Microsoft exec touts Fenix as hero of Gears of War "trilogy"
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Nov 21st 2006 at 6:45PM }
Corporate VP of Global Marketing Jeff Bell has spit out some new evidence that suggests Microsoft is banking on Marcus Fenix to be the next Master Chief. Speaking on the much-circulated Gears of War ad, Bell told GameDaily, "The goal of this ad is to establish Marcus Fenix as the hero of the Gears of War trilogy."Given Gears' open ending, the sequel is a near-guarantee. After that, turning the franchise into a trilogy is simple. Just chop the sequel in half and save the leftovers for Xbox's third incarnation.
So is there room enough in the 'Box for both the Master and Mr. Fenix? Think we'll ever see the franchises cross paths? Heck, they did a Battletoads & Double Dragon -- anything could happen.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SkillCoil @ Nov 21st 2006 6:52PM
I like Fenix more. He has a bit more character about him, and a better possibility in further character development.
droptop GP @ Nov 21st 2006 6:52PM
If the length of the first GoW is any indication of the trilogy, it's going to be a short story.
And for some reason, I know this was going to be a trilogy m,onths ago, I thought this was announced a while back.
Sam @ Nov 21st 2006 6:58PM
If they cross paths a puppy will die. Gears of War is too good of a story and idea to cross paths with the "Make it up as we go" story of Halo.
SkillCoil @ Nov 21st 2006 7:01PM
@2
"If the length of the first GoW is any indication of the trilogy, it's going to be a short story."
Of course it was going to be a short game, besides it being a FPS.
Many people expect graphics as good as this, PLUS lengthy gameplay like 70 hours (TP). You will not be seeing many games that look great and be long, without it taking 2-3 years in development and several tens of millions of dollars in cost.
GoW was longer than I expected.
Number One @ Nov 21st 2006 7:11PM
EXTRA! EXTRA!! AMERICAN PUBLISHEER FLOODING THE MARKET WITH FRANCHISES!! EXTRA! EXTRA!!!
Silver R. Wolfe @ Nov 21st 2006 7:04PM
@SkillCoil
Okami looked absolutely gorgeous and yet it was well over 30 hours of gameplay.
As far as Fenix being the hero? I know I don't like him, but I guess that's just me.
phatmuther @ Nov 21st 2006 7:06PM
Well obviously there will be a sequel, but cutting it in half to make two? No. The third will be a prequel, GoW is 14 years after Emergence day, i for one would certainly like to know why he was put in prison, the same with the other Gear prisoners.
Endejas @ Nov 21st 2006 7:09PM
Cool beans. Glad I'll have Gears 3 to look forward to on the next Xbox.
I
The Jeremy @ Nov 21st 2006 7:07PM
Duke Nukem would clobber Fenix*. :)
Word to Microsoft...give some of that monopoly scrilla over to 3DRealms and get a cheap form of publicity for finally finishing up DNF and getting an Xbox360 exclusive out of it. If its still really bad, it could always be sold at Burger King with BK picking up most of the marketing tab.
*Fenix the character. I am not asserting that the famously unfinished DNF is better than the released Gears of War Episode 1.
SkillCoil @ Nov 21st 2006 7:21PM
@5
"
Okami looked absolutely gorgeous and yet it was well over 30 hours of gameplay."
No it didn't look "gorgeous". It look good FOR A PS2 GAME, but it was hardly what I would call "good graphics".
SkillCoil @ Nov 21st 2006 7:23PM
And plus we are talking about NEXT GEN. Think before you post next time.
KrazyKoala @ Nov 21st 2006 7:23PM
Now, if these franchises end up being clearly split up just to make more money, and the quality of the gameplay suffers, then by all means critisize the corporation. But DON'T assume that's what will happen. Franchises in games aren't a uniquely American idea. Take a look at Final Fantasy and Zelda. Dear God, when will those franchises end (Zelda's good though, I hape RPGs, so count FF out fo r me)? P.S, I'm sick of people bringing up the lack of quality single player gameplay in Halo 2. Guess what, I bet it could have been a lot better, but it suffered as a lot of focus clearly went into multiplayer. Which afterall, is what I play the most. Here's hoping Halo 3 has the best of both worlds.....(and Gears+ graphics)
Number One @ Nov 21st 2006 7:28PM
@11
Final Fantasy is more like The Arabian Nights as games like Halo are more like Friends.
Silver R. Wolfe @ Nov 21st 2006 7:31PM
@ SkillCoil
It looked amazing, period. Not a great technical achievement, but it just goes to show what a solid art direction can do with the look of a game.
Just because it didn't feature, high-res textures, HDR lighting, anti-aliasing, and antistropic filtering doesn't mean it can't be a gorgeous game, regardless of platform.
And YOU were talking about Next-Gen, not everyone else. The PS2 is still very much alive, and probably will be for the next 2 years. Just because it's not next-gen doesn't mean it gets counted out of the competition.
Markusdragon @ Nov 21st 2006 7:36PM
"After that, turning the franchise into a trilogy is simple. Just chop the sequel in half and save the leftovers for Xbox's third incarnation."
Ooh, burn!
Walshicus @ Nov 21st 2006 7:51PM
@Number One / #9
Did you just attack American publishers for running with franchises? Can I introduce you to Final Fantasy 12, Dragon Quest 8, the latest Sonic, Mario and Pokémon titles along side Resident Evil 5, Gran Turismo 4 and... well you get the picture right?
DeezNuts420 @ Nov 21st 2006 8:04PM
@4
"Of course it was going to be a short game, besides it being a FPS."
Do you understand what an FPS is?????
Robert @ Nov 21st 2006 8:05PM
Okay, the game was definitely too short. Once you've created the visual assets and the engine, it's not that much more effort to just copy and paste some extra levels. And yes, that may be a pretty big generalization, but the point still stands if you take some time to actually think about it. I remember getting to the final scene and saying "This looks like the end of the game. I mean... it can't be, but it looks like it. Oh #%@$!. It is." How hard would it have been to tack on extra content? Oh, wait... PS3 launch. Got it.
Robert @ Nov 21st 2006 8:09PM
Oh, and Gears of War just hit 1 million copies sold. That's at least $60 million in sales (not including the collector's edition). Not bad for a 10 hour game.
Happy @ Nov 21st 2006 8:15PM
wtf, someone just compared my favorite video game to Friends.
I'm sad now :(
BklynKid @ Nov 21st 2006 9:05PM
Who with more than half a brain didn't see this coming?
Spartacus @ Nov 21st 2006 9:09PM
Personally I loved Gears and I thought the length was perfect. It leaves you wanting more, which is a much better feeling than being 10 hours into a 40 hour game and being sick of it. My fix? I just upped the difficulty level and played it again, something I haven't done in a LONG time. I enjoyed it the 2nd time just as much (still trying to find the remaining 2-3 cog tags).
As for GoW and Halo, I think Halo is the more iconic franchise. People will tend to love Master Chief more than the gruff Fenix. Plus due to the ratings of the games (T vs. M) Halo will natually have a wider audience. I for one actually liked Cole far more than I liked Fenix...
Victor @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:01PM
Nice jab at Halo 2. Cut the sequel in half. Hold it for next gen. Troof.
Frowelishnu @ Nov 21st 2006 9:44PM
I hate this idea.
GoW = great game.
GoW |= compelling story line that could carry a trilogy.
Why not a totally new IP from the same team?
I think Cliffy B has enough clout that he doesn't need a sequel to sell games.
Dumb idea.
Give me Stars or Give me Death! @ Nov 21st 2006 9:52PM
What would they be called? If they're smart the game developers will take a cue from saavy movie execs and call them Too Gears Too War and Gears of War: Tokyo Drift, respectively.
Feanor @ Nov 21st 2006 10:25PM
"No it didn't look "gorgeous". It look good FOR A PS2 GAME, but it was hardly what I would call "good graphics"."
That's because it was a PS2 game you complete idiot.
Ian @ Nov 22nd 2006 3:41PM
whoever the hell said halo is rated T should kill themselves
Angelo @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:01AM
I love Gears of War, mind you. The campaign, although short, was brilliantly executed in gameplay. But the weakest link in the chain by far was its "story". It was way too contrived and did more to illustrate how badass Fenix and company were rather than add anything of true substance.
mocax @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:38AM
We all know The Cole Train carried the entire game.
The hell with Fenix and Masterchief
Keef @ Nov 22nd 2006 6:16AM
i personaly thought GoW was very solid.
loved the story, REALLY loved the gameplay, and thought the game was not too short.
I really cant wait for a next one, specialy a prequel.
i want to know y he was locked up and how and y it all started!!
Austin @ Nov 22nd 2006 9:17AM
The way things are going GOW the movie will be out before halo.
hmmmmm... I may be onto something.
Mez Jr @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:56AM
I think it'd be fun/funny to get an expansion pack or something that featured the other half of the characters, Gears of War: Alpha Squad.
You could see what the hell Baird and Cole were up to the whole time... from the com chatter they were actually doing something...
C0mm4nd3r K33n @ Nov 22nd 2006 2:15PM
He was locked up because he left his post to go rescue his father. I guess when you're in the military and you're assigned a post, you're not suppose to leave it without permission - AWOL.
That info was in the little booklet that came in the DVD case. I didn't bother reading the booklet until I played part way through the game. Great game!
potato @ Nov 22nd 2006 3:12PM
Gears I thought was a good length, especially considering how much tougher things get on Hardcore/Insane, and there's enough real fun gameplay in there to actually make you play it again on the harder difficulties. To me the length of the game itself is 3 times the length of the campaign, and then there's the sheer fun of fighting with a buddy in co-op that never seems to get old. Plenty of value in that game.
That said, I'm not sure about this whole epic-trilogy angle. Yeah, I'd like more GOW, but the story in that game was practically non-existent, let's not pretend that we're continuing some epic saga of a story, eh? Just give me more Locust, more creatures, more crazy weapons, and more gruesome and excessively gratuitous ways to kill my enemies.
ryan de michigan @ Nov 22nd 2006 8:27PM
Just took a break from playing GOW on Insane to say. . .... Story?
Job @ Nov 23rd 2006 6:31AM
Gears was good, but by no means great.
Story, there wasn't really a story as such. To me, Gears looks like a 10 hours Tech Demo, that has lots of shine and gleaming surfaces, but there isn't much substance.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing the game, but I think it's over rated for what you get.
To get more from the game you have to play it on Hardcore or Insane. Me, I would rather have more to the story.
The way the game starts, leaves you wondering, "Er, How did I end up starting from this point in the game, stuck in a prison cell, when the whole bloody prison has been demolished, but as yet, no evil aliens have found me stuck in here???
That to me was the lamest start to any game. Sorry, but looking at the size of Fenix, I'm sure he could have busted the door down, considering he must have known the whole prison had been blasted to bits or blown up.
The whole game was a lot of running along corridors or streets, with the odd bit of fighting thrown in to keep you going. It was pulled off extremely well, because you feel the need to blow up more aliens and just to hear Boomer say "BOOM" one more time.
Still, the story is very lack lustre, and as I say, it's more of a Tech Demo than a realy game with any sort of Story.
Halo has a Story and was pulled off very well throughout the whole game. Ok, the Graphics are nothing compared to Gears, being that it was on Xbox, but the Story is so much better. Halo 2, was a pile of rubbish, and if they intend to do with Gears what they did with Halo, Gears 2 would probably lack story just as much, if not be worse than Halo 2.
There are so many unanswered questions in Gears, that all I was doing was running to the next battle and fighting, without even thinking what the story was about other than to think, hey, I wonder who Jack is, because he justs keeps popping out, but no idea where he fits into the story other than to open doors??
Come on Guys, as good as Gears looks, the Show Room Polish has blinded everyone to a game with no real substance other than a good blast fest.
sploy @ Nov 27th 2006 4:08PM
Bad games don't sell this many copies.
You can whine about the story all you want, but that's more about your personal preference than the game. If you are desperate for a big long story get oblivion... I believe it's available for around $20, maybe less.
As for graphics, anybody with half a brain and two working eyes can see that gears of war looks much better than any PS2 game... not least because xbox 360 games are hi-def. Even the graphics in MGS:snake eater don't compare to GoW. There's no point arguing about graphical differences between two consoles with such a drastic difference in capability. And just because you like the graphical style of Okami, doesn't mean it's graphics are 'better' than GoW's, it just means you prefer them.