Missions, basic mechanics and luxurious graphics are exactly what motivates you to play further. Characters are constantly gaining new abilities, and tasks are changing rapidly, offering very beautiful locations and hot conditions in which the Diaz squad gets into.
Maps are most often unique, but can be repeated on the sidelines with changing weather, which is good for the genre. Somewhere you need to clear the level of lobsters, somewhere to quickly save the characters from the trap, protect an important object, remove items from the boxes, defend the territory, collect chests with equipment, running away from the oncoming bombardment of flying enemies, destroy a huge boss, blow up a cylinder with emulsion and so on.
Closer to the middle of the game, tasks begin to repeat themselves, but developers are constantly adding new enemies, which, together with well-planned levels and collecting legendary versions of equipment, keeps your interest.
The location design is inspired by the main line of the series. Gears Tactics has both gloomy and very dark levels in the style of the first two parts (it is strange that the developers did not return the krill, but thanks at least for the non-Germans), and light sand zones reminiscent of parts 3 and 5. Some of them are open, others are more corridor. They all suggest workarounds, allowing you to experiment with tactics.
There are also locations with a three-dimensional structure, where you can take positions on the top, covering partners from afar, which will be especially useful when there is a sniper in the squad.
Sometimes waves of enemies are thrown at you, which the rivers drop from the air, or locusts break through passages underground. In the latter case, enemy units appear three turns in a row, after which the hole in the floor closes. But you can always end the problem faster if you accurately throw a fragmentation grenade, which will immediately bring down the opened passage. And, of course, grenades are a great solution against a tightly grouped landing.
In addition to the boomshot and crossbow that you pick up, destroying mini-bosses, the weapons of the characters have endless ammunition, but you need to spend one point of action on reloading. In the case of grenades – they are also endless, but the reload is automatic and several moves have already taken place.
The game makes you adapt to mission scenarios and offers excellent challenge even at a normal level of difficulty. At the same time, Gears Tactics does not go too far. For example, in sidequests, where you need to hold a few positions next to boxes with important items, the task automatically ends in a splash screen in which the characters flee by car. That is, you do not need to clear the battlefield from superior enemy forces after reaching the main goal.
The same thing happens in the battle with the boss – you, at the last gasp, shoot a huge monster and watch a beautiful cutscene, even if you did not defeat all the minions.
In addition, the game takes into account the experience of XCOM and refuses the scripted cube. Displaying the probability of hitting allows you to adequately assess the chances of the characters, and situations where the heroes constantly miss, even with a high probability of getting exactly on target, do not occur.
Gears Tactics implements a classic turn-based combat system in which units act in turn. But at the same time, the developers changed the approach to the gameplay, giving the characters three action points per turn.
Points can be spent in many ways. For example, to move as far as possible, but then the unit will have no action left to attack. Or you can put him in a nearby shelter and then he can shoot two more times. Or leave it in place, but shoot at the enemies three times.
In addition, you can switch the heroes to patrol mode by selecting the area for the enemy’s counterattack during his own turn. And the more points you have left, the longer the counterattack will last.
Of course, enemies also use the patrol mode, but it can be canceled if you switch to a secondary (more accurate, but weak) weapon and use a special skill. Hitting a target will knock her overwatch.
Abilities spend action points, but can cost more than regular attacks. For example, you can order a sniper to make a more accurate shot that will gobble up two points at once instead of one, but the bullet is guaranteed to reach the target and kill a dangerous enemy at the far edge of the map.
