0:00:00.197,0:00:02.215
"Ok! Good meeting."

0:00:02.215,0:00:03.851
"Oh, it's not over."

0:00:03.851,0:00:04.848
"You two!"

0:00:04.848,0:00:06.632
"Grab the fabricator and follow me!"

0:00:07.592,0:00:08.480
"Carmine!"

0:00:22.004,0:00:23.423
It's been 10 years since

0:00:23.547,0:00:24.776
Marcus, Dom,

0:00:24.776,0:00:26.416
and the other members of Delta Squad

0:00:26.416,0:00:28.127
first shot and chainsawed their way

0:00:28.127,0:00:29.748
across the planet, Sera,

0:00:29.748,0:00:31.698
in a desperate attempt to defeat the Locust.

0:00:31.867,0:00:32.737
And in some ways,

0:00:32.737,0:00:34.857
both those characters and

0:00:34.857,0:00:37.268
the gameplay we so strongly associate with them

0:00:37.338,0:00:40.420
now feel like relics from another era.

0:00:40.420,0:00:43.167
Gears of War 4 seems to recognize this,

0:00:43.167,0:00:45.434
reinvigorating the series signature combat

0:00:45.434,0:00:46.925
without reinventing it;

0:00:46.925,0:00:48.542
and shifting the narrative focus

0:00:48.542,0:00:50.058
from Marcus and his buddies

0:00:50.058,0:00:51.731
to a younger generation,

0:00:51.731,0:00:53.059
who have grown up without the threat

0:00:53.059,0:00:55.107
of the Locust looming over them.

0:00:55.107,0:00:57.806
Unfortunately, Gears of War 4 still

0:00:57.806,0:00:59.108
plays it safe:

0:00:59.108,0:01:01.085
teasing us with the potential for a story

0:01:01.085,0:01:02.444
that could have taken the franchise

0:01:02.444,0:01:04.275
in a fascinating new direction --

0:01:04.275,0:01:06.005
before settling into yet another

0:01:06.005,0:01:07.444
simple and straightforward

0:01:07.444,0:01:09.389
fight against the Locust.

0:01:09.389,0:01:11.952
The result is a solid, competent shooter;

0:01:11.952,0:01:14.962
a decent game that could have been much better.

0:01:14.962,0:01:17.218
Gears 4 gets off to a promising start,

0:01:17.218,0:01:18.780
suggesting that the COG,

0:01:18.780,0:01:20.768
the Coalition of Ordered Governments,

0:01:20.768,0:01:22.669
that fought so valiantly for humanity

0:01:22.669,0:01:23.733
in the original games,

0:01:23.733,0:01:26.422
has become an oppressive, authoritarian force

0:01:26.422,0:01:28.388
in a post-Locust world.

0:01:28.388,0:01:30.586
The press conference that begins the game

0:01:30.586,0:01:32.592
shows us how the government-controlled media

0:01:32.592,0:01:34.985
glorifies the COG and its de facto leader,

0:01:34.985,0:01:36.735
First Minister Jinn --

0:01:36.735,0:01:38.583
presenting her as a noble figure,

0:01:38.583,0:01:40.727
with humanity's best interests at heart.

0:01:40.727,0:01:45.520
"It's a world of safety. Of family."

0:01:45.520,0:01:47.738
The reality of Jinn's politics turn out to be

0:01:47.738,0:01:49.343
more complicated, however,

0:01:49.343,0:01:51.413
as people are required by law to live in

0:01:51.413,0:01:52.751
fabricated cities;

0:01:52.751,0:01:55.541
and women are required to participate in post-war

0:01:55.541,0:01:57.743
repopulation efforts.

0:01:57.743,0:01:59.938
Kait, the squad's one female member,

0:01:59.938,0:02:02.049
understandably takes issue with this.

0:02:02.049,0:02:03.818
"You got an issue with babies?"

0:02:03.818,0:02:05.796
"No. I have an issue with being told

0:02:05.796,0:02:07.240
I need to have one."

0:02:07.240,0:02:09.009
And I'd hoped the game might explore

0:02:09.009,0:02:10.256
this idea some more.

0:02:10.256,0:02:13.327
But it's quickly dropped and never mentioned gain.

0:02:13.327,0:02:15.467
The game play also starts off strong,

0:02:15.467,0:02:16.929
before becoming more conventional

0:02:16.929,0:02:18.468
and expected.

0:02:18.468,0:02:19.468
As "Outsiders,"

0:02:19.468,0:02:20.690
humans who have chosen

0:02:20.690,0:02:21.915
to defy the government

0:02:21.915,0:02:23.240
and live in their own settlements,

0:02:23.240,0:02:24.944
the protagonists face off against

0:02:24.944,0:02:26.241
the COG's robot army

0:02:26.241,0:02:27.901
in the early sections of the game.

0:02:27.901,0:02:29.062
During these encounters,

0:02:29.062,0:02:30.840
the combat feels simultaneously

0:02:30.840,0:02:32.586
swift and hefty.

0:02:32.586,0:02:34.558
Spherical enemies called "trackers"

0:02:34.558,0:02:36.519
can be kicked away like soccer balls,

0:02:36.519,0:02:39.228
lending the combat a playful physicality.

0:02:39.228,0:02:41.527
And the spectacle of robots being dropped

0:02:41.527,0:02:43.858
into the environment by massive planes

0:02:43.858,0:02:44.858
flying overhead

0:02:44.858,0:02:46.585
makes these battles feel dramatic

0:02:46.585,0:02:48.029
and desperate.

0:02:48.029,0:02:49.829
It's also during these first few acts that

0:02:49.829,0:02:52.566
we see far more of Sera's natural beauty

0:02:52.566,0:02:54.608
than we ever have before.

0:02:54.608,0:02:56.256
But soon, the game retreats into

0:02:56.256,0:02:58.720
more standard and familiar territory.

0:02:58.720,0:03:00.813
All the interesting early concerns about

0:03:00.813,0:03:02.483
how the COG is misusing its

0:03:02.493,0:03:03.949
military and industrial power

0:03:03.949,0:03:05.330
go out the window,

0:03:05.330,0:03:06.860
when the game once again pits you against

0:03:06.860,0:03:07.721
the Locust,

0:03:07.721,0:03:10.061
in the sorts of grimy, industrial environments

0:03:10.061,0:03:13.167
that were so common in the original Gears games.

0:03:13.167,0:03:15.040
The Locust continue to be an enemy

0:03:15.040,0:03:17.786
with all the nuance of J.R.R. Tolkien's orcs;

0:03:17.786,0:03:20.131
they're seemingly an inherently hostile,

0:03:20.131,0:03:22.020
aggressive species that we can feel

0:03:22.020,0:03:23.534
justified in slaughtering without

0:03:23.534,0:03:25.963
any moral qualms whatsoever.

0:03:25.963,0:03:28.687
Still, the interpersonal dynamics within your squad

0:03:28.687,0:03:31.652
set Gears 4 apart a bit from its predecessors.

0:03:31.652,0:03:34.490
The central character, Marcus Fenix's son, JD,

0:03:34.490,0:03:36.326
isn't terribly interesting.

0:03:36.326,0:03:38.812
He's the sort of blandly likable protagonist

0:03:38.812,0:03:40.284
who might have been played by Chris Pratt

0:03:40.284,0:03:41.661
if this had been a movie --

0:03:41.661,0:03:43.861
and not the funny, quirky Chris Pratt,

0:03:43.861,0:03:46.711
more like the Jurassic World Chris Pratt.

0:03:46.711,0:03:49.235
But what is interesting is the difference between

0:03:49.235,0:03:50.537
Marcus and the younger members

0:03:50.537,0:03:51.554
of the squad.

0:03:51.554,0:03:54.852
Marcus is as gruff, grizzled, and crusty as ever;

0:03:54.852,0:03:57.212
but JD, Kait, and Del

0:03:57.212,0:03:58.901
bring a different kind of energy to Gears.

0:03:59.462,0:04:01.089
They're a bit more lighthearted than

0:04:01.089,0:04:02.565
the men of Delta Squad were --

0:04:02.565,0:04:04.438
joking and making wisecracks,

0:04:04.438,0:04:05.911
suggesting that they've grown up in

0:04:05.911,0:04:06.790
a more peaceful time

0:04:06.790,0:04:09.160
than the previous generation did.

0:04:09.200,0:04:11.502
"Looks like their ship just came in!"

0:04:11.502,0:04:13.478
Unfortunately, Del, the squad's

0:04:13.478,0:04:14.599
one black member,

0:04:14.599,0:04:15.849
doesn't get to do much of anything

0:04:15.849,0:04:17.952
but joke and make wisecracks.

0:04:17.952,0:04:19.651
"Uh, how can someone be terrible

0:04:19.651,0:04:20.930
at Rock Paper Scissors?"

0:04:20.930,0:04:23.363
"Easily. Because you always pick paper."

0:04:23.363,0:04:25.152
"...do I?"

0:04:25.152,0:04:27.681
JD, Marcus, and Kait all have the suggestion

0:04:27.681,0:04:29.930
of lives that extend beyond the battlefield.

0:04:29.930,0:04:32.184
But Del's character arc begins and ends

0:04:32.184,0:04:34.960
with being JD's warm, wisecracking buddy.

0:04:35.570,0:04:37.105
Meanwhile, Oscar, Kait's uncle,

0:04:37.105,0:04:39.106
is presented as reckless and drunk,

0:04:39.106,0:04:41.634
teetering over into being a racial stereotype.

0:04:42.144,0:04:44.119
"How about I call you hungover?"

0:04:44.119,0:04:44.862
[laughs]

0:04:44.862,0:04:46.662
"Oh, you got some tough, boy, don't you?"

0:04:46.662,0:04:47.508
"Uncle!"

0:04:47.508,0:04:49.409
It's also frustrating that the game employs

0:04:49.409,0:04:51.555
a standard damsel-in-distress device,

0:04:51.555,0:04:53.046
with Kate's mother, Reina,

0:04:53.046,0:04:55.156
who is introduced as a strong leader,

0:04:55.156,0:04:56.783
being reduced to a plot mechanism

0:04:56.783,0:04:59.819
when she's taken by the Locust early on.

0:04:59.819,0:05:01.359
Sure Marcus is also captured

0:05:01.359,0:05:02.750
for a brief period of time,

0:05:02.750,0:05:04.661
but it's not the same sort of overarching

0:05:04.661,0:05:07.012
plot motivator that Reina's capture is.

0:05:07.012,0:05:07.963
On the other hand,

0:05:07.963,0:05:09.609
Kait is presented as a capable,

0:05:09.609,0:05:11.529
and competent member of the team,

0:05:11.529,0:05:13.192
with Marcus and everyone else

0:05:13.192,0:05:15.550
treating her with respect and a sense of solidarity.

0:05:15.550,0:05:17.746
"We'll be right beside you."

0:05:17.746,0:05:19.812
Of course, not treating a female character terribly

0:05:19.812,0:05:22.014
is hardly something we should celebrate -

0:05:22.014,0:05:24.005
it's simply something we should expect.

0:05:24.005,0:05:26.436
And ultimately, Gears of War 4 is all about

0:05:26.436,0:05:29.057
giving us exactly what we expect:

0:05:29.057,0:05:30.794
nothing less and nothing more.

0:05:30.794,0:05:32.849
It's a solidly built machine that,

0:05:32.849,0:05:35.011
10 years after the release of the original game,

0:05:35.011,0:05:36.980
wants to convince us that this franchise

0:05:36.980,0:05:38.494
can still be relevant.

0:05:38.494,0:05:40.197
But if it's going to be relevant,

0:05:40.197,0:05:42.332
it needs to take some chances.

0:05:42.332,0:05:44.361
Gears 4 starts off suggesting that it

0:05:44.361,0:05:45.910
might take us to new places,

0:05:45.910,0:05:47.745
but then shies away from that.

0:05:47.745,0:05:48.515
And in the end,

0:05:48.515,0:05:49.774
it's yet another cover shooter

0:05:49.774,0:05:51.292
that centers the experiences of its

0:05:51.292,0:05:52.506
white male characters

0:05:52.506,0:05:54.314
and has us fighting the same straightforward

0:05:54.314,0:05:56.187
battles we've fought before.

0:05:56.187,0:05:56.947
It could have been

0:05:56.947,0:05:59.445
fun, and suprising, and special --

0:05:59.445,0:06:01.447
but in the end, it's content to just be

0:06:01.447,0:06:04.043
fun, and familiar, and predictable.