Do you remember what happened on Gears of War Judgment? I don't, and I only played it about six months ago. What it felt like was exactly what it was: a completely unnecessary spin-off with not much development, a strange premise and not much in the way of narrative or gameplay delivery. In comparison, I'll never forget bits from Gears 1 and 2. Fighting General RAAM on the train at the end of Gears 1. The trip through the terrifying halls of the abandoned base in 2. The razor hail. Killing a freaking giant worm from within using chainsaws. Dom and his wife uniting in hideous fashion. The sinking of Jacinto and what it meant for the future. The list goes on and on; if Microsoft wants interest in Gears to resurface, this is the kind of experience they should be focusing on developing. What does this mean? Characters we care about. Set-pieces that amaze and push the hardware to its limit. Exciting, dynamic gameplay that thrills the senses and has you perched squarely on the edge of the seat with serious danger of falling off onto the floor below. In short, it's combining together absolutely everything on this list to create a brand new Gears that's familiar, grounded in the setting of the original games, but feels fresh, organic and new. If this happens, I'm more than confident I'll be happy enough playing another Gears trilogy on the Xbox One. Did I miss anything you feel would really give Gears of War the jolt it needs when the next game rolls around? Let me know your ideas down in the comments!
Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.
