Thick_Weight6037
New member
A date has landed for Gears of War: E-Day, October 6, and every time a big console exclusive gets a hard date the same threads start up about whether the TV needs replacing first. I have been through this cycle enough times to have a view on it.
The features that actually change how a game like this feels are, in order: low input lag in game mode, VRR, then 120Hz. Input lag is the one you feel every second and it is the one people research last. VRR matters most on games that sit in the 40 to 60 range and wobble, which is where a lot of console titles live once the cinematic lighting is switched on. A locked 120Hz mode on a dark, heavy shooter is the least important of the three, and it is the one printed on the box.
What gets ignored completely is black level and near-black handling. Gears has always been mud, rain and dark stone. On a cheap edge-lit set the whole thing turns into grey soup with a halo around every muzzle flash, and no amount of 120Hz fixes that. If you are upgrading for this specific game, the money goes into contrast, not refresh rate.
The other thing worth doing before launch day, and it is free: go into your set's game mode and actually check what it turns off. Some brands quietly disable local dimming zones in game mode to cut lag, which is exactly backwards for a game like this.
Anyone planning a set upgrade around this, or are we all just going to run it on what we have?
The features that actually change how a game like this feels are, in order: low input lag in game mode, VRR, then 120Hz. Input lag is the one you feel every second and it is the one people research last. VRR matters most on games that sit in the 40 to 60 range and wobble, which is where a lot of console titles live once the cinematic lighting is switched on. A locked 120Hz mode on a dark, heavy shooter is the least important of the three, and it is the one printed on the box.
What gets ignored completely is black level and near-black handling. Gears has always been mud, rain and dark stone. On a cheap edge-lit set the whole thing turns into grey soup with a halo around every muzzle flash, and no amount of 120Hz fixes that. If you are upgrading for this specific game, the money goes into contrast, not refresh rate.
The other thing worth doing before launch day, and it is free: go into your set's game mode and actually check what it turns off. Some brands quietly disable local dimming zones in game mode to cut lag, which is exactly backwards for a game like this.
Anyone planning a set upgrade around this, or are we all just going to run it on what we have?
