The base building in “Gears Tactics” isn’t like in games like “XCOM.” It’s all about combat. Heroes and regulars have different roles: Support, Vanguard, Heavy, Sniper, and Scout. Using a skill tree, players can fine-tune builds for different scenarios. Gabe can heal the squad or boost teammates with his empower ability. Vanguards like Sid are great at charging into battle or disrupting enemies. A sniper like Mykala deals damage from afar while a scout uses stealth to flank an enemy. Last but not least, Heavies are the best at covering allies as they move across a map with the overwatch ability.
Due to the limited number of people in a squad, players have to decide what kind of mix of classes they’d like to use. In some missions, players must move like scouts to collect valuable cases before bombs explode. Some missions will require a heavy to hold down an area while the squad gathers supplies. Players have to advance carefully and never leave themselves open in “Gears Tactics.” Like “XCOM,” this tactical game gives players more flexibility when it comes to switching between characters.
By switching between several party members, players can weaken tough foes with melee attacks from the closest one. The rest of the squad is inspired to kill more when they see that unchained violence. This lets the squad take more actions per turn, giving them an edge. Reviving fallen comrades makes the game more accessible. To help a fallen ally, players must have the right character or healing kit. In “Gears Tactics,” the fallen soldier can self-revive with only one action point. They can also get help from a teammate to get back on their feet. You can take a little more risk in combat, while still keeping the action challenging.
There’s no traditional save slot in “Gears Tactics.”. You have to finish the mission. There’s no way to save the game, make a mistake, and go back. They can only continue at a checkpoint. Due to the flexibility when it comes to reviving comrades, the missions aren’t too hard. Also, the missions are short enough that making a mistake and restarting isn’t too bad. Even though Splash Damage and The Coalition get everything right with “Gears Tactics,” it relies too much on combat. The characters aren’t very interesting, and the plot isn’t very interesting either. Even worse, the game tends to pad its length with side missions.
In these procedurally generated tasks, you can get extra gear to customize and strengthen your troops, but they get rote after a while. Gears Tactics’ biggest problem is that it doesn’t do enough to stand out. It’s too much like “XCOM” and too little like “Gears.” Chainsawing a Locust is fun, but the gameplay lacks the distinctive quirks to feel cohesive. Top-down perspective takes away some of the epic scope of boss battles. With added enemy reinforcements, the bosses get tougher. In spite of that flaw, “Gears Tactics” is still fun. The developers will have to come up with more innovative gameplay mechanics to set this game apart from its competitors.
