Gears of War Reloaded features one of the worst boss fights in gaming history
Gears of War Reloaded is an excellent remaster, and we recently played through it again as we count down the days till Gears of War: E-Day. Our time with Delta’s first outing, though, made something very clear to us: General Raam sort of sucks.
We’ve recently been thinking about the worst video game bosses of all-time, and while composing that list, General Raam from Gears of War came up.
It was tough to say whether he would make the list or not, but after putting some more thought into it, we decided, yes, he does fail spectacularly as a big-bad.
His introduction doesn’t make that clear, though. In fact, the first time you see Raam, he struts into the game with superb aura, before executing one of your allies and sending another wave of Locust after Marcus Fenix and co.
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From the get-go he’s established as a threat far beyond anything the team has encountered up to that point.
He’s much larger, can bend Kryll to his will, and he doesn’t even carry a gun when you first see him. His only armament is a chunky blade and his own brute strength.
It should say a lot that after that introductory cutscene you’re tasked with taking down a Berserker, which somehow looks less intimidating than the oversized Locust we just saw outside.
General Raam starts off strong, but gradually loses his aura
Fast-forward to a later point in the game, and Raam is nipping at Delta’s heels, but eventually comes face-to-face with Marcus and Dom at the end of the game.
Atop a moving train armed with a bomb that should end the war, you’re one showdown with Raam away from rolling credits. Too bad the boss fight sucks and can be finished in like 30 seconds.
Raam can’t be shot while he has his swarm of Kryll surrounding him, but using our currently-equipped weapons is boring anyway. The real prize is behind him: a stationary turret that’ll melt the boss at awesome speed.
While it always feels good to beat the game, every playthrough is a reminder that Raam is an absolute pushover despite his initial appearance.
It’s incredibly disappointing, and if he does somehow show up in Gears of War: E-Day, we hope he’s given an upgrade of sorts.
Once you get to Gears of War 2, the problems with Raam become even more clear. In the second game, one of your main antagonists is High Priest Skorge, a Locust with a sleeker design, chainsaw staff, and acrobatics that make his boss fight actually interesting. Even Marcus points out in the campaign that he makes Raam look lesser in comparison.
For such a good game, it has such an uneventful ending, though at least the train level itself is quite fun. The brief fight against the Berserker at the train’s rear is also a solid encounter.
As far as final bosses go, though, Gears of War Reloaded might just have one of the weakest ones of all.
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Topics: Gears Of War, Xbox, Features