Gears POP! Review - My New Favorite Time Killer
Reviewed On: Android
Also On: iOS, Windows PC
Genre: Real-time strategy
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Mediatonic, The Coalition
Release: August 22nd, 2019
Rating: Teen
Gears Pop! is a mobile real-time strategy video game in which two players battle using Funko Pop!-stylized characters from the Gears fictional universe.
This article was originally published on Positive Plugs on August 26th 2019. It has been ported here so that it may live on.
Over the years, only a select few mobile games have caught my attention. Even fewer have held it.
Sure, I was quite hooked on The Simpsons: Tapped Out for a year or so—it was my first mobile title, and it gave me something to do when I was otherwise staring at a wall.
Then Pokémon GO released, and that’s been a roller coaster with several ups and downs.
But while it’s still too early in the game’s life to tell, I’m fairly confident in saying that Gears POP! will be a regular daily run on my phone for quite some time.
In Gears POP!, players obtain characters, projectiles, and fortifications (known as “Pins”) through in-game crates, either by purchasing them directly with the premium currency known as Crystals or by winning matches online.
If a player wins a match, they are awarded a crate that has a cooldown timer before it can be opened. This ranges from as little as two hours to upwards of ten based on the rarity of the chest, but players can bypass the waiting period by spending a small amount of Crystals.
I feel it’s important to note that, at the time of this writing, I haven’t spent a dime on Gears POP!. That’s not because I’m opposed to their method of monetization, but because I haven’t felt like I needed to.
In fact, the in-game store seems relatively laid back compared to some other mobile titles. Players can buy Crystals with real money, or use their existing Crystals and coins to snag bulk counts of Pins to help level up their game.
Since its release last Thursday, I’ve drained my phone battery around five or six times just from playing Gears POP!, and I never once felt like I needed to throw some change in the machine to get a better experience.
To anyone who has played Halo Wars 2’s Blitz mode, the gameplay basics of Gears POP! will feel familiar. I’ve also been told it’s similar to another mobile game, Clash Royale, though I’ve never played it and cannot verify that statement.
You hold a hand of four Pins from your deck, each with its own power rating, and you play Pins that march down the lane to try and attack your enemy’s outposts (a set of turrets) and the main enemy leader, who hides behind cover at the back of the lane.
Every so often, you have an ultimate ability that can be cast to help turn the tide of battle.
Each game has a timer of three minutes, with a potential forty-five seconds of overtime if the timer reaches zero while the scores are tied. In the last minute of the match, the rate at which power regenerates is doubled, allowing players to throw out more units and try to spam their way to victory.
The player who successfully destroys the most of an enemy’s base, or eliminates the enemy leader altogether, earns a shiny new loot box (if you have space—you can hold up to four at a time) and “cogs” that serve as a matchmaking rank.
As you amass more cogs, you’ll be promoted to the next tier of matchmaking through various arenas and leagues. Each arena holds new Pins that can be found, like the Hammer of Dawn and Skorge in later levels.
If you lose a match, your cogs will decrease—but in my current playtime, I’ve found that a victory often nets way more cogs than a loss subtracts, so you don’t feel quite as frustrated when you hit an unfortunate losing streak. This likely changes the higher up the ladder you go.
But traditional versus matchmaking isn’t all that Gears POP! has to offer.
The famous Gears of War co-op mode Horde is also available.
To play Horde, a player needs to join an in-game Crew and then host or join a match by using a “Thumper,” which is an item awarded from crates that provides Horde levels of various difficulty, with rewards ranging from coins to Epic-level Pins.
Unlike traditional Horde in the mainline games, which can take two to three hours to complete a full run of fifty waves, Gears POP!’s Horde mode often takes between two to five minutes to fully complete. These matches are quite fun with a friend and provide a respectable level of challenge on some of the harder Thumpers. Though I’m unsure if it’s intentional, at the time of this writing, players are able to earn most “Versus” achievements in co-op Horde as well.
That’s right—Gears POP! has actual Xbox Live Achievements built in.
An example of the Horde mode working for Versus achievements is the “For Sera” achievement, awarded for eliminating an enemy leader with the Hammer of Dawn—which I earned by burning up General RAAM with a friend during a traditional three-wave Horde match!
To earn Xbox Live Achievements, players need to link their existing Xbox Live account. Gold isn’t required to play online or earn achievements, so it’s recommended that anyone wanting to snag some sweet Gamerscore link their account.
You also get the added benefit of cloud saves and cross-progression between devices, which is great for anyone like me who plays the game on both mobile and Windows 10!
Daily bounties refresh every twenty-four hours, giving players the opportunity to net some extra in-game currency each day just for playing. This includes the premium Crystal currency, though admittedly, the amount is rather low, so most players would simply use them to open crates early.
In conclusion, Gears POP! is a fun way to get a short burst of Gears action regardless of where you are. The game is simple enough for anyone to pick up, while also providing a certain level of strategy that allows players to outmatch their opponents.
Seriously—drop those Shepards behind Cole Train and watch the magic happen.
While I’m sure the game won’t be for everyone, I must implore any Gears fan, or anyone looking for a solid time killer, to give the game a shot. Maybe you’ll be draining your phone battery several times a day too!
Lastly, if you need some friends to play Horde with, feel free to grab a space in the “Panic Nation” or “Spawn Point” Crews while slots are still open!