Gears of War: E-Day: First Impressions

I just completed the first Act of the Gears of War: E-Day campaign and I already want to talk about it because – holy shit, what a first Act! If the rest of the campaign keeps up this level of quality, we’ve got a serious contender for my GOTY on our hands! I knew from the Multiplayer Beta that E-Day might be something special, but I was still blown away right from the opening.

With all the graphical bells and whistles now unlocked, E-Day is easily one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. I don’t normally get quite so excited when talking about visuals but – wow! As soon as I took control of Marcus I had to spend a few moments just admiring the scene. The opening Act takes place at night in the city of Kalona just as Emergence Day is beginning.

As tremors shake the city, nobody knows what the f**k is happening and then – the Locust begin to emerge, pouring out of sinkholes that are opening all across the city and slaughtering anyone in their path. E-Day doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to portraying this opening salvo of the Locust invasion.

The Locust don’t differentiate between civilians or soldiers, and E-Day doesn’t shy away from the pure horror of a city under siege by an unrelenting and monstrous force that shows no mercy. The streets are wet with blood as you and a small group of fellow soldiers attempt to fight back, rally what forces remain and guide what civilians you can save to safety.

It’s tense, brutal and fast paced. And it looks f**king glorious! The attention to detail is staggering, the lighting is incredible and the blood – the blood! After one intense shoot-out against the Locust in a supermarket, I noticed a slick, wet trail of blood snaking through the aisles. I followed the trail to find a wounded Locust drone crawling slowly away. Blood has never looked this good!

Which sounds . . . kind of a weird thing to say, but it’s true! I don’t think I’ve ever played a game with such a satisfying head shot system as a Locust’s face explodes in a shower of gore. And you don’t feel bad about it – not when you see the horrors the Locust are inflicting upon the people of Kalona.

The world is also incredibly reactive to the action – at one point I was firing at a Locust taking cover behind a stone pillar and my shots were chipping away at the stone, exposing him to fire. But the same later happened to me as I ducked behind a wooden board which promptly shattered from enemy fire.

The movement system feels even better than it did in the Beta – it’s the Gears cover based shooting that we all know and love, but with a higher degree of mobility and directional flexibility. The weight is still there, the punch of the guns, but everything feels a little smoother, with more fluid transitions between cover, aiming or movement.

I’m not going to jump into the MP modes just yet – I want to play through the campaign first. And it’s a campaign I’ll likely play again in co-op – it supports up to four players and (if you’re playing on console) 2 player split screen! We don’t see that often, these days! As a package, with the Campaign, co-op play, Versus and Horde Siege, E-Day offers fantastic value.

I know I still have a long way to go and it’s very possible my impressions of the game will change as I progress. But right now – what an opening! I’m going to get back to it!

Now Playing: Gears of War: Reloaded

After thoroughly enjoying the Gears of War: E-Day Multiplayer Beta, I was hankering for some more Gears action. So when I saw Gears of War: Reloaded on sale – the latest remaster of the original Gears of War – I bought two copies. One for me and one for my friend so we could play through the campaign in co-op again, just like we did 20 years ago on the 360 when the game first released.

I didn’t play the previous remastered version – the Ultimate Edition – so I can’t compare, but my understanding is that Reloaded is built upon it and more optimised for modern systems. And it’s important to recognise that this is a pure remaster – not a remake. It’s the original Gears of War just with a visual overhaul. No bells. No whistles. There are a few bonuses you can unlock in the form of comic pages and concept art, but that’s all.

I hadn’t played Gears 1 for more than a decade but just as with the recent E-Day Beta, the muscle memory kicked in quick and me and my friend were chainsawing our way through the locust horde with ease. We figured we’d put it on Normal difficulty to get reacquainted, but we ended up breezing through the campaign in less than five hours – not just because we found it easy, but because the campaign is extremely short.

Much shorter than I recall, in fact. The five chapters pass quickly but they do at least provide a solid experience. Gears 1 may not possess the most substantial campaign, but it does offer a fair degree of replay value with multiple difficulty options, collectibles to find and alternative paths you can take as you progress. It’s a game you’ll be happy to replay because it’s just so damn fun.

If there’s one thing that’s not changed in 20 years, it’s that the core combat of Gears remains just as satisfying today as it did back then – blasting drones into chunks with the Gnasher shotgun will never, ever get old. The game smartly mixes up the locations, providing a steady stream of varied environments and combat encounters with a small, but decent selection of enemy types.

Where Gears is really showing its age are the extremely frequent ‘radio talk’ moments. I’d forgotten how often these interrupt your progress, sometimes two or three times within just a few minutes. Your character is reduced to a crawl as they listen or talk over their earpiece. It’s a very annoying part of the original game.

From a story point of view, Gears still holds up well, but it feels like there’s so much more they could have explored or expanded upon. And that’s why, as much as I enjoyed playing this pure remaster of the original, it’s also convinced me that this is a game crying out for more than just a remaster.

Gears of War – hell, the entire original Gears trilogy I’d say – deserves the full remake treatment. After seeing so much exciting campaign footage for Gears of War: E-Day which serves as a prequel to Gears 1, my hope is that the next step are proper remakes of the original games in the same engine.

It makes sense – you have the engine, you have the models, and remakes of classic games are one of the safest bets you can make these days. But I do believe Gears is the sort of game that really would benefit from it – with scope to expand on the existing levels, flesh out the story and characters and all but removing those pace stalling over the radio conversations.

I hope they do it but if not, I’m also glad we have this modern remaster we can enjoy on modern systems. If you’ve never played the original Gears of War – or any Gears of War for that matter – this isn’t a bad way to start, but be aware this is a 20 year old game just with a visual overhaul. The most important thing is that Gears of War is still just fun to play. Sometimes, that’s all you really need.

7/10

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (BETA)

I play the beta for the latest Call of Duty most years and my reaction is usually the same: yep, it’s more Call of Duty! And if I fancy some more Call of Duty, I know I can just play the original Modern Warfare 2 again. That’s why, in all these years, I’ve not bought a new Call of Duty despite enjoying the various betas to various degrees.

I say to ‘various degrees’ because they do mix up the formula a little with each one and not always in ways that work for me. The last CoD beta I played was Black Ops 6 in 2024 and whilst I had a fun enough time with it, I also felt like CoD had evolved into something beyond what I’d enjoyed in the past.

All the zombies in riot gear flopping around like idiots, purple glowing guns, all the tiny maps that became a spawn killing carousel. It was an absolute clusterf**k with a lack of visual consistency and design focus wrapped up with the most irritating service ‘platform’ in which I needed to download the ‘CoD App’ to download the beta, to load the app to load the beta – I honestly felt like it would be the last time I gave a new CoD a shot.

And yet, here we are with Modern Warfare 4. I was going to skip it but I saw a campaign mission was included in the beta and I figured – what the hell! I was also glad that I didn’t need the CoD App. I could just install the MW4 client and pick Campaign, MP or Warzone straight from one menu. Simplicity, eh? Who’d have thought!

Let’s begin with the campaign mission: set in South Korea you’re part of a squad assaulting a nuclear power station that’s been captured by North Korean forces. At least, I think that’s what’s happening. It’s loud and bombastic with lots of yelling, lots of explosions and lots of moments where I accidentally shot at my own squad because in all the hectic action I wasn’t sure who was friend or foe.

There’s nothing clever about it. It’s scripted, linear madness but boy, do they know how to pull that off with aplomb! I’m curious where else the campaign takes you – and how long it is. Because a six hour campaign, even a top notch one – isn’t exactly worth the asking price for me. The multiplayer would have to win me over too – and there’s no way that’s gonna happen right?

Well . . . I’m shocked to say this but: it kind of has. Not entirely, but I’m more on the fence about picking up this CoD than I have been for any in the last decade. The first thing that struck me was the guns and movement. It’s not quite the full on ‘omni-movement’ of BO6 which is good because it offers a degree of mobility and flexibility in how you traverse the map without the ridiculous and annoying jumping, sliding and flopping to the floor.

But it’s the guns that instantly won me over – oh god, the guns feel and sound so f**king good to shoot. They’re all so punchy! And you get that oh-so-satisfying little ‘ping’ sound off a head shot. It’s like a little shot of adrenaline and endorphins all at once. It didn’t matter what I tried, everything felt good, although I have a particular love for the shotgun!

And I love how simplified and streamlined the unlock and create a class systems are. Everything is neatly presented, letting you tweak quickly and easily. I also liked how quickly I unlocked weapon mods – it didn’t feel like a grind at all and, more importantly, even the base weapons without mods felt viable. Oh, and no more glowing guns or zombies! I’m wary because I know that shit might come later but I sure hope they don’t! Keep it pure!

Unlike BO6, the maps are pretty good too! Yes, they’re still small, but they’re far more varied and elaborate in terms of design with high ground, low ground, open areas, narrow pathways and internal buildings. If you purely play TDM, there’s still a bit of a ‘kill carousel’ going on but if, like me, you prefer the objective focused modes like Domination, then these maps serve them quite well and cater to your preferred style of play.

You’ll have areas of the map where distance is King, others where close quarters is key, and plenty of mid-range options too. In other words – you can’t expect one class build to rule over the entire map so you need to think about what you’re carrying, what advantages your gear gives you in what kind of situation and location and behave accordingly. Thinking? In a CoD game? I can’t recall the last time I felt like that was important!

That doesn’t mean speed and accuracy aren’t key too – given the fast TTK, they most certainly are! But I like the fact that an old man like me without the reflexes of my youth can still rack up several kills in a row because I’m thinking about things like cover, positioning and approach angles rather than just relying on speed.

Which leads me onto Ground War and the main reason I’m actually – believe it or not – thinking about buying a new CoD game! Because whilst the 6v6 modes are fun, they don’t provide the large scale action I love. Ground War changes that because it is, let’s be honest here – Battlefield in a CoD package. Large map. Lots of players. Control points. Vehicles. How could I not enjoy it?

And so, here we are – another year, another Call of Duty Beta, but this one was different. This one may have actually won me over. I can’t say that it has for sure, but the fact I’m even considering it feels like a small miracle and a testament to just how refined MW4 felt to play.

The main problem is the release timing – it’s due out not long after Gears of War: E-Day! How can I find the time for both?!

Now Playing: Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

When Resident Evil 4 released on the GameCube in 2005 it not only redefined Resident Evil as a series going forward, it also came to define and inspire an entire generation of games and its influence can still be felt to this day.

Resident Evil 4 is a genuine classic and a fantastic game. I know that. You know that. For me, the question isn’t: Original or Remake? Because there’s really no wrong answer and I think you’ll have a great time either way. That’s why this review will focus on a more contentious debate: does this 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 capture what made the original so special?

I seem to have played quite a few remakes recently, but this was the one I felt most conflicted about. I played the demo prior to its release and there was something about it that didn’t feel right to me – I just couldn’t put my finger on why.

Spin on to 2026 and I finally picked up this remake in a sale. The time had come to be brave, get off the fence, get stuck in and make a judgement. Buckle up, kids, because this one’s gonna be a bumpy ride!

Resident Evil 4 is a game of three locations – the Village, the Castle and the Island. For those of us old enough to have played the original at release, the Village is probably the part we recall the most clearly (and fondly) because it’s the part we replayed the most. Because it’s the part we’d get our friends to play when they came over.

Because that opening in the Village is pure, terrifying joy! What begins with a slow, atmospheric build up suddenly explodes into a frenzy of violence, panic and genuine fear. It’s heart pounding, sweaty, and incredibly tense. Sadly, I think it’s the part of the original that this remake – perhaps unsurprisingly – struggles to live up to the most.

It’s important to recognise that the way we experienced the original at release can’t be replicated today. Huddled close to a small TV with fuzzy visuals and a very narrow field of view made the game feel claustrophobic in a way sharp HD visuals and widescreen monitors do not. Leon couldn’t turn, shoot or reload with ease due to the more restrictive controls, making it hard to track enemies as they slowly surrounded you.

Using the GC controller to line up a shot took precious seconds you didn’t feel you had, forcing you to decide between running, shooting or reloading. Call it a ‘nostalgia factor’ if you will, but the limitations of the time enhanced the experience in a way that’s impossible to recapture today.

But now, in 2026, with a wide field of view and the precision of mouse aim, I was running around headshotting the villagers with ease. I never felt any sense of panic. Of being overwhelmed. I didn’t even really feel at risk. One of the most memorable gaming moments of my life fell completely flat in this remake. But as I said, you can’t replicate the original experience in such a manner. It’s simply not possible and frankly, I doubt modern audiences would appreciate it if you tried.

That said, I don’t think the ‘nostalgia factor’ is entirely to blame here. There are design choices, cuts and changes that were made in this remake that in my eyes, fail to capture the magic of the original experience. In the original game, the village itself was more open and desolate looking. In the remake, it’s more cluttered and closed in. It’s an attempt at making the player feel more penned in with less escape routes. The problem is, it doesn’t quite work because you really don’t need them.

Which leads me onto the new parry system whereby Leon can now deflect attacks – most attacks, in fact – with his knife. In the original, when the ‘Chainsaw Guy’ arrived, he was fast, brutal and relentless and if he made it close to you, you knew you were utterly f**ked.

I was so disappointed when, in the remake, the Chainsaw Guy lumbered into view and even when he got close, that ‘parry’ prompt appeared, rendering what was one of the most terrifying encounters in video game history into an entirely trivial one. I don’t even dislike the parry system! It’s a smart modern addition, as is the new ‘stealth’ system. But I don’t feel it should work for every enemy or nearly every attack.

I also have to address how they handled the villagers in this remake. In the original, the villagers behaved like an angry mob. They worked together, spoke to one another, coordinating their attacks as they slowly surrounded you. It made Resident Evil 4 feel completely different to what came before in the series. You weren’t dealing with mindless monsters but thinking, planning and very determined individuals trying to murder you.

In the remake, the villagers just act just like dumb, mumbling zombies slowly lurching towards you. In the original they’d shout and laugh and taunt you. They had personality! That’s sadly been lost here. You could also shoot through doors in the original! You can’t here – likely a limitation of the new RE Engine and that’s something I’m going to touch upon later.

So much of the village location feels . . . quiet. The original had much stronger ambient audio and musical stings. The remake goes for a more sombre, serious tone but loses a lot of the atmosphere of the original as a result. Arriving at the church to free Ashley is a good example of this. In the original, a storm has begun and it’s loud – thunder booming overhead as heavy rain falls. In the remake, the rain is more like a smattering and the thunder feels distant. It’s oddly . . . relaxed. It doesn’t build the same sense of foreboding.

Even without the ‘nostalgia factor’ at play I still think the worst fumble this remake makes is the opening Village section. It completely fails to capture the tension, panic and atmosphere of the original. That said, I do think the remake improves significantly once you progress, most notably in the Castle and Island locations.

And yes, undoubtedly that’s likely because those sections aren’t so imprinted on my memory in the same way the opening is. But I do think by the time you arrive at the Castle, you’ve become more accustomed to how this remake feels to play and you’re more willing to go with the flow.

It does feel like they’ve cut a fair bit of the ‘silliness’ of the original. Because Resident Evil 4 could get very, very silly! I’ve always thought of it like the ‘Commando’ (the 1985 Schwarzenegger classic) of video games in terms of its escalating silliness. But moments where you’re being chased by a giant mechanical statute, for example, are totally cut from this remake.

And I get it. And I don’t even mind the shift to a more serious tone but it does, once again, make the game lose some of its original personality, particularly for the villains. In the original, they’d banter back and forth with Leon over video calls. All gone! But they did make Leon quip (badly) a lot in what feels like a misguided nod towards the original’s silliness . . . which then somewhat jars with the more serious tone.

Ashley, I must say, is less annoying as a character in this remake, but she is also a little more annoying as a partner. Unlike the original, you can’t order her to wait, only ‘keep her distance’ and she has a tendency to wander into trouble – or your line of fire – more frequently as a result.

We also need to talk about YELLOW PAINT. I really don’t mind yellow paint. I get it! When visuals are more busy, more detailed, it makes it harder to tell what you can or can’t interact with. But RE4 is excessive with the yellow paint to the point that it’s completely ridiculous. It’s everywhere and rather spoils the aesthetic of various locations when there’s a massive patch of yellow paint splashed up a Castle wall, for example.

Despite thinking that it fumbles the opening, there is a lot to love about this remake, and I can’t deny I had a good time playing it – but I also think it brings to light an issue I have with the modern Resident Evil games in general.

As I said at the beginning of this review, Resident Evil 4 redefined Resident Evil. It became a series that was consistently . . . inconsistent, with each new title feeling and looking and playing differently than before. But now, with all the games using the new RE Engine, these remakes and even the new games in the series all have the same look and feel. They’re now consistently . . . consistent.

Which, from a development point of view, I can understand the appeal – less development time, less cost, less risk. And I understand the appeal for new players who want a consistent feeling when playing through the series.

Resident Evil has become ‘safe’ if you will. It’s more streamlined, it’s more accessible. It smooths out all the rough edges – but those rough edges sometimes give a game a little more . . . dare I say it – soul.

And for Resident Evil 4, a game that redefined a series and inspired a new generation, to be reduced to such a homogenised experience that falls neatly in line just doesn’t feel right. It’s lost something special – something unique – in the translation to the new engine and the modern design choices they’ve made.

I guess you could say that the original and remake are both products of their time. The original came at a time when big publishers were more willing to experiment, innovate and take a risk. That’s not so much the case now in an industry relying on ‘safe’ sequels and established franchises and Resident Evil 4 Remake is a perfect example of that. It’s just a shame that a game that was famous for breaking the mould now sits neatly inside it.

It’s still fantastic to play because Resident Evil 4, at its core, is still fantastic. But I don’t think this is a fantastic remake. I think, overall, it’s a good one, but I also think it misses the mark too often for me to love it. There are ways in which it can’t hope to replicate the original experience, but there are ways in which it could have, but chose not to – to its detriment, in my view.

Nevertheless, I still had a great time playing it and I’m glad I did. And it’s not like the original isn’t widely available. If you’re new to Resident Evil 4 this really isn’t a bad way to experience it. And honestly, it would be hard to recommend the original to a new player when this version is available. But if you do enjoy this, maybe give the original a look? You never know, you might be quite surprised!

7/10

Wolverine, The Hypocrisy of Games Media & When You AAA Too Hard

Back in June, I shared my impressions of the upcoming Insomniac Wolverine game in my E3 Special post and they weren’t exactly glowing.

But I certainly wasn’t alone in my reaction, as social media was soon flooded with similarly mixed opinions. And that’s fine – it’s marketing material designed to sell people on the game and people have a right to express their opinion on if said material was successful or not. This is the way it’s always been and yet . . .

‘Marvel’s Wolverine Is Another Victim Of The Internet’s Endless Gaming Negativity’

That was the headline on a Gamespot article that I found rather laughable, not because I disagree with the general premise that there’s an online negativity machine – social platforms like X and YouTube reward outrage and toxic engagement and that’s been a growing trend for years. But games media is just as guilty of perpetuating toxicity and profiting from it.

More subtle about it, perhaps, more reliant on snark and sarcasm than outright abuse, but toxic just the same. I’ve written about this before – about games media tearing games down relentlessly for clicks. Participating in the very same engagement economy they’re suddenly so determined to criticise.

Which brings us back to Wolverine. I’ve not played Wolverine. I can only share my opinion on what I’ve seen and what I’ve seen has disappointed me. Does that make me yet another cog in the ‘hate machine’? I don’t think so.

The big issue I have with Wolverine is that it doesn’t look like the game trusts me to play it. It looks designed to provide an experience that’s as frictionless as it is accessible to all and I think the feeling of disappointment I have isn’t really about Wolverine, but about how I’ve come to feel about many modern AAA games – and that’s what prompted me to write this post.

Not because they’re badly made or, indeed, bad games! But because they’re increasingly frictionless. Cinematic. Polished. Accessible. Heavily telegraphed. Carefully choreographed and constantly reinforcing what the developer wants you to do. None of which, when appropriately proportioned, are necessarily bad design choices, but when you sand down every rough edge, what are you left with?

You’re left with games designed around eliminating opportunities for the player to fail, experiment, get lost, make a mistake or – most importantly – express themselves. Spectacle without agency. That’s the heart of it, I think. And that’s where games like Wolverine have increasingly lost me.

Now Playing: Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations (DLC)

There’s a certain degree of expectation when it comes to DLC content and to call Revelations a ‘DLC’ feels misleading. This is an old-school style expansion pack – the likes of which we rarely see these days. Hell, (no pun intended!) I put nearly as many hours into Revelations as I did the base game.

Revelations begins where the The Dark Ages concluded, serving not only as an expansion but a de facto sequel. As the Doom Slayer, you’re continuing your one man crusade against the Legions of Hell. Revelations expects you to hit the ground running, throwing you right back into the thick of the action.

If, like me, you haven’t played the base game for while, you might need to spend a little time – maybe even drop the difficulty a notch – getting yourself back up to speed. And I wouldn’t be ashamed about tweaking the difficulty when you start this DLC – it certainly feels like a step up in terms of challenge than the base game.

Revelations opens with a prologue chapter before the Slayer is cast into Purgatory. You retain access to all your weapons and upgrades but you lose access to your shield. In its place, you gain the Chain Spear. Oh boy – I can’t wait to dig into that! To say the Spear may take a little time to acclimatise to is an understatement.

The Dark Ages played a particular way – combat fell into a defined ‘flow’ or ‘groove’ just like Doom 2016 and just like Doom: Eternal. The Chain Spear turns that way and that ‘groove’ entirely upon its head. In a way, it’s like learning the game all over again. And the Spear, initially, feels incredibly weak to the point that you really do miss your shield because the shield provided a ‘safety net’ of sorts.

You can block and parry with the shield, but you can’t block with the Spear and the parry timing doesn’t feel quite so generous. You can dodge with the Spear, but it won’t give you breathing space in the same way a tactical shield charge would. Whilst the shield had offensive capabilities, it still felt like more of a defensive tool – but the Spear is the complete opposite.

The Chain Spear demands and, more importantly – rewards – aggression in a way that's more reminiscent of Doom: Eternal with a focus on frantic mobility and speed. You still feel the weight of the Slayer. Those thundering steps. But now – you’ll believe a Slayer can fly. The Spear does feel, as I said, somewhat weak initially. It’s a weapon that requires several upgrades before you truly unlock its potential.

But fear not – because you also get your shield back early into the campaign and once you do, you’ll be able to seamlessly switch between the shield and the spear on the fly in combat – sometimes when you’re literally flying! This gives you the ability to play Revelations with two very distinct combat flows or – if like me you want to mix things up – switch between those flows mid-combat depending upon the arena or the enemies you’re facing.

This is, without a doubt, tricky initially and does take time to learn. However, the more I upgraded the Spear and understood how to utilise it effectively, the more I went from missing my shield to barely wanting to use it at all. As a big fan of Eternal, the fast paced, aggressive mobility of its combat style made me feel all warm and fuzzy as I dodged, dashed and chain hooked my way from one demon to the next.

The Chain Spear is fantastic – an addition that completely transforms how The Dark Ages feels to play, and when combined tactically with the shield, provides an immensely satisfying, varied and absolutely relentless experience. Just don’t expect to be very good with it right away – it takes time (and upgrades) to master.

In Purgatory, the Slayer is tasked with travelling to three realms to retrieve pieces of a key that will enable them to escape the limbo dimension. Each realm has its own distinct visual theme, puzzles and encounters. With all three keys, you’ll embark upon a final mission in a new area (no spoilers!) culminating in a final boss fight. Or . . . not so final, as it turns out.

Because Revelations doesn’t end there. You then get access to a ‘Master Key’ that unlocks new areas in the previous realms with new encounters, new puzzles and new challenges – including some very enjoyable ‘classic’ mini-levels in the style of the original Doom games. Completing all of this extra content rewards you with yet another key which in turn unlocks another boss fight – and a damn hard one at that! But if you think it’s over – think again! Defeating that boss unlocks four more ‘Master Arenas’ to really test your skill.

The content value here is undeniably fantastic, but more importantly, it never feels like padding. Every new area introduces something worth seeing, fighting or discovering . . . and it’s all so polished, so perfectly paced. This is peak first person shooter. It just doesn’t get much better than this!

If you haven’t played The Dark Ages yet then do so and be sure to pick up this expansion alongside it. It actually went on sale at 50% off five days after I purchased it. Normally, that would irritate me, but Revelations is so damn good that I ain’t even mad. It was well worth every penny.

Given the recent lay-offs at id Software, I don't know what the future holds for the studio or for Doom. It’s a strange position to be in – they’ve just delivered not only an incredible Doom game, but an incredible expansion to go with it. But if this really is the end of an era for id, then what a hell of a way to go out.

9/10