GoW: Judgement Announced on Gameinformer

[Jonesybites]

Well I was in Gamestop today because my son wanted to buy a a game for his DS, and as I was browsing front for the new titles, I noticed that their recent GameinFormer magazine is featuring the next GoW installment featuring everyon'e favorite character, (or not so favorite) Damon Baird, along with his better half, Cole.

After breifly reading the article before the guy at the front desk shooed me away and told me to buy it, I managed to get some info on the overall plot of the story.


Anyway check the link if you're interested.


http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...rs-of-war.aspx

[sH4k3nB4ke]

Well I was in Gamestop today because my son wanted to buy a a game for his DS, and as I was browsing front for the new titles, I noticed that their recent GameinFormer magazine is featuring the next GoW installment featuring everyon'e favorite character, (or not so favorite) Damon Baird, along with his better half, Cole.


Anyway check the link if you're interested.



http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...rs-of-war.aspx

You do know there is a forum for Judgment already, don't you? Or are you just finding out about Judgment and its forum now?

[Jonesybites]

Yea, but the author here is asking about if there's a Carmine in it, so technically speaking, I'm posting the link for further discussion in the S&C community here.

Anyhoot, although I'm all for EPIC finally giving Cole and Baird some limelight, but is it just me or are they rehashing a similar plot with Baird as they did with Marcus? Although the overall plot is still a bit obscure for the moment until they release further details (if they haven't already) I'm a bit wary about the campaign just being a knock-off, so to say, of the original series.

[God of War]

its too early for a new gears game. gears of war 3 is not even 1 year old!!!

[sH4k3nB4ke]

its too early for a new gears game. gears of war 3 is not even 1 year old!!!

Gears of War 1 (2006)
-----2 years-----
Gears of War 2 (2008)
-----3 years-----
Gears of War 3 (2011)
-----2 years-----
Gears of War: Judgment (2013)

[Jonesybites]

its too early for a new gears game. gears of war 3 is not even 1 year old!!!

Two years in 2013...but there's room for delays, as they did with GoW 3.

[rusticangelic]

Cheers for this Jonesy, I've been away from this forum for a while and have only just discovered Judgement. Talk about late to the party.
I'm rather sceptical in all honesty, as much as I like Baird it concerns me that Epic have given up on Gears 3 already, I was under the opinion that there was so much more for them to add to it.
Oh well we'll see.

[Jonesybites]

Yea, I have a full-time summer job so I'm pretty grounded for the time being. Anyway, majority of the threads seem to be more psyched with the MP rather than campaign so I went ahead and just posted here on the S&C forums.

Granted I've only known about some obscure teaser video about it so I didn't quite get the plotline until I read about it in GameinFormer.

[TheRealBigBoss]

I was skeptical... at first. Because I remember that Cliff tweet about the next DLC possibly featuring Baird. So, it almost seemed like some DLC was being expanded into a full retail release. But, having found out more about GOW:J, I'm pretty excited, and here's why...

1. Baird and Cole as main characters, my two favorites, now that's awesome!
2. It's a prequel, which means we get to see the early days of the war, which too, is awesome!
3. People Can Fly are involved, that means fresh ideas, a new outlook on Gears of War, which equals? Yeah, you guessed it, even more awesomeness!
4. A new take on MP/Horde/Beast with Overrun mode and character classes. Awesome level went up another notch right there.

I could probably go on, but I'll leave it for now. I think Jonesy is more interested in the story? Well, Baird's always been a maverick, a rebel, a loose canon, I'm guessing in GOW:J we'll get to see him at his best in those terms. And despite liking the all out action of the last two games, I'm also hoping that some of the survival horror elements of the original Gears make a return, stuff like fighting the berserker in the tombs, avoiding the Kyrll in the darkened streets, that kinda stuff. I'm also hoping Baird and Cole get to show a broader range of emotion than before, and that we go deeper into their characters.

[Jonesybites]

People Can Fly are involved, that means fresh ideas, a new outlook on Gears of War, which equals? Yeah, you guessed it, even more awesomeness!

That little tidbit did catch my attention as I was reading about so I'm just as excited to see how it's going to be rendered. Frankly I'm not a big MP player (or at least anymore; no offense MP fans) so naturally my interest in it is developmental, so a good, decent thought-out story is a must. Although it has been pointed out by several of us, including myself, that EPIC really needed to give Cole and Baird their own adventure/limelight in some form or fashion, therefore I do not disagree with their choice, but I would like them to do it right and not get overzealous by trying to up the ante in comparison to the other games in the franchise.

Anyhoot, I had to laugh when it was mentioned that Baird was picked due to the fact he had a high fan base; needless to say response to that was "well, DUH!"

[John Matrix]

And despite liking the all out action of the last two games, I'm also hoping that some of the survival horror elements of the original Gears make a return, stuff like fighting the berserker in the tombs, avoiding the Kyrll in the darkened streets, that kinda stuff. I'm also hoping Baird and Cole get to show a broader range of emotion than before, and that we go deeper into their characters.

I agree totally, Berserker sewer encounter please!

[John Matrix]

double post

[TheRealBigBoss]

I agree totally, Berserker sewer encounter please!

Yeah, and remember the lambent wretch infested factory during the thunderstorm? Classic haunted house scenario. Or the Fenix mansion assault? Classic zombie last stand type thing. More scenes like that would be great. GOW:J offers great opportunities to being new things to the table, a lot can change in fourteen years (the gap between GOW1 and GOW:J) and I hope to see that reflected in the game, new weapons, new vehicles, new locations, new enemies. Things that had disappeared for various reasons before GOW1.

[John Matrix]

Yeah, and remember the lambent wretch infested factory during the thunderstorm? Classic haunted house scenario. Or the Fenix mansion assault? Classic zombie last stand type thing. More scenes like that would be great. GOW:J offers great opportunities to being new things to the table, a lot can change in fourteen years (the gap between GOW1 and GOW:J) and I hope to see that reflected in the game, new weapons, new vehicles, new locations, new enemies. Things that had disappeared for various reasons before GOW1.

Didn't Fergusson say that last-stand scenarios would be present in the campaign because they're so popular? That's already got me excited, plus the mention of much bigger battles (dunno how that will happen without a reduction in visual quality though) random enemy spawns and the recent mention from Game Informer about bringing back the survival horror type aspects has definitely got me interested.

Another thing I'm hoping for is a really intimidating boss, I expect RAAM to appear in the campaign but the mention of a new enemy has me hoping they can get a new boss that can have that same kind of presence.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Didn't Fergusson say that last-stand scenarious would be present in the campaign because they're so popular? That's already got me excited, plus the mention of much bigger battles (dunno how that will happen without a reduction in visual quality though) random enemy spawns and the recent mention from Game Informer about bringing back the survival horror type aspects has definitely got me interested.

Another thing I'm hoping for is a really intimidating boss, I expect RAAM to appear in the campaign but the mention of a new enemy has me hoping they can get a new boss that can have that same kind of presence.

Bigger battles? Return of the survival horror themes? Sounds great!

I liked the "open" battles of Gears1 too, personally I found the "open" battles of Gears3 too open, which restricted your opportunities to close down and contain the enemy. So I hope the enemy spawns and level design in GOW:J allow for better strategic options. For those that don't know, "open" battles involve large bowl like play areas, the classic fountain battle from Gears1 is a good example.

Trying to create a boss as good as RAAM is tough because he has so many of the cool traits of awesome horror movie icons, he's powerful and slow moving, doesn't say much, dresses in black and has a bunch of bats flying round him. He's like Nosferatu meets Jason Voorhees! How do you beat that?

BTW, what does your sig mean?

Looks like we found what's left of Echo Squad..

Sounds like a quote from the game, Gears1 to be precise, but I'm not entirely sure. Reason I ask is cause I wrote a story called "Echo Zero" about a group of trainee Gears who get more then they bargained for during a training excercise.

[Jay the Arbiter]

BTW, what does your sig mean?

Looks like we found what's left of Echo Squad..

Sounds like a quote from the game, Gears1 to be precise, but I'm not entirely sure. Reason I ask is cause I wrote a story called "Echo Zero" about a group of trainee Gears who get more then they bargained for during a training excercise.

It's from RAAM's Shadow I think, Zeta are asked to assist "Echo Squad", but when they get there, the last members of Echo squad get gunned down by Locust. After clearing the area, Barrick finds more bloody remains of Echo.

I think, anyway.

[TheRealBigBoss]

It's from RAAM's Shadow I think, Zeta are asked to assist "Echo Squad", but when they get there, the last members of Echo squad get gunned down by Locust. After clearing the area, Barrick finds more bloody remains of Echo.

I think, anyway.

Yeah, that might be it Jay. It definitely sounds familiar.

[Croswynd]

Not Echo Three, that's all I gotta say. My Gears have their death dates set and counted far after the events of RAAM's Shadow. :P

[TheRealBigBoss]

Not Echo Three, that's all I gotta say. My Gears have their death dates set and counted far after the events of RAAM's Shadow. :P

Echo Zero > Echo Three


Maybe...

[Croswynd]

I guess you'd have to read Haunted Echoes to find out, Boss. :P

[John Matrix]

It's from RAAM's Shadow I think, Zeta are asked to assist "Echo Squad", but when they get there, the last members of Echo squad get gunned down by Locust. After clearing the area, Barrick finds more bloody remains of Echo.

I think, anyway.

Yes that's it.

[John Matrix]

Bigger battles? Return of the survival horror themes? Sounds great!

I liked the "open" battles of Gears1 too, personally I found the "open" battles of Gears3 too open, which restricted your opportunities to close down and contain the enemy. So I hope the enemy spawns and level design in GOW:J allow for better strategic options. For those that don't know, "open" battles involve large bowl like play areas, the classic fountain battle from Gears1 is a good example.

Trying to create a boss as good as RAAM is tough because he has so many of the cool traits of awesome horror movie icons, he's powerful and slow moving, doesn't say much, dresses in black and has a bunch of bats flying round him. He's like Nosferatu meets Jason Voorhees! How do you beat that?

RAAM: those are some good observations I haven't considered before about him and it is tough to come up with something as good as him, but they can do a lot better than SKORGE, and the RAAM's Shadow boss fights were really fun I thought. For a new big boss, I had a thought of a giant Palace Guard type in LOTR Sauron sort of armour (think giant evil knight) kind of a Death Adder type lugging around a big double-headed axe and possibly a tall shield and a RAAM-style slow-moving tank kind of thing to him. You would have to liquidate him by blasting off pieces of his armour with Boomshots and grenades. It'd be nice I think if when you damage some pieces they are still partially attached to him so he angrily rips them off, maybe even at you. Another thing could with him wearing a helmet, some interesting sound design could be done to his voice to make it more intimidating and metallic.

Open battles: I thought the same, some levels like the ones in the docks were too open, and the fountain one from Gears 1 is a perfect example of how to do that kind of thing right. I just finished Gears 1 again (RAAM is so much easier on Hardcore) and the level design really stood out to me as outstanding, I never felt bored.

[John Matrix]

never mind

[TheRealBigBoss]

I guess you'd have to read Haunted Echoes to find out, Boss. :P

Well played Cros, well played.

Just an FYI, but it was almost a year before I finally read Snowblind.

RAAM: those are some good observations I haven't considered before about him and it is tough to come up with something as good as him, but they can do a lot better than SKORGE, and the RAAM's Shadow boss fights were really fun I thought. For a new big boss, I had a thought of a giant Palace Guard type in LOTR Sauron sort of armour (think giant evil knight) kind of a Death Adder type lugging around a big double-headed axe and possibly a tall shield and a RAAM-style slow-moving tank kind of thing to him. You would have to liquidate him by blasting off pieces of his armour with Boomshots and grenades. It'd be nice I think if when you damage some pieces they are still partially attached to him so he angrily rips them off, maybe even at you. Another thing could with him wearing a helmet, some interesting sound design could be done to his voice to make it more intimidating and metallic

Open battles: I thought the same, some levels like the ones in the docks were too open, and the fountain one from Gears 1 is a perfect example of how to do that kind of thing right. I just finished Gears 1 again (RAAM is so much easier on Hardcore) and the level design really stood out to me as outstanding, I never felt bored.

Death Adder, lol. Funny thing about that is, RAAM has a sword, black armor and is a kind of powerful, slow moving tank type enemy already. And as we know, gamers are unforgiving when it comes to criticizing all aspects of a games design. For some reason I'd like to see a boss who performs executions on downed players, then looks to the others still alive and laughs or just generally mocks them, saying things like, "NEXT!", "OOMON FAIL!", "EASY KILLLL", you know, stuff like that. I just think it'd be funny to have a boss that really riles players up.

Having to eliminate armor pieces is a well used video game trope (House of the Dead, Metal Slug and so on), but it hasn't been used in Gears yet and I think could work well.

[John Matrix]

Death Adder, lol. Funny thing about that is, RAAM has a sword, black armor and is a kind of powerful, slow moving tank type enemy already. And as we know, gamers are unforgiving when it comes to criticizing all aspects of a games design. For some reason I'd like to see a boss who performs executions on downed players, then looks to the others still alive and laughs or just generally mocks them, saying things like, "NEXT!", "OOMON FAIL!", "EASY KILLLL", you know, stuff like that. I just think it'd be funny to have a boss that really riles players up.

Having to eliminate armor pieces is a well used video game trope (House of the Dead, Metal Slug and so on), but it hasn't been used in Gears yet and I think could work well.

True enough I suppose, although I don't necessarily have a problem with harkening back whilst also doing something new with a boss or character. A troll-boss like you're suggesting sounds hilarious, I'd be going through controllers at a fast rate trying to beat that kind of boss if he's of a tough difficulty.

Armour: yeah I could see it working if the boss was really snapping at your heels or trying to flush you out of cover, it would make for a tense, urgent battle. Funnly enough, been playing a lot of Metal Slug 3 lately.

What do you think of an Assault Brumak, with a big troop carrier section on it's back so it could deploy Drones to protect it?

[John Matrix]

double post

[TheRealBigBoss]

True enough I suppose, although I don't necessarily have a problem with harkening back whilst also doing something new with a boss or character. A troll-boss like you're suggesting sounds hilarious, I'd be going through controllers at a fast rate trying to beat that kind of boss if he's of a tough difficulty.

Armour: yeah I could see it working if the boss was really snapping at your heels or trying to flush you out of cover, it would make for a tense, urgent battle. Funnly enough, been playing a lot of Metal Slug 3 lately.

What do you think of an Assault Brumak, with a big troop carrier section on it's back so it could deploy Drones to protect it?

Yeah a boss that taunts players and plays with them would be funny, I think it would be an interesting way to engage players emotionally. Equally, I think players maybe should have a chance to make the boss mad too. He could have like different levels of rage, the goal being to get him to a point where he's so enraged that he can't think straight and starts making mistakes which the players could exploit to defeat him. Making the boss mad could be as simple as successfully avoiding his attacks, or destroying something the boss needs (a machine, a weapon) or killing his entourage/guards.

Troop carrying Brumaks? Not sure how many grubs you could fit on a Brumak, they don't even seem to have riders anymore, but it's an interesting idea all the same.

I'd like to see some weird creatures, like the seeders, the reavers. GOW:J is set during the early days of the war, and all of a sudden you have this whole new ecosystem being introduced to Sera (the Hollow), imagine all the bizarre creatures, disturbed by Locust troop movements that wandered up from the Hollow. All those emergence holes and tunnels. I'd imagine it as something like Stephen Kings "The Mist".

Also, more environmental hazards, fire, flood, electricity, explosions, collapsing buildings. Grubs shouldn't be the only danger. Plus they'd make for more impressive set pieces than a simple video cut scene as they'd be interactive.

And since there'll be a lot more survivors around, I'd like a chance to rescue people at some point. Instead of just constantly finding dead bodies littered around, give players a chance to feel like they're actions make a difference.

[John Matrix]

Yeah a boss that taunts players and plays with them would be funny, I think it would be an interesting way to engage players emotionally. Equally, I think players maybe should have a chance to make the boss mad too. He could have like different levels of rage, the goal being to get him to a point where he's so enraged that he can't think straight and starts making mistakes which the players could exploit to defeat him. Making the boss mad could be as simple as successfully avoiding his attacks, or destroying something the boss needs (a machine, a weapon) or killing his entourage/guards.

Troop carrying Brumaks? Not sure how many grubs you could fit on a Brumak, they don't even seem to have riders anymore, but it's an interesting idea all the same.

I'd like to see some weird creatures, like the seeders, the reavers. GOW:J is set during the early days of the war, and all of a sudden you have this whole new ecosystem being introduced to Sera (the Hollow), imagine all the bizarre creatures, disturbed by Locust troop movements that wandered up from the Hollow. All those emergence holes and tunnels. I'd imagine it as something like Stephen Kings "The Mist".

Also, more environmental hazards, fire, flood, electricity, explosions, collapsing buildings. Grubs shouldn't be the only danger. Plus they'd make for more impressive set pieces than a simple video cut scene as they'd be interactive.

And since there'll be a lot more survivors around, I'd like a chance to rescue people at some point. Instead of just constantly finding dead bodies littered around, give players a chance to feel like they're actions make a difference.

Well with the Brumak I was thinking it'd have a different layout on its back, basically a big armoured container for troops. Given the size of a Brumak, I think you could get around 24 Drones in there? Thats a decent number I think, especially if the container is quite tall.

I too want to see more Hollow weirdness, something I think they haven't really done too much in 2 and 3 is give us more 'super' creatures along the lines of a Brumak, Corpser, Seeder and so on. One or two of those would be great especially in your first encounter with them, and I like your idea of there being all kinds of stuff boiling out from underground. The Hammer strikes provide a good way out as to why they wouldn't appear later in the story too. 'The Mist' is a great story, I was thinking the other day myself (seriously) oddly enough, how come no-one has made the ultimate survival-horror game based on it? The creatures, the setting, it's just ripe to be the new Resident Evil/Dead Space in my opinion, and because we don't know about all the creatures, a developer would have a lot of creative freedom to come up with stuff. The mist itself could present interesting mechanics and scenarios.

I mentioned on here way back that it would be excellent in the campaign if you got to see Locust 'snatching' people whether squad-mates or civvies, just a bunch of arms bursting out the ground and hauling them underground, whether in cut-scenes or in-game. For an example of what I mean, refer to 'Aliens' when Hudson gets dragged under by the Xenomorphs. I really hope we get a load of survival-horror moments in Judgement. Rescuing people would be a good idea I think, along the lines of RAAM's Shadow is what you're meaning?

[Jonesybites]

I would like more environmental hazards as an added challenge. If anything, at least on multiplayer or horde to even the playing field between humans and Grubs. Otherwise, I hope they make the campaign more interesting than how they rendered GoW 3, but that's just me.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Well with the Brumak I was thinking it'd have a different layout on its back, basically a big armoured container for troops. Given the size of a Brumak, I think you could get around 24 Drones in there? Thats a decent number I think, especially if the container is quite tall.

I too want to see more Hollow weirdness, something I think they haven't really done too much in 2 and 3 is give us more 'super' creatures along the lines of a Brumak, Corpser, Seeder and so on. One or two of those would be great especially in your first encounter with them, and I like your idea of there being all kinds of stuff boiling out from underground. The Hammer strikes provide a good way out as to why they wouldn't appear later in the story too. 'The Mist' is a great story, I was thinking the other day myself (seriously) oddly enough, how come no-one has made the ultimate survival-horror game based on it? The creatures, the setting, it's just ripe to be the new Resident Evil/Dead Space in my opinion, and because we don't know about all the creatures, a developer would have a lot of creative freedom to come up with stuff. The mist itself could present interesting mechanics and scenarios.

I mentioned on here way back that it would be excellent in the campaign if you got to see Locust 'snatching' people whether squad-mates or civvies, just a bunch of arms bursting out the ground and hauling them underground, whether in cut-scenes or in-game. For an example of what I mean, refer to 'Aliens' when Hudson gets dragged under by the Xenomorphs. I really hope we get a load of survival-horror moments in Judgement. Rescuing people would be a good idea I think, along the lines of RAAM's Shadow is what you're meaning?

Silent Hill is close to "The Mist" in game terms, though the creatures in that are more hellishly demonic than extra dimensionally alien I'd say. I guess developers think it's more cost effective to develop something original than license something like "The Mist", which is I suppose, maybe too obscure a property.

Rescuing Jace in RAAM's shadow was more automatic, players didn't have any input to it. I was thinking more along the lines of Dead Rising, where the players actions decide if survivors actually live or die. I was thinking there'd be a lot of evacuations (escort missions?) during the early years, lots of people fleeing the horde or hiding out, so it makes story sense. Plus it would involve players more and break up the constant gun battles. Not saying make it a huge part of the game, but I definitely think it'd make a nice inclusion.

People being snatched from beneath the ground? Reminds me of trap door spiders... only... BIGGER!

I would like more environmental hazards as an added challenge. If anything, at least on multiplayer or horde to even the playing field between humans and Grubs. Otherwise, I hope they make the campaign more interesting than how they rendered GoW 3, but that's just me.

Interesting in what way though? For example, how would you personally have made the Gears 3 campaign more interesting? For me? I'd probably have just made it weirder, try and freak people out.

[Jonesybites]

It was drug out in several areas; I felt they threw in some over-extended, purposeless fillers for the sake of making the campaign longer or to add some gratuitous cut-scene. The only place I felt it wasn't being drug out and "interesting" was hijacking locust aircraft. Beyond that, the "story' would have made an interesting novel, but I felt it didn't work all that great for a videogame platform. The MP/Horde is fine, although I preferred the GoW 2 gameplay, but that's my preference.

[John Matrix]

Silent Hill is close to "The Mist" in game terms, though the creatures in that are more hellishly demonic than extra dimensionally alien I'd say. I guess developers think it's more cost effective to develop something original than license something like "The Mist", which is I suppose, maybe too obscure a property.

Rescuing Jace in RAAM's shadow was more automatic, players didn't have any input to it. I was thinking more along the lines of Dead Rising, where the players actions decide if survivors actually live or die. I was thinking there'd be a lot of evacuations (escort missions?) during the early years, lots of people fleeing the horde or hiding out, so it makes story sense. Plus it would involve players more and break up the constant gun battles. Not saying make it a huge part of the game, but I definitely think it'd make a nice inclusion.

People being snatched from beneath the ground? Reminds me of trap door spiders... only... BIGGER!

The Mist: I suppose, although since it's semi-obscure it would probably be treated as a new thing by most casual observers, I think a developer could get away with that, I mean the whole potential with the mist itself shrouding who knows what, you'd constantly be on edge..

I liked the whole evac/search for survivors anglw in the DLC, and there could be something to be said for there being some kind of mechanic for rescuing civvies like you say, the only reservation I have is that the escort misson problem might rear its head, and AIs in other games in the past have ruined those. If it was a case of:


Search this area for three groups of survivors and once you found them they ran off automatically (like when you rescue prisoners in Shinobi haha)
without you having to babysit them that might actually be good, especially if they're hidden in a creepy area (like the school in RAAM's Shadow). That could be pretty interesting actually if you had to lead them past a Berserker or something, but avoiding AI awkwardness etc would be key I think.

Another thing, imagine going down a large street with hundreds of panickin civvies fleeing past you, Locust and Brumaks in the distance coming after them.

I just looked up that spider you mentioned, nasty little buggers. It's a decent point though, because in one of the game informer articles, Perna mentions that the Locust are supposed to be ghoulish people-snatchers, so I wonder if they are finally going to show that kind of thing in the game.

[Sgt. Grub k1ller]

Is there any news on who is writing this game? Sorry if it's been said before, but my laziness prevents me from reading the whole thread.

[SKORGE]

Is there any news on who is writing this game? Sorry if it's been said before, but my laziness prevents me from reading the whole thread.

Not KT.... :|

[TheRealBigBoss]

The Mist: I suppose, although since it's semi-obscure it would probably be treated as a new thing by most casual observers, I think a developer could get away with that, I mean the whole potential with the mist itself shrouding who knows what, you'd constantly be on edge..

I liked the whole evac/search for survivors anglw in the DLC, and there could be something to be said for there being some kind of mechanic for rescuing civvies like you say, the only reservation I have is that the escort misson problem might rear its head, and AIs in other games in the past have ruined those. If it was a case of:


Search this area for three groups of survivors and once you found them they ran off automatically (like when you rescue prisoners in Shinobi haha)
without you having to babysit them that might actually be good, especially if they're hidden in a creepy area (like the school in RAAM's Shadow). That could be pretty interesting actually if you had to lead them past a Berserker or something, but avoiding AI awkwardness etc would be key I think.

Another thing, imagine going down a large street with hundreds of panickin civvies fleeing past you, Locust and Brumaks in the distance coming after them.

I just looked up that spider you mentioned, nasty little buggers. It's a decent point though, because in one of the game informer articles, Perna mentions that the Locust are supposed to be ghoulish people-snatchers, so I wonder if they are finally going to show that kind of thing in the game.

People snatchers?

But what would the Locust want people for?

Food?

And this is probably wrong for GOW:J but I like the idea of improvised traps. Remember the part in Terminator (whatever the last one was...) where they dropped a car on a Terminator? (It was some kind of booby trap) I'd like to see that happen to a Boomer.

GOW:J should feature the COG close to the height of it's powers, even though Emergence Day devastated the COG, we're talking about a multinational war machine that's been engaged in war for close to a hundred years. Their resources should still be pretty impressive even after the initial attacks. So that should mean new vehicles, new weapons, all sorts of things. Not just Ravens and Armadillos. I want to see Prowler tanks, Goliath Cannons, Triton Walkers, Emperor Wing Bombers, Centurion Personal Carriers and... the CNV Revenant, the Coalition ghost runner.

[Jonesybites]

Not KT.... :|

That may be a good thing actually.

[John Matrix]

People snatchers?

But what would the Locust want people for?

Food?

And this is probably wrong for GOW:J but I like the idea of improvised traps. Remember the part in Terminator (whatever the last one was...) where they dropped a car on a Terminator? (It was some kind of booby trap) I'd like to see that happen to a Boomer.

GOW:J should feature the COG close to the height of it's powers, even though Emergence Day devastated the COG, we're talking about a multinational war machine that's been engaged in war for close to a hundred years. Their resources should still be pretty impressive even after the initial attacks. So that should mean new vehicles, new weapons, all sorts of things. Not just Ravens and Armadillos. I want to see Prowler tanks, Goliath Cannons, Triton Walkers, Emperor Wing Bombers, Centurion Personal Carriers and... the CNV Revenant, the Coalition ghost runner.

Yes, see this from the recent Game Informer:

Game Informer: "What was your approach when designing Gears of War: Judgment’s visual theme, and how does it compares with what the series has done in the past?"

Chris Perna: "I think one of the things that we want to get across is a lot more brutality of the Locust, a lot more fear. I think visually, it’s probably a darker theme than the other games as far as the Locust being scary again. We kind of got away from that a little bit over the course of the series. We’re trying to bring some of that back...some of the intensity, some of the fear. You know when we really concepted these things, they were stealers of children in the night. They were these ghostly figures. It was almost a survival horror game at one point. We kind of wanted to get back to the roots of the Locust and emergence day and show them as more vicious and fearsome."


Are those war-machines you mention actual stuff from the Gears universe or made-up? I haven't read the books in a while, but anyway I agree with what you're saying. I'd love a couple of sections like the Derrick assault convoy bit, just showing loads of machines and troops rolling into action against massive Locust forces. If you think about it as well, you could even have underground assaults like in Gears 2. I haven't seen too much mention anywhere of the COG doing that, but I figure they must have tried it many times for different reasons, and also Dom says in Gears 1: "No-ones been underground in years" so that could be interpreted as the COG perhaps doing that or it might have just meant normal mining operations etc..


Traps are a good idea I think. At the very least you could see Stranded doing that kind of thing, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that kind of thing happen in a Gears game.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Yes, see this from the recent Game Informer:

Game Informer: "What was your approach when designing Gears of War: Judgment’s visual theme, and how does it compares with what the series has done in the past?"

Chris Perna: "I think one of the things that we want to get across is a lot more brutality of the Locust, a lot more fear. I think visually, it’s probably a darker theme than the other games as far as the Locust being scary again. We kind of got away from that a little bit over the course of the series. We’re trying to bring some of that back...some of the intensity, some of the fear. You know when we really concepted these things, they were stealers of children in the night. They were these ghostly figures. It was almost a survival horror game at one point. We kind of wanted to get back to the roots of the Locust and emergence day and show them as more vicious and fearsome."


Are those war-machines you mention actual stuff from the Gears universe or made-up? I haven't read the books in a while, but anyway I agree with what you're saying. I'd love a couple of sections like the Derrick assault convoy bit, just showing loads of machines and troops rolling into action against massive Locust forces. If you think about it as well, you could even have underground assaults like in Gears 2. I haven't seen too much mention anywhere of the COG doing that, but I figure they must have tried it many times for different reasons, and also Dom says in Gears 1: "No-ones been underground in years" so that could be interpreted as the COG perhaps doing that or it might have just meant normal mining operations etc..


Traps are a good idea I think. At the very least you could see Stranded doing that kind of thing, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that kind of thing happen in a Gears game.

Hope that's true and that Gears does return to a darker, more survival horror style feel, at least for some sections anyways. Although it's tough to balance all out action with horror, Gears 1 proves that it's not impossible.

The vehicles mentioned exist only in my imagination... for now!

Any mass assault by the COG should by thwarted by their own ego and pride. Overconfident in their machines and technology, they roll out... and get their asses handed to them by the Horde. Kinda like the colonial marines initial encounter with the aliens in Aliens, that didn't work out too good for the marines. But this being the horde, it's likely they butcher the wounded instead of dragging them back to their nest to be impregnated by facehuggers.

Who knows? Maybe a failed assault is what triggers Baird going awol?

Baird, "Damn that asshole Loomis! I warned him this would happen!"

Cole, "Wait! Baird! Where you going?"

Baird, "Trust me Cole, I got an idea."

Yeah, well, you get the idea.

I assume that some sort of underground re-con happened at some point. The Coalition would have needed intel on the Horde, so logically they would have had to have gone underground to get to know the enemy better. Bet those were fun missions.

Not sure of the exact time period GOW:J is set, like, I don't know if it's post hammer strikes or not, so there's a question of whether the stranded as a culture even exist. So that's why maybe the "traps" idea might work better in a different time setting. One where the stranded have had the time and experience to develop defenses against the horde.

[John Matrix]

Hope that's true and that Gears does return to a darker, more survival horror style feel, at least for some sections anyways. Although it's tough to balance all out action with horror, Gears 1 proves that it's not impossible.

The vehicles mentioned exist only in my imagination... for now!

Any mass assault by the COG should by thwarted by their own ego and pride. Overconfident in their machines and technology, they roll out... and get their asses handed to them by the Horde. Kinda like the colonial marines initial encounter with the aliens in Aliens, that didn't work out too good for the marines. But this being the horde, it's likely they butcher the wounded instead of dragging them back to their nest to be impregnated by facehuggers.

Who knows? Maybe a failed assault is what triggers Baird going awol?

Baird, "Damn that asshole Loomis! I warned him this would happen!"

Cole, "Wait! Baird! Where you going?"

Baird, "Trust me Cole, I got an idea."

Yeah, well, you get the idea.

I assume that some sort of underground re-con happened at some point. The Coalition would have needed intel on the Horde, so logically they would have had to have gone underground to get to know the enemy better. Bet those were fun missions.

Not sure of the exact time period GOW:J is set, like, I don't know if it's post hammer strikes or not, so there's a question of whether the stranded as a culture even exist. So that's why maybe the "traps" idea might work better in a different time setting. One where the stranded have had the time and experience to develop defenses against the horde.

Sounds good to me, I'm sure there were will have been many failed missions to re-take cities and so forth, could make for some fantastic sequences and that could work as a setup for Kilo's disobeying their orders. The whole stealing technology thing, I wonder if it'll harken back to Gears 1 with you trying to deploy the resonator, that sort of narrow-focused WMD mission sort of thing.

Traps: true enough, you're right.

Underground: I bet the Onyx Guard enjoyed going underground..do you think there could have been large incursions into the caves in the past by the COG as well? I think they'd have had to had a reason not to go down there after a certain point, if you follow my meaning.

[SKORGE]

That may be a good thing actually.

I'm going to have to say I agree on that, in ways.