Microsoft's 'just one more thing' moment at this year's E3 press conference was a big one - the first gameplay reveal of a new entry in the Gears of War franchise.
We've known that Black Tusk Studios was working on a Gears of War game for some time, but until now we'd not seen any gameplay, confirmation of the name or even a pre-rendered trailer. Today's announcement gave us our first look at a next-gen version of the game engine, as well as two brand new characters for the franchise.
The short, five minute demo was more than a little reminiscent of the atmospheric level Downpour from the original Gears of War; the player character and his AI companion don't actually see an enemy for the vast majority of the clip. After walking through what looks like an abandoned library or science facility, filled with ominous glowing pods filled with... something organic, the pair eventually encounter what was stalking them across the rooftops. When it appears, it definitely isn't any Locust enemy we've seen in the series before.
It doesn't look as though Black Tusk Studios is diverging from the tried and trusted Gears formula too much, with the familiar weapons, dimly lit locations, chunky, heavily armoured player characters and cover-based shooting all making an appearance in the trailer. At this point it's not even clear if the action takes place on Sera any more - this could be an entirely new planet or time period, totally separate from the original trilogy and prequel/sequel Gears: Judgment. A heavy electrical storm blowing in towards the end of the demo is unlike anything seen in the series to date, although the yellow flashes could be imulsion, the Gears universe's volatile fuel, rather than lightning.
We've clearly got a lot of questions, and this early in development it's unknown when we'll get any answers. We at least have Gears of War: Ultimate Edition to keep us busy in the meantime, but unforunately fans of the series are in for a long wait before they get to experience the latest entry for themselves: Gears of War 4 is expected to arrive around the Christmas holidays - 2016.
