Today, The Coalition and Microsoft decided to release the first 20 minutes of the upcoming shooter Gears of War 4. If you don’t want to be spoiled on the campaign, you should turn back now. But if you don’t mind some fairly minor ones (the segment doesn’t reveal the main plot, it’s more of a recap than anything else), keep on reading.
The game begins with a cutscene celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the Human/Locust War that concluded at the end of Gears 3 being watched by a bald man in a lab. To commemorate the event, three people stand on stage to receive awards from First Minister Jinn, two of which long time fans will remember instantly: Augustus Cole and Colonel Hoffman. The first flashback begins with Hoffman, set two years before Emergence Day. Humanity was at war with each other in the form of the COG vs. the Union of Independent Republics. Hoffman, a young Dominic Santiago, and a squad of faceless Gears go to Aspho Fields to recover what will later be the Hammer of Dawn. (The player character is one of those Gears.) The second flashback takes place on Emergence Day itself from the perspective of another faceless Gear, this time a woman, as they protect Hoffman’s convoy from the Locust.
Gears of War 4’s final flashback is set 17 years after E-Day (specifically, the final moments of Gears 3), as a medic works with Bernie Mattaki to hold the Locust back from invading Anvil Gate. After some action, the flashback ends, and Jinn talks of an era of peace. The man turns off the TV.
Gears of War 4 comes to the Xbox One and Windows 10 on Oct. 11.
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