New Gears of War to be announced Monday

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

https://www.gameinfo...ars-of-war.aspx

[techbeck]

Nice, was hoping there would be more Gears. I need my chainsaw fix.... :)

[Roger H. Veteran]

:woot: - definitely having fun with the current Gears 3 so yeah, definitely would need another one to keep me going!

[macrosslover]

that image looks like it might be Prescott on that island Azure??...that's just my guess, I could be wrong. If it is, couldn't explain why he would be in chans. We'll see.

[what]

With the guy in chains I'm going to guess that it'll be a prequel and run up to how Marcus ended up in the prison at the beginning of the first game.

They could use characters from the RAAMs Shadow DLC as well as a few others from the books. And we could see a younger Adam in action.

Looking forward to it but I hope the gameplay is tweaked up a bit. Gears 3 is silky smooth, don't get me wrong, but the three games have been fundamentally identical and I think it's time for something a bit different.

[d4rk5ky]

I thought Cliffy B said that gears 3 was the conclusion to the franchise.. interesting.

[techbeck]

And we could see a younger Adam in action.

If thats the case, then I hope they also bring back a younger Dom. Didnt like what they did to him in GW3.

[what]

I thought Cliffy B said that gears 3 was the conclusion to the franchise.. interesting.

It's too successful to discontinue. They'll keep going until people are bored. Gears 3 made a killing and has done since release through DLC. They were charging people 320 points to change the colour of their weapons in multiplayer. They'll run it into the ground and only then move onto something else.

[Roger H. Veteran]

With the guy in chains I'm going to guess that it'll be a prequel and run up to how Marcus ended up in the prison at the beginning of the first game.

They could use characters from the RAAMs Shadow DLC as well as a few others from the books. And we could see a younger Adam in action.

Looking forward to it but I hope the gameplay is tweaked up a bit. Gears 3 is silky smooth, don't get me wrong, but the three games have been fundamentally identical and I think it's time for something a bit different.

I thought Cliffy B said that gears 3 was the conclusion to the franchise.. interesting.

With that i think it might be Marcus now instead of Prescott. I first thought it was him too but if GOW3 was the end then this might be a "prequel" which shows all that. Then E-Day stuff can happen and fight thru the first part of that. Makes me wanna go buy GOW1 again just to check it out. Saw it for $5 the other day :D

[Mr.XXIV]

YES!!!! I've always wanted to know what happened before GOW1!! :D

Gears of War 1 Sniping was the best! Especially when you're host. :p

[(Spork)]

I thought Cliffy B said that gears 3 was the conclusion to the franchise.. interesting.

i think its the Gears 3 team not the game

[nominak]

The guys who made Bulletstorm are making Gears 4. It's on Kotaku.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

i rather liked the 1st two - still have to play the 3rd. more Gears is always welcomed!

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

The guys who made Bulletstorm are making Gears 4. It's on Kotaku.

oh boy...

[thommcg]

Hope they've a more threatening boss than one riding a giant ornate butterfly.

[(Spork)]

The guys who made Bulletstorm are making Gears 4. It's on Kotaku.

that's not encouraging bulletstorm was meh

[Razorwing]

Can't wait. This won't be about Delta Squad anymore. So it's gonna be a new squad with new Characters based in the Gears Universe. Love how the picture tells you, those are Onyx Guards taking a prisoner in. So likely the Prisoner is going to be very dangerous. hehe.

[the better twin]

Oh how original.

MS sure love their Halo/Gears/Forza sequels.

Cant wait for E3. Forza Horizon, Halo 4, this new Gears game and a butt load of Kinect titles.

No thanks MS.

[what]

Oh how original.

MS sure love their Halo/Gears/Forza sequels.

Cant wait for E3. Forza Horizon, Halo 4, this new Gears game and a butt load of Kinect titles.

No thanks MS.

To be fair, they should all be different from their previous incarnations. Unlike Call of Duty, which we know the ins and outs of a ducks arse of before we've even seen a trailer.

[neoadorable]

Should be interesting at least. And is this even Xbox only?

[George P Global Moderator]

Gears 3 was the last game I actually bothered to play any multiplayer on, mostly horde mode. I'm down for another gears game, I find the world and it's story interesting. If this is some type of prequel that fills in some story gaps from the first 3 games then I'll give it a go.

Oh and, yeah, to those bitching about yet another halo, forza, gears, give it a rest. If this was Nintendo it'd be another zelda, mario and metroid, and as for sony, yeah, I can list a number of series they have as well. So what? Don't want another then don't buy another.

[Razorwing]

Baird, Cole, Garron, and Sofia -- the four members of Gears of War: Judgment's Kilo Squad -- have been "charged for treason because they didn't follow orders, stole equipment, and their actions could end up killing millions of people they swore to protect," an anonymous source told IGN.

This is the premise of Judgment, and the crux of the trailer debuting at Microsoft's E3 press conference on Monday, June 4, where we'll learn officially that the next Gears of War is a prequel to the first game.

Baird and Cole look younger in Judgment because Kilo Squad was only around during the two years following Emergence Day, as far as the Gears of War novel Coalition's End is concerned. E-Day happened 14 years before the first Gears of War, which puts us more than a decade behind Epic's original Gears game, giving us the opportunity to watch their delightful relationship develop. It also leaves Judgment open to introduce a young Marcus Fenix before he gets thrown in the clink for desertion.

Two people new to the Gears canon join Baird and Cole, but we'll need to wait for Monday's E3 trailer to learn more about who they are, how they're connected to these guys, and what role they play in Kilo's treason.

[Anthony Tosie Veteran]

I'm excited about this because I'm hoping People Can Fly will breathe some new life in the series.

I enjoyed Gears of War 3, but Epic hasn't done much to keep the game afloat and they're not listening to the community at all. There's almost no community involvement, in fact. At least with the first two titles they'd always tell us what was going on, but with the third it seems like they said 'this is our DLC timetable, let's do it all in advance and forget about it.'

Cole and Baird are kind of "eh" for me, though. Cole is a horrible stereotype, and I've never cared one way or another for Baird. I was really, really hoping for a prequel along the lines of the RAAM's Shadow DLC, with Michael Barrett being the new lead. I do like the fact that they've said it'll go through flashbacks and there will be less cutscenes and more storytelling through the gameplay, though. I always felt like the cutscenes bore down the gameplay in the series.

[Razorwing]

I'm excited about this because I'm hoping People Can Fly will breathe some new life in the series.

I enjoyed Gears of War 3, but Epic hasn't done much to keep the game afloat and they're not listening to the community at all. There's almost no community involvement, in fact. At least with the first two titles they'd always tell us what was going on, but with the third it seems like they said 'this is our DLC timetable, let's do it all in advance and forget about it.'

Cole and Baird are kind of "eh" for me, though. Cole is a horrible stereotype, and I've never cared one way or another for Baird. I was really, really hoping for a prequel along the lines of the RAAM's Shadow DLC, with Michael Barrett being the new lead. I do like the fact that they've said it'll go through flashbacks and there will be less cutscenes and more storytelling through the gameplay, though. I always felt like the cutscenes bore down the gameplay in the series.

Yeah I thought the same when I saw Baird. I'd thought they'd would create a new squad, a new lead, set in the realm of Gears. I'd thought they'd do that because they all been saying "Delta Squad" is done after Gears 3. Now IMHO, I would like to see a lead from another perspective on planet Sera instead of going back to Delta Squad.

[Razorwing]

Gears of War fans have learned to expect a content-rich experience with every installment in the series. In 2006, the original title impressed with stellar online campaign co-op coupled with numerous multiplayer modes. Its sequel introduced Horde mode, an addictive multiplayer experience that other shooters quickly emulated. Gears of War 3 expanded on Horde with fortifications and a currency system. In addition, Beast mode allowed players to inhabit various Locust creatures as they took on A.I.-controlled COG soldiers. With Gears of War: Judgment, Epic is taking the logical next step in multiplayer. Both Horde and Beast have a vocal following, and the developer hopes to satisfy both camps with the ambitious OverRun mode.

Many shooters on the market hit store shelves with a predictable assortment of modes. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch have been standbys since the ?90s, and most modern shooters feature a mode based on capturing command points in the style of Battlefield?s Conquest or Call of Duty?s Domination. Gears of War typically takes the road less traveled, from the multi-team battles of Wingman to the elimination-based Warzone. OverRun is unlike any mode we?ve seen before, with asymmetrical teams that take turns in a class-based, tactical, five-on-five battle. Rather than simply duct-taping Beast and Horde together, the team at Epic is presenting a multiplayer experience with a heavy focus on team play.

OverRun consists of two timed rounds, allowing each team to play an offense-based Locust round and a defense-based COG round. When playing as the Locust horde, you?re tasked with breaching two sealed emergence holes before finally destroying the COG power generator. These emergence holes are placed one after the other, so you?ll be destroying them in sequence rather than choosing between two simultaneous objectives. Once you?ve destroyed the seal of one of these holes, the COGs are annihilated by a Kryll storm and your team gains a new spawn position. Several minutes are also added to the timer, giving your team more time to make the final push towards the generator. Scoring is determined by how many objectives the Locust complete, with a maximum of three points awarded if they manage to open both emergence holes and destroy the generator before time runs out. In the case of a tie, the team that completed the tasks in less time gets the win.

Locust characters typically rely on their natural abilities, but the four COG classes focus more on technology. Soldiers, medics, and scouts provide ammo, health/revives, and motion trackers, respectively. In Battlefield, you have to be in close proximity to a teammate to provide support, but Gears of War: Judgment allows these classes to toss their support items like a grenade. It didn?t take long for me to realize the value of this ability during my run as a scout. I perched myself in a tower and proceeded to toss tagging beacons that point out enemy locations from my elevated position. Scouts and Wretches are the only classes that can climb to these areas, so I had to keep a watchful eye on my back to make sure none of the scampering Locust were behind me. In the instances where I was taken down, I was revived by a quick-thinking medic teammate that tossed his stim grenade into my tower. During the same round, I received much-needed sniper ammo from a helpful soldier in the same fashion. Epic?s focus on team play is rewarding even at this early stage in the game?s development. My scout would have been crippled without the helping hands from my fellow COG.

Advanced tactics aren?t limited to the human characters; the Locust beasts have some novel cooperative strategies as well. Grenadiers can feed a grenade to a Ticker, which doubles its explosive power. In addition, the grenadier can kick Tickers over fortifications to deliver its doubly dangerous payload deeper into the enemy?s base.

As you take down fortifications, deal damage to emergence holes, and kill enemy COG, the Locust players earn points that can be used as currency to unlock more dangerous creatures. Tickers, Wretches, Grenadiers, and Kantus healing classes are always available, but you?ll have to save up points to access the second tier, consisting of Bloodmounts, Corpsers, Serapedes, and Maulers. After several rounds of experimenting, I eventually discovered some useful team strategies. At one point, fellow GI editor Tim Turi and I decided we were going to stockpile our points until we could attack with two Corpsers. We spawned as the burrowing creatures, then called out for a teammate to follow and heal us as a Kantus. With this constant stream of health, we destroyed several fortifications and unblocked an emergence hole with no trouble whatsoever. We took this strategy even further the next round, in which we handily destroyed the enemy generator thanks to the power of dual Maulers.

Ticker rushes are a frequent Locust strategy at the beginning of rounds, as they?re useful for taking down the COG?s defenses. These bug-like creatures are equipped with a dash ability, which allows them to reach a fortification and self-detonate before the humans even know they are coming. COG players can spawn as the engineer class (represented by Baird) during these initial rounds if they?re hoping to keep the fences operational for as long as possible. Engineers have a sentry gun ability that operates on a cooldown timer, which is great for taking out incoming Tickers while repairing damaged fortifications with a blowtorch. The blowtorch usually has to reload after several seconds, but this can be avoided if a soldier class tosses an ammo supply near your work area. With a sentry gun deployed and a nearby ammo drop refilling your blowtorch, you can quickly repair barriers in relative safety.

While Ticker rushes are typically the go-to strategy during most initial Locust attacks, the variety of creatures allows for flexibility. Occasionally, I played as a Wretch, which granted me the ability to hop over fortifications and scream at COG soldiers to stun them. If the COG were assembling on the right side of a map to combat a Ticker rush, I?d sneak around the left using the Wretch?s ability to climb onto platforms that others can?t and scream at the opposing team from behind. With the COG stunned, the Tickers were free to come out from behind cover and begin eating away at the fence before the engineer had a chance to repair it. If you team up with another Wretch, you can eliminate the scream ability?s cooldown period by alternating. One Wretch stuns the COG while the other swats at them with the melee attack, and the second Wretch re-stuns them once the initial attack wears off.

Each playable unit has a unique ability tied to the left bumper, such as the aforementioned engineer sentry, Ticker dash, and Wretch scream. Epic wants players to use each character?s ability on a regular basis, but still be vulnerable in-between recharges. During our gameplay sessions, most abilities operated on a 6- to15-second cooldown timer, and they varied wildly. Serapedes rear up and spit poison at foes, Maulers spin their shields and reflect bullets, Corpsers burrow underground to avoid taking damage, Grenadiers toss explosives and ride Bloodmounts, and the shaman-like Kantus provide support with a heal ability that protects all nearby Locust.

Over the course of two days, we played several hours of OverRun mode and continuously discovered new strategies that led to more tactical and engaging rounds. While our skill level never reached a point that allowed us to beat Epic on a regular basis, the pursuit was consistently entertaining and left us wanting more. Even at this early stage, OverRun certainly feels like it will become the premiere multiplayer mode for Judgment.

Look forward to more exclusive Gears of War: Judgment coverage in the upcoming month, including strategies and further details on the various OverRun classes.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/06/04/hands-on-with-gears-of-war-judgment-39-s-overrun-mode.aspx