The Gears of War series has taken some pretty dark turns over the years, not least in trilogy-closer Gears of War 3 which often went for full-on tear jerking tragedy. That won't be the case with upcoming prequel Gears of War: Judgment.
The story for the new game features early tales from the Serran War with existing characters Damon Baird and Augustus "Cole Train" Cole, plus some new faces. The tone will be bloody and violent, but with less of the grim-faced drama. "It's Gears of War, it's fun, you're not playing this game to experience guilt and remorse," said Tom Bissell, one of the writers on the game, in an interview with Shack News. "They're getting to know each other, they poke at each other. And they're in a totally absurd situation, and there's a sort of comedy in that absurd situation."
"Ultimately we did try to go for a tone that was fun," agreed co-writer Rob Auten. "You want to hang out with these characters in the sense that they're fun to listen to interact with each other. All my favourite moments of Gears are the ones that had a little bit of lightness to the horror."
Gears of War: Judgment is due next March for Xbox 360. It's being developed by Epic Games and sister studio People Can Fly, the team responsible for the insane and very funny Bulletstorm.