Big improvement to the presentation since I last played but the gameplay feels like a step down, it's just way too easy and I only failed by dying on purpose after doing the same thing over and over with no apparent difficulty curve after the first few waves.
Gearing feels like less of a necessity than before, the kamikaze ships are too slow.
The gears UI indicator is a bit too subtle, I only noticed it after a few minutes playing.
Gameplay video: