All Articles: Gears of War 4

Rise of the Horde, the biggest update yet for Gears of War 4, is now available to download for free. The update features a massive update to Horde Mode, along with new difficulty modes, maps, and Achievements. But before you jump in, the Xbox Wire has a complete rundown of what’s included in Rise of the Horde:

Horde is getting a massive shakeup with the arrival of Rise of the Horde, with 15 brand new Horde Skills (three per Class) to collect, Level 6 skills, Loot Drops, tuning changes and new difficulty levels!

Microsoft will also add an “Inconceivable” difficulty level to Horde Mode and the Campaign, as well as an Ironman option for players that want to complete Gears of War 4 without dying. Once again, Xbox Wire delivered the details:

In Horde, Inconceivable is a direct step up from Insane – you’ll be even weaker, and your enemies will be even stronger. Level up your skills to their new Level 6 peak and maximize the bonuses of your classes if you want to get through all 50 Waves of Inconceivable.

In Campaign, Inconceivable takes a more Survival based twist, giving you less health than Insane difficulty but also less health to your enemies. That’s because surviving on Inconceivable is all about effectiveness – weapons and crates drop significantly less ammunition, so you’ll have to make every shot count with whatever pickups you can find on the battlefield.

The Rise of the Horde update also includes remakes of two classic Gears maps (“Avalanche” from Gears of War 2 and “Rust Lung” from Gears of War 3), along with 30 new Achievements worth 500 Gamerscore.

Finally, if you haven’t had a chance to play Gears of War 4 yet, Microsoft also announced plans to offer a free demo of the game through the Xbox Games Store between June 9th and June 15th.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and as a result, Gears of War 4 players will be treated to a slew of updates including new maps, Valentine’s Day-themed events, and general game improvements.

The Gears of War 4 Valentine’s Day event officially begins this Friday, February 10, and will last for over a week. The event will include Torque Bow Tag “with a cupid-style twist,” a new collectible Craftable Character, new Gear Packs, and daily bounties with a Valentine’s Day theme.

Also included in the February update are two new maps that veteran Gears of War fans are sure to appreciate! The first new map on the list is “Impact Dark,” an intense new spin on the original “Impact” map. “Impact Dark” takes close combat to thrilling new levels, putting heavy emphasis on visual impairment by implementing a permanently smoke-covered battlefield! Snipers, Torque/EMBAR, and Incendiaries are gone, now replaced with Boltoks, Dropshot, and Overkill respectively, forcing players to stay alert and take risks in order to stay in the game.

The second map provided in the update is “War Machine,” which veteran Gears of War players may remember for its desolate and decrepit atmosphere. The new take on the “War Machine” map brings players to a gorgeous and lively COG settlement in the once abandoned train station. However, aside from the new aesthetic, everything else about the map remains the same. Season Pass holders will be glad to know that they can play both maps today in the Developer Playlist.

The Coalition highlighted a few additional gameplay improvements from the February Update on the game’s official website:

• Added a small delay before being able to fire when Wall Cancelling (now balanced with Wall Bounce firing delay)
• New Guardian Spawn System: Players will now spawn closer to the Leader
• Added IFF Lights onto Dizzy to bring visual readability of his model in-line with all other characters
• Torque Bow now rotates with Sniper every round on Blood Drive
• Resolved an issue that could cause the Kestral to be stuck out of sight on Blood Drive
• Resolved minor geometry on Blood Drive that could block bullets
• Improved messaging for Core/Competitive rejoin when trying to rejoin after rejoin window ends
• Incendiary grenades now kill Down But Not Out players with Execution Rules On
• Previous map high score will now display on end of round scoreboards in Horde
• The Trick Shot ribbon is now correctly awarded in Horde
• The Sniper Strike Horde Skill card no longer counts towards Headshot Bounties

Gears of War 4 is available to purchase now for the PC and Xbox One, and you can get a closer look at both new maps after the break. (more…)

Microsoft has announced that the Run the Jewels Air Drop is now available to download for Gears of War 4.

Run the Jewels, in case you’re unfamiliar, is a hip-hop duo consisting of Killer Mike and El-P. They’ve previously released two critically-acclaimed albums (2013’s Run the Jewels and 2014’s Run the Jewels 2), and now they’re coming to Gears of War 4 as playable characters. In addition to getting the chance to play as Killer Mike or El-P, purchasers of the Run the Jewels Air Drop will also receive 18 new Emblems, Bounties, and Weapon Skins… all themed with the colorful style of Run the Jewels.

The Run the Jewels Air Drop is priced at $19.99 on the PC or Xbox One, and don’t forget to check them out in action in the trailer embedded above.

The third album from Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels 3, will be available before the end of year.