2006 was a long time ago. I was 21 then, and like many other gamers of the time, got my first taste of the epic Gears of War. Since then, it has been remastered twice, first with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and most recently with Gears of War: Reloaded.
Of course, I was always going to play the latest version, not least because Xbox very generously gave those of us who owned Ultimate Edition a free copy. Cheers for that!
But from the word go, I felt different this time. I genuinely haven’t touched any version of the first Gears of War game since the launch of Ultimate Edition, so it’s been long enough to feel like I was coming in fresh again.
But I felt really rough. The camera movement was really messing with me, and I couldn’t stick with it for more than a few minutes. I don’t remember feeling this way in the past, so I guess maybe it’s just that I’ve gotten older and my eyes are definitely weaker?
But fortunately, there’s a setting to make everything much better. I completely missed it at first, because it’s not where I expected it to be, but thanks to my colleague, Samuel Tolbert, who pointed it out, I’m now back having a grand old time blasting Locust.
Turning off camera shake completely changes the game
I’m not sure exactly what caused how this game made me feel. I’m hedging that it’s a combination of age and weaker eyes, and the fact that I’m now playing Gears of War at a frame rate I’ve never experienced before. Way back in the day, 30 FPS was what we got. In 2025, playing Gears of War: Reloaded with an NVIDIA RTX 5090, well, let’s say you’re getting a lot higher frame rates than that.
It’s smooth as hell, but I am wondering if the added speed is helping trigger the weird feelings I’m getting. But instead of lowering that, I turned off the camera shake, and it’s instantly like playing a different game. I’m comfortable again, I can focus properly, and I can play the game for more than a few moments at a time.
I feel ridiculous having missed the setting, but equally, I was looking for it alongside the other display settings. It’s actually under the game settings menu, so if it’s bothering you, head on in there, check it to off, and I’m positive you’ll feel the benefit.
I’d also have liked to see an FOV slider, at least on PC. As we’ve seen recently with Borderlands 4 on console, a tight FOV is another feature that can lead to nausea in some players. I get that Reloaded isn’t a full remake, so it probably wasn’t a priority to work in, but I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing it was there all the same.
But removing the camera shake does help a lot. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Locust to saw in half.
