On January 27th, Microsoft Studios made headlines when they revealed that they had successfully acquired the Gears of War IP from Epic Games. With Black Tusk Studios stepping up to take over the franchise under the leadership of Rod Fergusson, Microsoft now remains committed to the franchise and hopes that it can shine brightly on the platform for many years to come.
Having had an opportunity to play all the games in the series, I decided to come up with a few notable changes that I would love to see made in the next series of games . So without further ado, here is my list on 5 things that I want from Gears of War 4.
A New Cast of Characters
When the credits rolled on Gears of War 3, it appeared as though Marcus Fenix had finally called it quits when he decided to walk away from the battlefield. Having experienced the death of both Dom and his father earlier in the game, it would seem like a foregone conclusion that perhaps our lead protagonist had already experienced more than enough turmoil for one game.
With Gears of War 4, Black Tusk should set their sites on creating stories that revolve around a new cast of characters. Perhaps they can show a different perspective of the war through the eyes of others, or create a new war and timeline altogether. They could also feature cameo appearances by other Gears characters to bring a sense of nostalgia to future games within the series.
A More Immersive Storyline
Although the game contained a basic plotline, I never found it to be that exciting, or interesting. My case seemed to be going from point A to point B, then onto point C during chapters, not even concerning myself with the story. Even the sideplot with Dom and his deceased wife wasn’t much to take and after the initial shock value of the slashed corpse, the game seemed to flow just as if it didn’t happen. It’s odd for a shooter to need a good plot, yet Gears for me was always campaign driven and not multiplayer focused.
Taking all of this into consideration, Black Tusk should make the storyline more engaging from start to finish. Doing so would not only surprise everyone, but it will also allow them to add their signature touch to a franchise that desperately needs it.
Horde Mode 3.0
Horde Mode was a feature that proved to be a massive success for the entire Gears of War franchise. With the addition of Horde Mode 2.0 in Gears of War 3, Epic Games was able to capitalize on their previous efforts and contribute to the popularity that the mode achieved in other games (Zombies in Call of Duty, and Firefight in Halo).
My only main complaint from this mode came from playing online at the beginning, and coming across other players who had already unlocked the Silverback and used the creature to annihilate virtually everything. Horde Mode 3.0 could fix this problem by better improving matchmaking during gameplay sessions and not allowing players with advanced ranking to have the upper hand in every situation. I’d also like to see more defenses, larger waves numbers, new characters to choose from, and new bosses to square off against.
Beast Mode 2.0
After the success of Horde Mode 2.0, Epic decided to add a Beast Mode option. Gears 3 limited this mode to only 12 rounds of action, thus ending the overall gameplay experience just as quickly as it started. The concept was there and it was a great idea to utilize the Locust as the primarily controlled character. On the other hand, once you’ve tried all of the Locust available and noted which are the best ones to use (Berserker anyone?), the others just got pushed to the side.
Black Tusk should experiment with this mode more and consider adding a few bells and whistles to intensify each battle. Perhaps having the ability to control a Brumak for the duration of each battle can be more than enough to get people excited to play this mode.
4 Player Co-op Campaign
Ever since Gears of War first emerged onto the scene, any and every fan of the series has been asking about this feature. While Epic did a great job of allowing us to play as different squadmates in Gears of War 3, they never truly were able to tackle the issue of 4 player cooperative campaign play head on.
Black Tusk Studios can change the game significantly if they brought this feature to Gears of War 4. With the improved power and capacity of the Xbox One, this is one addition that I’m fully expecting to see implemented moving forward.
Bonus: Enhanced Multiplayer
I never really found the multiplayer aspect all that fun, mainly due the games signature duck and cover based gameplay. I’ve always been one for getting to the heart of the action quickly, thus inevitably dying quite quickly to the guy who always seemed to get to the Torque Bow / Sniper Rifle in seconds and potshotting you from behind cover at the other end of the map.
From my point of view, a few weapon nerfs may be in order – namely shotguns because they seem to run havoc across the battlefield. A dive roll to the enemy and a blast from a shotgun takes someone out. While these are all just my ideas, I hope that Black Tusk can at least find new ways to make multiplayer fresh, fun, and rewarding again.
What Would You Like To See In Gears of War 4?
This concludes my list on 5 things that I want from Gears of War 4. What would you all like to see improved upon or added to the franchise moving forward? Please feel free to let us know your thoughts on this and more in the comments section below.
