Detailed Analysis - Main Narrative
A Desperate Mission
As we start our epic campaign in Gears of War, we are introduced to our hero, Marcus Fenix, by way of a prison break. Broken out by an old friend and squad mate, Dominic Santiago, it is made clear that Dom has come to bring Marcus back to the COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) for an important mission. To do this the pair must escape from the prison that has been deserted as the other prisoners have been pardoned. A curious thing as the other prisoners had been pardoned but Marcus was left there meaning whatever he did must have been terrible, but Marcus does not present as someone who would do something immoral.
When people think of a prison, they can fill their heads with different stereotypes that usually range from brutal guards, destitute buildings and cruel inmates, only 2 of these are present. As they navigate the prison, they see that the buildings are in dire need of repair. Finding the mangled remains of prisoners and guards alike that were not able to leave gives the players a glimpse of the twisted and vicious nature of The Locust Horde. Marcus and Dom escape on a helicopter (Raven) as the prison collapses due to the onslaught of the Horde.
Marcus and Dome meet their new squad mates on the Raven: Mihn Young Kim and Anthony Carmine. Kim is a calm and collected soldier, making him the ideal squad leader. Anthony on the other hand seems eager to prove himself, which can be a dangerous thing. They land, only to be greeted by Colonel Hoffman who seems to share a history with Marcus. Their relationship seems to have turned sour as Hoffman seems to be bearing a grudge against Marcus but before this can be explained further, Hoffman turns to Kim for the task at hand.
Delta has one objective, locate Alpha Squad and retrieve a device known as “The Resonator”. The resonator will allow the COG to map the Locust tunnels so that they can use a bomb to destroy them and hopefully tip the scales of the war in the COG’s favour. We also lay eyes on a blond woman named Anya. Not a soldier but seems to be a logistics person as she will be providing Delta with tactical support and information.
Making their way through the area, Delta fights their way through the Locust eventually losing Carmine because of a rookie mistake. The number of locusts they come across and the fact that they can emerge from the ground anywhere give the distinct feeling that the Locust has laid claim to the territory. We see the effects the war has had on the world as we see ruined buildings, burnt-out cars and concrete barricades around every corner. This is a world where you have to be strong or cowardly to survive, much like our world, but ours offers more options at least.
Delta eventually finds Cole, a member of Alpha squad, fighting a lot of Locusts and seems to be having fun. In a world this dark and harsh, it’s good to be able to have fun, even if it is in the heat of battle. Cole is an impossibly huge and rowdy soldier, strong and capable and better yet knows how to keep the mood light. Cole eventually leads them to Alpha Squad which has already suffered losses. Just as they might be getting out, the tired soldiers are attacked by the Locust, this time being led by one that is different to the others. Before they know what’s happening, Kim is killed and the rest of the squad is forced to retreat.
Getting away we are introduced to Alpha squad mate Damon Baird. Baid is an intelligent and capable soldier with an obvious chip on his soldier. Arrogant, sarcastic and antagonistic, he exhibits all the hallmarks of someone who will run as soon as the going gets tough but surprisingly doesn’t. With the resonator in their hands, Marcus, Dom, Cole and Baird must use it themselves to map the tunnels but must travel underground into Locust territory. Their road is paved with threats and new variants of Locusts as they fight to reach a place where they can plant the resonator.
The squad reaches a deep location underground and deploys the resonator, escaping to the surface and just as they think it’s worked and they get to rest, they receive bad news from Hoffman. The resonator didn’t deliver what it was supposed to and the COG is missing data on most of the Locust tunnel network. Luckily Baird helps to deliver a Hail Mary. Escaping from the underground, Baird picked up a contraption that interested him but when accessing it, holds information about the Locust Tunnels that the resonator didn’t deliver. Anya ascertains that the source information came from the unlikeliest of places: Fenix’s house.
While no one knows why the info ever came from there, it doesn’t matter, the squad’s new mission is now to find the source info. Making their way there, one would think that Marcus would be hesitant to return to his home, but the mission comes first and with his squad by his side, he pushes on. Reaching his home, we can deduce 2 things about Marcus that vastly changes our perception of him. His family comes from money, which is surprising as people with money tend to be snobbish and soft. Marcus is neither of those things and proves it daily. Marcus’ home is also embossed with COG decorations showing that his family may have been military for a long time.
Delving deep into Marcus’ home, they find a terminal with massive amounts of information about the Locust network. This is curious because if this information was available, why did no one in the COG know about this? Regardless, they take the information and leave the home, quickly pursued by the Locust. With the information retrieved it must now be uploaded to the bomb but because of time and enemy movements, the squad will have to get to the bomb while it is in transit. En route, they learn the train has been taken by the Locust and so they have to get on the train while it’s in transit. Only Marcus and Dom manage to catch the train but Cole and Baird are left behind.
Fighting through the Locust on the train, they finally reach the bomb that is being guarded by the Locust that killed Kim. After a lengthy and close fight, Marcus and Dom finally kill him. While Marcus uploads the mapping data, Dom quickly boards a chopper with Hoffman on board. The mapping data uploaded to the bomb, Marcus jumps and barely makes it to the chopper, being helped by both Dom and Hoffman, who acts warmer towards Marcus. The bomb finally launches and destroys multiple Locust tunnels, killing many and hopefully crippling them, at least for now.
An incredibly epic campaign filled with many dangers as well as bringing up many different mysteries, Gears of War delivered a relatively unique campaign experience. For a game trying to find it’s footing it’s easy for a the campaign to fall into common traps. Campaign length problems, filler missions and shallow characters. Gears of War manages to overcome each of these problems creating a satisfying campaign that doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, useful missions and excellent character writing waiting for more entries to expand.
Delta Squad
At the heart of the mission to cripple the Locust Horde is Delta squad. This squad is a collection of battle-hardened, stoic and mostly likeable men. At the start, we are introduced to 4 of the initial members who each have their distinct personalities that help make these men feel realistic.
Marcus Fenix - Marcus is the hero of the Gears of War series. Stoic, committed and clever, Marcus proves himself to be an effective and loyal soldier as he fights against the Locust Horde and at the heart of his fight is the shadowing of his imprisonment. Not seeking redemption, but itching for a fight, Marcus proves himself time and time again, capable of taking on the worst the Locust can throw at him. Not your typical action hero, Marcus isn’t one who doesn’t seem to take crap from anyone and isn’t one to boast, keeping his mind on the task at hand but doesn’t stop him from bringing his brand of sarcasm as members of the team can prove to be irritable.
Dominic Santiago - The steadfast and loyal friend of Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago proves to act as the player’s voice, most typically with Baird, who proves to be an annoyance. A strong member of the squad, Dom often acts as a foil for Marcus, helping to establish more subtle information about Fenix while also showing that he is a man of many layers, as he makes friends with the survivors of this devastated world and is working with them for unknown reasons.
Mihn Young Kim - The leader of Delta Squad, Kim helps keep the team focused on the mission. A devoted soldier to the COG and his country, he has unwavering loyalty to his squad but also has his own opinions on them. While Kim’s initial introduction is intriguing, especially when it seems he has more knowledge about the squad than he initially lets on, he is sadly killed early in the mission.
Anthony Carmine - The kid of Delta Squad, Anthony is an unproven but willing soldier who helps delta on the way. Immediately showing admiration of Marcus for his past actions, Anthony has all the makings of a growing soldier that could have undergone a massive character evolution but sadly his life was cut short when he was having trouble reloading his weapon and was killed by a Locust Sniper.
Jack - Jack is the mechanical drone that helps to guide the Delta squad. While typically remaining cloaked throughout their mission, Jack quickly proves himself to be useful by cutting through doors and accessing main systems. Jack doesn’t provide the characters with any dialogue but helps to connect Delta with COG Control ensuring they are in constant communication.
Despite these characters working well together, there are aspects of their personality and foreknowledge that sometimes clash with each other. At one point while making their way through a court building Kim comments about the building's long and expansive history with Marcus noting that there are also a lot of lies. Kim being the loyal COG soldier he is, informs Marcus he knows all about his trial with Dom quickly coming to Marcus’ defence about his trial being a sham. This dialogue was fairly early in the game and it allows us to catch a bit more of a glimpse into Marcus’ imprisonment. While we still don’t know what Marcus did it is clear that it’s not cut and dry and that there might be plenty of layers to Marcus’ story. Carmine is initially excited about fighting alongside Marcus, having fought at “Aspho Fields”, but this doesn’t seem to be expanded on anymore which is a shame considering that there seemed to be more room for character development.
Augustus Cole - An incredibly large, and fun individual, Cole is initially a member of Alpha squad. Meeting shortly after Carmine’s death, we find him defending against the Locust. After hearing his name, Dom immediately recognises him as “The Cole Train”, a famous “Thrashball” player before The Locust War. Cole proves himself to be a loyal and pretty much unstoppable force. Cole and Baird are part of Alpha squad and both join Delta. You can tell that Cole typically spends his time mediating between Baird’s sarcasm and the team’s mission but does a good job of fitting in with Delta and is a true delight to fight alongside with.
Damon Baird - Baird is a disgruntled and arrogant soldier who was a member of Alpha squad before joining Delta squad. Baird proves himself to be antagonistic at every turn of the game and I’m not going to lie, I thought we would encounter a situation where Baird would abandon the squad but to his credit does not and is committed to the squad and the mission. Despite this, he does complain a lot at nearly every turn which can result in some funny dialogue at times. When Kim is killed and Marcus is promoted to Sergeant, Baird remarks about him not getting the promotion and even calls Marcus an Asshole. While annoying, Baird is a strong member of the squad with his unique skills and it will be interesting to see his future changes.
Despite their different beliefs and interests the members of Delta squad work well together and provide and each member provides another with an excellent foil as their personalities complement each other well. When developers/writers work to individualise their members, this often fails and misses in some regard. Teams like Taskforce 141 from Call of Duty’s: Modern Warfare are likeable but I found I only liked them because of their actions and what they’ve been through and not because of their interactions.
Delta squad are a likeable and effective bunch of soldiers that have been made lethal against the world that tries to kill them. A subtlety brilliant narrative choice is making the team imperfect as they all have chips on their shoulders that they are working through. Delta would become the hallmark character of Gears of War and would be enforced with new members are developments in future entries.
The COG
The Coalition of Ordered Governments is the only functioning authority that has been able to continue its efforts of fighting the Locust Horde. When meeting Marcus, we learn that he was formerly a member of the COG military as well as his old friend Dominic Santiago. At the end of the world, it is never certain how much of a Government is left as people decide to give in to their worst impulses to survive or protect their own. The COG however have been managing to stay upright, with their military numbers and hardware. While these aspects are present, it is clear to us at many times that the COG is stretched thin as it tries to combat the constant onslaught of the horde. The soldiers of the COG, the Gears, are the backbone of their military and are strong soldiers but are fairing poorly against the Locust.
While on their mission to find Alpha and the Resonator, Delta meets Colonel Hoffman and Anya. Hoffman is in charge of their operation and gives them their mission. Hoffman comes across as the standard high-rank military man, committed and steadfast but also hard and demanding, which in the world they live in is not necessarily a bad thing. Anya on the other hand comes off as a kind yet driven member of the COG and provides Delta with tactical data and advice as they traverse the ruins of Sera. Without Anya, Delta would have been killed already or will have failed their mission if it wasn’t for Anya helping and making sure they are going in the right direction.
The Locust Horde
The merciless and almost infinite forces of the Locust Horde are the stuff of nightmares. Inspired by the myths of the boogeymen and the monster under your bed, the Locust horde is a true nightmare and a different breed of monster. While most end-of-the-world games have aliens or zombies, we rarely see anything as different and unique as The Locust Horde. A subterranean species that rose out of the ground to attack humanity, just as another war has been won. Killing countless civilians, the COG thought the only way to stop them would be to burn their cities with a satellite-based laser weapon known as “The Hammer of Dawn” killing as many of their people as well as the Locusts. This sadly didn’t stop the Horde as they continued their genocidal campaign against humanity.
Being able to sprout up anywhere, makes the horde a dangerous and unpredictable enemy to defend against and with the beasts at their control, they can overpower the COG in ways they can’t fight back against effectively. The Locust Drones are terrifying enough but other creatures like the Berserkers and Wretches are true monsters that could shake even the strongest of individuals. The Kryll only come out at night and attack in swarms killing anyone within a few seconds and proving to be a true nightmare. Creatures like the Seeders blacken the skies of Sera and the Brumaks prove to be the apex beast of the Locust Horde that are very difficult to kill and could easily kill hundreds before they would be stopped.
The visually clear leader of the Horde is General RAAM, a strong and beefed-up version of a Locust Drone, RAAM introduces himself by attacking Delta and Alpha and by eliminating Kim. An imposing force that, while not prominent is definitively dangerous and is seen putting obstacles in Delta’s path as they continue on their mission. RAAM and Marcus have a final confrontation as RAAM takes over the train that carries the bomb intended to destroy the Locust tunnels. Using the Seeder inked skies to his advantage, he shows a unique ability to control the Kryll and used them as a shield and to attack Marcus. Before their fight begins, RAAM says something disconcerting and intriguing, “Serve the Queen.”. The Locust Horde has shown themselves to be a tactically brilliant species, with the numbers to back up any strategy and we were under the impression that RAAM was the leader of the Horde but if he serves a Queen, then killing him may not have had as much of an effect on the Horde as hoped and gives the Locust a chance to rally.
The Locust have proven themselves to be a challenging and terrifying nightmare and a worthy adversary for the series and learning more about them will be a great prospect as while we know more of the acts that they have committed we still don’t understand why the Locust decided to attack and just how old they are and if they are this powerful, why haven’t they attacked earlier.
The Stranded
While it may seem humanity is united under the COG banner against the Locust Horde, we learn that there are pockets of human groups that have decided to live outside of COG society and choose to live for themselves and survive against the Horde. These people are mainly made up of survivors of The Hammer of Dawn strikes that the COG initiated to stop the Locust. Seeing how the COG sacrificed civilian lives just to stop an enemy in front of them caused the people to not trust the COG and even hate them. The COG names these people Stranded because they have been left alone in the ruined cities without government support and cut off.
When we first meet the Stranded it is thanks to Dom who escorts us there when we require a vehicle and he knows how to get us one. Baird is initially surprised at the fact that Dom “knows” any stranded, due to their aversion to the COG only for Dom to remark that he is looking for someone. Who he's looking for isn't elaborated on but we can see this becoming a plotline in a future entry. Strolling through the Stranded camp we can hear the mumbled hate whispered by the stranded. They have every right to hate the COG but it does put the players on edge as we go through the camp and shows that the Locust may not be the only threat we need to consider. At the camp, we meet Franklin, someone who is very familiar with Santiago and is helping him look for a “lady” that Dom is after. After a tense argument, Franklin agrees to help us, in exchange for leaving Baird and Cole with them for security, which Dom agrees to, much to Cole and Baird’s dismay.
While the stranded do not like the COG, it is cool to see that they would be willing to do business with them. When Marcus and Dom are en route to the vehicle, some Stranded figure out that Cole played Thrashball and give them a big dinner and the people there fawn over him, which greatly annoys Baird. These people do hate the COG and its soldiers, we get glimpses of the people they used to be before having to worry about the Locust and just surviving.