Gears of War’s Active Reload should be in more shooters

There’s no question that Gears of War ranks among the most influential video game franchises of all time. The Microsoft shooter helped popularize Unreal Engine, which is still widely adopted to this day. Its snappy cover mechanics were practically inescapable for a generation, and ultimately influenced series like Uncharted and The Division. Gears of War 2 and its spectacular set pieces may well be one of the best action games ever made, and it’s difficult to imagine a world without Horde Mode. Would we even have games like Fortnite were it not for Epic Games’ success with Gears of War? But if there’s one aspect of Gears of War that’s never gotten its due, it’s active reload.