'Gears of War 4' Release Date: Different Story with Different Protagonist? Also More Intelligent AI on the Horizon?

Black Tusk Studio is facing a great challenge with the creation of 'Gears of War 4'. The franchise has already reached a trilogy stage and that is supposedly an end to a story arc. What the studio needs to do now is reinvent the franchise to make it fresh and new for fans and newbies alike.

When the franchise was still in the hands of Epic Games, the trilogy had already experienced its fair share of dead main and supporting characters. Marcus Fenix's backstory had already unfolded from the first three Gears of War games and it may make sense for Black Tusk to try for other protagonists.

Since a lot of the supporting characters are also dead, like Marcus' best friend Dom Santiago, having Marcus Fenix as the protagonist again might feel stale and overused. After all, it wouldn't be the same without Dom or any of the Delta squad members.

Black Tusk could try the Stranded as protagonists or even the Union of Independent Republic, the COG's old enemies from the last Pendulum War. Essentially, it would be refreshing to get to play the war in a different perspective, in the eyes of another faction or protagonist.

New characters would most likely mean a new setting as well. The war against the Locusts was pretty much worldwide, but the first three Gears of War games felt like it wasn't worldwide at all. Again, like the characters, a new environment and a new setting would be a refreshing take at the game.

Another thing that fans would really like would be smarter AI enemies. In the previous Gears of War games, the Locust enemies were fairly dumb and their numbers could easily be circumvented by patience and hiding behind a wall. This could be possible with the Xbox One's processing capability and it would only be up to Black Tusk to make it happen.