First Runner Up: Gears of War 4
The gap between Gears of War 4 and our best Xbox One exclusive for 2016 is tiny. Gears of War 4 was one of my favorite games this year when I reviewed it back in October. Telling the story of JD Fenix, Kait, and Oscar, Gears of War 4 is the start of a new saga in the series with an equally fresh-faced cast. After having their loved ones taken away from them, the team goes on the hunt to save them, discovering and pushing back a new threat to humanity along the way.
While previous Gears titles’ Delta Squad were a bunch of burly war-hardened sarcastic pals, slicing their way through countless Locusts, JD and his team are the complete opposite. They’re more emotionally available, they joke with one another, engaging in small talk when there are no enemies about. These are characters you can relate to as the player, and it gives Gears of War 4 a fresh feeling, despite its fundamental mechanics feeling very familiar.
Throw on top of this a multiplayer mode with compelling new game modes such as Dodgeball – if you kill an enemy, you’ll revive a fallen ally – with its tendency for rapid comebacks and turnarounds, and you’ve got plenty to keep yourself occupied once the story is over and done with. Plus, the ever-popular Horde mode returned with Horde 3.0, a revised version of the classic mode that puts defense building as the focus. What you’re left with is a comprehensive, gritty package of blood, guts, and gore that’ll reward you with countless hours of fun. If you own an Xbox One and are yet to pick up this exclusive, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
