Gears 5 debuts Escape mode
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Third-person shooter
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: The Coalition
Rating: M, for mature
By Ozzie Mejia // Shacknews.com (TNS)
It’s a safe assumption that Gears 5 will continue the ongoing narrative of the continuing Gears series. Microsoft and The Coalition debuted one of those at E3 2019, unveiling the series’ newest co-op experience called Escape.
Escape is just what it sounds like. There are three different characters stuck in a Hive chamber. The object is to get away before the hostile Swarm creatures within the Hive manage to kill everyone.
There are three different characters to choose from in Escape mode, each with their own distinct abilities.
Lahni: She’s the aggressive character, meant to take the lead and fire off the first shots. As the Scout, she has a better base speed and is more adept at melee battles. Her active is Electroblade, a charged knife that stuns enemies when struck. Her passive ability will offer additional drops for every five executions.
Keegan: He is the Support class and his active Ultimate ability is essential. Resupply deploys a small barrier where players can replenish their ammo. Different guns have different recharge rates, so if you’re looking to recharge something like your EMBAR sniper rifle, that might take a little longer. His passive recharges his Ultimate ability faster whenever a marked target dies. Because Resupply is so critical, Keegan’s passive should be put to frequent use.
Mac: Lastly, there’s the Tank. Mac isn’t quite a bullet sponge himself, but his Ultimate ability can be. Barrier deploys a shield with the ability to absorb enemy fire. When Barrier is ready, it’s best for him to take the lead and set up shots from his teammates. Even if Barrier wears off, any hits he takes afterwards will recharge his Ultimate faster, thanks to his passive.
One of the major elements of Escape is that the stage itself is a maze. While the idea is to move forward and wipe out anything that moves, it’s entirely possible to go through corridors and take a wrong turn. While time isn’t entirely of the essence, there is a leaderboard element to Escape, so score chasers are encouraged to stay on track.
Enemies are often patrolling certain corridor areas, many of which will take cover and fire at you, in the typical Gears manner. Some enemies will try and get the drop on you with sniper rifles, just as they would in a standard campaign or Horde mode. Things can get a little tougher because ammo pickups are scarce.
Where the difficulty starts to ramp up is after the halfway point. The halfway point is noticeably marked by a safe room. Here’s where players can stock up on ammo, different weapons, or grenades. Once everyone exits the safe room, more dangerous enemy types start to come out. An army of Juvies will quickly greet teams, overwhelming everyone with great numbers. To top things off, one last straggler strolls by at the end, strapped with explosives capable of taking out team members in a single blast.
Players will also be confronted by various boss characters. A hulking Scion will prove to be nearly impossible to kill, with only shots to the face affecting his health. He can knock players down and kill them in seconds. While teamwork is useful here, there’s also another helpful strategy that can be employed: RUN!
Those ready to plan their daring Escape won’t have to wait much longer. Gears 5 now has an official release date and is set to hit Xbox One on September 10.
