Gears of War 4 review: Stepping up a gear
Gears of War, the genre-defining third-person cover-shooter, has had a slightly chequered recent history – Cliff Bleszinski, the driving force behind the series, moved on to pastures new after 2011’s Gears of War 3, implying he felt the franchise was stagnating, and 2013’s Gears of War: Judgment wasn’t great.
But GoW remains one of Microsoft’s flagship exclusive franchises, and the decision to entrust it to a new developer called The Coalition proves to have been spot-on. For Gears of War 4 is every bit as epic as a Gears game should be. This is an Xbox exclusive done right.
Gears of War 4 review: What’s the story?
Right from the start, you feel the benefit of a fresh perspective on the Gears of War universe. The single-player storyline finally manages to sidestep the series’ gung-ho Americanism which grated with many. More importantly, the campaign never descends into monotony thanks to a series of clever change-ups and judicious new gameplay mechanics.
Online, where, Gears of War has always reigned supreme, it somehow manages to find an even higher, ahem, gear, with new gameplay modes and a comprehensive overhaul of the much-copied Horde mode, which The Coalition has seen fit to dub Horde 3.0.
After a flashback prologue designed to reacquaint you with that familiar control system, Gears of War 4’s action begins 25 years after the Locust were finally defeated in Gears of War 3, and the planet Sera has become a very different place.
You find yourself playing as James “JD” Fenix, son of Marcus, who is living as an “Outsider” in a country village. You learn that the COG, led by the sinister First Minister Jinn, now exert near-fascist control over the cities. JD and a small band of villagers including Kait, a long-overdue major female character, embark on a raid of a COG establishment, aiming to steal a Fabricator – essentially a 3D printer that can create weapons and fortifications. To do so, they must take on waves of COG robots, so the first twist sees the goodies recast as baddies.
The Coalition / Microsoft Xbox
When the group gets back to their village, after a showdown with COG forces (which cleverly trails the revamped Horde mode), a new enemy arrives which they call the Swarm. Although JD, his sidekick Del and Kait survive, Kait’s mother, village headwoman Reyna, is abducted. So the trio head off to enlist the help of JD’s father, Marcus, now living a bucolic life in something of a country pile, in a quest to rescue Reyna. Back in tandem with Marcus, and kitted out in classic COG armour, the foursome embark on a suicidal quest to once again save the world.
Gears of War 4 review: Know your enemy
Although it isn’t the longest – you’re looking at eight to ten hours – Gears of War 4’s single-player storyline (which can be played co-operatively) is superb, right up there with that of the Doom remake.
It ebbs and flows magnificently, with some top-notch boss-battles and some interesting sequences in which the planet’s innate hostility intervenes: periodically, “windflares” hit, consisting of hurricane-force winds and deadly lightning discharges. Usually, you encounter those when taking on enemies, but you can use the conditions to your advantage, and sometimes you must use them to solve environmental puzzles.
The Coalition / Microsoft Xbox
There are a few on-rails sequences which are a bit weak, though, but at last Gears of War 4 uses a colour palette that extends beyond black and brown, and the new Swarm enemies are superb. The way in which JD and his gang work out what the Swarm are and how they came to exist is much more imaginative than anything we’ve seen in past games.
They are pretty varied in terms of size, shape and capabilities, so require a more tactical approach than in previous Gears of War games – although you still have to fill them full of vast amounts of lead. The so-called Juvies, which are fast and unarmed, will force you out from cover; while getting caught in the belly of a Snatcher, while hoping that your team will shoot you out of it, is a truly hair-raising experience.
Gears of War 4 review: Weapons revisit
Weaponry-wise, The Coalition has wisely opted not to mess around with a proven formula too much. There are some new Swarm ones, which cause major damage but quickly run out of ammo and, of those, the Buzzkill, which basically fires circular-saw discs, is the most fun – especially when you fire it into the maelstrom of a windflare.
The Coalition / Microsoft Xbox
But really it’s all about the familiar Lancer assault rifle and Gnasher shotgun; the weapons that you pick up from COG robots are uniformly awful – both unwieldy and lacking in power – and you get the feeling that was intentional.
In terms of replay value, the single-player game has a varied array of collectables and many will surely opt to enlist co-operative help and crank up the difficulty levels.
Gears of War 4 review: Multiplayer is marvellous
But who needs single-player replayability when you have a multiplayer game which is so extensive and beautifully honed? Gears of War 4 even has a new mode, the objective-based Escalation, which has an eye firmly on the world of e-sports, and there are so many different games you can play in Versus Multiplayer that everyone will find something. The best initial way in is via a Social playlist, which mixes and matches modes and maps, allowing its participants to vote on what the next match should be.
Old favourites Warzone (in which you get one life per round), Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Guardian are present and correct. Dodgeball puts the emphasis on respawning: every time you kill an enemy, you respawn a team-mate, with dead team-mates relegated to a queue. Arms Race forces you to get to know all the weapons, as every time your team achieves three kills, everybody’s weapon swaps to another one. It’s very much a Marmite mode, as it forces you to use the inferior COG robot weaponry.
The Coalition / Microsoft Xbox
It’s always impossible to make any certain predictions about multiplayer stability before a game comes out, but we spent many hours pre-launch playing the Versus Multiplayer, and only experienced one catastrophic crash (mercifully right at the end of a round). The matching seems pretty spot-on, although that is an aspect which is impossible to judge until servers are fully populated. But there were no visible problems with lag or falling frame-rates, which bodes well, and Gears of War 4 is very good at stripping in bots where needed.
A Gears Pack card system, which gives you some great characters, skins and bounties – multiplayer challenges – should prove popular, since you can craft your own cards. And it provides some really useful buffs and perks for devotees of Horde mode (in the interest of balance, they don’t apply to the multiplayer). There’s an in-game Credit system which extends across both Versus Multiplayer and Horde 3.0, so anything you do in those modes allows you to stock up on Gear Packs. And you can, of course, spend real money on them.
Horde 3.0 feels at the same time familiar and fresh. Its key new mechanic is the Fabricator: a crate which allows you to build defences, turrets and objects like decoys which attract enemies. Every enemy you kill drops power, which you can then take back to the Fabricator and which essentially acts as the currency with which to build new objects.
The Coalition / Microsoft Xbox
One new aspect of Horde mode requires a bit of attention, though: it has introduced the concept of classes, but your weapon load-out is hard-wired to your class. You can, of course, pick up weapons on the battlefield dropped by enemies, but you should pick your class carefully in order to avoid having to use one or more of the naff robot COG weapons. Gears of War 4 could do a lot more to explain that, and the Horde class system may prove to be controversial as a result.
So there are a couple of tiny niggles, but you really have to scrabble around to find them.
Verdict
Gears of War 4 is a tour de force – so good that it’s worth buying an Xbox One just to play it.
Online, in both Horde and Versus Multiplayer modes, Gears 4 is insanely addictive, with plenty on offer for the hardcore and the markedly less so, and its single-player game is the best any Gears of War game has ever boasted.
If you’re a big fan of third-person shooters then Gears 4 is, quite simply, the new standard-setter.
Rimac’s electric bike can go 150 miles on a single charge
Rimac has revealed a new electric bicycle that is just as impressive as its LaFerrari-killing, million-dollar Concept One supercar, in its own way. With a massive 3kWh battery, the Greyp G12H can go up to 240 km (150 miles) on a single charge, making it the longest-range e-bicycle out there. If you have a 10 mile round trip to work, each would cost 2.3 cents, making it one of the cheapest powered transportation options, too.
“Cheap” is strictly related to energy consumption, however. The Greyp G12S, the company’s current model that has a shorter 75 mile range but is faster at 70 km/h (44 mph) costs €8,380, or around $9,400. That’s Lionel Messi money (he bought a custom version), and the new model isn’t likely to be cheaper, as the battery is double the size. That said, other long-endurance models like those from Optibike are in that ballpark too.
The G12H and faster G12S both look more like motocross bikes than electric bicycles, and Greyp markets the latter as such (see the video, above). Given the 107 pound weight of the G12S model, in fact, the pedals are mostly for show, and the G12H should weigh at least that much. Other features include “Supernova” lights, a custom rack, and biometric sensor to activate the e-bike. There’s no word yet on availability or cost, but Greyp says the price tag and range will depend on the battery option you choose.
‘Gravity Rush 2’ won’t get a holiday release after all
A bunch of PS4 exclusives were supposed to drop this year, but almost all of them had been delayed. The latest casualty? Gravity Rush 2. The sequel to one of the key launch titles for the PS Vita was supposed to come out on December 2nd, a few days before the long-awaited release of The Last Guardian. Unfortunately, it’s been pushed back to January 20, 2017. The game’s director, Keiichiro Toyama, has explained on the PlayStation blog that while production has been going smoothly, the “landscape for that release date has changed dramatically.”
He didn’t exactly elaborate on what he meant, but it sounds like his team decided that GR2 would have a better chance early next year instead of following all the titles released this fall and joining everything else coming out this holiday season. Toyama, who also worked on the Silent Hill series, said that they put a lot of effort into its online features, and they want to see as many people as possible playing online at the same time.
The good news is that the team will make up for the delay by giving people free access to the premium DLC they were planning to sell. But those hoping that they’ll be rewarded with a Vita version for their two-month wait will probably be sorely disappointed. Toyama didn’t mention anything about Sony’s forgotten handheld, and the game will likely continue being a PS4 exclusive.
Source: PlayStation blog
Shazam Lite for Android requires less storage and data
Shazam has introduced a “Lite” version of its app today, designed specifically for Android users in emerging markets. Just like Facebook and Messenger Lite, it uses less storage and data than its full-featured sibling. Despite being a pared-down variant, it can still do what you mostly use Shazam for anyway: identify sick tunes, so you can look them up and listen to them again later. It can even ID music while offline and save your most recent results.
Shazam Lite takes up less than 1MB of space, whereas the full-sized version takes up almost 26MB on our Samsung phone. Add that to its ability to use as little data as possible and to identify tracks offline, and you’ve got the ideal app for a lot of users in emerging markets. You can install it on older phones and Android devices with very little storage and RAM, after all, and even fire it up in places with limited connectivity.
An English version of the app will be available on Google Play in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Nigeria sometime today, if it isn’t yet. The company is also releasing a Spanish version in Venezuela. If you live elsewhere and want a simpler Shazam, cross your fingers: we asked the company if it plans to release the app in other locations, and spokesperson James A. Pearson told us that it’s very much possible:
“GSMA estimated earlier this month ‘More than one billion people worldwide will be connected to mobile networks by 2020.’ I believe it was a logical strategy for Shazam to build on our global community of evangelists with new audiences in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We will surely see similar efforts in other regions, as we see potential growth and wider audiences in all emerging markets. We have seen half the population of North America fanatically engaged with Shazam on their devices — and we’ve just announced the app has been downloaded a billion times. Shazam Lite represents our ongoing commitment to deliver the magic of Shazam to the entire world.”
Your chances of getting it look pretty slim if you’re in the US and other developed countries, though. Iordanis Giannakakis, the company’s Head of Android Engineering, said in a statement:
“We’re focused on providing Shazam in areas where connectivity is poor and available devices may be limited. Shazam Lite was built from the ground up with listeners from these regions in mind and it aims to bring the core, ‘magic’ Shazam experience to them.”
Source: Shazam
Rome: Total War Coming to iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad Pro This Fall for $9.99
Feral Interactive has announced that the “full experience” of hugely popular war strategy game Rome: Total War will be coming to iPad this fall for the price of $9.99.
The third title in the Total War series, Rome has been hailed as “not only one of the best strategy games ever, but one of the best PC games, period”, according to MacRumors sister site TouchArcade, and Feral is promising a port of the game to iPad “without compromise”.
In what’s considered the highlight of the series, players get to take control of one of three Roman houses vying for control of the Republic/Empire. The turn-based strategy gameplay is punctuated by real-time battles in 3D, where players command and control huge swathes of units in the field.
ROME: Total War is a strategy game of epic scale, offering players a seamless integration of strategy and tactics to fight spectacular battles, while using diplomacy, subterfuge and assassination to pave the road to ultimate victory.
The game will require a first-generation iPad Air or newer, an iPad mini 2 or newer, or any iPad Pro. It also needs just under 4GB of free space to install.
An exact release date has yet to be confirmed, but you can learn more at Feral’s mini-site for the game here.
Tag: Feral
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Ads Now Appearing in App Store Search Results for U.S. Users
As expected, Apple has begun showing developer ads in the iOS App Store today for U.S. users, reports The Verge. Now, searching for popular terms like “taxi”, “calendar”, or “to do list” returns a banner ad for promoted apps above the search results.
Apple announced plans for the ads back in June and developers have participated in a beta testing program since that time. The App Store Search Ads system finally went live on September 28, inviting developers to purchase ad spots through the program. Those ads are now viewable by the public as of this morning.
With Search Ads, developers are able to bid to have their app listed as the top result when certain keywords are used, in order to improve app discoverability. Ads are available through an auction system, with one ad displayed to customers per search result page.
Ads are clearly marked as such and the content they show is the same as that on the App Store app description pages, since they use App Store metadata and imagery.
According to Apple’s Phil Schiller, Apple “thought about how to carefully” do search ads in a way that “customers will be happy with.” Apple also believes the ad auction system is fair to developers, including indie developers.
As of last week, developers who signed up to offer Search Ads have been given a free $100 credit to get started with the program.
Tag: Ads
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Apple, Google, Disney Unlikely to Bid for Twitter Buyout, Claims Report
Twitter shares took a tumble yesterday following reports that neither Apple nor Google are interested in making a bid for the social media company.
Last month, Twitter shares rose 20 percent after rumors emerged that it had received takeover approaches from several tech giants and that its board of directors was open to a deal, which could come by the end of this year.
But according to sources who spoke to Recode yesterday, Twitter should have “low expectations” of receiving an offer from Apple, while Google – hitherto considered its most likely suitor – is no longer moving forward with an effort to buy at this time. Disney, which had also considered a bid, has also ruled itself out.
That leaves American cloud computing company Salesforce in the driving seat for a potential acquisition, but the firm has so far refused to comment publicly on speculation that it is considering a buy.
Twitter is said to be eager to wrap up any deal before its quarterly earnings report on October 27, but the latest share slump suggests investors are wringing their hands over the likelihood of a firm buy offer any time soon.
For the last two years Twitter has been searching for ways to attract new users as the growth and profitability of rival social media companies like Snapchat and Facebook continue to outpace it.
In June, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey suggested Twitter can be somewhat confusing and alienating to its install base in comparison, but it remains to be seen whether its recent flurry of additional features will do enough to change that perception.
Critics remain skeptical and advertiser interest in Twitter has waned as a result, while the company has endured internal turmoil in recent years with a revolving door of executives and board members.
Tag: Twitter
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Upcoming Pokémon Go update will make it easier to catch rare Pokémon
Niantic is rolling out an update to Pokémon Go that should make it easier to track down rare Pokémon. With the update, trainers will receive a bonus when they catch enough Pokémon of a certain type. For instance, if you collect 50 water-type Pokémon, you’ll get a Swimmer medal with a “catch bonus” that improves the chances of finding rare Pokémon.
From Niantic:
We are adding a new feature which grants a catch bonus when you earn medals based on catching certain types of Pokémon (Kindler, Psychic, Gardener, etc.). These new bonuses will give you a better chance of capturing Pokémon with a related type. For example, as you reach a higher tier for the Kindler Medal, your bonus to catch Fire-type Pokémon such as Charmander, Vulpix and Ponyta increases.
Trainers can work their way to a new tier by catching many Pokémon of the same type. If a Pokémon has multiple types, your bonus will be the average of your bonuses for each type. For example, Pidgey is both Normal and Flying type. Your bonus in this case would be the average of your Normal-type and Flying-type bonuses.
The screenshots detailed by Niantic show that catching more Pokémon of the same type increases the corresponding bonus for each tier. There’s no mention of when the update will go live, but we’ll let you know once it does.
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Samsung’s getting its own Siri rival, a personal assistant called Viv
Apple has Siri, Google has the new and improved Assistant, Microsoft has Cortana and Amazon has Alexa, personal AI assistants are all the rage at the moment. So much so, that now Samsung wants to join them and has just announced it’s buying Viv, an AI assistant created by Siri founder Dag Kittlaus.
- What is Google Assistant, how does it work, and when can you use it?
Viv says what sets it apart from the competition is that it’s open to third-party developers, so any company can integrate their apps and services with it. It can also be used across multiple devices and not require you to set up new personalised preferences each time, instead just flowing from one device to the next.
Samsung says it plans to integrate Viv in more than just smartphones and tablets, but also wearables and home appliances, so you could perhaps ask your fridge to order some more food or your TV to set a recording.
Viv’s platform is able to conversational and contextualised, so you’re able to ask it complex queries and it will use its algorithms to give an answer, you could then follow that answer up with another related question and the software will know you’re still on the same topic.
Injong Rhee, CTO of mobile communications at Samsung said: “Unlike other existing AI-based services, Viv has a sophisticated natural language understanding, machine learning capabilities and strategic partnerships that will enrich a broader service ecosystem”.
“Viv was built with both consumers and developers in mind. This dual focus is what attracted us to Viv as an ideal candidate to integrate with Samsung devices and appliances”.
Dag Kittlaus, CEO of Viv said: “Samsung offers us a unique opportunity to deliver a single conversational interface to the world’s apps and services across a diverse range of products, at a global scale”.
Leica competition: Win a place on an exclusive Leica SL photography workshop
Ever wanted to get your hands on the Leica SL, the company’s first ever full-frame mirrorless camera, to test it out for yourself? Now is your chance.
On Saturday 5 November 2016, from 10am to 4pm, Leica will be hosting a special Akademie workshop in its iconic London Mayfair location, with places for six lucky Pocket-lint competition winners to sample the SL in a creative workshop environment.
With an assignment set by Akademie Tutor, Robin Sinha, you’ll get the opportunity to experience the mirrorless camera, plus Leica’s legendary lenses, under expert tuition.
This free-to-enter competition – which would typically cost £195 for the day – is open to all UK residents, whether a Leica user or not. It’s your chance to experience first-hand why the German camera-maker is internationally renowned.
Refreshments will be provided on arrival, as will a buffet lunch in the Leica Cafe, after which there will be a photo critique to discuss your images and the camera, followed by a personal visit to the Leica Store Mayfair.
For your chance to win this one-off experience opportunity, correctly answer this simple question. Winners will be drawn on Thursday 27 October and alerted by email.
Leica
Winners will be selected at random from all entries received. One entry per person. Entries received after the closing date of Thursday 27 October will not be eligible. No purchase necessary. Competition open to UK residents age 18 or over only. Transport to and from London, and accommodation, are not provided. Official photographic ID (such as passport or driving licence) plus one other form of identification showing the attendee’s UK address will be required on the day for security purposes (participation will not be permitted without both forms of ID). Leica reserves the right to change or alter Akademie workshops as necessary (in the event of poor weather, for example). Leica Camera Ltd and Pocket-lint do not accept liability for any loss, injury or accident that may occur during a workshop. The workshop may be photographed, and the images used for promotional purposes by Leica in the future. By entering the competition, the entrant agrees to their image being used in this way, free of any charge. Images shot on the Leica SL on the day remain the copyright of the photographer, however, by taking part, the photographer agrees that these images may be used by Leica for promotional purposes in the future. Pocket-lint and Leica reserve the right to publish the name of the winning entrant on their web sites and social media channels. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the selection of the winners. All entry instructions form part of the terms and conditions, which, by taking part, all entrants will be deemed to have accepted. If the winner is unable for any reason to accept the prize or cannot be contacted, Pocket-lint reserves the right to award the prize to another participant whose name will be chosen from all other eligible entries received. The prize is not transferable and no cash alternative is available. Leica Akademie is located at 27 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London W1J 6NR. Promoter name: Pocket-lint.com
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