camera shake, “because some people
get nauseated” by the ‘roadie run’
animation. There’s the ability to control
your character with just a single stick
if you’re struggling to work with the
two in tandem, as well as staples
such as the capacity to tone down
the gore and language or activate a
variety of colour-blind accessibility
settings. Jack has been retooled from
utility bot to playable character in the
campaign and horde modes, a support
mechanism designed to be easy to
control – an excellent way for co-op
partners to get in on the action, even if
they aren’t familiar with the language
of videogames.
You should expect to see more of
this from Microsoft, with the company
looking to retool its biggest and
most enduring franchises so they
are primed and ready to welcome in
new audiences without diluting the
core foundations of the experience in
question. It’s interesting to see how
this change in philosophy could be
applied to the narrative of Gears 5,
how it would pick up story threads
that require resolution from Gears Of
War 4. As it should happen, a fresh
perspective was required.
“When we started development
on the story for Gears 5 we really
had to take a step back and figure
out what story we wanted to tell and
whose story it really is,” Bonnie Jean
Mah says, the franchise narrative
lead at The Coalition on Gears Of War.
“For us, it made sense to make Kait
the protagonist, because we’re telling
the story from her point of view –
rather than being one point removed
from JD Fenix’s POV. It was a natural
evolution of the story, and of where
everybody was going in it, to tell it
like this.”
The other benefit of this approach is
that it gives new players a way into the
world of Gears. You don’t need to be au
fait with the Marcus Fenix lineage to
understand what’s going on. In many
ways, it’s a back-to-basics story.
There’s a central conflict that’s easy to
empathise with, a character we want
to spend time with, and a war that’s
threatening to wipe out what’s left of
humanity to be won. We can think of
at least one other Microsoft first-party
shooter that might benefit from such
an approach. It’s as Fergusson told us
earlier during our time at The Coalition,“It made sense
to make Kait
the protagonist”
LEFT Gears 5 is
the most
ambitious game
yet in the
series.ABOVE Series
stalwart Marcus
Fenix returns in
Gears 5.“It’s not about being tied to the past...
it’s about switching up the formula and
making something that feels fresh.”Rise like a Fenix
Creating a campaign that any and all
can enjoy is one thing, but ensuring
that Gears 5 is something that can live
on long after launch is something else
entirely. It means that more time and
energy than ever before has gone into
the suite of multiplayer modes being
offered up this time around, with The
Coalition eager to establish Gears 5
as a place where the casual and
competitive can play without treading
on one another’s toes. It means that
a renewed focus on esports was
integral, not only to drive competition
through the game, but to establish
it as a legitimate spectator sport – a
game that continues to be active in
the eyes of players regardless of their
investment with the series. Of course,
doing all of that in the timeframe
afforded is far easier said than done.
“Gears has always been known for
its shotgun-in-the-face multiplayer
gameplay,” considers Ryan Cleven,
multiplayer design director on Gears 5.
“The series has always had this really
rich and complex player-versus-
player legacy. Versus has got really
deep gameplay, and there’s this
super passionate hardcore fanbase
that loves it – the unfortunate part
is that it’s a little intimidating to new
players. People don’t really get to
spend the time to get to know
what a great PvP game Gears Of
War is because of their first
experience with it.”GEARS 5
More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 063