Gears POP!

This app merges a violent shooter with cute figurines to create an amusing and fun strategy game that will keep you busy for hours. Gears Pop! manages to compress two properties that seem at opposite ends of the entertainment spectrum. Gears of War is a brutal and bloody shooter series with more gore than you can shake a chainsaw-equipped Lancer at. Funko POP! figures are adorably cute collectible toys based on every pop culture reference imaginable. So what's the best way to combine two vastly different franchises? Pput them together in a kid-friendly mobile strategy/deck building game that doesn't fit either, of course. Welcome to the world of Gears POP!, a game that absolutely shouldm't work, but somehow does. While this likely goes without saying, it should still be pointed out that this is essentially an advertisement for both the Gears of War games and the Funko POP! toys. That said, it's not a bad little strategy game.

Gameplay's relatively simple. You piece together an army of eight units from the "pins" you collect through gameplay. During battles, energy slowly builds up, which players then spend to place units on the field. Once on the field, the units do their own thing without further direction from the player. There's still a fair amount of thought that has to go into things like positioning, counters, and looking for an opening to take advantage off. It's surprisingly fun, especially as the clock ticks down and players get more frantic in their moves. Unfortunately, unless you're willing to spend some actual money, either in the game or on physical POP! toys, progress can be a grind. In-game currency is earned at barely a trickle, and opening rewards requires either spending that currency or waiting anywhere for three to eight hours or more at a time. It's more than a little frustrating but doesn't take away from Gears POP!'s overall appeal.