Gears of War 4 review – a shot in the arm for a fading series

A coherent single-player campaign and excellent online options bring this Xbox stalwart right back into the battle

Depending on your outlook, the fourth title in this muscle-bound sci-fi series could easily look like an anachronism. It's a single-path third-person cover-shooter that pays no heed to modern demands for open worlds, and belongs to a franchise that has looked somewhat jaded over the last few iterations. But Microsoft has cannily brought in a new developer, the Coalition, and it has administered a much-needed injection of fresh ideas, without compromising the core appeal.

After a brief nostalgic prologue, Gears of War 4 takes place 25 years after the Locust were (apparently) finally defeated in Gears 3. The planet Sera has changed massively in that quarter-century; the COG have become the baddies, exercising fascistic control over the populace with the help of a robotic army known as DBs, even though the authoritarian female first minister (remind you of anyone?), Jinn, begins by paying lip-service to Marcus Fenix at a commemorative rally. You play as James "JD" Fenix, son of Marcus, who has gone Awol from the COG and hooked up with a bunch of "outsiders" living off-grid in a country village. Along with sidekick Del and Kait, the franchise's first properly central female character, JD embarks on a raid of a COG establishment with the aim of stealing a Fabricator - essentially a 3D printer with knobs on, which can make weapons and fortifications.