Xbox has had a great year so far with the remake of The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remaster, but can they continue down that path with Gears of War Reloaded now that The Coalition has enhanced the original? I was able to get up close and personal to clear out the Locust in Gears of War Reloaded, a remake of the original game that launched all the way back in 2006. Remakes and Remasters will never end. However, is this a remake that you should jump into?

Fans of the Gears of War series will know the story of Marcus Fenix, a condemned man who doesn’t have much to lose and will blast his way through anything after being pardoned from prison for…well, I won’t spoil that for those who haven’t yet played the nearly 20-year-old game.

The Coalition has taken an old game and made it new again, bringing the original game to the modern era with 4K visuals, a 60fps campaign and a 120fps multiplayer, plus many other features that rest on today's many requested features. I played the campaign as I wait for servers to come online for the multiplayer and give it a true test and see if the servers can withstand the player capacity. Playing through the campaign will be a trip down memory lane for many, while a great introduction for those finally looking to get into the series, especially those who have been on PlayStation. This is where I spent my time with Marcus, on the PlayStation 5.

The 4K visuals are a great upgrade, but we’ve all seen the power of Unreal Engine 5 and though this is certainly an upgrade from the 2006 title. I do feel The Coalition could have really pushed the power of Unreal Engine 5 and made Marcus and his team really pop in the game. Our surroundings look good, but muted at times with dull textures. Yes, the gray tone of the game is a timepiece, but even with the power of Unreal Engine 5, the game should have really been eye-catching and jaw-dropping gorgeous. Instead, I felt this wasn’t the case at all or what it could have been. I was met with better-looking grays and browns without the wow factor.

Our well-known cover base shooter feels good, it doesn’t disappoint with what the series is known for. You can feel the weight of our testosterone-induced crew running from cover to cover. The punch of popping heads and mashing down Locust is great, the feeling of nostalgia hits fans of the original game where it needs to. Don’t fix what isn’t broken in this case. However, Gears of War Reloaded isn’t without its problems.

There aren’t many issues with the near 20-year-old upgraded Gears of War Reloaded but, clumsy AI, with companions that feel like they are still stuck in 2006 can’t be overlooked. Dom, blocking you from progressing through a doorway, or getting downed from enemies where not necessary, became more of a nuisance than an addition by today’s standards. Controlling our team doesn’t feel empowering, but more of a hassle and quickly becomes a chore, all the while wishing I was fighting against the Locust solo without the need to worry about what the rest of my crew was doing and when I would have to revive them again for the 10th time because of some awkward NPC kill.

Even with the small inconveniences of dealing with the crew, Gears of War Reloaded is the premium way to play the game when looking for that nostalgic touch but with a much more modern feel and look of the game. The banter between everyone is there, which all sounds great. But I can’t help but feel an old game is old when playing.

Playing Oblivion Remastered, I knew the game was old, but yet it felt great to jump into. There is something missing that doesn’t bring Gears of War Reloaded to that next level of REMASTER that I was hoping for. It’s good, just not great! There are games when you finish up playing for a session that you can’t wait to get back to and keep playing. I never felt as though Gears of War Reloaded was calling to me, waiting for when I could just jump back in for my next round of crushing through Locust or hanging out with Dom, Baird or the legendary Cole Train himself! I was excited to see local co-op was in play and a standard for the series that should never be taken away.

Wrapping up my time with Gears of War Reloaded was fun, almost that fun weekend playthrough, when you and your friends would blast through a game and then move on. That’s where I am. A fun weekend upgrade that is mixed with AI and NPC’s that become more annoying than helpful.