As the torch is passed to a new generation, I was left reassured that this is in many ways the same Gears I know and love.
Gears of War 4 is set 25 years after the events of the original trilogy, with Marcus Fenix playing the Han Solo mentor role, while his son JD and JD’s longtime friends Kait and Del sub in for Rey, Finn, and Poe. No, I’m not talking about Star Wars Episode VII, though there are a number of interesting (if coincidental) similarities between it and the approach Microsoft’s taken to its first internally developed Gears of War game. The plot structure follows many of the same recognizable beats of the tale that started it all, and by the end you’ve been on a great ride that is both familiar and new at the same time.
An iconic but now-aged hero plays a prominent role, comforting old fans and tugging on their nostalgic heartstrings for much of the story while passing the torch to a new generation of heroes. A new director picks up years later where the revered original creator left off.
