The rock solid protagonist returns in a flashback scene this time, with his son lending his character to the series instead.
The first trailer for Xbox One game Gears of War 4 traces a father-son legacy for the action franchise's new main character.
Franchise mainstay Marcus Fenix is back -- the tough, gruff squad leader from the first three Gears of War games -- but in this first glance at Gears of War 4, he appears as part of a childhood flashback. Instead, son JD Fenix takes the mantle of main character for the October 11 Xbox One release, a game which is to take place 25 years after the events of its predecessor. Continuing a Gears of War cinematic tradition of melancholy ballads, near-greyscale palettes and muscle-bound heroes hounded by aggressive aliens, the Gears of War 4 trailer also confirms that Marcus and fellow squad member Anya had settled down together, and introduces The Swarm, a new type of enemy scourge upon Earth-like planet Sora.
Away from its fictional world, there have been tectonic shifts in the Gears of War franchise since Gears of War 3 was released in 2011. Original franchise developer, US-based Epic Games, has refocused on influential game creation suite, the Unreal Engine, since coming under the wing of Chinese tech giant Tencent.
Meanwhile, two more Gears of War games have been released. The first, 2013 franchise prequel Gears of War: Judgement came courtesy of Polish studio People Can Fly, part of the game effort since the beginning, but better known for its own take on chunky third-person shooters, Bulletstorm. The second arrived in 2015 as Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the debut's remake also introducing Vancouver-based studio, The Coalition. Remaking the Xbox 360 hit for Xbox One and, unusually, PC, the package also enticed fans with the promise of early access to the eventual Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta.
Along with the October release date for Gears of War 4, we now know its beta will begin April 18 for the Xbox One's "Ultimate Edition" owners, with gates opening to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers from April 25.
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 "dnaTechGaming, console gaming, Gears of War 4, Epic Games, Tencent, Xbox One")
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