Having watched Gears 5 at Gamescom, i see alot of backlash to Horde mode and im hoping TC are listening. Listening to Rod speak on it, i believe he proved TC and the fan base both have completely different views on what Horde is. So im laying out my thoughts.
Not to attack or ridicule TC, but to express my thoughts and sincere disappointment in what they have done to Horde. Which is, many would agree, the best and most enjoyable co-op experience on XB.
1.) Rod said that players used to lock down on position and fortify it for the 50 waves without moving to other locations.
- The problem with Rod saying this is quite obvious. Players dont hunker down in one spot against their will. They dont try to fortify one spot because they have no choice. We did it because we want that. It gives a feeling of having a base. It encourages teamwork to defend it and upgrade it. It makes the fortifications vital. The feeling of being surrounded and set upon by the Horde comes from having a spot to hold up and survive in.
Horde is not the game type for run and gun, for changing location to a new spot “every 10 waves”.
I can’t speak for all players but i think its safe to say most dont want to be encouraged to be sprinting around the map changing 'power taps. They wanna hold up with their squad beside them supporting each other as a team.
- ULTIMATES
- Oh where to begin.
TC, an air strike makes sense. If players had the ability to call in a Hammer strike in previous games, it makes sense to call in an air strike. That should be an ability called in from the Fabricator/Command Post for a LOT of power. It should never be a rechargeable ability SPECIFIC TO ONE CHARACTER.
Invisibility? I mean c’mon guys do i need to explain why a franchise as dark, gorey, gritty and intense might suffer abit of a tone issue with the introduction of Active Camo? This isnt a Sci-Fi franchise.
This isnt a cartoon. This is Gears.
“You can look over and see Kait, but you know she has an ability to TURN. HERSELF. INVISIBLE. so you dont have to worry if she gets into a tough fight”… wow, ok. Except we should. If someone is screwed in Gears, they should not have a magic turn invisible save your own ■■■ miracle super power to get out of it. You get shot to hell. You get a grenade stuck to your face. You get swarmed (pun intended) and your team should be your only saving grace.
X-Ray.
Alright other than the obvious. There was an xray in Gears 4. But way different. Being able to see through walls DOES NOT mean you can fire super bullets through that wall/WALLS and destroy anything through them. Bullets dont do that. This may be a fictional franchise but it has always been grounded in a sense of reality. Gears has always at its core given the impression Humanity is out matched and fighting an up hill battle. How can players feel that if they can go invisible, fire through layers of solid concrete and obliterate anything through it or rain hell on enemies just by waiting a few minutes for it to recharge?
- Jack.
- Ok TC, credit where credit is due.
Jack looks badass. I loved the idea of having a player on my team being an engineer and being responsible for repairing our base. If thats being replaced with JACK. Thats awesome.
However, im confused as to how one plays as Jack. Is this an ability used at the Fab? Is it something specific to Del as an engineer?
Having Jack on the field would be great, but if a player has to choose to play as Jack and be on the field as Jack for the entire 50 waves? Well, i think you’ll find few would want that. Personally i think having Jack hover around our team doing passive actions to help, with a player(engineer) using a Fab ability to control him for short periods of time and using his abilities.
- Reach/Terminator/gimmicks
- Let me start by saying i LOVE Halo. In FACT, Gears and Halo are the reason i own an XB1.
I have many fond memories of Reach and i LOVE Terminator 1 and 2… hell i even enjoyed 3 and Salvation (in denial that Genysis even exists).
But a problem is becoming very visible here.
TC, gimmicks are not a substitute for quality.
You cant shred Horde to its core and then say “oooh look Spartans in Gears!”
Having these characters is awesome, i ■■■■■■■ LOVE Halo.
But i would sacrifice Chief himself in Gears for having Horde actually still be Horde.
- The big one CHARACTERS.
- Oh TC what the ■■■■ have you done. Choosing your character before going in to Horde mode is by far, the most important, most loved, VITAL, part of Horde mode.
This is because of a multitude of reasons i will try to lay out.
A. Gears of War, as a franchise, has some of the coolest Character and Armour design in Video Game history. The Helmets, the Armor. Just badass to the core. And we want to use those designs!
Did it not dawn on ANYONE in TC that maybe the reason there was demand after demand to add certain characters into Gears 4 is because the player base cares so much about being able to choose a character?
B. The campaign characters are great. I mean, they took awhile to resonate with the fan base i guess but hey they’ll do. I like Kait. JD has grown on me. Marcus is, well, Marcus ■■■■■■■ Fenix. And this is the reason we welcome them as our heroes IN. THE. CAMPAIGN. They are good additions TO THE GEARS STORY. They’re well designed and they look great and their Voice Actors NAIL IT. This is not an attack on those characters.
But i, we, dont want to chained to these characters. We want variety we want Horde to feel different from the campaign we want choice! We want the Carmines, we want the E-Day Gear again, we want to use the character designs we love so much.
C. Saying the TC is not learning from Gears history is an understatement. Again, not ripping on TC, im grateful they’re keeping Gears alive.
Gears 4 forums were full of demands and discussions about they’re favourite characters being playable.
The Carmines and Gears in particular. The demand for the Onyx Guard was CRAZY. People hated the way they had to get those characters. Micro transactions SUCK. Glad to see them go.
However, its almost like TC were saying “ok lets get rid of micro transactions AND THE MOST VITAL ELEMENT OF HORDE AT THE SAME TIME”
Rod, TC. This is a mistake in an almost unexplainable way.
I cant understand how in the hell anyone at the TC could support the idea to remove Character selection and go for 5 set characters.
D. The fact that you will be adding characters and maps with more SET ULTIMATES as time goes on is not save. It does not equal the same thing as desired characters being available to players. Hypothetically, lets say someone wants to play as Dizzy in Horde. Is he/she supposed to just hope he will be the next released Character sometime in the next few months and hope he doesnt come with a cartoonish style ultimate that ruins the immersion of the game? Considering the list of characters in Gears history, your one preferred character could be years away. And then, again, they may come with Ultimates no one wants.
Final point.
Rod, TC, there is alot of people who refuse to accept Gears im4 and 5 arent just Gears 3 with more maps. There is some unjustified childish trolls on here. Im hoping you know how to separate them from the real, legit criticism of what is an undeniable mistake.
This version if Horde. Is a mistake.
Hope this catches your attention. Still stoked for Versus and Campaign. Thanks for your hard work.
Drop the hammer!
