One of the notable absences here is Gears 3's Beast mode - a reversal of Horde in which you fight as the hated Locust. Sure, he swears like a trooper and isn't above punching the odd skull to pieces, but the days of bellowing about 'getting cooties' from mutant offal are well behind us. It's the return of the prodigal son, now a squeaky-clean graduate with a minor in Renaissance architecture (much of the game's terrain is based upon research trips to north Italy). Much of what used to define Epic's series - the sordid wisecracks that positively squelch on impact, those mid-mission swings from apoplectic rage to mushy sentimentality - has been removed or dialled back, as familiar as everything may seem on the surface. Availability: Out now on Xbox One and PC.If you want more in-depth impressions on Gears of War 4's campaign, our early impressions piece goes into more detail on the game's single-player.Īfter 40-odd hours with Gears of War 4, I have just one burning question: how on Earth did this game, the game with characters amassed from leftover dinosaur parts and a rifle you can chop timber with, grow up to be so bloody sensible? Gears of War 4 Fenix (Liam McIntyre), who, alongside his friends Delmont 'Del' Walker (Eugene Byrd) and Kait Diaz (Laura Bailey) deal with a new threat to humanity's survival.A cautious revival but a very worthwhile one, which creates a great foundation for future games.Įditor's note: This is our final review of Gears of War 4, based on time with the full game on live servers. The game focuses on the son of Marcus Fenix and Anya Stroud, J.D. Some human survivors rejected the viewpoints of the COG and formed a group called the 'Outsiders' that live outside of the COG jurisdiction, conducting raids on COG territory to gather resources. The COG also declared martial law, preventing any travel from outside of city walls. To prevent the population from declining, walled-off cities were built to protect the citizens from the dangers outside. The countermeasure also brought the advent of 'Windflares', powerful windstorms that form across the planet.įollowing the aftermath of the Lambent Epidemic, the reformed Coalition of Ordered Governments estimated that only hundreds of thousands of humans are left on Sera. Unfortunately, this also knocked out the use of fossil fuels, forcing humanity to adapt new ways for survival. Gears of War 4 takes place 25 years after the Imulsion Countermeasure weapon destroyed all Imulsion on the planet Sera, taking the Locust and the Lambent with them as well.

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