It’s been interesting revisiting the series’ first game with Gears of War: Reloaded, but I wasn’t expecting a simple game of King of the Hill to unlock a core memory for me. I’ve been playing Gears since the beginning, in 2006. I don’t know how many times I’ve played through the original trilogy, mostly in co-op, but my friends and I really started to get way into Horde and multiplayer with Gears 2.
I have a lot of fond memories of playing duos against my friends in private matches, each of us with an equally useless bot companion. These matches probably contributed to me never ascending the ranks in Gears 2 multiplayer proper, thus leading to some desperation when it was revealed that Gears of War 3 would offer rewards to returning players who had reached max level. An ensuing bizarre but endearing experience in Gears 2 must have solidified in a deep fold in my brain, only to emerge when I was playing King of the Hill in Gears of War: Reloaded.
I Lost Sleep To Earn Special Rewards In Gears Of War 3
A Marathon Of King Of The Hill XP Boosting
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I seem to remember it being the weekend before Gears of War 3 came out on September 20, 2011. On either Friday or Saturday night (or maybe both), I was determined to reach max level in Gears 2 multiplayer. Doing so would earn me six items in Gears 3: golden weapon skins for the Lancer, Hammerburst, Retro Lancer, Gnasher, and Sawed-Off Shotgun, and a special title that read, “Old Guard.” Super cool, I know.
Being a sophomore in high school at the time, I apparently had nothing better to do, but reaching level 100 would have been an impossible task in such a short timeframe if it hadn’t been for potentially thousands of other players looking to do the exact same thing. What followed were some very uncharacteristic games of King of the Hill compared to the average Gears 2 experience.
KOTH, with its long rounds, no limits on kills, and frequent objective swapping, had the best potential for gaining XP. But very few players were turned into red mist by Gnashers the weekend before Gears 3 came out. Everyone seemed to instead wordlessly agree that we were going to collectively game the system and boost XP together so we could reap the rewards in the new game coming out.
For hours, I entered match after match where everyone in the lobby flocked to the objective, stood around it in a circle, and performed a bizarre rendition of the Hokey Pokey: stepping in to capture the objective and earn the XP for doing so, and stepping back out to let the enemy team have their turn. Rinse and repeat until, point by tedious point, the round was won and the dance started all over again.
I remember being up well past 5:00 in the morning one night playing this mind-numbing, unrecognizable version of Gears 2. But it worked. I got my gold weapon skins and proudly flaunted my Old Guard title for my entire tenure in Gears of War 3. It would probably still be equipped if I booted up the game now. I lost some more sleep a few days later when I got Gears 3 at midnight and played until school the next morning.
Gears Of War: Reloaded Is A Great Trip Down Memory Lane
A Beloved Series
Gears of War is a foundational game in my affinity for third-person shooters, which made it odd revisiting it for my Reloaded review, but the remaster has been a great nostalgia trip. It’s a game plucked out of a bygone era; a simpler game from simpler times, and I’m glad we got such a pristine recreation of the classic original.
I spent hundreds of hours playing the original trilogy with some of my best friends – some of whom I’ve sadly lost contact with – and the flood of memories from playing Gears of War: Reloaded has made me emotional at times. One of the more bizarre memories happens to involve strangers playing particularly odd games of King of the Hill, but it’s no less cherished.
Gears of War: Reloaded
8/10
- Released
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August 26, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
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The Coalition
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
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Yes
