Stolen from NeoGaf:
Be sure to check out the full cover story with more info and some great gameplay screenshots:
www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/03/08/april-cover-revealed-gears-of-war-4.aspx-2 player couch co-op (Online TBA)
-Set on Sera 25 years after Gears of War 3
-Imulsion weapon set off at the end of GOW3 killed off all fossil fuels
-Humanity has become an endangered species huddled in walled cities seeking shelter from devastating wind storms (as a result of the bomb & intense war aftermath)
-Called "windflares", sort of a melting of a hurrican and volcano
-4 categories of weather in the game: Start out as heavy breeze (trees, leaves, dust kicking up) and grow into violent category 3 windstorms that can affect combat and weapon usage
-Category 4 windstorms have you just trying to survive, super violent, dodging lightning strikes, etc
-Think of the wind when fighting: Putting the wind behind could help projectile travel, but fighting directly against the wind could throw bullets back at you
-Enemies also affected by the weather (which you could exploit and use strategically)
-"Outsider" camps outside of COG
-Heavy inspiration on the setting from Northern Italy (forests, forts, etc)
-Want to get back to the "intimacy" and "boogeyman" feeling of the original Gears
-Team settled on story that features 3 protagonists and stretches across a 24 hour span in game
-JD Fenix (main character) is Marcus Fenix's son
-JD: Joined the COG militia, classified incident forced him to AWOL
-Del: JD in the campaign, befriended him at boarding school (deep bond)
-Kait: Outsider, capable survivalist, shares Outsider perspective with JD/Del
-Story begins as their Outsider village is invaded by a mysterious new force; kidnapped
-The trio goes into the forest in search, wondering why only they were spared
-New enemy is called "The Swarm"
-After the war, too many Locust to bury so many were tossed into mass graves (our trio believe this new threat may be linked)
-First mission sets off with the trio in the forest, discovering giant cocoon-like pods, pale monstrous creatures erupt looking almost human
-These enemies are dubbed "Juvies" (harkening to their seemingly first evolutionary stage of a new enemy)
-Juvies can eventually evolve into "Drones" (homage to the trilogy), able to use weapons, seemingly the main enemy type
-Also experimenting with new enemies like the "Pouncer" (E3 demo)
-Pouncer switches tactics based on player (if you run out in the open, it shoots poisonous quills; stay in cover and it comes after you)
-New weapons like "construction based" tools repurposed for combat
-Wanted to revamp the cover system; can more easily mantle kick over any piece of cover & perform knife kills
-Can also perform a short distance shoulder charge, knocking enemies off balance
-Enemies can also pull players out of cover and perform their own takedowns
-Implementing dynamic cover (for example shooting enemy pods from ceilings in an otherwise open area)
-Big emphasis on multiplayer, saying original Gears development was 90% SP, 10% MP
-Want to meet needs of recreational players and esports players
-Acknowledges love for horde mode and promises fans won't be disappointed
with some information on how the event will play out.