That means more moving, more shooting, more abilities, more grenades, and more overwatch. Executing an enemy in Gears Tactics rewards every character in your squad one AP, save for the person doing the executing. This doesn’t just get you a cool animation, though. In classic Gears of War fashion, any enemy you down can be executed. Pretty neat, right? Execute Enemies When You Can You can even overwatch while being overwatched, though it won’t be quite as good. Whether you’re protecting an vulnerable ally, holding a point against oncoming enemies, pinning down an enemy squad, or covering an emergence hole before it pops, overwatch is always useful. Gnasher shotguns provide wide cones with limited range, and Longshots have absurd range, but little width. Heavies are the best at it because of their Mulchers, while Lancers and Retro Lancers provide good all-around cones, with the former favoring accuracy and the latter damage. Each weapon provides a different cone of fire. The more AP you have while you overwatch, the more times they’ll shoot. They’ll fire on any enemy that moves into or within that cone and have a chance of disrupting their actions. By sacrificing a character’s remaining AP, you can have them set up a cone of fire that covers an area of your choosing. Overwatch might be the most useful ability in Gears Tactics. So prep your squad and grab your gear, because we’re going grub hunting. Either way, we’ve got you covered with knowledge straight from the frontlines. You’ve got some learning to do, whether you’re a Gears of War vet who’s green as grass when it comes to tactical games, or a strategic mastermind who doesn’t know a Lancer from a Gnasher. Still, Gears Tactics is its own beast, and there’s plenty about it that make it unique. Who knew mixing Gears of War and X-Com would work so well? Microsoft, apparently.

Gears Tactics is here, and it’s very, very good.

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