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All Articles: Gears of War 4
New Retail Releases: Gears of War 4 Ultimate, Mafia III, Paper Mario Color Splash, More
After a brief surge in September, the “Fall Gaming Season” continues to ramp up with a trickle of big new releases during this first week of October.
It’s likely that none of this week’s new games will be bigger than Gears of War 4, which Microsoft is releasing in an Ultimate Edition ahead of its official launch next week. Fans will return to Sera alongside a new generation of heroes on the PC and Xbox One, and they’ll do it in style. The Ultimate Edition of Gears of War 4 will include a copy of the game, the Season Pass, and download codes for all four Gears of War games on the Xbox 360 (and yes, they’re backwards compatible).
If you’re looking to upgrade your Xbox One experience, Microsoft will also offer an Xbox One S 2TB + Gears of War 4 Limited Edition Console Bundle that includes a digital copy of the game, the Season Pass, download codes for the Xbox 360’s Gears of War title, and a custom “Crimson Omen” Xbox One S and Controller.
Not to be outdone, 2K Games will launch it’s own action epic that focuses on a new generation with Mafia III. Set to be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Mafia III is set more than 20 years after the second game in the franchise and relocates the action to New Bordeaux, a stand-in for New Orleans. Mixing the cultural upheaval caused by the Vietnam War with era-appropriate music, 2K wants to give a different kind of organized crime experience with Mafia III.
If you’re looking for something a bit more colorful, Nintendo will release Paper Mario: Color Splash for the Wii U this week. The RPG gives Mario a Paint Hammer and asks him to restore color to Prism Island. I don’t know if Nintendo was trying to make a comment on the current state of AAA games, but releasing Color Splash on the same day as Gears of War 4 is a rather obvious bit of counter-programming.
Finally this week, a trio of lower-profile games will be available on store shelves including Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack (a compilation of the 3DS platform shooter series from Inti Creates), Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide (a co-op survival game set in the Warhammer universe for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One), and Rocksmith 2014 Remastered (an updated version of the music tutor for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
That’s it for now, but we’ll be back later this week with details on all the new downloadable additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Azure Striker Gunvolt, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, Gears of War 4, Mafia III, Paper Mario: Color Splash
See the first 20 minutes from Gears of War 4 right here
Microsoft and The Coalition have already given us a glimpse at Gears of War 4‘s Launch Trailer, but there’s still a lot more to see before the game’s October 11th launch. Yesterday, The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson and Matt Searcy sat down to play through the game’s Prologue chapter.
The video includes more than 20 minutes of gameplay and, according to the Xbox Wire, players will get the chance to visit three “pivotal” moments from the franchise’s history:
Dropping players straight into the action at the opening of the game, Prologue immerses you in a series of pivotal moments from the Gears of War universe never before seen in a Gears videogame – including Emergence Day and a key battle from the Pendulum Wars.
After a brief introduction by The Coalition’s Studio Head Rod Fergusson and Lead Campaign Designer Matt Searcy, our uncut gameplay of Prologue will have you joining the fight across three decades of Gears history: the COG’s raid on UIR forces to secure the Hammer of Dawn technology at Aspho Fields, Emergence Day at the House of Sovereigns, and the Locust’s siege of Anvil Gate.
Gears of War 4 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so everyone who downloads it through the Xbox Games Store will receive a copy for their Xbox One and Windows 10 PC.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War 4
The Gears of War 4 Launch Trailer is here… three weeks ahead of its launch
Narrated by Marcus Fenix and soundtracked by a cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” the Gears of War 4 Launch Trailer has arrived… three weeks ahead of the game’s planned launch on October 11.
Those 21 days and nights will give us plenty of time to digest this new trailer, which includes the reappearance of Augustus “Cole Train” Cole and the Locust. And it looks like there’s a very real chance that Marcus Fenix won’t make it to the end credits.
Gears of War 4 will be released for the PC and Xbox One, but fans who purchase it digitally through the Xbox Games Store will receive both versions as part of Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War 4
Run the Jewels debuts “Panther Like A Panther” in Gears of War 4’s Horde 3.0 trailer
Horde Mode took the world by storm in 2009 after its debut in Gears of War 2, and The Coalition has big plans for the evolution of the co-operative survival mode in Gears of War 4. Officially known as Horde 3.0, the developer wants to give players the chance to deploy unique classes and buildable fortifications as they fight for survival against “50 Waves of Chaos.”
Here’s what they had to say about Horde 3.0 on the Xbox Wire:
In addition to ferocious new classes of enemies like the Swarm and the DeeBees, Horde 3.0 also introduces new innovations like a class-based system that lets you choose from five variations in roles – Soldier, Sniper, Scout, Heavy and Engineer – to play to your strengths and encourage teamwork. In addition, the new “Fabricator” is a deployable base of operations that allows players to build their defenses anywhere on the map and execute their defensive strategy with precision.
The Horde 3.0 trailer is also notable for its soundtrack, which features the debut of “Panther Like A Panther,” the first track from Run the Jewels’s upcoming album, Run the Jewels 3. The duo’s collaboration with The Coalition won’t end there either. Both Killer Mike and El-P will be available as playable characters in all of Gears of War 4’s multiplayer modes.
If you’re in Seattle for this weekend’s PAX West expo, you can try out Gears of War 4 (and Horde 3.0) at the Microsoft booth right now. The rest of us will have to wait until October 11, which is when Gears of War 4 will be available in stores for the PC and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War 4, PAX West 2016
Xbox One S to launch on August 2; Custom Gears of War 4 Bundle coming in October
Microsoft has announced their upgraded Xbox One S console will be available on August 2, and prospective purchasers will have a choice of three different hard drive sizes: 500GB ($299), 1TB ($349), and 2TB ($399).
In addition to more processing power, the Xbox One S will include a 4K Ultra HD disc drive with High Dynamic Range (HDR) to create the smoothest visuals for games and movies. The system itself is also said to be 40% smaller than the current Xbox One model, and it’ll come packaged with the new Xbox One Wireless Controller (with a textured grip and Bluetooth support). The new Xbox One Wireless Controller will also be sold separately beginning on August 2 (for $59.99).
In October, Microsoft also plans to begin selling a custom 2TB Xbox One S Bundle featuring Gears of War 4. The bundle will include a special “Battle-Weathered” console and “Crimson Omen” controller, along with a download code for Gears of War 4 and another code to activate the Season Pass. A JD Fenix Limited Edition Wireless Controller will also be available this October. Unlike the pulsating red of the Xbox One S, the JD Fenix controller “is designed after JD Fenix’s armor and features metallic blue accents and textured grip for enhanced controls, as well as the COG logo – the Phoenix Omen.”
You can get a closer look at the “Battle-Weathered” Gears of War 4 console after the break, and more information about the package can be found at the Xbox Wire. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War 4
Every game published by Microsoft will be released with an Xbox Play Anywhere option
Way back in 2003, Microsoft released Halo: Combat Evolved for the PC, and followed it up with a PC port for Halo 2 in 2007. Not counting the Spartan spinoff games, these are the only two titles in the Halo franchise to ever be released for the PC. But it looks like PC players might get to revisit the franchise again in the not-too-distant future.
Yusuf Mehdi, the Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, knows that fans want the franchise to continue on the PC, and he might just grant them their wish. In a new post on the Windows Blog, Mehdi has confirmed that all future Microsoft-published games will be released as part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program, meaning that purchasers will receive a copy of the game for the Xbox One and Windows 10.
With the Xbox Play Anywhere program, you can buy a game once and play on your Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and shared achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store.
Halo 6, the next mainline entry in the franchise, was announced in 2011 as part of a “new trilogy” alongside Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. It’s unknown when it’ll be released (or even re-announced), but unless Microsoft exempts it from the Xbox Play Anywhere program, we now know it’ll be available for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.
In the more immediate future, Microsoft has a number of Xbox Play Anywhere titles planned for the Fall including Gears of War 4, Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3, and ReCore.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, ReCore
Marcus Fenix returns in Gears of War 4’s E3 2016 trailer and Windows 10 launch confirmed
Introduced on the E3 2016 stage by series co-creator Rod Fergusson, Microsoft’s latest Gears of War 4 trailer features a wild night on Sera with JD Fenix and friends as they battle a never-before-seen enemy. And be sure you watch until the end for the return of JD’s “old” man, Marcus Fenix.
Here’s what the Xbox Wire had to say about the new gameplay trailer:
The demo features JD Fenix and his friends Kait and Del as they fight for survival against ferocious new enemies amidst violent wind flares that bring new dynamic gameplay as they rip through the lands of Sera and alter the battlefield.
Gears of War 4 takes place in the course of one night as JD, Kait, and Del embark on a desperate mission to rescue the ones they love and discover a monstrous new threat. It’s a game that’s more intimate, but at the same time more epic and intense than any previous Gears game.
Gears of War 4 will be available on October 11 for the PC and Xbox One as part of Microsoft’s Play Anywhere program. That means player will receive both versions of the game with a single purchase, and be able to jump back and forth between versions with the same cloud save. Microsoft also promised to include cross-play between Xbox One and Windows 10 users for all co-op modes and 4K support on Windows 10.
Oh, and Horde Mode will return in Gears of War 4 with “new classes, skills and abilities tied to cards and more.”
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2016, Gears of War 4
Experience the sound of hungry monsters (and silence) in new Gears of War 4 trailer
The Gears of War franchise never met a melancholy trailer it didn’t like, and the latest trailer for Gears of War 4 is no exception.
Soundtracked to a somber cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” the trailer crosscuts between JD Fenix’s idyllic childhood with his mother, Anya Stroud, and father, Marcus, and a harrowing escape from one of the game’s nightmarish new monsters.
Microsoft premiered the 60-second clip during last night’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead, and it’s the latest in a string of recent Gears 4 news. In the last two weeks, we’ve also learned that it’ll be released on October 11 and that developer The Coalition plans to blow the lid off the game’s multiplayer modes at this year’s PAX East convention.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War 4