Gears of War 4: May Update Maps Dawn & Security Impressions

Gears of War 4 has received a steady flow of new maps with two each month since launch. The May update brings a special set with the remake of Security from Gears of War 2 and a fresh map called Dawn. While past maps have mostly been remakes, this is certainly a neat pack since Dawn is solid and taking a map from an earlier game than Gears 3 is a slightly daunting challenge. I personally think Security is a terrible map, but putting that aside it works well with the modern flow and speed of the game. The lasers have been balanced based on the mode you play and it features quick, yet divided combat. It feels like a tiny map of which it is, but the way laser or the tiny hallways are setup works well. It's got a good split of lanes with a somewhat open area, a viewing spot from the elevated middle and then cut-off steps to the back section.

Gears of War 4 Dawn Xbox One Screenshot

Dawn is the second and new map for the pack taking place in somewhat of a mining area. The map is small, yet very dynamic in that it's completely broken up with little areas of conflict. Not only does it feature a cut up map, there are multiple elevations present. One side features a high tower that gives little bits of visibility while the other is lower with an open viewing point. The middle of the map is directly split with what I describe as hallways without roofs that lie around it. It's actually a really interesting map and while nothing amazing to visually look at, it plays well. This is nice as there haven't been many new maps and while this works as a tame map, I still want The Coalition to do something wild with a map.

The two maps are some different maps for the game and while I don't care for Security as I didn't in Gears of War 2, I know it's been highly requested for whatever reason. Dawn is definitely interesting and I look forward to seeing how that plays out in some of the competitive modes when it gets sent there. There was a nice balance here since both are technically new based on how the development would go, but I still want to see some brand new maps come in.

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Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner