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Within all the grit and brutality of Gears of War 4

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“ This combat-ready trio is uneasy and Gears of War 4 is better for it.

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Gears of War 4 follows J.D. Fenix and his friends, Del and Kait, as they hunt the Swarm to rescue people kidnapped from Kait’s village. The return of a three-person team makes me a little sad for my third and fourth co-op buddies (there’s only a two-person campaign co-op), but the dynamic of the new team is better for it. It’s a more intimate group. But unlike their predecessors, this combat-ready trio is uneasy and Gears of War 4 is better for it.It’s not as though they whine in battle — they’re just as fierce as Baird and Dom and are happy to slice enemies in half — but watching them marvel at old Gears camps and become flustered when they get off their prescribed path creates a nice change from the grin-and-bear-it tone of the previous games. I want to help them succeed in a world that, with the new enemies, felt even foreign to me.The enemy I enjoyed taking on most, however, were the Pouncers. The large beasts hopped from car to car in a parking lot as they tried to surround my team. Pouncers shoot quills from their tails, and will pin you to the ground if they get the chance. The three I took on were tough and served well as a miniboss.The two new weapons I saw — the Buzzkill and the Dropshot — were exceptional for defeating the Swarm. The Dropshot fires mines that can drill and burst enemies, while the Buzzkill fires buzzsaws that can ricochet off structures. The Buzzkill is especially awesome when you accidentally (or purposefully, if you're skilled) get a kill through one of the saw’s ricochets, but its heft leaves you vulnerable to snipers as you waddle between cover.Gears of War 4 may be going for a different tone with its seemingly untested protagonist, but it does so without sacrificing the grit and fun action of its predecessors.

Miranda Sanchez is an Editor at IGN. You can find her ranting about cats, anime, and video games on Twitter