Usually violence should not be glorified, but in “Gears of War” it is celebrated.  

Epic Games released “Gears of War” in 2006 exclusively for the Xbox 360, helping define the power difference between the original Xbox and Xbox 360. “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition,” is a remaster of “Gears of War” by The Coalition.

This is a great product and remastering of a classic game, which is well worth playing as both a revisit or a first time experience.

Starring the iconic and stoic soldier Marcus Fenix and his squad, players control them as they help their government fight against a worldwide invasion from the monster-like Locust.

The game has plenty of new elements added to it. The first is the improved visuals. Ironically, it almost looks too clean for a game supposed to be dark and gritty in its visual aesthetic.

Every cutscene was fully redone with new animations and camera work, raising the presentation of the game greatly and improving storytelling.

A major selling point of this product is the previously unavailable chapters of the story. This content was initially only part of the PC version of the original “Gears of War.”

At first I expected this to a be a small addition, but I was surprised at how much this content added to the game. It has its own narrative, cutscenes, humor and even ends with a boss fight. 

The classic “Gears of War” multiplayer returns with a few added perks. Every map released for the original game — including extra downloadable maps — are included. A few new game variants are incorporated like the popular Team Deathmatch, which is still great.

Unfortunately, even with the inclusion of the maps and modes, multiplayer still feels somewhat slow or old. I could not shake the feeling I would rather be playing the more varied and fresh multiplayer in later installments of the franchise.

As a bonus, The Coalition is adding all of the other “Gears of War” games to the package for free for the Xbox One sometime this fall. Just make sure to play “Gears of War: Ultimate Edition” before 2015 ends, otherwise this bonus will not apply. 

It is clear the developers wanted to remain as true to “Gears of War” as possible. This is a benefit as well as a burden, because the original experience remains mostly untouched. Certain aspects of the game do not age well by modern standards.

The movement in the game is not as smooth as the later entries in the series. Furthermore, it keeps the old checkpoint system, which is poorly implemented and overly punishing.

4 out of 5 Stars.

Grant Meyer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GrantMeyerDE