Gears of War Review

 In this review, I want to talk about an unusual board game. It is unusual for two (even three) reasons: firstly, it is based on a popular computer game (no, no, this is not Civilization), and secondly, this game is an action game. A real action game in a desktop version! And thirdly, the game was successful, which, as you understand, does not always happen in games (or movies) based on well-known franchises. So, meet: Gears of War, or "Six of War"!

 The board game Gears of War is based on the computer game of the same name, released on PC and consoles in three parts, which has gained considerable popularity. To be honest, I haven't played the original, so I don't even know who the Locasts are and why they fight the humans. Then, you ask, how did I buy it if I'm not a fan of this game on PC? For several reasons: FFG, Corey Konicka, and fancy Artificial Intelligence (AI). The game promised a never-before-seen opponent AI (yes, this is a cooperative game in which one to four people face off against a cardboard dummy), and looking ahead, I will say that the developer managed to fully realize the illusion that you are playing with a fairly intelligent opponent. And all it took was a deck of cards!

 A very unusual game genre. Although there were games with a similar content before that (Doom, Space Hulk), it was quite a long time ago and each of them had a villain player. So, this is a real tactical shooter! I wonder how Konichka managed to adequately transfer the infernal shooter from the computer to the table and also turn it into a multiplayer? Miracles, and sometimes...

 Perhaps, I will tell you about the composition of the box. Since Gears of War was released by FFG, the quality of miniatures and maps should not be mentioned separately - and so it is clear that it is excellent. Although, I will stop a little bit on minky - I have not seen such high-quality ones anywhere on the tables (or so I think). The detailing is excellent, you can see every little thing, and they did not skimp on the size. The artist who painted the miniatures for me noted that it was both easy and difficult to paint them at the same time - precisely because of the excellent detailing, where every jamb was immediately visible. In the tabletop Gears of War, 4 heroes are available, each with their own card, which indicates their starting ammunition (it is slightly different for each fighter) and some unique special ability (more details below). There are a lot of cards in the game - as I already said, the II engine consists entirely of them; also, all orders to fighters are given using maps, all weapons, mission conditions and information about locast monsters are displayed on the maps. Ammunition and grenades are made using tokens, very convenient. The terrain tiles are great, the cardboard is very thick and dense. Some expressed complaints, they say that the small ones are too small, the monsters pile up on them, it's inconvenient, but I didn't notice this during the game - everything is perfectly contained and practical. The tiles are divided into zones, along which the fighters and Locasts walk, very conveniently, there are practically no questions about the range of movement and line of sight (unlike the unforgettable Descent, where the tiles are divided into cells and disputes of this kind arise at every step).

 Let's move smoothly to the gameplay. All the missions in "Gears" are varied, it may seem to some that 7 missions are too few for the game, but it is not so. Not only are they all different and use different monsters, but each time the tiles of the terrain will be laid out in a different order, and because of this, the optimal order of passage (if there is one at all) will be different. Each type of monster has its own card, where all the information about them is displayed - how much protection it has, whether it can be cut down by a lancer (ooooo, rifles with chainsaws are not only a feature of "Warhammer"!), how many life points it has, how powerfully it attacks. Some have ranged weapons, some only attack in an area with a fighter. Well, each type of monster has its own special feature, which is activated only if a special sign, popularly known as a "skull", or, using the game's terminology, an "omen", falls on one of the attack cubes.

 By the way, each weapon in the game not only has 2 alternative modes of fire, but also has its own features that are activated by the "omen". Each fire mode shows how many dice the fighter will roll in an attack, attacking with or without spending an ammo token. The "trick" is that with the consumption of cartridges, the attack is much stronger, but replenishing stores can become a real problem. And if you take into account that with the lack of cartridges, even the "gentle" mode of shooting stops working, you will involuntarily start saving ammunition and sawing more often (especially since some order cards hint).

 Now about the Locust AI. Like I said, it's just a deck of two types of cards: 1) monster-specific order cards, and 2) general orders. Due to the fact that the orders are formulated very competently, one gets the impression of an "intelligent" opponent. For example, the order on the Locust map indicates that if the drones (men with rifles) are no more than two zones away from the nearest fighter in line of sight, then they move to him one zone and attack. Otherwise (that is, they are two zones away) - they move two zones to the nearest fighter. In this spirit, almost all the orders are kept, it is very difficult to interpret them. If none of the conditions are met - draw the next card of the order, and so on until the order does not work. The difficulty of the missions varies due to which orders are mixed into the II deck. Monsters appear on the map also in an original way - the tiles are marked with "holes", from which they climb out thanks to the general order cards, and the number and type of Locusts that appear depends on how much a person resists them (the game has excellent scalability , although, of course, the most complete Gears of War opens on the 4th). These holes, by the way, can be sealed with grenades (the goal of the first mission is to seal such a hole), and this is one of the tactics of the game.

 And the last type of reaction is "defense". Let's say the preemptive strike didn't work, Cole also missed, and Boomer is already preparing to attack with four cubes. You can discard a card with a "defense" reaction before attacking, and then 2 more is added to your defense dice, which is quite a lot and can save your ass from getting hurt. When wounded, let me remind you, you discard cards from your hand, and if you have nothing left in your hands - you are wounded, and all your actions are limited to crawling one zone in a move; you can be picked up by a friend who is in the same zone as you and spends a card from your hand. Then you go up with zero cards in hand, and take two at the start of your turn.

 Thanks to all of the above, all this fun with tactics arises. As a rule, there are no less than three reprehensible options for a move, what can we say about unreprehensible ones. By ill-judged, I mean moves that completely ignore the Locust's counter move, or ignore a possible harsh response in the hopes of something. But maybe it doesn't flow here; I witnessed the cruel end of the party move to the 6th - II is sometimes inhumanly insightful and accurate. However, even taking into account "good" moves, you can have unpleasant surprises from a seemingly stupid "cardboard". But it depends to a greater extent on the dice and to a much lesser extent on the issued order cards. You can shamefully miss the Thing with 4 cubes (in the last game I personally saw 5 (!) misses on 5 attack cubes at once), but you can throw away 5 "shields" on 3 defense cubes.

 Ah yes, I didn't talk about the combat system. Everything is very simple (it is similar to the game Descent) - there are attack cubes with successful and unsuccessful hits, and there are defense cubes with "shields" and without. Moreover, the defense modifier can change depending on whether a fighter or a Locust is in the shelter or not. Those hits that were not absorbed by the shields are applied.

 Also, depending on the mission, the tactics of passage also change. Rush to the treasured door to the second level on all pairs, or carefully clean everything and everything, covering each other? By the way, at first, when completely clearing the area and wiping out opponents, be careful. It may seem that it becomes boring to play, because the fighters advance without losses, Locasts are cut out in packs, there is a sea of cartridges ... Suddenly, everything can change, and after a pitiful couple of activations, a couple of fighters will already be crawling under your feet with sobs "don't leave me!" or "run, I'll catch them!" depending on the seriousness of the moment. I note that in a game of 4, getting a couple of fighters to their feet and fighting off the Locusts at the same time is like a feat. Although the situations are different, in one game a soldier blew himself up with a grenade, killing four Locasts (and even managed to stay on his feet, although he was all wounded).

 Although I talked about the fact that it is most fun to play with four, it is quite a raking composition for three, and for two, and even for one! True, many order cards then stop working, because they are designed for at least two, but I assure you that the game does not lose its charm and fun at all! And yes, an add-on was released for Gears of War, which is a set of maps (more), where there are 2 new missions, new types of monsters and new types of weapons. The new Locasts use base miniatures, replacing their stats. Also, I know that fans make up their fighters, creating their own characteristics.

 Summing up, I can't help but note some of the game's shortcomings. Some missions are very long, at least three hours. During this time, fun and shooters can get bored. It is true that the fewer players, the faster the game, for example, I did not spend more than an hour and a half with the placement on it. Well, for many companies, the game will be an occasion to get together with pi ... er ... tea and sandwiches and chat during the game. I have already mentioned that some people complain about the size of the tiles, saying that it is too small and all the monster figures in the zones do not fit. Well, Berserk, maybe it won't fit, but can you imagine the size of the cards made up of enlarged tiles? And now the game takes up a lot of space in the expanded state, what will happen with a larger size? So, this minus is very relative. And, of course, Gears of War will not appeal to tabletop gamers who don't like dice rolls and card engine games in general, because it's random. I can't say anything here - the game is a pronounced atmospheric amerithrash, and you either like this genre or you don't.

 Land the Locust lair - prove that humanity has a chance!