Gears of War 4 - The Insane Critique 

A will melvin video and gears of war e day announced. What a day

For anyone who is curious Hoffman during the Pendulum Wars had roughly twenty five years of experience so that give an idea how old he is

I love how Del says “swarm aren’t locust” and they play the sound like it’s some big reveal. And then literally less than 10 minutes later, it turns out the Swarm is, in fact, the fucking Locust lol. Kind of stupid. Especially since all of the marketing for Gears 4 was all about how the Locust weren’t returning.

God I wish I liked Gears 4 more than I do. The Dee Bees are honestly the most boring enemy faction and the swarm were just a more bland Locust.

cant wait for you to review 5 LMAO

lol the coalition knew what they were doing when they called them snatchers

One of my biggest issues with this game is that it took 3 acts for the Swarm to actually show up in gameplay. I get why not in Act 1, because they wanted to set up the new COG and show the state of the world without the locust, but Act 2 should have been when they actually show up and we have to fight them instead of the bots.

fuckin hell, del's dialogue did NOT age well at all. great vid dude cant wait for the next one

Gears 4 felt like a commercial for future games in the Swarm Era. For all the faults 5 had, it at least felt like they were progressing the story further. Sucks we're waiting longer than usual for Gears 6. Even longer now with the announcement of E-Day at this year's XB Showcase.

Oh.... One detail I want to mention and its the whole interrogation question: in Anvil Gate after 15 years of fighting the Locust COG soldiers don't care what the Locust think anymore by this point in the lore. Literally the book states all the COG cares about is killing off the Locust entirely. Total genocide of the Locust Horde completely. They had ONE moment where Berie holds a Locust hostage and Baird is the ONLY person who wants to interrogate the Drone. He even told Marcus this might be their only chance into getting answers to which Marcus flat out tells him, "I don't give a shit what the Locust have to say." and told Bernie to kill them. Mind you this event happened AFTER Gears of War 2. Marcus doesn't want answers from the Locust despite having a history with his father in their computer. To him he accepted he was never going to get answers and chose to move on. Whatever diplomacy there was for the COG died after the last 15 years of fighting. The negotiations are dead. The only thing is clear: either humanity dies or the Locust die and both sides are never going to stop until either one of them is dead. That's your answer. Prescott was always available at his desk day and night waiting for Locust negotiations for the last 15 years he was at Jacinto and he never got an answer. Even in Gears of War 3 when the Queen saids they're genocidal monsters just like Humanity and Marcus just saids, "I can live with that." That's how deep this hate goes between them. So to simplify this: after Gears of War 2 and several months after the COG stopped caring what the Locust thought. Very much saying, "Yeah I stopped caring at all anymore."

My personal thoughts on gears 4 is i like it, its hard to be better than the original trilogy but i find it to be a solid entry. I like the world and i like the characters in it, i think its harsh when people claim its garbage because iy threw new ideas at the board and a new coat of paint. A bad game is broken and awful, this is just a solid safe entry in the franchise

I remember watching the launch trailer for this back in 2016 and being hyped that one of my favorites was making a comeback but being sad because I didn't have my Xbox one at the time. Imagine my emotional confusion when I actually played the game 😂😂

Wow. Didn’t realize this was released two days ago (was at work while listening) but weird to see it released on EDay announcement.

Holy shit, I just discovered you and this was such a wonderful surprise. Love your stuff!

can't wait for part 5, good job dude binged these gears videos the last few days

Great timing dude!

This popped up on my recommended after watching the E-Day trailer. Watched your reviews for 1-3 and subbed after 2!

I don't got my snacks ready but I am pumping iron while listening.

this was a interesting and fun vid to watch, havent watch the other vids you made on the previous games but I will make sure to check em out too. Gears of War is a series I enjoy quite a bit (specially 2 and 3, 5 too) and I do like watching others talk about it from time to time or just play through the games.

As I imagine is the case with many others. E-Days release has rekindled my interest in the Gears franchise, so seeing your videos recommended was a perfect way to fill the gaps with all the games.

For your comment on ironman mode, you only have to restart the run if you specifically die, you just revert a checkpoint like normal if your allies die, don't ask how I found out.

14:51 made me choke on my breakfast, wasn’t ready for that one

Great video; been watching each retrospective you have released so far. I was a huge fan of Gears of War on the 360 but transitioned to PC when the Xbox One/ Gears 4 came out. Kinda hard to get into Gears 5 on PC as I'm missing the first introduction into this new era of Gears as 4 isn't on PC. This allows me to understand what I have missed and connect me back into the series. Whilst I'm sure 5 has its issues I'm excited to run through it and later see your retrospective in the future. Can't wait for E-Day to come out though, hopeful for it to be what old Gears fans miss.

Just a small correction on the Swarm pods: They don't want you to pop them because sometimes Juvies get out of there and attack you. There's also a rare enemie on the game called Juvie Screamer, he appears when you pop one of the pods and his scream makes all the pods in the area explode, bringing more enemies. Screamers die after screaming, because they weren't ready to get out of the pod yet. I also believe they are in random spots trough the game, which is cool, and i don't think they are in Gears 5. Great video again.

I wanted to mention about the weird sound that plays when Del says the Swarm arent locust. At that location you get an auto pick up collectable being one of the yellow crystals. So the sound is likely a leftover from that moment since its supposed to be a scripted event

Worth the wait I can’t wait to watch this

Finally been waiting for this

Gears of war E day looks great

Finally, a video about Gears 4 that isn't just a rant about how terrible the game is. A proper, complete breakdown of the game that highlights the recognition and the well deserved criticism. Instant like and subscribe.

Just discovered you, I think you are gonna have a huge following. I can't wait for your gears 5 review

Yay, thank you so much! I love your videos and am excited to hear your thoughts on 4

i absolutely love all of your gears videos and i have watched all of them and since there isn’t much content for gears your channel is one of the best on the platform in my opinion and i love how in this video u didn’t just call the game shit as most people who made videos on this game personally i just think it was very forgettable but the first time i played it i loved the cliffhanger at the end but maybe that just because i’m only fourteen and i played through all the games after they released but i can’t wait for u to make a video on gears 5 and you must play hivebusters because it was surprisingly good compared to gears 4 and 5. amazing video hope u make more love from scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

for del i think its just the voice actor that makes his character not stand out

For the durag thing , my theory its that del made a promise to keep JD safe so marcus gave him the bandana as a prove of trust. Maybe he saw some Dom energy on del ?

Babe Will dropped a new gears video. Watched the start a bit and while I'm personally a fan of 4 and 5 even I can admit something is off with them but hey hoards still fun and imo the best hoard modes on the market complicated but simple at least to me

1:13:53 might be the most disrespectful thing I’ve ever seen in a Gears game. There not even being an animation for the stick especially makes it so unbelievably funny I agree with almost everything you said in this review. Kinda hurts because Gears 4 was my introduction to the series, but after replaying all the games this year it’s now my least favorite mainline campaign alongside Judgement. Despite that I think it’s still a decent enough game I’m always gonna have a soft spot for, I especially really enjoy the new weapons and knife executions. I also think Gears 5 made 4’s story make a lot more sense and Coalition did a great job with expanding the lore, I’m super invested to see where the story goes from here. Sucks we’ll have to wait even longer since E-Day is the next game in the series but it is what it is. Very well done video, I’ll for sure be checking out your other Gears reviews as well.

Love this guy. Brilliant videos

The new characters are just insufferable. Especially Kait in Gears 5, she's so unlikable. Compare it to GoW2 and 3 and it's night and day.

amazing video waiting for the gears 5 one since i couldn't even bother to finish that one myself lmao

I love your attention to detail and how you come from a place of genuine love for the franchise. I'm genuinely curious about your opinion on Gears 5 when that video comes out.

I am so hype for e day now thank you

Now gears of war E day just got revealed today lol it does has me pretty hype though but I still have to hold my breath

I remember me and my friend being pissed that Oscar survived. He was the most insufferable POS to ever grace the gears franchise.

Yes new video!! What are your thoughts on the Gears of War E-Day trailer bro? I'm stoked Gears of War is going back to its roots. 🤙🏼

39:37 i remember seeing this for the first time and xbox popping up a diamond achivement unlocked with a loud ass sound. never change xbox.

I love the holographic looking guns on your character in the video

i think the reason he says that is because in gears 3 they were in the underground area where the big tarantula looking thing also had pods and if you destroyed them then they would spawn more but smaller tarantula lookin things 52:25

I finished it recently after I stopped playing it back in 2017... because I didnt find shooting bots fun. And I was shocked that I spent most of the time looking for "dad"... and after hours of progressing we had to find her mom. Such a sad excuse of story progress.

The reason it plays that sound at the end at 1:06:55 is because that rock counts as a collectible and I guess it doesn’t go away after you’ve already collected it?

Lets go im excited to see what u think of e day

YES THE 🐐 FINALLY UPLOADED

The glitch with the death screen happened in gears 3 as well and even though you said the carmines are your favorite you don’t even know Clayton died in a tragic bathtub incident

Your critique videos are 🔥

Do you mind if i ask what music you use for some if the action moments?

really good review man, glad it popped up on my page.

Awesome gears of war video man!!

As a Halo fan. Yeah, when we say "it's explained in the books." I say it as not a solution and saying it's ok, more of. "Yeaaaaaaaah, got to read a book." I totally prefer things to be done in game. It's more of just saying. There is an answer. Just not in game.

Also the Locust are called Locust is because the deaths caused by them during the early stages of E-Day was seen in times of plague. How do I know this? In the very old Gears of War 1 trailers.

Used to pray for times like this, vids like this🙏😭😭😭😭 just finished rewatching the others too😭🙏

He’s back!!!!!!

I enjoyes the gear popping the pods part.

Great vid. Fun fact- you can actually kill the Swarmak just by shooting it. This way, you avoid the Swarm completely. On higher difficulties it'll take about 10 full minutes, but it works.

War never stops.

31:47 - a point well explained. Just like movies, you shouldn't have to do 'homework' to catch up on the context.

I was obsessed with GoW 4 horde mode, so much fun and good memories.

Old Baird looks like Goldberg.

I wish e-sports for gears was still alive I wanted to be in the tournaments so bad

Discovered your channel a few weeks ago and I didn't subscribe because it looked like you weren't really active on the channel. You planning to increase the upload rate or are you only making videos every once in a while?

My issue with gears 4, and it sounds insane to say, I really grew attached to the gang in gears 1 - 3. Although I really did like papa carmine.

I did want to add about JD and Marcus relationship I feel like they could have done it better by in the last act when delta squad is reuniting we get JDs outburst against Marcus, except Marcus this time explains why he wanted Baird to look after him possibly answering with not trusting in the new cog or that he no longer wanted to be involved with them. This would lead to JD to lash out and assume that Marcus left because it reminded him of the fact that Anya was gone. Then they later apologize to each other and actually try to resolve their issues and rekindle their relationship after the final act where kait cuts her mother out of the hive.

this is how i found out that there are gears books

love ur vids

That one mission using the motorcycles is still a highlight for me of this game, I really liked gears 4 but I think gears 5 is better to me

This is a good game indeed, not great, but good. Playing on Insane was really fun, and the coop was good as usual in the series. I still prefer 5, i think 5 is Gears 4 but better in almost every way.

1:17:45 "reminds him of being powerless" next part "powers out for an elevator" lol

12:00 they still do some lan events and tourneys but in mexico/latam

Man I was getting an itch to replay gears 4 but this video reminded me of why I found nearly all of it just boring, wasn’t till Cole Baird and Sam show up that I got excited and then it just ended. I’m playing gears 5 for the first time and will probably play tactics and hive busters after so excited to see what we’ll both think of those and as far as other games I’d be interested to see what you think of the halo series.

I personally thought gears of war 4 was fine but 5 i think was a major improvement over 4 in my opinion.

Ive been enjoying your video a lot so far. Just wanted to chime in and say: as someone who really enjoys gears, halo, dead space, bioshock, ect. books. You are 1000% correct that you should not need to intake outside content to enjoy a products story. Its seen a bit less now, but still around (jedi survivor) and is hardly done for organic reasons, more to just sell copies. Books should be the garnish and fancy spices added to an already delicious universe, not be the fork or the plate. Im sure id be able to enjoy a tasty steak without either, but it certainly sours the overall experience Edit: also you should watch crowbcat's video on gears graphical changes, it's like a couple min long and as a gears head I'm sure you'll get it. Cause I also agree some of the art direction and effects are just a bit weird in gears 4 and 5

Responding to your question at the end about other games you should cover: What other series have you stuck with since you were younger?

2 weeks late but looking back at gears 4 i’ve put my hours in it. Honestly i prefer 4 over 5 because it feels more like an older gears game then 5 ever did in my opinion. Mainly at the multiplayer side of things. Yes the campaign was boring as hell, a boring enemy that lives in the shadows of the locust and don’t make me mention the dee bees. But i remember the hype of the locust characters being released, with all the teasers. And the carmine family. It was definitely a fun time to be a gears fan. The community feeling that gears 5 misses.

1:02:47: You could also posit this is the reason for why JD cuts off the counterweight during the Tram scene as well, yes? It's dumb, but considering it's supposed to be the moment Kait and JD become a little closer, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that JD does it to impress and look "cool" to Kait by "solving" the issue she was just complaining about. You know? It may not be framed really well in that way, and yeah, later decisions don't really get this luxury, but I think it's something that most guys can kind of understand. And in that situation, it's also, theoretically, beneficial to the entire group, even though JD himself doesn't really know what he's doing at the time. While in the R-P-S scene it was only beneficial, theoretically, to whoever wins, lol.

thinking more about the books, without the books the set up for gears 5 makes almost no sense without them

I absolutely love your reviews on these games and that you have the consideration to articulate why you feel the specific way you do and how your likes and dislikes relate to the narrative, similar iterations in past games and how they actually effect the flow of gameplay especially when alot of the times when I see Gears fans talk about the series it feels like most of what is said is "MAN BACK IN THE DAY THIS SHIT WAS THE BOMB CAUSE IT WAS THE BESTEST SHIT IN THE WORLD, END OF STORY." and while I do greatly prefer the original trilogy there are actual reasons as to why those games are so beloved. Im looking forward to whenever you manage to make a video on Gears 5. And Honestly I would love to hear you talk about how the Multiplayer shifted and changed throughout the years since I dont really see people make videos talking about why Gears multiplayer is/was so much fun like I've seen with old Call of Duty's and the Original Halo Trilogy (Even though I personally know why its baller as hell) though that might be a bit more difficult since getting a full experience of each games multiplayer would be harder given the Series Collective playercount mostly being on Gears 5 at the moment. Keep up the good work.

I had fun with Gears 4 when I had it but I also found it to be bland, inoffensive, and at best "too safe". The first half forces you to fight robots which was a turn off and the swarm don't have much of an identity. It's not a bad game really but not spectacular either, just in between that it adds nothing to the overall story anyway. I'd rather play Judgment instead. As a whole, 4 and 5 were not good.

I liked Gears 4. The campaign was difficult on insane, hoard brought some new stuff to the table. Can't wait for E day.

Alright so I think gears 4 was them trying to play it super safe which is why they got rid of the dark time they started out which is also why they took out war from the title.... But JD was supposed to be the main character of this whole thing and halfway through making 4 they have said they realized it was a bad idea so it went through a rewrite. I enjoyed 4 a bit but 3 is my favorite campaign with 5 having the best hoard mode imo. Now it should be noted for sales this was like the first REAL console exclusive at the time for Xbox not the only but the biggest which helped a lot.

so when’s the review of e day coming out??🙏🏾🙏🏾

Honestly, if gears of war e day adds a new overrun mode, considering judgment takes place not too long after lore wise i think that would be a great addition to the game I really want to play it again. Its a shame judgement doesnt have players anymore. I did want to comment about your point in act 3 though as you said earlier about them wasting time, but also criticizing about when JD wants to rush into the hive. I know it's hard to agree, but saving marcus, JDs father, was their top priority and obviously you'll have to make quick decisions considering Marcus was going to become goo in who knows how long and even outside of their relationship hes their best shot at saving kaits mother and getting through the swarm. Marcus is him after all and fought in almost 2 decades of conflict from things like the swarm

Man if you really want to encapsulate how undercooked the swarm are just ask yourself "what do they actually want" The locust as we know them were in a war underground and were forced out as well as Myrrah having a vendetta with humanity after adams screw up. The swarm are legit still a mystery to me(a bad one) even after 2 whole campaigns.

I loved the deebees especially when they brought them back in gears 5. I feel they brought more emotion out of them even tho they were a simple robot. Such as them glitching or having the dialouge w baird talking through them. They are my favorite multiplayer character to play as on gears 5 because of their dialouge. Idk why people do not like the deebees that much even tho they are just robots I feel they did add alot of depth to them

And just to answer some questions why the games barely get anything in terms of development between the factions I'll say what Rod Fergusson, "One of the big things for us at Epic when developing the story and establishing the lore was the creation of negative space. If we were going to lock something down, we had to make sure there was a reason for doing it, that we wanted to express in the game. If we weren't expressing (something) in the game, then it was better to create opportunities for story (elsewhere). Things like Battle of Aspho Fields was negative space that we let Karen (Traviss) explore, and the relationship between Anya and Marcus was negative space that gave us an opportunity to explore it later. We were moving so fast with the story creation process that we flagged things as unresolved and moved on, knowing that we weren't actually going to explore this relationship today, but we had an opportunity to explore it in the future." That's why everything in Gears feels so unfinished

Fighting robots was just so disappointing after fighting the locust,by far the worst direction they could have gone in

He droppedddd let's go I'm too late

How the fuck would they float?! They're crystalized! ROCKS! You're going to tell me rocks float??

the gears goat back at it but yet again I completely agree about stories having some degree of obligation to be complete within a given "main line" of media. Having supplementary material is great in the form of books or comics, but relying on books to shore up rushed presentation or run interference for writing that feels incomplete is a frustrating way to build out a world. Mixed media rarely seems to feel like a plan and usually comes across, at least to me, as an afterthought. "Read the books" shouldn't be a cover line for leaving significant plot or world elements under-explained. People lambasted FFXV for having a companion film to try and flesh out an obviously rushed game, for example. Hint-dropping settlement two with no explanation sort of smells like the writers had a vague idea about some past event they wanted to use to add drama. It doesn't even compare favorably to the original gears trilogy with the pendulum wars and e-day which were more presented simply as events part of a consistent world with a sensible timeline rather than nebulous bait to hook a player in. I don't mind enjoying a book as part of a world I like, but part of that enjoyment comes from having a complete story that stands on its own in the setting. Star Wars is a decent example. The original six films give you what you need to understand what's going on (for the most part at least), but all the expanded universe material offers more to enjoy. It isn't just patchwork sewn onto the film stories to plug plotholes or prop up events that require explanation but aren't explained to the viewer. TL;DR Stories should be able to comfortably stand on their own.

Funny, Rod said the same things about Diablo 4, and look what happened to that game.

You make good videos on these games. You're definitely copping E-day right? I'm honestly considering getting an Xbox again. Marcus & Dom in the prime, are you shitting me?

They know which one it is from the radio static because Marcus still has the radio on him

Will you got to make a video gears of war e-day it looked great