Xbox - The Official Magazine - UK (2019-08)

ABOVEKaitisn’t

yourtypical

meatheadGears

protagonist,and

it’sa welcome

changeof pace.

QPUBLISHERXBOXGAMESTUDIOS/DEVELOPERTHECOAL

spoilersnow),somehowrelatedtothe

LocustQueen,Myrrah.

Ina bidtouncovertherealtruthbehind

herorigins,wearegoingtoseeKaitdesert

theCOGsandheadnorthtosnowier

partsoftheplanetSera,accompaniedby

seriesstalwartsMarcusandDel.Shehas

a Locustsymbolmedallionthatwasher

grandmother’s,soyoujustknowthat’s

goingtounlocksomething– perhaps

literally– whenshegetsthere.Maybeit’s

a boxwithsomefamilyphotosinit?Maybe

it operatesa toaster,we’llhavetowait

andsee.Butforallthatit’saboutexploring

Kait’sinneranguish,Gears 5 isalsoabout

literallyexploring.It lookslikethere’s

sometomb-raidinginvolved,butmost

importantlythere’sstillgoingtobelegions

ofLocust,monsters,andslimeythingsto

makea messofwithyourassaultrifle.

Fora quickrecap,GearsOfWar 4 was

set 25 yearsaftertheeventsofGears 3.

HavingusedtheImulsionCountermeasure

towipeouttheLocustandtheLambent

fromtheplanetSera,humanitywalledoff

itscitiesagainsttheresultant‘windflares’,

establishingmartiallawandsoalienating

a non-conformistgroupof‘Outsiders’–

includingKaitandherfamily.

istenup,Marines.Gears 5

(we’resopastthe‘Of

War’ bit),is settobethe

biggestXboxexclusive

of 2019 – andit’s

almosthere.Thelatest

instalmentin thestoryoftheCOGsfeatures

a femaleleadforthefirsttimein theform

ofKaitDiaz,whoyouwillsurelyremember

fromGears 4.

ThisisnotjustKait’sstorythough,it’s

beingtoutedasKait’sstruggle. Previously

• particularlyinthatcracking 360 original
  thatbasicallyinventedcover-based
  combat,withchainsaw-guns– theGears
  gamesweretestosterone-fuelledmonster-
  bashingspacemarinecarve-ups(hey,
  we’renotjudging).NowGears^5 brings
  strongcharacterisationandempathetic
  narrativetotheseries.If youplayedtothe
  endofGears 4 , youwillbeawareofthe
  bombshellthatgamedroppedconcerning
  Kait’sorigins.She’sconflicted,asyoucan
  tellfromthisyear’strailerthat,ratherthan
  giveusanymorecluesastotheactionand
  gameplay,choseinsteadtofocusonKait’s
  face.It revealssomethingofthetorment
  andanguishshe’sgoingthrough,knowing
  thatshe’s,well...(look,we’resurelybeyond

THEWAITFORKAITISVERYNEARLYOVER...

GEARS 5

TION/EEETTAA 10 SSSSEE

GEARSFOR

YOUREARS

Thesoundtrackfor

Gears 5 is being

handledbythevery

talentedRamin

Djawadi.The

composershotto

famethanksto his

stellarsoundtracks

forGameOf Thrones,

Westworldandmore,

andwe’reexcitedto

hearwhatscoreshe

hasin storeforthe

nextinstalmentin the

Gearssaga.

048 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

E3 2019