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A lot of what we’ve heard from new Gears of War developer The Coalition so far is how it’s qualified to make a Gears game, and, essentially, why we should trust them with our beloved Gnashers and Lancers. The Coalition isn’t out to redefine Gears. Why try to rework combat that, as we saw with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, still stands well today? We traveled to Vancouver to visit The Coalition on their turf and get the latest, longest look at Gears of War 4

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Robots of War

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“ The DeeBees burst in a satisfying explosion like their organic counterparts.

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Tomatoes, Grenades, and Marcus Fenix

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“ “They’re going to mess up my f***ing tomatoes!” Marcus yelled.

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“ That’s not to say that Marcus and JD hate each other, but there are no hugs and kisses here either.

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Shiny New Weapons

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“ You can either let out a barrage of shots, or hold your second shot to take out a second enemy.

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S*** Yeah

The Coalition is looking to recreate the feeling of mystery and discovery we experienced in the first Gears of War. Our new protagonist, JD Fenix, is essentially a criminal on the run who’s recruited by circumstance to stop a new monster foe. But instead of Gears of War 4 feeling like a shiny new retelling, it already seems like The Coalition has created something much more affecting than what was presented in any of the first three games.It’s not to say that the original trilogy didn’t have impactful moments; Dom’s sacrifice was no small act, and every Carmine death was as silly as it was tragic. Still, from what I’ve seen, Gears of War 4 tactfully built on my affection for the old while rebooting the cast in a way that’s welcoming newcomers and returning fans alike. The Coalition wants to evolve Gears of War, and they might just have the cast, weapons, and interesting new enemies to do it.Gears of War 4 is set 25 years after Gears of War 3. Humanity is slowly rebuilding and repopulating, and planet Sera’s weather is taking a violent turn due to the imulsion countermeasure. But when a new, locust-like enemy, the Swarm, starts kidnapping entire human colonies, JD and his two friends, Kait and Del, have to step in to save their loved ones.Up until this point, save for a few weapons and environmental dangers, Gears of War 4 has been very similar to the Gears we know. Now here’s what The Coalition is doing to make this its Gears.Before meeting up with Marcus or even taking on the various Swarm enemies en masse, the new crew first fights a threat in their own backyard: the COG.With humanity on the brink of destruction and Sera’s ruin from the countermeasure, people have been collected and walled in by the COG for protection. Leading them is the overprotective First Minister Jinn. In a way, she and her predecessors have essentially childproofed their community in order to try and maintain humanity’s already low population. Dangerous tasks like construction and the more risky security details are handled by the DeeBees, humanoid robots that encourage social behavior and safety.Instead of sending out squads of COGs to defend their colonies from the mysterious new threat (the Swarm), Jinn sends out various DeeBee models armed with weapons new to Gears. As the developers explained to me, why send out and waste human life when a robot can do it? Assuming that the Outsiders (the human group living outside of the COG) were causing her colonists to disappear, Jinn instructs her DeeBee army to go out and investigate — with their weapons, of course.I like Jinn. Even though she has created a weird, totalitarian-esk government, her motives make sense. I wonder if she’ll continue to be an antagonist throughout the game, or if she eventually turns her DeeBees on the Swarm to help JD and the Outsiders.The Coalition didn’t forget to make sure that the DeeBees burst in a satisfying explosion like their organic counterparts. Chainsawing one of the Shepherds results in a gushing oil and sparks. Unlike the Swarm, some of the DeeBees still functioned for a few seconds after I shot off their heads. The marvelous destruction is there, and while they’re different from what we’ve come to expect in Gears, they don’t feel out of place in the world. If anything, they make more sense with what’s going on in the story.Personality aside, they are formidable enemies. Small, ball-like DeeBees called Trackers will stealthily roll up behind you and explode. If you’re quick, you can kick it into its allies so that they instead take damage when it goes kablooey. I like how destroying DeeBees adds another offensive tactic. The DR-1 is one of the heavier DeeBees, and uses jets in its feet to shift left, right, and even over cover. When they take enough damage they’ll charge and try to explode around you and your team. While on Hardcore difficulty, a DR-1 floated over my cover, stomped me, then blew up as Marcus tried to revive me. It was definitely one of the cooler deaths I experienced.Part of the reason the new cast works so well is both its ties back to and difference from Delta Squad. JD, Kait, and Del were trained to be warriors, but they haven’t put their strength to the test. They grew up in a time of peace. So when real danger presents itself, they need help. Their inexperience leads to a fourth rotating team member joining the crew for various missions, including JD’s dad, Marcus Fenix.“They’re going to mess up my f***ing tomatoes!” Marcus yelled as DeeBees crashed through the ceiling.Surprise, he’s still Marcus. This is still Gears. So naturally there was a pair of frag grenades stored next to a few planters. I was at first a little worried that Marcus would be softened with his time time out of the fight, but his character in Gears 4 felt right. Sure, I was happy to see the old hero, but seeing who he became is what really grabbed me.Still, this disparity between their attitudes made me a lot more interested. What happened to them, and where is the rest of Delta squad? Part of Marcus’ scolding includes his frustration with JD joining the COGs. It doesn’t seem too far fetched that JD would try to rebel against his grizzled father. They constantly butt heads throughout the chapter, but their few moments of teamwork and reflection on JD’s old home were pleasant.Of course, playing alongside Marcus is even more of a treat. There was one moment when Kait, Del, and I were all taken down from a blast, and Marcus let out a very annoyed, “damnit!” Sorry, dad. He grumbled quite a bit when he had to revive or assist me take down an enemy, whereas the rest of the squad was a little more polite when helping me out. Little things like this helped for Marcus to still feel like Marcus.Based on previous demos and gameplay, I know that Marcus will drop out of this group eventually. It left me wondering what other comrades we’ll see join as the fourth squad member. I didn’t get much time alone with JD, Kait, and Del, but I know that they will have their own time in the spotlight. Marcus overshadows the group a bit when he’s onscreen, but that’s not to say that I wasn’t interested in the younger stars.Their team dynamic is similar to Delta’s, but their inexperience in combat is interesting. JD isn’t just a clone of Marcus. He’s optimistic and generally more pleasant, but just as uncertain about the changes to Sera as I am. Still, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy a good chainsaw or sweet gnasher kill from time to time. The new team has the Gears spirit, and I’m excited to learn more about them and see Sera from their perspective.When I think of my ideal shotgun, I think about the Gnasher. Or at least I used to. Gears of War 4’s suite of new weapons are more than just effective, they’re gratifying. The DeeBees have their own, robot-specific weapon set that result in some interesting new designs and offer new tactics.First is the new sniper, the Embar. It doesn’t have a scope — you know, because robots don’t need scopes — has to be charged before it can fire, and has a slightly larger clip than the Longshot with three bullets. It didn’t feel like it dealt as much damage as the Longshot, but a headshot meant instant death for my foes. The electronic blast of white sparks as it hits its target is pleasing.Next is an SMG. The Lancer beats the Enforcer’s range as it specializes in mid to close range firefights. It was fun to pop around cover and load a clip into a charging DeeBee the few times I had the weapon, but I didn’t use this weapon much. Instead, I prioritized finding and using the Overkill shotgun, my favorite among the new weapons.The final two weapons can be taken from a flying, shielded drone called a Guardian. They’re equipped with either the Salvo Rocket Launcher, a pretty standard rocket hurler, or the Tri-Shot Chaingun. While it’s similar to the Troika machinegun, there are subtle differences that make for a nice improvement. Instead of overheating and immediately shutting down, the Tri-Shot slows its rate of fire as it overheats so that it’s more of a gradual stop.All these new weapons, including the previously revealed Buzzkill and Dropshot, fit well in the campaign, but it was almost more fun to find and slay with them in the multiplayer.Since the beta in April, the Gears of War 4 multiplayer has seen a multitude of changes. The most important of those, of course, was rebalancing of the active reload system. In the beta, you could try to get that perfect active reload as soon as you picked up a weapon, which made power weapons especially lethal. Your clip would then be filled with the active ammo, regardless of how many bullets you needed to fill in the clip.Now, the active reload has a cooldown that starts as soon as you pick up a weapon and after successfully completing an active reload. Keeping an eye on the cooldown didn’t feel cumbersome in the few multiplayer matches I got to play, and it made me feel a little more tactical. Whether or not this brings true balance to Gears of War 4’s multiplayer remains to be seen, but it does make active reloading in the competitive scene more predictable.Chainsawing robots, obliterating enemies with the Overkill, and traveling with old man Marcus feel right at home in the Gears of War universe. Every touch The Coalition has added so far feels like it bolsters what’s already been established, rather than overshadowing or changing what I loved about the original trilogy. This new Sera is beautiful, and after what I saw, I’m excited to uncover even more of its secrets with the son of a grizzled old Gear.

Miranda Sanchez has destroyed countless Locust in her Gears of War career. Listen to her on IGN's Anime Club podcast and follow her on Twitter at @HavokRose