There Was a Time When Chainsaw-Guns Was Risky
Now that a few years have gone by since Gears of War 4 has come out, developer Coalition looks back on it. Being the first in the series in their hands, Coalition tried not to deviate too much from the formula of Gears of War. This led to some fans wanting more innovation from Gears. Now that Gears 5 is on the way, the time to take more risks is now. Coalition is going to take that chainsaw and push it deep. Rod Fergusson, who is leading the Gears team, did an interview with Kotaku where he laid out some of the changes Gears 5 is making.
Starting with the Gears 5 campaign, Kait Diaz, who was a supporting character in Gears of War 4, is being moved up to the main character. Even though Gears 4’s story revolved around finding Kait’s mother, the player controls JD the whole time. It was like playing as a sidekick. Sticking with a male character may have been one of the ways Coalition played it safe. Not that playing a female character is a radical idea or anything, perhaps Coalition was not fully comfortable with it.
While Gears of War is mainly a third-person cover-based shooter, Fergusson promises more close quarter and melee combat. Some UI changes allow for this. The revving/chainsaw button is moved to RB; tap to reload, hold to chainsaw. By doing this, the player’s thumb is still available to move the camera around and aim the chainsaw. The aiming reticle will also be colour coded; white for bodyshots, red for headshots, and gold for active reload shots. Enemies also have health bars to allow players to strategize and prioritize their targets. These health bars can be turned off. Gears 5 is due for release on September 10th, 2019 for Xbox One and PC.
What changes are you hoping for in Gears 5? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Kotaku