Even if the rumors of its $400 million-plus budget aren’t exactly true, there’s no denying that The Coalition has put a lot of time and resources into Gears of War: E-Day. And while that’s obvious from the graphical fidelity, with fully dynamic ray-traced lighting, realistic destruction, and “hundreds of light sources,” it’s also seen in the campaign’s make-up.
Touted at over 14 hours long, E-Day’s story lets you control any of the four members of Bravo Squad from the start, including newcomers Mags Carter and Lukas Reyes. Creative director Matt Searcy told GamesRadar that, “We made the decision to support four-player co-op to reflect an aspect of how the core Gears DNA feels. Our stories are almost always about a four-person squad, right?
“We set a goal from the very beginning of development that we wanted you to be able to play as every single character. So in our campaign, you can pick any of the characters from the story – the story will be told entirely from that perspective, and you’ll never leave their side.” The overall treatment has been described as “very intimate” and “kind of like Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan, where you’re following this group and they aren’t always going to be in the right place at the right time.”
However, Searcy reveals that it was also a “huge investment.” Aside from each squad member having tons of detailed facial animations and individual voice lines reacting to events, The Coalition had to shape its environments to accommodate four-player co-op.
“We have had modes that have supported four-player co-op in them in the past, and clearly they work, so this was all about building the right spaces at the right sizes. You know, we build to make sure the game plays great in single-player, in two-player co-op, and then in three- and four-player co-op as well,” said Searcy.
So while it’s still enjoyable for solo players, as the squad is with you every step of the way, the team believes “in the co-op experience too, as you get to try different tactics and experiment with multiple things at once in our larger combat arenas – it’s a lot of fun.”
While you’ll have to wait until October 6th to experience Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign (October 1st with the Premium Edition), fans can expect a sampler of multiplayer sometime in August. That’s when the beta hits, potentially offering the first look at the new Versus maps. Whether it will also include the new 12-player Horde Siege is unknown, but more details on both are coming regardless, so stay tuned.
