1
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"Ok! Good meeting."

2
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"Oh, it's not over."

3
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"You two!"

4
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"Grab the fabricator and follow me!"

5
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"Carmine!"

6
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It's been 10 years since

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Marcus, Dom,

8
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and the other members of Delta Squad

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first shot and chainsawed their way

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across the planet, Sera,

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in a desperate attempt to defeat the Locust.

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And in some ways,

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both those characters and

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the gameplay we so strongly associate with them

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now feel like relics from another era.

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Gears of War 4 seems to recognize this,

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reinvigorating the series signature combat

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without reinventing it;

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and shifting the narrative focus

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from Marcus and his buddies

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to a younger generation,

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who have grown up without the threat

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of the Locust looming over them.

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Unfortunately, Gears of War 4 still

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plays it safe:

26
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teasing us with the potential for a story

27
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that could have taken the franchise

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in a fascinating new direction --

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before settling into yet another

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simple and straightforward

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fight against the Locust.

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The result is a solid, competent shooter;

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a decent game that could have been much better.

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Gears 4 gets off to a promising start,

35
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suggesting that the COG,

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the Coalition of Ordered Governments,

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that fought so valiantly for humanity

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in the original games,

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has become an oppressive, authoritarian force

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in a post-Locust world.

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The press conference that begins the game

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shows us how the government-controlled media

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glorifies the COG and its de facto leader,

44
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First Minister Jinn --

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presenting her as a noble figure,

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with humanity's best interests at heart.

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"It's a world of safety. Of family."

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The reality of Jinn's politics turn out to be

49
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more complicated, however,

50
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as people are required by law to live in

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fabricated cities;

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and women are required to participate in post-war

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repopulation efforts.

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Kait, the squad's one female member,

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understandably takes issue with this.

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"You got an issue with babies?"

57
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"No. I have an issue with being told

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I need to have one."

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And I'd hoped the game might explore

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this idea some more.

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But it's quickly dropped and never mentioned gain.

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The game play also starts off strong,

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before becoming more conventional

64
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and expected.

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As "Outsiders,"

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humans who have chosen

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to defy the government

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and live in their own settlements,

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the protagonists face off against

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the COG's robot army

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in the early sections of the game.

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During these encounters,

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the combat feels simultaneously

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swift and hefty.

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Spherical enemies called "trackers"

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can be kicked away like soccer balls,

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lending the combat a playful physicality.

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And the spectacle of robots being dropped

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into the environment by massive planes

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flying overhead

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makes these battles feel dramatic

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and desperate.

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It's also during these first few acts that

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we see far more of Sera's natural beauty

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than we ever have before.

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But soon, the game retreats into

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more standard and familiar territory.

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All the interesting early concerns about

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how the COG is misusing its

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military and industrial power

91
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go out the window,

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when the game once again pits you against

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the Locust,

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in the sorts of grimy, industrial environments

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that were so common in the original Gears games.

96
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The Locust continue to be an enemy

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with all the nuance of J.R.R. Tolkien's orcs;

98
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they're seemingly an inherently hostile,

99
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aggressive species that we can feel

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justified in slaughtering without

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any moral qualms whatsoever.

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Still, the interpersonal dynamics within your squad

103
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set Gears 4 apart a bit from its predecessors.

104
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The central character, Marcus Fenix's son, JD,

105
00:03:34,490 --> 00:03:36,326
isn't terribly interesting.

106
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He's the sort of blandly likable protagonist

107
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who might have been played by Chris Pratt

108
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if this had been a movie --

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and not the funny, quirky Chris Pratt,

110
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more like the Jurassic World Chris Pratt.

111
00:03:46,711 --> 00:03:49,235
But what is interesting is the difference between

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Marcus and the younger members

113
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of the squad.

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Marcus is as gruff, grizzled, and crusty as ever;

115
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but JD, Kait, and Del

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bring a different kind of energy to Gears.

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They're a bit more lighthearted than

118
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the men of Delta Squad were --

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joking and making wisecracks,

120
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suggesting that they've grown up in

121
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a more peaceful time

122
00:04:06,790 --> 00:04:09,160
than the previous generation did.

123
00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,502
"Looks like their ship just came in!"

124
00:04:11,502 --> 00:04:13,478
Unfortunately, Del, the squad's

125
00:04:13,478 --> 00:04:14,599
one black member,

126
00:04:14,599 --> 00:04:15,849
doesn't get to do much of anything

127
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but joke and make wisecracks.

128
00:04:17,952 --> 00:04:19,651
"Uh, how can someone be terrible

129
00:04:19,651 --> 00:04:20,930
at Rock Paper Scissors?"

130
00:04:20,930 --> 00:04:23,363
"Easily. Because you always pick paper."

131
00:04:23,363 --> 00:04:25,152
"...do I?"

132
00:04:25,152 --> 00:04:27,681
JD, Marcus, and Kait all have the suggestion

133
00:04:27,681 --> 00:04:29,930
of lives that extend beyond the battlefield.

134
00:04:29,930 --> 00:04:32,184
But Del's character arc begins and ends

135
00:04:32,184 --> 00:04:34,960
with being JD's warm, wisecracking buddy.

136
00:04:35,570 --> 00:04:37,105
Meanwhile, Oscar, Kait's uncle,

137
00:04:37,105 --> 00:04:39,106
is presented as reckless and drunk,

138
00:04:39,106 --> 00:04:41,634
teetering over into being a racial stereotype.

139
00:04:42,144 --> 00:04:44,119
"How about I call you hungover?"

140
00:04:44,119 --> 00:04:44,862
[laughs]

141
00:04:44,862 --> 00:04:46,662
"Oh, you got some tough, boy, don't you?"

142
00:04:46,662 --> 00:04:47,508
"Uncle!"

143
00:04:47,508 --> 00:04:49,409
It's also frustrating that the game employs

144
00:04:49,409 --> 00:04:51,555
a standard damsel-in-distress device,

145
00:04:51,555 --> 00:04:53,046
with Kate's mother, Reina,

146
00:04:53,046 --> 00:04:55,156
who is introduced as a strong leader,

147
00:04:55,156 --> 00:04:56,783
being reduced to a plot mechanism

148
00:04:56,783 --> 00:04:59,819
when she's taken by the Locust early on.

149
00:04:59,819 --> 00:05:01,359
Sure Marcus is also captured

150
00:05:01,359 --> 00:05:02,750
for a brief period of time,

151
00:05:02,750 --> 00:05:04,661
but it's not the same sort of overarching

152
00:05:04,661 --> 00:05:07,012
plot motivator that Reina's capture is.

153
00:05:07,012 --> 00:05:07,963
On the other hand,

154
00:05:07,963 --> 00:05:09,609
Kait is presented as a capable,

155
00:05:09,609 --> 00:05:11,529
and competent member of the team,

156
00:05:11,529 --> 00:05:13,192
with Marcus and everyone else

157
00:05:13,192 --> 00:05:15,550
treating her with respect and a sense of solidarity.

158
00:05:15,550 --> 00:05:17,746
"We'll be right beside you."

159
00:05:17,746 --> 00:05:19,812
Of course, not treating a female character terribly

160
00:05:19,812 --> 00:05:22,014
is hardly something we should celebrate -

161
00:05:22,014 --> 00:05:24,005
it's simply something we should expect.

162
00:05:24,005 --> 00:05:26,436
And ultimately, Gears of War 4 is all about

163
00:05:26,436 --> 00:05:29,057
giving us exactly what we expect:

164
00:05:29,057 --> 00:05:30,794
nothing less and nothing more.

165
00:05:30,794 --> 00:05:32,849
It's a solidly built machine that,

166
00:05:32,849 --> 00:05:35,011
10 years after the release of the original game,

167
00:05:35,011 --> 00:05:36,980
wants to convince us that this franchise

168
00:05:36,980 --> 00:05:38,494
can still be relevant.

169
00:05:38,494 --> 00:05:40,197
But if it's going to be relevant,

170
00:05:40,197 --> 00:05:42,332
it needs to take some chances.

171
00:05:42,332 --> 00:05:44,361
Gears 4 starts off suggesting that it

172
00:05:44,361 --> 00:05:45,910
might take us to new places,

173
00:05:45,910 --> 00:05:47,745
but then shies away from that.

174
00:05:47,745 --> 00:05:48,515
And in the end,

175
00:05:48,515 --> 00:05:49,774
it's yet another cover shooter

176
00:05:49,774 --> 00:05:51,292
that centers the experiences of its

177
00:05:51,292 --> 00:05:52,506
white male characters

178
00:05:52,506 --> 00:05:54,314
and has us fighting the same straightforward

179
00:05:54,314 --> 00:05:56,187
battles we've fought before.

180
00:05:56,187 --> 00:05:56,947
It could have been

181
00:05:56,947 --> 00:05:59,445
fun, and suprising, and special --

182
00:05:59,445 --> 00:06:01,447
but in the end, it's content to just be

183
00:06:01,447 --> 00:06:04,043
fun, and familiar, and predictable.