When the Xbox entered the age of the 360, Gears of War was right there as one of the next generation’s blockbuster titles. It combines immersive cover action with blockbuster scenes and horrifying monsters. Even more than that though, the story talked about the desperation of war and going up against a ruthless, unrelenting foe. Right from the start, the mechanics are something new for gamers to enjoy.
But every subsequent installment improved upon the cover mechanics to create seamless action that made for a truly fun multiplayer and first-player campaign experience. Here are some games Gears of War fans may also enjoy.
10 Uncharted
There are just so many different reasons why Uncharted is different than Gears of War. One is a brutal, dystopian war franchise while the other is a series of treasure-hunting adventure games.
In fact, the locusts from Gears of War couldn’t be further from the pirates and mercenaries Nathan Drake fights in Uncharted. However, both games have unbelievable blockbuster scenes reminiscent of a huge cinematic setpiece. The action, experienced through cutscenes and actual gameplay, is some of the best in all gaming that adrenaline junkie gamers would enjoy.
9 Kill Switch
Years before Gears of War exploded onto the scene with a robust cover system, Kill Switch was a game that used a cover-based system as its core fighting mechanic. Other games had similar systems, but Kill Switch was really the one that wrapped its entire gameplay around the idea.
It also had an interesting story about a soldier who was being controlled remotely to go on missions using a kill switch that activated him for assignments. The game might be dated by today’s standards, but connoisseurs of the genre should revisit it.
8 Killzone
When it comes down to it, a soldier’s duty is about protecting their planet and fighting invading forces. Gears of War handles this well as the locusts invade from underneath the surface of the planet. Killzone is a Playstation-exclusive game that’s also about an invading force, which comes from above.
Like any war, soldiers need to use strategy in order to overcome enemy ranks. Gears of War handles this too as it treats the locusts as an army with generals and chain of commands that need to be eradicated, just like the foes in Killzone.
7 Aliens: Colonial Marines
When it comes to some of the ultimate monsters in pop culture, it’s hard to find a creature more iconic than the alien Xenomorph. Gears of War has plenty of great monsters that players have to fight in large hordes.
But the locusts really are no match for the Xenomorphs in terms of sheer numbers and ferocity. There are many games that feature aliens, but Aliens: Colonial Marines really serves as a sequel to the action-packed Aliens film that has soldiers trying to fight their way through these terrifying monsters.
6 Resistance
There are many games that deal with invading monsters trying to wipe humanity from the face of the planet. Gears of War is just one of these games and does it very well. However, it’s exclusive to Xbox.
A game that also does this very well is Resistance, which is exclusive to PlayStation. Rather than monsters coming from below the surface of the planet, Resistance has aliens invading from space. Resistance also has a first-person aspect to it while Gears of War is third-person. Still, they both have excellent monster-killing action and some of the best sequels in gaming.
5 Deus Ex
There are many ways to portray a dystopian world. Gears of War accomplishes this by having an unknown foe destroy the world and humanity in one big invasion. Deus Ex and its sequels and spinoffs create their own dystopian world through technology and corporatism.
The game also has a very heavy RPG aspect to it that Gears of War just doesn’t have. However, Deus Ex does allow some cover-based fighting, which is what Gears of War is all about. They may not be perfect matches, but both are still very excellent games.
4 Vanquish
Vanquish is an adrenaline-fueled sci-fi game that took Gears of War’s cover-based fighting and ramped it up to an extreme. Gears of War’s fighting is all about patience. It requires players to work as a squad and use strategy to overcome foes that are also behind cover.
This is contrary to Vanquish, which promotes players to be wild, crazy, and reckless with how fast they fight and how quickly they take cover. Still, for those that enjoy Gears of War’s fighting but want to inject some adrenaline into it, Vanquish will be perfect.
3 Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm and Gears Of War have two very different methods of combat. For one, Bulletstorm is a first-person shooter whereas Gears of War is a third-person cover-based game.
However, since both games were developed by Epic, they share a certain tone to them. Gears of War is a lot more serious than Bulletstorm, which has a large element of comedy to it. But both games have a tendency to promote excessive and unnecessary violence. They allow gamers to really get into the spirit of destruction.
2 The Division
The Division is another action game that has a robust cover system that Gears of War developed to perfection. There are a lot of differences, obviously, between a group of soldiers fighting monsters in a fictional world and a group of soldiers fighting criminals in New York City.
But there’s a shared sense of desperation between these two stories. New York City in The Division is a ravaged, lawless wasteland overcome by panic. In many ways, Gears of War’s world is facing a similar kind of dystopian nightmare.
1 Mass Effect
It’s strange how different Mass Effect is from Gears of War and yet how many similarities the games still share. Mass Effect has a big RPG element to its gameplay with powers and abilities that Gears of War just doesn’t have.
Plus, Mass Effect does have a sandbox style of approach to its levels that Gears of War didn’t explore until later installments. However, Gears of War is all about working with teammates to get the job done, especially in multiplayer. Besides a robust cover system, teamwork is something Mass Effect emphasizes greatly.