With the events of Gears of War 3, players received closure to the story of Marcus and Dom. Following the prequel entry, Gears of War: Judgment, Epic Games detached itself from the series and sold the IP rights to Microsoft, who handed the franchise to a new studio full of veterans of both the series and the industry. A new Gears of War title is set to be revealed at E3, and fans are wondering what they might see when one of Xbox’s biggest franchises takes the stage.
With the Gears of War series making the leap to its new home at The Coalition (formerly Black Tusk), the next entry in the series has the potential to shake things up in a big way. Check out some of our most wanted features for the next game and let us know what you want from the new Gears of War in the comments below.
Sever Ties With Last-Gen
One of the big trends with triple-A games released early in recent console generations is to release them on both old and new platforms to maximize reach and sales. While it’s often a different studio handling the port, it can still be at the detriment of the current-generation version. The Coalition has announced the new Gears of War will be on Xbox One, and only on that console. As long as developers continue to tether themselves to old consoles, we’ll always be left wondering if the game’s full potential was reached. I want The Coalition to be able to truly go for it with the new game.
More Meaningful Storytelling
The first two Gears of War games showed a series establishing its universe, but it did so through somewhat clunky storytelling. With Gears of War 3, however, the team at Epic Games brought on Karen Traviss, writer of several Gears of War novels. While still tripping on some of the same pitfalls as its predecessors, Gears of War 3 handled delicate and emotional narrative moments such as the loss of a comrade with more finesse. I hope to see The Coalition handle some of the more pivotal moments in the story even better. If that means giving Traviss writer duties yet again, then I’d be happy with that.
A New Cast
The Marcus and Dom story arc had a bow put on it with Gears of War 3, so we’re going to need a new cast. Depending on the timeline, the game could focus on characters like Anya Stroud and Clayton Carmine, but I think it would be better to focus on a new squad completely. Give us new, compelling characters and a strong story to explore with them.
Less Focus On The Meatheads
Even if you love the lore, it’s pretty hard to deny that the games have their fair share of musclebound bros in the spotlight. I’d like to see a more varied range of emotions in the main characters. Marcus, Dom, Cole, and Baird were great for that story arc, but I want to experience a more nuanced range of emotions with everything going on. The trailers for the Gears games have always flirted with the idea of the player having a more intimate perspective into the emotions of the characters, but very rarely did those hints materialize within the games themselves.
Subtle Nods to Past Games
Subtlety hasn’t exactly been Gears of War’s calling card to this point, but if The Coalition does decide to go with a completely new cast of characters, a lot of fans would appreciate subtle nods to the stories they played through in the preceding games in the series. We don’t need to be beaten over the head with Marcus Fenix references or even a cameo, but a few Easter eggs scattered throughout are always appreciated.
Head to the next page for more things we'd love to see with the next Gears of War.