Gears of War Guide Introduction
Introduction
It’s been fourteen years since the ground first rumbled and cracked.
Fourteen long, terrifying years since the Locust Horde emerged from within the heart of the planet and made their insatiable hunger for destruction and death known to the world. Billions of innocent people—men, women, and children alike—have been slaughtered without prejudice. Entire cities have been leveled, armies annihilated, and governments toppled. Finally, with no further options, the Coalition of Ordered Governments assembled their arsenal and unleashed hell upon the planet’s surface in an attempt to deprive the Locust of whatever it is they wanted.
And still they came…
After fighting the Locust Horde for over a decade, a highly decorated soldier by the name of Marcus Fenix had gotten wind that his father, a scientist at nearby East Barricade Academy, may be in harm’s way. With little time to follow the proper military channels, he made the decision to abandon his squad and try to rescue his father before the Locust onslaught. He was too late. News of Private Fenix’s desertion spread rapidly through the ranks to the desk of Colonel Victor Hoffman who took the offense as a personal insult. The panel presiding over the ensuing court martial took little sympathy on Marcus and, under the urging of Colonel Hoffman, blindly overlooked Marcus’ superlative military record. He was promptly charged with dereliction of duty and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Gears of War takes place four long years after Marcus’ ramrod trial at the House of Sovereigns. The Locust Horde has finally cracked through the stiff granite bedrock underlying the area surrounding Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary, and everyone has been evacuated. Everyone except Marcus, that is. Fortunately for Marcus, his good friend Dominic Santiago hasn’t forgotten about him and has come to break him out before the Locust attack. Dominic knows the COG soldiers are in an uphill battle and risks Hoffman’s wrath by freeing him. The way Dominic figures it, his Delta Squad could use all the muscle they can get.
As Marcus Fenix, you will experience thirty-six hours in the life of an elite COG soldier. Your mission is one of grave importance and almost impossible odds. Colonel Hoffman has requested that Delta Squad secure a three-dimensional map of the underground Locust network. Armed with this information, it is the COG’s hope that they could release a large enough bomb underground to exterminate the Locust Horde once and for all. This is your mission. It might be foolhardy and it may even be impossible, but it sure beats rotting away in solitary confinement.