The biggest Xbox One exclusive of the year is out - here's everything you should know
In all previous "Gears of War" games, the iconic Marcus Fenix led his small group of soldiers against the "Locust" (you'll see them in a moment).
Instead, in "Gears of War 4," you're mostly playing as Marcus Fenix's son, JD Fenix.
You'll actually play as a variety of different soldiers throughout the "Gears of War 4" campaign.
Much of the early game is spent fighting off robots rather than the traditional Locust aliens.
And all of the robots explode when they're dying, because of course they do.
But enough with the robots — you're also fighting plenty of alien Locust in "Gears of War 4."
Your first taste of combat with the Locust Horde comes in the form of flashbacks — the entire introduction to "Gears 4" is a playable flashback, which really works well.
The game's Horde Mode is also returning, with "Horde 3.0." It's an evolution of the wave-based tactical gameplay that players loved in previous games.
One evolution is the concept of setting up defenses between waves, which can make a huge difference in the difficulty of that wave.
At some point or another, you're going to have to fight an enemy helicopter. Shoot the engines! Keep moving! You'll be fine.
Like in previous "Gears" games, there's a rhythm to the combat — run or leap for cover, prioritize enemies, take one or two down, reload quickly, move to new cover, repeat.
That rhythm can feel outright musical in the game's best encounters (like this early battle through Marcus Fenix's tomato harvest).
There's a cinematic feel to the whole game — it's straight up divided into acts and chapters.
But what really drives this home is the gorgeous graphics that are also used for non-interactive "cutscenes" (short exposition scenes between gameplay).
It's where you learn about new characters like Kait.
And grizzled ex-"COG" soldier Marcus Fenix.
Without spoiling too much of the game's story, the robots you're fighting are actually owned and operated by the same government Marcus Fenix previously served.
After the events of the previous games, Fenix holed up in this run-down chateau. It's where you'll eventually meet up with him in "Gears of War 4."
The environments of "Gears 4" are lush, highly-detailed, and ripe for exploration.
One of the best parts of fighting all those robots is taking their massive armaments and using them to your own ends.
"Gears of War 4" is out now on Xbox One and Windows 10. Even better: If you buy it on one, you own it on both! It looks even better on PC than on the Xbox One, though it's VERY impressive looking anywhere you play it. Check out the launch trailer right here:
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