Summary
After countless rumors and leaks of aGears of Warremaster or remake,Gears of War: Reloadedhas finally shown itself, offering players a chance to experience the original game on modern consoles and PC. Speculation surrounding the remaster initially assumed it would be either a remaster or a remake of the entireGears of Wartrilogy, similar toHalo: The Master Chief Collection. However,Gears of War: Reloadedfocuses solely on the first game, albeit with enhancements like 4K resolution, 60 FPS in the campaign, up to 120 FPS in multiplayer, and the inclusion of all previously released content.
Unfortunately, while this might be exciting news for some fans — especially ahead of the release ofGears of War: E-Day—Gears of War: Reloadedpicked an interesting time to arrive on the scene, given the reality of what it is. Firstly, rather than being a remake,Gears of War: Reloadedis simply a remaster, and, not to mention, a remaster of a game that has already been remastered before. Secondly,Gears of War: Reloadedmight not only have trouble coming in on the heels of the hugely successfulThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, but its arrival could also undermineGears of War: E-Day’s release date, making it either too early on stage or too late to the party.
Gears of War: Reloaded Could Undermine Gears of War: E-Day’s Release Date
With the highly anticipatedGears of War: E-Dayon the horizon, it would be natural to suspectGears of War: Reloadedas being a sign ofE-Day’s impending release. After all, it’s possible that The Coalition is choosing to launchGears of War: Reloadedin an effort to build hype forGears of War: E-Day. However, it could also signal bad news for fans who have been awaitingE-Day’s arrival, especially if they expected it to launch this year.
Rather than being a remake,Gears of War: Reloadedis simply a remaster, and, not to mention, a remaster of a game that has already been remastered before.
On the one hand, the launch ofGears of War: Reloadedon August 26 could mean thatGears of War: E-Daywill follow it soon after, possibly sometime in the fall. On the other hand,Gears of War: Reloaded’s summer launchcould be a way for The Coalition to tide fans over a bit longer, andGears of War: E-Dayisn’t slated for launch until at least 2026. Both routes make sense, but the latter, which seesGears of War: E-Daylaunching later than some fans might expect, would be bad news. In that case,Gears of War: Reloadedwould be launching “too early.”
Oblivion Remastered Could Make Gears of War: Reloaded Less Appealing
Gears of War: Reloadedmight also prove to arrive “too late,” asThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredhas now arguably set a new standard forvideo game remasters.Oblivion Remasteredhas been called a “remake,” simply because it is such an extensive overhaul of the original game’s visuals and an improvement of several gameplay mechanics that it’s difficult to justify merely calling it a “remaster.” Nevertheless,Oblivion Remasteredis indeed a remaster, but that hasn’t stopped it from setting the tone for future remasters.
OblivionandGears of Warare the same age, having both launched in 2006, meaningGears of War: Reloadedcould have given the original game the same treatment thatOblivion Remasteredgave its own if it wanted to. That’s what complicates things.
As such, given the fact thatGears of War: Reloadedis not only a remaster of a game that has already been remastered but also that it isn’t even close to beingthe kind of upgrade thatOblivion Remasteredis, critical comparisons might actually be warranted.Gears of WarandOblivionare two entirely different games, yes, but the bar has been raised byOblivion Remasteredfor what remasters are capable of and should strive to achieve. In the end, this could makeGears of War: Reloadedless appealing, as it might be arriving a bit “too late” to achieve success.
