made the series famous. The chunky weapons, satisfying cover mechanics, frantic executions and spectacular firefights are all here, only now they move with considerably more freedom. The Coalition has modernized the movement and traversal without losing the deliberate, tactical rhythm that makes Gears combat so distinctive.
That commitment to the fundamentals is exactly why E-Day works. This is not a game desperately searching for a new identity but a giant reminder of why the formula was so good in the first place. The campaign throws gamers into huge, chaotic battles, lets them rip through Locusts with the Lancer and then gives them just enough breathing room to appreciate the world and the characters between epic firefights.
The city of Kalona provides a spectacular backdrop for the invasion, while the graphics make the whole thing look like a modern interpretation of a lost Xbox 360 classic. For longtime Gears fans, that familiarity is maybe the biggest draw. Marcus and Dom are back, the Locust feel threatening again and the campaign delivers the kind of visceral action that made the original trilogy so beloved.
The story is engaging throughout and far from playable in a single sitting, taking players through the events that set up the original Gears trilogy but still delivering some surprises despite its pre-ordained conclusion. Its substantial length is another welcome change in an era when blockbuster campaigns increasingly seem afraid to overstay their welcome.
Gears of War: E-Day does have an obligatory online multiplayer component that will likely also scratch the itch for the Gears faithful but it’s still too soon to say what kind of staying power E-Day will have in an online landscape already crowded with enormously successful multiplayer games. The quality of the mechanics is there but whether players will still be coming back months from now is something only time and the community can answer.
What E-Day ultimately gets right is something increasingly rare in big-budget games; it knows exactly what it wants to be. This is Gears of War with the volume turned up, a modern technical showcase built around an old-school design philosophy. It does not need to apologize for being familiar and it does not need to chase every trend in contemporary gaming.
For longtime fans, it feels like a genuine return to form. For anyone who remembers the days when an Xbox 360 blockbuster meant firing up a campaign, grabbing a friend and settling in for an unapologetically huge, grisly and fun action game, Gears of War: E-Day is a welcome reminder of just how good that era was.
