Best DLCs & Expansions of 2020
Second Runner-Up: Gears of War 5: Hivebusters
Guides Editor Chris Jecks: I’ve always found the Gears of War world fascinating. Beyond the macho bravado, Cole Train’s eccentric whooping, and literally chainsawing the locust race in half with your gun’s bayonet is a world teetering on the edge of destruction.
Its games are a bombastic last throw of the dice for mankind, often resulting in a win in the most outrageous gore-filled way it’s developers can possibly imagine.
But then amidst all the chaos are these succinct, emotional moments that remind us the meaning of camaraderie and the importance of friends in difficult times. Gears 5 Hivebusters manages to cram all of that into a short but sweet package, while also exploring new territory, both literally and metaphorically.
Rather than focusing on the Fenix or Diaz family’s, Hivebusters follows the story of Scorpio Squad, as they embark on a mission to destroy a swarm hive from the inside.
The back and forth amongst the trio — Lahni, Keegan and Mac — is reminiscent of Delta squad with Mac a personal favourite, while the gunplay is second to none, offering the same tight third-person action with new unique character abilities to keep things fresh and drive the gameplay forward.
Lahni has a electrified melee weapon, Keegan can deploy ammo drops, and Mac has a portable shield. You can improve these abilities by picking up various upgrade modules throughout the course of the three-hour campaign, and utilizing these with friends at a high difficulty is paramount to succeeding on the tougher difficulties.
The story is refreshingly different, too. This isn’t some decorated team of soldiers but a group of misfits thrown together for what can only really be described as a suicide mission. It’s a mission primarily to try and save mankind, rather than the more personal lens of Kait Diaz’s bizarre family tree that we’ve followed in Gears 5.
Developed — primarily we imagine– to showcase the Xbox Series X’s horsepower, the dlc runs at a near constant native 4k, 60fps, as you explore stunning tropical vistas and dimly lit, grimey locust hive corridors.
My only gripe with Hivebusters was that it wasn’t longer, if only because I wanted to point at the screen, shouting “look!” to friends and family as I waxed lyrical about Microsoft’s powerful new box. If this is what Gears is going to be like on series X, sign me up!
