User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 835 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Apr 13, 2016
    10
    Negative-Low Score is from the Sony-Haters. Dont mind of that!

    This game just amazing. This is without a doubt my game of the year. Amazing visual presentation with seamless transitions from game play to cut scenes and vise versa. Graphics, Sound, and control are best of the best.
  2. Apr 12, 2016
    8
    Parece un juego nuevo. los escenarios y personajes les dieron la madre de las lavadas de cara. Sigue siendo un buen juego. Tiene sus tirones pero no es que te impida jugarlo completo. Esperando el G4
  3. Mar 17, 2016
    9
    The original Gears was clunky and muddy and glitchy and not very good. However this remastered version has thrown away crappy Gears 1 and replaced it with Gears 3 modded to Gears 1 stats. End Result? The best Gears 1 experience yet. I feel this is what Gears 1 was SUPPOSED to be like, if Epic had the technology and experience back then... which they didnt.
  4. Feb 29, 2016
    10
    Gears of War: Ultimate takes cover based gaming to the next level. It sets the bar very high for the somewhat low $35 price point. With these kinds of awesome visuals and well-thought-out gameplay, I can't say I'm disappointed at all in Gears Ultimate.

    The visuals were most of the reason for its anticipation among Xbox One gamers, and they were worth the wait. The game's graphics are
    Gears of War: Ultimate takes cover based gaming to the next level. It sets the bar very high for the somewhat low $35 price point. With these kinds of awesome visuals and well-thought-out gameplay, I can't say I'm disappointed at all in Gears Ultimate.

    The visuals were most of the reason for its anticipation among Xbox One gamers, and they were worth the wait. The game's graphics are enhanced over the original version to allow more complex shadows, lighting, and textures thanks to a heavily modified and upgraded Unreal Engine 3. The sound effects and music in the game are very, very good. I imagine you'd be hard-pressed to find a shooter that's any better in those categories. In conclusion, Gears of War: Ultimate is a must own for the Xbox One, especially for it's awesome pricepoint.
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  5. Feb 23, 2016
    10
    To me , this campaign did not age bad at all . It brought back al the memories I had with this game back in 2006 , only this time in full 1080p . This remaster was done perfectly , its a pitty that Gears of war 2 and 3 will not get this same treatment . a Good way for The Coalition to start their Gears journey . I love this game and I am still playing the campaign a lot
  6. Feb 23, 2016
    10
    Coalition's thrilling third person shooter is THE best Gears of War yet, and in a surprise twist, is a completely new game built from the ground up. That's right, Gears Ultimate was built on a heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 3. Just about everyone that has purchased this impressive title raves about the visuals, and for great reason. Everything about Gears Ultimate screams highCoalition's thrilling third person shooter is THE best Gears of War yet, and in a surprise twist, is a completely new game built from the ground up. That's right, Gears Ultimate was built on a heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 3. Just about everyone that has purchased this impressive title raves about the visuals, and for great reason. Everything about Gears Ultimate screams high quality, from the run down environments dripping with detail to the gun-toting locust and hulking berzerkers; the lighting and explosions are equally amazing. Thing is, there's more to this gorgeous title than just eye candy. Coalition seems to think it has revitalized the already amazing franchise, and I'm hard pressed to disagree

    It also helps that the combat's thoroughly enjoyable, albeit a bit basic by today's standards. What we have is a beefed up Gears of War 1, as Marcus guns down enemies, snaps to cover, pops out and takes down a handful of bad guys, including those aforementioned locust, wretches, and some bosses like the brumac that take hundreds of bullets to destroy. The developers even tossed in the best multiplayer Gears experience that I've ever played. All in all, Gear of War Ultimate is a masterpiece that is a must own, especially for it's $40 asking price.
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  7. Feb 10, 2016
    8
    I have never played this game before, and I would have never have gotten into it if it hadn't been in the Xbox one I got for Christmas. I enjoyed the story, the characters are amazing, and they also bring humor into the story. This game has 60fps, which is the true way to play a game. The gameplay is realistic and good for a third person shooter. The graphics are really good for aI have never played this game before, and I would have never have gotten into it if it hadn't been in the Xbox one I got for Christmas. I enjoyed the story, the characters are amazing, and they also bring humor into the story. This game has 60fps, which is the true way to play a game. The gameplay is realistic and good for a third person shooter. The graphics are really good for a remaster. The multiplayer is good, for those who are good at it. I am terrible at it. I enjoyed this game, and I cant wait till the second one comes out as a remaster. Expand
  8. Feb 3, 2016
    4
    Pros:
    - Repackaged together, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition features all the content of the original plus the tacked on DLC for the ultimate nostalgia trip for hardcore Gears fans.
    - Gears holds up surprisingly well in the gameplay department. - Cutscenes have been touched up and redone. - Runs at a relatively smooth 60fps in the MP department. Cons: - Horrendous optimization. This
    Pros:
    - Repackaged together, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition features all the content of the original plus the tacked on DLC for the ultimate nostalgia trip for hardcore Gears fans.
    - Gears holds up surprisingly well in the gameplay department.
    - Cutscenes have been touched up and redone.
    - Runs at a relatively smooth 60fps in the MP department.

    Cons:
    - Horrendous optimization. This game has not aged well graphically, and the remaster adds very little to get excited about.
    - Broken matchmaking. It's understandable that Australian servers are limited, but changing the region to Europe and United States yields no results. Sometimes, a game can be found within seconds. 90% of the time, 15 minutes of lobby waiting results in nothing.
    - Lobby waiting system is also broken once a game has been found - maps are on random cycles and tend to repeat themselves all too often.
    - Terrible menu system, with a lack of options such as number of players active.
    - Kicks everyone to the lobby after every match instead of continuing onto the next map.

    A poor attempt to emulate a classic, mostly down fell but its broken MP component.
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  9. Jan 12, 2016
    0
    I've been a fan of the Gears of War series since launch, however as it is now after December 31st 2015 the game no longer gives Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Gears of War Judgement for free by logging into Xbox live. As such I now view this game as little more than a glorified coaster.
  10. Dec 26, 2015
    10
    This game shows how a remaster should be done it's absolutely perfect, really outstanding graphics which you can see have been carefully done to the finest detail, great game play etc. This game is a must have and the bonus of getting the complete original series FREE when they become available on Xbox One through backward compatibility when it becomes available in November seals the deal.
  11. Dec 2, 2015
    8
    The remaster looks beautiful, and the redone cut scenes bring the characters to life like never before. 60fps multiplayer makes it look smoother than ever.

    For being a remastered game, I was a bit disappointed they didn't address issues from the original game, such as center screen aiming and the weapon slide glitch. I understand The Coalition wanted to keep Gears of War as pure and
    The remaster looks beautiful, and the redone cut scenes bring the characters to life like never before. 60fps multiplayer makes it look smoother than ever.

    For being a remastered game, I was a bit disappointed they didn't address issues from the original game, such as center screen aiming and the weapon slide glitch. I understand The Coalition wanted to keep Gears of War as pure and close to the original as possible, but getting rid of some glitches wouldn't have ruined the game.

    The dedicated servers are lackluster compared to other Xbox One exclusives. Halo 5 plays perfectly fine for me, while Gears of War Ultimate Edition has frequent player skipping.

    Overall, a good remaster. I wish they would've fixed some issues with the original game instead of trying to keep it exactly the same, but I guess they were scared of some people raging over the removal of glitches and outdated aiming. Nonetheless Gears of War retains its original fun with stunning visuals to go with it.
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  12. Nov 29, 2015
    3
    I love GoW, one of my most loved gaming franchise's so I was very excited to play this, me and a friend played online co-op throughout the campaign and the amount of bugs was disgraceful and it was so easy, beat RAAM in less than a minute, the only time the game was hard was when the AI wanted to run infront of a Troika turret. No offline co-op which has been in EVERY gears game, plus TDMI love GoW, one of my most loved gaming franchise's so I was very excited to play this, me and a friend played online co-op throughout the campaign and the amount of bugs was disgraceful and it was so easy, beat RAAM in less than a minute, the only time the game was hard was when the AI wanted to run infront of a Troika turret. No offline co-op which has been in EVERY gears game, plus TDM wasnt even in the original so why make it the main mode for the remaster? I played one game online, when I got killed I respawned next to an enemy player and got killed again instantly... What a joke, another awful game from this generation of 'make it look amazing, but dont worry about making the game good', and it does look good I will say that, but a shiny turd is still a turd. Expand
  13. Nov 28, 2015
    9
    Great remaster of the original game, good to see the new 5 chapters included. The multiplayer has been given the necessary refresh to make it look and play great on Xbox One.
  14. Nov 18, 2015
    4
    Never had XBox360, so this is first time I play this game. Really don't know why some people like those games, but GOW is really mediocre third person shooter with really bad story and boring gameplay. Could be fun if you have low expectations. Seems they didn't take advantage of new hardware in any way except better GFX. Loading time after you die is ridiculous today and controls are terrible.
  15. Nov 4, 2015
    10
    This does not need a lengthy review. If you're a fan of Gears of War, buy this game. It's awesome and you won't regret a single second of gameplay. If you're new to the Gears franchise, this is where to start: the Original Gears of War in HD glory. The game that started it all.

    I have been a huge gears fan. After the disappointment that was Gears: Judgement, the Ultimate Edition was the
    This does not need a lengthy review. If you're a fan of Gears of War, buy this game. It's awesome and you won't regret a single second of gameplay. If you're new to the Gears franchise, this is where to start: the Original Gears of War in HD glory. The game that started it all.

    I have been a huge gears fan. After the disappointment that was Gears: Judgement, the Ultimate Edition was the breath of fresh air that I was looking for. The game plays like Gears 1 but with HD graphics. The iconic 3rd person arena gameplay is back and better than ever, and with a price tag of just $40 for the standard edition, this is a steal.

    BUY THIS GAME!
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  16. Nov 4, 2015
    8
    Graphic is Very Good but Enemy AI is just bad, i mean really bad! Multiplayer is really fun and of course receving all the gears of war game from 1 to 3 and judgment is just great! cant wait to play them! This game shows how a remaster should be done.
  17. Oct 31, 2015
    10
    This is the best FPS on XBONE currently - including HALO5. If this is what they can do by simply porting over a game, then GoW4 will be awesome.
    I don't normally play online coop - but this is great in this game - hosting is better than joining as you can race through the cut scenes.
  18. Oct 29, 2015
    9
    Replaying Gears of War reminds me why this has become one of the more important franchises to stay exclusively on Xbox. If you're looking to rehash the past, GoW Ultimate Edition is a fantastic buy for XB1 owners. You get the original game remastered for 1080p with a solid multiplayer, but you also will get GoW2, GoW3 and Judgement as backwards compatible titles for no extra cost. IfReplaying Gears of War reminds me why this has become one of the more important franchises to stay exclusively on Xbox. If you're looking to rehash the past, GoW Ultimate Edition is a fantastic buy for XB1 owners. You get the original game remastered for 1080p with a solid multiplayer, but you also will get GoW2, GoW3 and Judgement as backwards compatible titles for no extra cost. If you never played Gears, this is a good chance to see what the fuss was about. Personally, I have a hard time finding a better 3rd person shooter. Expand
  19. Oct 27, 2015
    7
    Gears Ultimate looks absolutely stunning, but there are still issues that weren't fixed. Some things were changed from the original, too, and that's equally as annoying.

    The graphics, though, are insane. Absolutely beautiful in 60FPS (online; 30FPS campaign) and the movements are smooth enough to make you completely forget about roadie run glitching and weapon sliding from back in the
    Gears Ultimate looks absolutely stunning, but there are still issues that weren't fixed. Some things were changed from the original, too, and that's equally as annoying.

    The graphics, though, are insane. Absolutely beautiful in 60FPS (online; 30FPS campaign) and the movements are smooth enough to make you completely forget about roadie run glitching and weapon sliding from back in the day. Graphics get a 10, bar none.

    My issues are mostly online but also somewhat with regards to the campaign.

    The campaign, to start, doesn't have 60FPS and that's odd to me. Online, you would think, would need so much more physical memory and processing power that you'd expect this to be flipped. The campaign still looks cool, but gets somewhat choppy during hordes and rushes. They had a chance to completely blow things out of the water and missed it with the 30FPS, in my most humble opinion.

    Additionally, I don't remember the AI being as useless as they are in this game. I'm sticking to co-op so that Dom has a pulse, but Baird and Cole frequently let enemies walk directly past them without even standing up, let alone shooting at them. They are somewhat cognizant of picking up DBNO players, but their lack of wherewithal throughout the majority of the story is troubling.

    As a side note, I'd gotten stuck at two different junctures because AI enemies didn't spawn properly and wouldn't move from cover. They both happened in Act II, where you must stay in light or be eaten by Kryll, and they prevented me from moving forward with the mission. It's easy enough to just die and reload, but it's still annoying to have the issue.

    Multiplayer is a majority of my gripe with this game.

    I played Gears 1 religiously. To this day, almost a decade later, my gamerpic is still Seriously, so I know full well what this game used to be. Much like Halo, it was a power weapon hogging, NAT closing, host-shotgunning clusterluck of a morose mix of aggravation & passion.

    This online experience is nothing like the old game.

    I think they did something to make it feel more like Gears 2/3, both of which I hated, and I think it really takes away from the original feel. You used to be able to melee directly out of a run, shoot immediately after tumbling and pick weapons up while in cover. None of these things are possible anymore. Shotguns are curbed, melee stuns are instant death sentences and lancers to the legs somehow do more damage than to the head. It's not impossible to get over these issues and still have fun, but, considering the game is branded as a remake of a classic, it needs to be said that it's totally different than what old gamers are used to.

    More problematic, though, is the matchmaking process. There's apparently some sort of difficulty algorithm built into matchmaking to make the game as fair as possible, but I haven't seen it work properly once. After the first 10 or so games (which are apparently enough to establish this figure and thus ought to be enough for it to kick in), I was still being placed against full teams/clans who were 70+ levels higher than me. I have enough muscle memory from Gears 1 to not play pitifully, but it's a total wash when you're alone and you're put against a stacked team. The conventional answer is to just run with my own team, but it's still the point that this would immediately throw a new player off Gears for life. Too many games are gimmes for established teams.

    Sticky bouncers are as out of control in this game as bumper jumpers in Halo, and that's a huge detractor as well. It's a strategy that's open to anyone so I don't factor this into just this game, but the series as a whole needs work with this.

    Game looks absolutely amazing, but the gameplay doesn't add up to much more than a 7. Luckily, this was free with my Xbox One.
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  20. Oct 24, 2015
    9
    One of my all-time favourite games, and I played this re-release with fond memories. I had forgotten how totally useless my comrades were in a firefight, but the rest of the game was a pleasant reunion. For fans of the franchise, you will appreciate the improved graphics too. Looking forward to the rest of the series in November.
  21. Oct 14, 2015
    8
    This is another awesome Xbox one exclusive. I didn't play video games last gen. So this is my first time playing a lot of these games that are re masters or backwards compatible and I'm just blown away every time. This game has amazing gun play, amazing graphics, and above all else the story!!! Ughhh its breath taking that a game this old can be so intriguing and have so much immersion.This is another awesome Xbox one exclusive. I didn't play video games last gen. So this is my first time playing a lot of these games that are re masters or backwards compatible and I'm just blown away every time. This game has amazing gun play, amazing graphics, and above all else the story!!! Ughhh its breath taking that a game this old can be so intriguing and have so much immersion. Great game easily an 8. Expand
  22. Oct 9, 2015
    9
    Original was great, this remaster plays just as good and looks better. Add to that a big helping of getting the whole series for free when backward compatibility releases and you have one of the best 'remakes' ever.

    Loved replaying GoW1. Will love doing the same with 2 and 3 soon. Up yours Raam!
  23. Oct 2, 2015
    10
    This game took what the xbox 360 version of gears of war didn't have; and put it in there.

    Pros
    -OUTSTANDING graphics
    -Neat gunplay
    -Fun campaign
    -Fun multiplayer

    Cons:
    (none)
  24. Oct 2, 2015
    6
    If this game was a single player only game I would rate it a 9 out of 10. Unfortunately the multiplayer still is not fixed. The game is supposed to run off of dedicated servers but, I can't tell the difference between this one and all of the other Gears games. I will give you an example. I down someone from the opposing team with my shotgun. His buddy runs up to help him up. Game wise I amIf this game was a single player only game I would rate it a 9 out of 10. Unfortunately the multiplayer still is not fixed. The game is supposed to run off of dedicated servers but, I can't tell the difference between this one and all of the other Gears games. I will give you an example. I down someone from the opposing team with my shotgun. His buddy runs up to help him up. Game wise I am no more than 6 feet away. I am aiming at both of them shooting repeatedly the shotgun blasts have no effect on either of them. Player helps his buddy up they turn and kill me. WTF are you kidding me. Gears of War online is the only game that I have ever played that pisses me off so bad that I have to turn the game off. If you are thinking of buying this game because you think that the multiplayer has been fixed, it hasn't. If you don't care about the multiplayer it is worth a purchase if you do then I say no. Expand
  25. Sep 27, 2015
    2
    remember that game on 360 that was pretty cool at the time but was a shotgun fest that people abandoned shortly after it came out?

    I do too, rather than remaking all of them in a collection or the ones people played the most they remade the original, which while it had a great single player campaign it isn't worth the price of admission by a long shot. we shouldn't encourage such
    remember that game on 360 that was pretty cool at the time but was a shotgun fest that people abandoned shortly after it came out?

    I do too, rather than remaking all of them in a collection or the ones people played the most they remade the original, which while it had a great single player campaign it isn't worth the price of admission by a long shot.

    we shouldn't encourage such expensive single game remakes either, thus a low score for a game you should pass on unless you have the biggest hard on for gears imaginable.

    if it included gears 2 and 3 it would have been a 9.
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  26. Sep 17, 2015
    10
    Gears of War Ultimate edition. This is the first Xbox One outing for the ever popular gears franchise. If you are new to the franchise expect a fun well created story with fantastic multiplayer remastered art work along with additional PC content which originally was not available to the original 360 version. Although nothing dramatically new for Gears fans especially if you like meGears of War Ultimate edition. This is the first Xbox One outing for the ever popular gears franchise. If you are new to the franchise expect a fun well created story with fantastic multiplayer remastered art work along with additional PC content which originally was not available to the original 360 version. Although nothing dramatically new for Gears fans especially if you like me were an early adoptee of the original franchise way back in 2007. That said well worth the money plus backward capability soon available and also FUN! To me this is just what fans needed to fill the void till a proper next gen version arrives in 2016 well worth a play. Expand
  27. Sep 15, 2015
    10
    The most beautiful and action game I've played. This blood, dark atmosphere, fearless enemies. That's all give me a lot of emotions. Can't stop playing that.
  28. Sep 14, 2015
    8
    This game is exactly what it sets out to be: a remastered edition of the original Gears of War.
    The single player campaign is a bit short especially when you compare it with the sequels but it is quite entertaining nonetheless. The campaign truly shines when it´s played alongside a friend or a member of your family. The addition of 90 minutes of content is especially sweet if you never
    This game is exactly what it sets out to be: a remastered edition of the original Gears of War.
    The single player campaign is a bit short especially when you compare it with the sequels but it is quite entertaining nonetheless. The campaign truly shines when it´s played alongside a friend or a member of your family. The addition of 90 minutes of content is especially sweet if you never had the chance to play this game on a PC. I can say that The Coalition did a great job at redoing the cutscenes and in general the game looks great and runs smoothly.
    Now let´s check the multiplayer; this is the most most important aspect of the game. First of all, let me tell you it runs smoothly running at 60FPS. The movement is excellent and you can no longer sense the characters´ clunkiness that defined the first installment of this franchise. It is essential that you play alongside your team or you won´t last long.
    The only problems i could find in the multiplayer is that sometimes, the shotgun is inconsistent and that there should be more variations for multiplayer matches.
    Overall I can say that this game is great choice for the people who have enjoyed the previous installments of this franchise. It can be a bit tough for newcomers but in time but this shouldn´t make you skip the opportunity to play this great game.
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  29. Sep 10, 2015
    9
    I get it, this is a revamp, therefor it does not yield a perfect score, but as far as remastered games go, Gears of War Ultimate is in the top 3 of how you do it right.
  30. Sep 8, 2015
    0
    The only reason anyone could give this a score higher than 0 is if they couldn't admit they had wasted their time and money. As far as the remastered perks go this is incredibly lackluster. Campaign is still not 60fps. Visuals don't look any better than what PC games did three or four years ago. 60fps multiplayer is nice but that's an easy thing to introduce, and going from 60fps multi toThe only reason anyone could give this a score higher than 0 is if they couldn't admit they had wasted their time and money. As far as the remastered perks go this is incredibly lackluster. Campaign is still not 60fps. Visuals don't look any better than what PC games did three or four years ago. 60fps multiplayer is nice but that's an easy thing to introduce, and going from 60fps multi to 30fps campaign is quite jarring, it should be painfully obvious to even the most casual gamer why 60fps should be prevalent.

    Gameplay wise this is as bad as it's ever been. It's designed for coop because it's basically a zergfest, no matter how good you are you are going to die again and again in singleplayer. It needed coop as a crutch so they didn't have to go back and balance the game to ensure it rewarded skillful, intelligent play. Just grind your way through it with a buddy.

    Squad AI is still crap and so is enemy AI. Sometimes they'll come out of emergence holes and then just stand there completely brain dead. As far as single-player goes this is just an HD texture pack (something PC users have been getting for free for over a decade now), and when you get close to the textures you see that they aren't even on par with current community-made HD texture packs for other PC games. They're higher-res than original Gears, but by today's standards, they are actually low-res.

    Multiplayer is a broken mess and I have no idea how this slipped under the radar. They say the multiplayer is on dedicated servers but it plays like it's still on peer-to-peer. I still see players skipping around the map on occasion. My NAT is Open and I have a 60Mbps internet connection, so I know the error is entirely on Microsoft's/Coalition's end. I don't feel like I ever get better or worse, when I'm good I feel like it's because all my hits are actually connecting and when I'm bad it's because hits aren't registering properly. I've shot AFK players point-blank in the face and had no response. You don't get these issues in offline 1v1, and it's purely because there is zero lag and 100% weapon damage registration, so there is a problem going on here and I don't expect them to fix it. There's a post on the main page about them being aware of certain game issues but unless they actually provide high-quality dedicated servers - because this may actually be on dedicated servers, just very, very poor ones - this game isn't worth playing online. It requires far too much skill for how much error there can be due to technical issues.
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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 74 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 74
  2. Negative: 1 out of 74
  1. Oct 27, 2015
    80
    The Coalition has done a superb job of reminding us why we fell in love with Gears back in 2006.
  2. Oct 25, 2015
    80
    It's an HD edition that fully respects the importance of the original game for the tps genre. It's a technically sound restyle that maintains the content of the original without trying to revolutionize it. It's impressive how well the game has aged, really.
  3. Oct 20, 2015
    80
    Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition definitely belongs in that upper tier; its campaign no longer carries the industry-shaping impact it once had but it remains tremendous fun, while its multiplayer is still dramatic, unique and engaging, perhaps even more so now given the final touches The Coalition has added. As was the case back in 2006, come for the campaign and stay for the multiplayer – you’ll be glad you did.