Grinding Gears: why a dedicated PC team pays off for Gears of War 4
The worlds of console and PC-based gaming are meeting much more frequently these days. While this does mean that PC gamers get to see some great games they may otherwise have missed, it's not always a smooth ride.
Anyone who played the original Dark Souls port will likely describe in detail how it helped them find new, previously undiscovered levels of frustration – mouse and keyboard control was essentially impossible, there were performance caps, FPS caps, resolution caps... you name it, it was capped.
That said, developers are learning not to take the PC crowd for granted when it comes to ports. Lots of games are now developed for the PC in tandem with their console releases; Gears of War 4 is a game that's really benefited from this approach, and the results are certainly positive.
Gears of War: Misfire
Earlier this year, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition was released for the PC. Unfortunately, it wasn't well received, mainly due to the fact it was extremely difficult to get working, and had a number of performance problems. Developer Coalition however, listened, patched, and patched some more. Even with these fixes however, the damage was done. It was, to many PC gamers, another example of a shoddy console port to PC.
Coalition, however, learned from its mistakes. As a result it set up a dedicated PC development team for Gears of War 4. And it paid off. Talking from a purely technical standpoint, the new Gears is light-years away from the rather troubled launch of the Ultimate Edition.
Select your weapon
Every PC gamer loves options, and when you've got a GPU that just begs to be tweaked, options are a wonderful thing. There's nothing more annoying than knowing your GPU has power that is going to waste, which, as we've already discussed, has been the case with a few ports in the past (yes, I'm still in therapy as a result of my experience with Dark Souls). Gears of War 4 however, wants your GPU (something like the RX 480, for example) to shine. Things like expanded FOV, ultra-wide support, and resolutions including 3440x1440 on the PG348Q are a joy to perceive, not to mention the fact that you can actually play with a mouse and keyboard.
The Cole-Train
With so many PC-friendly options for Gears of War 4, it only makes sense to break out the big guns. Sound design and dialogue during the often intensely brutal firefights and chainsaw bayonet encounters deserve to be experienced in heart-pounding clarity just as much as the visuals. Luckily, ROG has you covered with some powerful systems like the G20 and GL702, and check out the Centurion headset for fully immersive, top-notch 7.1-channel surround sound.
By Simon Marshall
