Gears of War 4 shown off at Microsoft’s E3

Following the formation of the Coalition and the handing over of the Gears franchise to the newly branded studio comes Gears 4, a new installment in the series that features entirely new characters and enemies. First off though is the announcement of the Gear of War Ultimate Edition, yet another remaster of a classic game rebuilt for current gen hardware, with a public beta of the multiplayer that starts on the day of Microsoft’s press event and lasts for a week.

With Gears of War 4, there are new characters (that are relatively human sized for once), one of which is called J.D., and the other is known as Kate. Judging by the trailer, the Coalition will utilize the full capabilities of the Xbox One to bring a new atmosphere to the Gears of War franchise. The scenario shown in the trailer takes place in one of the many abandoned towns in the Gears universe, except this time during nighttime, when Sera’s dual moons are low to the horizon and new creatures come out to prowl. New environmental effects include a fiery lightning tornado that easily blew apart parts of the world, shattering stone and flinging bricks around like nothing and biological hazards that are reminiscent of the Lambent infection from previous Gears of War games.

Eventually, the duo encounter one of the new creatures to be featured in the game, something that can only be described as a combination of gorilla sized shrimp with legs, a scorpion’s tail that can shoot barbed projectiles from afar, and many, many tongues. Fortunately, they are very vulnerable to chainsaws and shotguns, assuming they don’t pounce on you first. Unfortunately, that marks the end of the trailer, but it does reveal that Gears 4 will come out in the holiday season of 2016.