The Coalition releases a launch trailer for Gears of War 4 that sets up the story, highlights the main characters, and details the new threats players will face.

It may be hard to believe, but we are just three weeks away from the launch of Gears of War 4. Since the game's exciting E3 2015 reveal trailer, fans have been eagerly anticipating the next game in the critically acclaimed franchise, and in recognition of its release, The Coalition has put together a heart-pounding launch trailer that does a good job of setting up what is sure to be an epic story.

Narrated by series hero Marcus Fenix, the Gears of War 4 launch trailer explains that there was a 25 year period of peace after the events of Gears of War 3. However, that peace is upended by the appearance of new, Locust-like creatures called the Swarm. The mother of Kait Diaz is taken by these creatures, and so she enlists the help of her friends JD Fenix, Marcus's son, as well as Del Walker, to help save her mom and drive back this new threat.

From the looks of the trailer, Kait, JD, and Del won't be alone on their journey. In fact, it looks like Marcus Fenix will have a larger role in the campaign than previously suggested, with sequences showing him strangled by a monster, and another with him riding on the back of a motorcycle and shooting at enemies. The trailer even seems to suggest that Marcus may bite the bullet in this entry, but it's unclear if this is just a red herring to build hype for the game.

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Beyond the Marcus Fenix scenes, there's some other interesting moments in the launch trailer. For example, there appears to be a Swarm-version of a large Locust that can be seen for a few seconds near the end. Some have even speculated that it is the antagonist from the original Gears of War, General RAAM, back from the dead. While that can't be confirmed at this time, if the Swarm does have the capability of reviving the dead, it could explain why they look like Locusts, and could also explain how the Zombie Dom skin is even possible.

Something else of note in the trailer are the large mechs that the protagonists use. While mechs are not an entirely new concept for the Gears of War franchise, these mechs are especially large, and seem to be more for transportation than engaging enemies in combat. At this time, it's hard to say whether these machines will be operated by players or just shown in cut-scenes, but they do add an intriguing wrinkle to the growing arsenal of weapons for Gears of War 4.

This particular trailer focuses entirely on the game's campaign, but Gears of War 4 is also bringing back the franchise's popular multiplayer component, as well as a new version of Horde Mode. From the looks of things, the game is shaping up to be a complete package, so fans should be excited now that we're in the home stretch to its release date.

Gears of War 4 will be available on October 11th for PC and Xbox One.

Source: Xbox — YouTube