One reader bought Gears Of War: E-Day on day one despite not being a fan of the series, citing its straightforward shooter design, couch co-op potential, and a nostalgic connection to Star Wars: Republic Commando.
The reader, Stephen, admits he never cared for the franchise and had only played Gears Of War 2 on the Xbox 360, running through the campaign just once. Yet he felt a strong urge to buy E-Day on launch day, even though it was available on Xbox Game Pass.
A Simple, No-Nonsense Shooter
Stephen explains that part of him wanted a simple, run 'n' gun, point A to point B, no nonsense shooter that wasn't trying to be anything else. Having played through E-Day's campaign, he says it is almost exactly what he hoped it would be, and he loved it.
He praises the gunplay, the sheer chaos of the action, the visual spectacle, and the gore, noting that the game doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. He also welcomes the lengthy campaign, which he has yet to complete before touching the online options, and reports the game has been bug free so far.
Supporting an Exclusive and Couch Co-op Appeal
As an exclusive, E-Day is clearly meant to draw people to Game Pass, and Stephen suggests he also wanted to support an exclusive, especially considering the era of mass industry layoffs. Another major draw was that his friends and he wanted a couch co-op game.
The adjustable difficulty levels suit the group, since they are not all that good, and give the game plenty of depth. Stephen also hopes for possible future free upgrades for people who bought it.
A Subconscious Connection to Republic Commando
Stephen reveals a subconscious reason for his purchase: an old title on the original Xbox, Star Wars: Republic Commando, which he played through over a single weekend years ago. He loved it at the time, despite not liking Star Wars, and feels E-Day is like Republic Commando, but on steroids and with attitude.
He enjoys having three companions watching his back the entire time and genuinely liked the squad, though he notes some of the dialogue between Dom, Mags, Reyes, and Fenix tries a bit too hard to force the player to empathise with them. He wonders whether a full remake of Star Wars: Republic Commando for current gen consoles would be incredible.
