[00:02] I have both played the campaign demo at Gamescom talking about Gears of War of the things that we loved about it, some of the questions that we still have. But first off, want to talk about the story content. The the demo we
[00:16] dramatic moment. It was the start of chapter 2 and and everyone's kind of dealing with the aftermath and you can feel that there's like a lot of tension between uh the gears cog and like the the actual people
[00:29] of Colona. This all takes place in the city of Colona, um, if you're not familiar. And it's like this really dramatic moment where the entire squad, cuz it's not just Marcus, right? It's Marcus, Mags, a guy named Lucas, and
[00:42] Dom. And they all have to like come to terms with the fact that their lives so, it really starts with this dramatic moment where the commanding officer asks them, it's like, "State your name and your next of kin." And it's like where
[00:55] you see the production values of the story really kicked into high gear. You >> Gears has always had an interesting story, but you know, it's it had a specific tone, but I think coming off of Gears 5 and now with Gears Eday, it's
[01:08] like this really has this human element to it that is very apparent. And you know, you could see it on the characters faces and like the fact that they are, you know, not excited to put their lives on the line, but you really feel it in
[01:21] that moment before all the action kicks off. So yeah. Yeah. It's it's kind of like this. You go back to the older games, it's very of its time like, oh people. Woo. >> And with this Yeah. it trust me I
[01:36] >> Uh but it is really cool seeing this kind of like >> they're not very they're afraid of dying. Yeah. >> You know, uh when they're asking the next akin, you know, it's like they're I
[01:48] forget who says they just have nobody, you know, and it's like, oh, okay. This is like kind of real and grounded, which is so weird to say cuz it's Gears of War at the same time, but I like I'm loving the story so far, and I really really
[02:01] >> Yeah. Yeah. I think they're they're as a prequel, they're playing with a lot of >> as Gears fans, you were always curious about that you always want to know about, but now it's like fully realized. And once you kick off into the action
[02:14] Colona in its full entirety. From what we've played, it's still pretty structured, similar to how Gears campaigns are structured. Fairly linear. combat arenas, and you have like interactive elements where you're
[02:28] Um, but I think like the set dressing around it is kind of what makes this story feel a lot more impactful. It feels like there's a lot happening. There's a lot at stake because you see the human element in all of that. But
[02:42] once action kicks off, it reminds me exactly of what you expect from Gears of War, which is a good thing. You know, to add to that art direction, like yes, you are going from kind of tunnel to shooting gallery, back to tunnel, you
[02:55] know, that's kind of every game like that. Um, but it is cool that it's like you get to a shooting gallery and you see a bunch of dead gears, you see a in places where it's like, oh, people actually lived here and they evacuated.
[03:08] And it's like all the other games after that, it's been so long since Eay, you Battlefield and then here it's like, oh no, this is this just happened. People are scrambling and yeah, there are a lot of boxes kind of placed everywhere. It's
[03:22] >> like I know this is going to be a combat mode. sure are a lot of cement pillars in the way, but you know, it's it's just to to see early Gears of War. >> Yeah.
[03:35] >> Yeah. Yeah. Um, so you got to play uh an extended demo. Yeah. >> Beforehand and side quests are one of the things that stood out to you. Can that? >> So, it's going into this this like open
[03:47] cuz it's not that. It's like just bigger environments. And it now to be fair, the demo kind of funneled us to a side quest to be like this is what a side quest is going to look like. We want you to play it. But it was a small, you know, we
[04:01] went into another little like shooting gallery essentially. Um, but it was just, "All right, here's how we're going to teach you one how to close the uh the holes that they make." And you get little bonuses and it's like, "Okay, I
[04:13] through, you have on your big map like you have to go from point A to point B. the way. Do I want to do it?" Obviously, I do. It's here's a war. It's fun. But
[04:25] like I kind of like this idea of I'm not just doing this linear going from point through, waiting till the next, you know, loading screen hallway or tunnel I This just kind of makes the world feel bigger and better, more full, right?
[04:40] Yeah. Yeah. Cuz they they they tried some of that with Gears 5 with the ski liked it, some people didn't, but I it feels like a little more purposeful with the way Eay is structured as they try to, you know, pull you in different
[04:53] directions outside of like the mainline quest that you're uh that you're doing. And um so another thing too is that I noticed this when I played the multiplayer beta and it was very apparent too here in the in the single
[05:05] player demo is that movement is so fluid. Like from a gameplay standpoint, you always think of gears as like this really heavy chunky a little bit slower more uh deliberate style of game and it's still that they haven't lost that
[05:19] identity necessarily. But when it comes to the way sprint works, you know, not having the roadie run, we do miss it. But you have a traditional sprint and you have mantling and you have jumping with the Y button and it kind of frees
[05:31] environment. Yeah, you're still slamming into cover and that sort of cadence of combat is still very much in Gears Eday, but there's something really subtle but there's something really subtle about how fluid EDY is. Did you Was that
[05:45] something you also felt as you played? >> Yeah, it did. It didn't feel like I was just kind of bouncing around. Like it was kind of nice to be able to just kind of go with the flow and just move around my enemies. It made honestly flanking
[05:58] enemies significantly easier and more fun cuz I wasn't just trying to like do I'm over here now. And you know, circling around until one of us dies. Um, so you mentioned multiplayer. How is the multiplayer in this? Yeah, I think
[06:13] one of the highlights for me, you know, playing the multiplayer beta, the new Horde Siege mode is I think that's my jam right there because like the main story, it takes place in the city of Colona. And the way you think of horde
[06:26] modes where you have to fend off waves of Locust, the way it works is where map. You're going to different parts of the city. And it's not necessarily open world, but it is it feels like an open region where you kind of don't know when
[06:38] necessarily know where the next wave is going to come from until you lock down, initiate it, and so it feels a lot more dynamic. I played a lot of horde modes in the past and Gears 5 specifically where it felt like you're doing a lot of
[06:51] base building or like building structures for defenses where there's it least from what I've played so far. It's less about that and more about adapting to your environment and fending off lots of waves and knowing how to navigate
[07:05] objectives on top of that. So, I like the idea they're working with and I Yeah. Uh, but it is that's such a core part of the gears identity is having >> How how is PvP? >> Now, one of the things that
[07:19] >> maybe some folks might beef with me on this, but >> I can hold my own in PvP. I like PvP for maybe about half an hour. After that, I'm good. Because I mean, this might be music to your ears, though. Still a lot
[07:32] of wall bouncing and a lot of Nasher gameplay. Like, that is the meta. That better. So, I think that, you know, the way in which you wall bounce in PvP matches, it's a lot more hectic. >> Um, because of how loose this game plays
[07:47] uh I it took time for me to adapt to, but like the language of Gears PvP is like that. >> I'm okay with it. I don't think I'm but >> part of me wants to see how PvP can
[08:04] evolve in a Gears game. you know, having that is important to please that crowd who loves that sort of thing. It's part of Gears' identity, but I would love to see what PvP can look like if they would think a step a step further or rethink
[08:16] think a step a step further or rethink how those game modes work. Um, but, you know, that that wasn't part of the multiplayer beta necessarily. So, maybe but we have not seen that yet if it does exist. Visually, this game looks great
[08:29] >> Yeah, it's outstanding. Yeah, I I played it uh at the Nvidia booth and so I was 5090. >> Mhm. >> 60 plus frames per second, 4K. It looked it looked great. Um, you played on all
[08:43] systems, but you were talking about how, you know, your mileage may vary on PC. >> Yeah. Uh like I I had a 4090 I have a 4090 at home and there were a couple times that I just could not hit 60 frames and I was like okay this is and
[08:56] clearly I'm on older hardware which is crazy as to a 4090 but it's like all right this is cutting edge like we are getting there. Um but from what I've seen I have played it on the 1590 in the office it is stunning like this is
[09:11] >> yeah. >> Um, one thing also, uh, the last point is that your your demo went on longer than what I played. So you got to see an guy over here, right? So tell me a little bit about that cuz I know you
[09:25] were talking about how um, you know, enemies are a little bit spongy and that might just be like, you know, part of how enemies are designed in this game, encounter, like, can you tell me a little bit more about what happened and
[09:37] what the dynamic was with the gameplay? >> Yeah, and and real quick, I'll say about the the sponginess. Sure, there is like a line of dialogue that's like, "Oh, aren't very good." >> And I'm like, "Okay, I get that. And you
[09:50] menus and stuff like that, right?" But there was a point where I'm just shooting so much at the same guy that's walking towards me. And then this guy shows up >> and I I felt like, and I guess I really
[10:03] point I was like, "Okay, I figured out what to do. I'm getting lots of head shot. I've kind of figured out how to get around the spudginess. This guy shows up, kills me a million times. I finally kill him. I pick up this gun and
[10:16] have some fun." I don't know why I pressed the trigger on a box and blew up Gears of War. >> That's on you, baby. >> So, those are our impressions of Gears of War Eday from what we played here at
[10:30] coverage here at Gamescom, stick with IGN.