Gears of War Reloaded review: A revamped Xbox shooter classic shines on the PS5

2006 Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War is given a shiny new overhaul 19 years on by Microsoft and is released on the PS5 for around £35, which is a bargain for such a good shooter game

There’s something a little tantalising when you first boot up an Xbox classic on PS5 and are asked to sign into your Microsoft account.

It almost feels naughty, like cheating in a test.

In the old days, diehard Xbox gamers couldn’t even bring themselves to look at a Playstation, let alone play one.

They were welded to ‘their’ machine and vice versa and never the twain shall meet.

But some 16 years on from the original Xbox 360 release of Gears of War – in an era beyond the console wars – here we are with that very Xbox exclusive now on the shiny Playstation 5.

And it’s still as great as it always was.

This cut-price blockbuster of a game may well be vintage by today’s standards, but the graphics overhaul for Reloaded and 60FPS smooth frame rates make it feel more alive than ever.

For those not in the know, Gears of War is a barnstorming battle for human survival which won more than 30 Game of the Year awards around its 2006 release.

A cover-shooter at heart, this combined amazing graphics with a bunch of dude-bro soldiers hell-bent on taking the fight to an army of monsters who emerged from the ground.

For those who played the original, it was a glimpse into the future of gaming.

And today it still very much stands up as a strong video game even alongside some of the best modern shooters out there.

Yes, it feels old-school.

But the minute-to-minute run-and-gun action, blockbuster set pieces and fast paced storytelling don’t give you time to really think too hard on that.

Instead, developer The Coalition has done a wonderful job in giving an old game new life.

With 4K resolution, 120FPS multiplayer, cross-play action from Xbox to PS5 Dolby Atmos music and Spatial Audio sound effects, this is the best version I’ve ever played of this game.

The narrative of a bunch of heroes battling huge odds still stands strong and the guns feel awesome in the joypad.

The addition of sound effects and radio signal statements inside the DualSense controller really helps add another level too to the game that wasn’t there before.

You can even couch co-op with a pal, which is welcomed in today’s online-focused world.

Multiplayer contains all 19 maps from the past game, remastered and there are dedicated servers so you should be able to hop into a game across platforms easily.

There’s no DLC to pay for, it’s all-in.

So Team Deathmatch, Execution, King of the Hill and Assassination modes are all there and you’ll need to be very good at the campaign mode before you even start on multiplayer as gamers there are crazy good already.

As a result of all this, first timers to the Gears franchise will be blown away by what they’ve been missing all these years.

As a package it’s well worth the money.

For those who have already done the game to death on Xbox there’s probably not enough here other than slightly better graphics to warrant another purchase.

VERDICT 4.5/5