Fans of “Gears of War” are getting ready to try out their skills in the multiplayer arena of the latest installment in the franchise, after it was recently revealed that the developers are aiming to have a multiplayer beta session in April. For many, this was great news after earlier rumors that we may have to wait until the fall season to get out first impressions of the game.
For now, the beta will be limited to the multiplayer portion of the game, and it will likely also be restricted in various ways in order to focus on testing specific aspects of the gameplay. This is typical for multiplayer beta tests, and we expect to see some gameplay mechanics locked away until the final release.
For what it’s worth, the developers of the game have come out with a statement that the event will be an actual beta test and not a thinly veiled promotion with limited features. It’s not rare for companies to use beta tests for marketing purposes, but when this is done at the expense of actual testing, it tends to leave a sour taste in players’ mouths.
Gamers are already gearing up to check out the new version of one of the most iconic action titles, and there is no shortage of discussions about what they want to see in terms of new features and balance changes. A lot can happen in this version, especially given all the feedback from recent years that the developers have to work with, so there is definitely a lot of potential in this release.
One of the major points of fan debates recently has been the announcement that the multiplayer portion of “Gears of War 4” will run at 60 frames per second, while the campaign will be limited to 30 FPS as before. Framerate has always been a hot topic for gamers, especially fans of action games, and many agree that it’s good to see the developers of the new “Gears of War” striving for smooth gameplay.
Some claim there is no difference between 30 and 60 FPS visually and that it’s all a placebo effect, often wrongly citing the “fact” that human eyes allegedly only see at 24 FPS. However, in reality framerates of up to 100 FPS can make a noticeable difference on the quality of gameplay, especially when it comes to input responsiveness, while the 24 FPS figure is tied to cinema, where films are typically produced at this framerate. But what’s often ignored in this argument is the fact that films use frame blurring whereas games don’t, which is why lower framerates can look good in that context.
Of course, framerate isn’t everything when it comes to a competitive shooter, and it remains to be seen how the developers of “Gears of War 4” will handle the core gameplay of the title. Hopefully they are going to make active use of the feedback they receive during the beta test and are prepared to make major changes to the balance if results indicate a need for that.
The testing will be split in parts, with the first wave of players getting access on April 18. This will be a closed beta available only to eligible players, and will last until April 24 when the testing opens to everyone. From then, players will have until May 1 to check out what the game has to offer and build some impressions of its gameplay.