Gears of War 4 Preview - E3 2016

It can be argued that what the Halo franchise did to first person shooters, Gears of War did for the third person shooter genre. Originally created by Epic Games, the franchise has become a long running Microsoft exclusive. After a run of three solid entries, the most recent iteration, Gears of War: Judgment, was underwhelming, created by People Can Fly. It seemed that the series was due for a rest, and that's exactly what Microsoft has done. With the reigns now at newly-formed developer The Coalition, and with the Xbox One ready for its first taste of the action the franchise is known for, Gears of War 4 is poised to make its mark. We had a chance to see an extended demo of the game at E3.

Our session was hosted by lead campaign designer Matt Searcy. The story demo we were about to observed was actually being presented on two different screens. The main demo was played on a 4K monitor running the Windows 10 version of the game; while the smaller but still sizable screen was showing the co-op partner's Xbox One. All modes in the game – campaign, multiplayer – are cross-play compatible. The two players seamlessly appeared in each other's game, demonstrating smooth cross-platform performance. Even when the Xbox One version crashed at one point, the Windows 10 player was able to carry on, without even realizing his partner dropped as the AI instantly took over. There were no pauses or loading screens.

The demo began with new characters JD Fenix, Kait Diaz, and Delmont Walker in pursuit of a man named Oscar. JD and Delmont were being controlled by the demo hosts, while Kait was an AI. The trio believe this man may contain information about Kait's mother, who was taken by the Swarm. Unfortunately, Oscar himself was also taken, so the group has to find him first. After exchanging a few heated but humorous quips about their predicament, the characters began to work their way deeper into a fort. There was plenty of evidence that some kind of life form has taken over the area, with pods blocking the path. JD shoots a few pods, but one suddenly bursts to life, releasing a new enemy type called the Swarm. These creatures are fast, and close in very quickly using both the floor and walls. After dispatching these low health grunts, the group moves on, but soon JD accidentally falls through the floor of a house into more of the gross substance. The rest of the cast are forced to follow him down.

The group soon realizes that these pods are used to transform humans into the creatures they've been fighting. They push on, exploring the fort's structures and engaging more of the fast new Swarm enemies. Many of the classic Gears staples are still here – the timed reloading mechanic, the audio queue that the area is cleared, the ammo crates, and the weapons. The classic lancer assault rifle with a chainsaw is still here, as are the Gnasher Shotgun and grenades. These weapons are used to effectively clear the narrow streets of incoming enemies. They soon spot a larger creature, who they believe is headed back to the Swarm's nest where Oscar may be located.

The trio soon arrives at a church and enters. Here, they encounter the Imago, a supposedly mutated version of the small creatures. These Imago look more humanoid and move more normally, and are also able to pick up weapons and use them. After dispatching a few of them, JD gets careless and is actually chainsawed in half from behind. This is a live demo, after all. Following a brisk checkpoint restart, the campaign carries on. The combat moves into the far hallways of the church, where the players shoot pods suspended at the ceiling to create new cover opportunities.

The firefight moves outdoors into the courtyard, where emergence holes appear and more Imago emerge. Here JD finds one of the new weapons in the game, the Buzzkill. This heavy weapon shoots buzzsaws that shred enemies and also bounces off hard surfaces. JD uses this trick to kill enemies hiding behind cover. In the meantime, Delmont has also located another new weapon called the Dropshot. This gun fires a mine into the air that floats in a straight line for as long as the trigger is pressed. Once released, the mine will drop down and explode; it is yet another tool for flushing out enemies from cover. When out of ammo, we also get to observe a couple of the new melee takedowns with the knife, and some of the new executions on downed enemies.

After fighting their way through a few more areas, the group finally reaches the larger enemy they have been chasing. It is the same creature that was first revealed during the E3 2015 debut of the game called the Pouncer. The firefight that follows involves the team taking down three of these larger beasts, while they jump around the area. The creatures often pin down JD and Delmont, and shoot from their tails. The demo concludes as these beasts are defeated.

Microsoft is clearly trying to do something very similar to Halo 4 – reintroduce a famous property on Xbox One, under a new developer. And like Halo 4, this year's Gears are replacing the Locust with a new enemy type that still feels very similar in parts, but vastly new in others. Our time with Gears of War 4 demonstrates that The Coalition have done well to capture the spirit of the franchise, so at the very least, fans can rest easy knowing that they'll be in for a fairly familiar experience. Gears of War 4 is coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 this October.