Plenty of new details regarding what’s been added to Gears of War Ultimate Edition – the remaster of the original Gears of War – heading to Xbox One in August have been made available. To break it all down, I have split the new additions into information that has been made public in weeks and months prior and all of the new information that we’re publishing for the first time today.
What we knew already:
– The game will have 1080p/60fps gameplay
– Five new campaign chapters will be added
– Early access to the Gears 4 multiplayer beta
New information:
– Brand new character models and props for all game modes
– Split-screen co-op now divides horizontally
– Cut-scenes recreated using motion capture and advanced animation techniques such as skin-sliding
– New lighting and gas effects
– The Tac-Com vision filter now shows heavy weapon drop locations in multiplayer
– Players can spot enemy players and self-revive when downed
– The weapon selector can be used when performing a roadie run allowing players to queue up a weapon to be equipped when the the roadie run ends
– Level progression and XP in multiplayer
Speaking to OXM, The Coalition’s studio head Rod Fergusson had this to say.
“The fundamentals of Gears haven’t changed. All the metrics and mechanics are the same. What Epic created initially has endured over ten plus years. There’s a magic there in what they created, so it wasn’t a lot of work on our part to make it better. It was more about finding rough edges and filing them off. There were things Gears of War didn’t originally do because they didn’t have time or they didn’t have the resources.”
Fergusson went on to highlight how The Coalition’s team discovered what improvements needed to be made by inviting pro players to test the build.
“About seven or eight months ago we brought in a bunch of pro players when the game was very early on, gave them a chance to test out what the game felt like at 60fps, and also give us much feedback. So yeah, we’ve been working really closely with them from the beginning to get a sense of what they want, and figure out how we take what they remember and improve it. So things like enemy marking, switching weapons, less sticky cover, being able to interrupt a SWAT turn… All small things, but they make a big difference when you’re playing competitively.”
It’s nice to see that The Coalition has put a lot of time and effort into this remaster. Which new features are you most excited about?
