Gears of War has come a long way since its first installment back in 2006. Although it is not clear exactly when it should be expected, it is likely that players will see Gears 6 announced sometime in the near future.
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As is common for a series about the inevitability of war due to human nature, Gears 5 ended on an intense note, with Kait desperately making her last stand against an overwhelming force and losing one of her closest friends in the process. Gears 6 will have a lot of material to pick up on.
10 Kait’s Story Continued
Gears of War has an unfortunate history of being very male-centric, especially in the first two games, but that eventually changed. Gears of War 4, while teasing JD as the new protagonist, proved to really be about Kait. While not the first female playable character, Kait was the first female character to take center stage in the main storyline. And she proved to be every bit as ruthless a Locust-fighter as Marcus, even with her unusual background. She really became the star of the new series, so it would make sense for her to return as the protagonist in Gears 6, though where her story will go is hard to say.
9 Bring Back The Chainsaw Gun
Gears of War is notorious for its creative weapons, but the most iconic is the lancer. From Gears 1-4 the lancer’s chainsaw could be activated at any time and driven into the heads of locusts who got too close. One of the few mistakes made in Gears 5 was to change the command for this attack, much to the confusion of players who thought the ability to rev up their beloved chainsaw gun had been removed entirely. When bringing this mechanic back in Gears 6, the developers should either restore the original button or make sure the change is clearly explained.
8 More Sam
After two male-dominated games, Gears of War 3 made the smart decision to begin diversifying the cast and introduced Sam Byrne. She made a comeback in Gears of War 4 but in a much smaller role. In 4 and 5 she has stopped fighting on the ground and switched to providing air support, resulting in the majority of her appearances being as a voice on the radio rather than in person. While players had the chance to get reacquainted with Cole and Baird, Sam has not been given as much focus. Giving her an opportunity to take a more prominent role in the story of Gears 6 would be a good opportunity to explore and how she has grown since Gears of War 3.
7 The Return Of Colonel Hoffman
When they first met in the original Gears of War, Hoffman expressed disgust towards working with Marcus Fenix. But he was gradually won over as he saw Marcus deliver the lightmass bomb and the two became best buddies. In 4, he only made a cameo in the opening, and he did not appear in 5.
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Of course, by 4 he is probably not in great shape for fighting—he is visibly confined to a wheelchair—but even if he only advised Marcus over the radio how could fans of the original games not get excited to hear his drill sergeant-like voice directing them once again?
6 Exploration
The Gears of War series has enjoyed experimenting with different types of vehicles, ranging from motorcycles to giant mech suits, but Gears 5 took it to a whole new level. The skiff was made central to gameplay, rather than being a single level as previous games had done. But it was also a huge change because it allowed the player more freedom in exploring Sera instead of being limited to a single path. Having that freedom offered up room to get to know the world and its people in more detail. This kind of thing would be great to see brought back and refined in Gears 6, perhaps with more side quests and opportunities to find special gear.
5 Return Of Sofia Hendrick
Aside from younger versions of Cole and Baird, Gears of War: Judgment also introduced to two new characters—Garron Paduk and Sofia Hendrick. Both proved to be great additions to the Gears of War universe, but while Paduk made a reappearance in Gears 5, Hendrick has not been seen since. She was last known to have been kidnapped by someone Paduk recognized from the COG. Her fate was intentionally left open to allow the developers options in the future, but she still has yet to be revisited. If she is still alive by the time Gears of War 6 takes place, there must be more that could be done with her.
4 Story Altering Choices
Gears 5 threw players a curveball by giving them a cruel choice. When the Locust Queen grabs both JD and Del, Kait only can only save one while the other is killed. The game has different endings based on who Kait chooses. While this level of cruelty is not unusual for Gears of War, it is the first time in the series players were able to influence the story. It also begs the question of how it will affect Gears 6. The simplest approach would be for Gears 6 to declare one choice canon, but it would be more interesting there were variations to the story based on player choice. It also leaves the question of whether player decisions are something that will be incorporated into future games.
3 Locust History And Culture
One of the best parts of Gears 5 going deeper into the background of the Locust war, to the point of finding out how they originated in the first place. While the COG never had the moral high ground, the Locusts’ motives becoming more understandable helps to emphasize that there are no real good or bad guys, just two sides with their own reasons for fighting.
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Learning the Locusts are not in fact underground aliens, as a new player might reasonably assume, but creatures created through the unethical experiments of human scientists made them seem a lot more sympathetic. The war is not black and white, but rather two equally bad warmongering races, one of which unwittingly created the threat of the other. With a more in-depth exploration of the Locusts, it would make sense to get to know them as more than just an enemy force. Gears of War 2 showed the locusts had a complex civilization but only offered information that was relevant to the war.
2 Anya’s Fate
Anya Stroud became a well-liked character throughout the original Gears of War trilogy. She started as support for the male heroes, but by 3 she had become a Gear in her own right. Many fans found it surprising, and difficult to accept when she did not return for Gears of War 4. She makes a cameo during a flashback but it is eventually revealed that Anya had died sometime in the twenty years between 3 and 4. Finding out one of the most beloved characters had died and the lack of an explanation left her unclear fate haunting players.
Gears 5 hinted at answers. Anya was involved in a fertility program run by Minister Jinn, though that still leaves more questions about what the program was, how it worked, and what happened to Anya. Given the COG’s history of less than ethical top-secret projects, it would hardly be surprising that Jinn’s program involved some questionable methods. Was Anya’s death accidental, or deliberate sabotage disguised as malpractice?
1 Team Up
This one is less likely for Gears 6, but it is a great story concept that has not yet been used. The series has been willing to introduce new enemies outside of the Locust horde, as evidenced by the Lambent Plague in Gears of War 2 and 3. Imagine a new enemy so cruel that humans and locusts are forced to work together to defeat it. Such a setup would have some great dramatic opportunities, certainly internal conflict and tension caused by sworn enemies being reluctant to accept each other as allies. And even afterward, in keeping with the theme of war’s inevitability, there would still be escalating tension on both sides caused by conflicting views about whether to maintain or disband the alliance.
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