Line #4 Fridge/GearsOfWar


1	!Fridge Brilliance
2	* Why is it the old Lancers are inaccurate and slow firing while the new one is accurate, faster firing, and chews through ammo quicker? It's hard to see how one grew into the other until realizing the retro lancer was an offensive weapon, used for constantly redeploying closer to the enemy and charging forward. Whereas with the modern Lancer they've fallen back to Jacinto and needed something that could function while holding a single location.
3	** The caliber or round that the Lancer fires is also smaller and has less of a kick than the Retro Lancer; if the Retro Lancer was something like an H&K G3 firing 7.62x51mm, the modern Lancer is a newer HK41 firing 5.56x45mm.
4	* The Locust Horde is by no means primitive technologically, instead using OrganicTechnology as counterparts for COG developments. The COG use more familiar machinery, instead running on the gasoline-like [[GreenRocks Imulsion.]] However, this discrepancy in technological development makes sense lore-wise as well. Humans harness Imulsion, [[spoiler: which is actually what's killing the planet, without knowing the truth behind it]]. The Locust, developing underground and living next to the stuff,[[spoiler: would have discovered its danger long ago]], prompting their development of biotechnology (which would never need Imulsion).
5	* Why is it that the locust drones are smaller and weaker than the females of their species, the Berserkers? In reptiles, the females are always bigger than the males, and Locust are a species of underground-dwelling lizard men.
6	* While it could be yet another case of Gameplay and Story segregation, why are Locust so Innacurate with their weapons even at point-blank? While it could be argued as a case of Plot Armor, there is a plausible explanation: Having lived all their lives underground, the Locust are very much affected by the sun in the surface. This can be seen as all Sniper Locust wear tinted googles, as the reddish shade on those can aid with adapting to the sunlight, while the drones have to brave the surface half-blind. The Theron Guards intimidating helmets have this purpose too, having narrow slits for their eyes, protecting them in the surface while also keeping their sight unobstructed during battles in the Hollow.
7	* In ''Gears of War 4'', the Deadeye [=DeeBees=] are pretty lousy shots, even on Insane difficulty, compared to what human players can do using sniper rifles. They often miss badly and very rarely land headshots. Since the Shepherds never had much of a job in combat other than to suppress/detain possibly unarmed civilians, they wouldn't need to be totally accurate in order to be effective. If some average Joe is causing trouble, they could simply fire a bullet or two in his general vicinity, and he'll probably just take off.
8	* In Horde 3.0 (featured in ''Gears of War 4''), the player can use decoys that look like humans and can be used to distract the enemy, fooling them into thinking the decoys are actual living humans. Decoys draw the attention of the Swarm far better than they draw the attention of the mechanical [=DeeBees=]. It makes sense, because robots don't rely on sight as much as an organic creature; they can detect vital signs (heartbeat, breathing, body heat, etc.) that an inanimate object wouldn't have.
9	* The reveal of the [[spoiler: the Locust/Swarm HiveMind]] in ''5'' makes the scenes where [[spoiler: Queen Myrrah narrates and issues orders to the Locust]] in the previous games more than just dramatic license; we're actually [[spoiler: hearing what the Locust heard during events like Kim's death and the ends of Gears 1 and 2 where Myrrah is musing about humanity and the Locust]].
10	* The title of "Gears of War" starts to make sense when you recognize the recurring theme in the series (the inevitability of war due to human nature). The main governing body (and one of the most prominent members of the various war efforts) is called the "COG" while its soldiers are referred to as "Gears." What are cogs and gears but small pieces which come together to operate a larger machine? The COG and the gears are components that make up war, as are the locusts and the various factions who oppose the COG, each doing their part (if unknowingly) to perpetuate a cycle of violence and cruelty. "Gears of War" doesn't refer specifically to Marcus and his team, but rather envisions war as being like a machine of which everyone is a piece- a cog or gear if you will.
11	* Marcus [[SkewedPriorities complaining about his tomatoes while his house is being destroyed]] seems funny at first... until you remember that in ''3'', Dom had been putting lots of time and effort into growing tomatoes to feed what remained of the COG. Marcus thought of Dom as a brother, and was deeply hurt by [[spoiler: Dom's HeroicSacrifice]], it's very likely that Marcus chose to grow tomatoes because they reminded him of his fallen friend. As a result, watching them get destroyed would have felt a lot more personal to him.
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13	!Fridge Horror
14	* When Marcus and Dom explore the Nexus in ''2'' looking for Maria, they find ''tons'' of pods that are full of people making sounds in their agony, malnourishment and potential lobotomies. Except everyone in Delta, among the rest of the COG, had no idea that the Locust even took prisoners prior to finding them capturing Baird and Tai. This leaves an indeterminate and excessive amount of time that these people could've been captured, for ''years'', with no one the wiser because they'd die or be captured before they could spread the word. Just how many people have the Locust effectively tortured and worked to death?
15	* Also in ''2'' and just before the same section as above, at one point the duo straight up wade through large clouds of imulsion, wondering if it's gonna affect them. Just as well, the proximity and exposure to imulsion across the games is common, and while it's not radioactive, inhaling or ingesting it and continued exposure results in the Lambent. Not only are our heroes extremely lucky, but one can imagine a good number of Gears in the years between ''3'' and ''4'' acquired rustlung or worse and died thanks to how often the Locust have it around their own facilities and hives.
16	* Aaron Griffin swore revenge on Marcus Fenix and the Gears, yet we never heard from him again. Why? He was last seen alone and unarmed in the middle of territory overrun by both lambent and locust. Most of his people were dead, and any survivors would have been indifferent at best, if not outright vindictive, plus his base and the source of his power had been destroyed. There are probably any number of ways he could have died in the hours before the lambent cure was spread, from being murdered by jaded former employees to getting torn apart by wretches to being fully infected and turning lambent.
17	* By ''Gears of War'' 4, humanity, or more specifically [[spoiler: Baird]], has created the android race of [=DeeBees=] to assist the remaining human population in labor and protection from outside forces. However, if you play through Horde, you'll notice that the [=DeeBees=] aren't very interested in attacking the Swarm. Why exactly is that? Well, if you played the campaign, you'll see how the [=DeeBees=] you fight are colored blue and they're only really attacking you because you are breaching unauthorized areas and JD and Del are traitors to the organization they serve. Towards the end of the campaign, a Pouncer shoots one of Jinn's avatars, causing it to turn red and nearly strangle JD to death. [[OhCrap Now, what color were the robots in Horde again]]? That's why the [=DeeBees=] don't attack the Swarm: they '''hacked''' them. They took humanity's biggest allies and turned them into mindless killing machines that can cause just as much destruction to humanity as the Swarm can. Imagine if they were able to capture huge warehouses full of offline [=DeeBees=] and sic them on humanity with them being none the wiser. Imagine standing behind your robot army, fully expecting them to annihilate the creatures threatening your species, but for some reason, they turn their guns on YOU and speak about how "you will be dealt with harshly." The Swarm could easily add another faction to their army, turning a war between man and beast into a CurbStompBattle in their favor...
18	** This has officially become AscendedFridgeHorror, as the Gears 5 trailer shows exactly this happening. While the Swarm is not deliberately trying to do it the [=DeeBees=] are being infected by fleshy tendrils from the MeatMoss they spread, turning them against their human creators.
19	** More gameplay from ''5'' shows that a particular breed of Swarm that [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial resemble a school of airborne eels/lamprey from hell]] can swim through the robots and leave some of them behind to control it, meaning that the corruption ''is'' partly intentional and Jinn's tin can army is a huge liability instead of humanity's defenders. Baird's protests about the weaponizing of his creations become much more disturbing since he was probably more worried about a police state enforced by MechaMooks than handing humanity's sworn enemies a seriously effective weapon.
20	* There's kind of a running theme throughout the series about the inevitability of war due to human nature. No matter how many times the player seems to emerge victorious, it only ends up setting the stage for further violence. This is not entirely unlike much of human history. To provide a real-life analogue, World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles, which blamed Germany for the war and destroyed their economy- creating favorable conditions for the Nazis to take power, resulting in World War II. The Second World War resulted in the development of the atomic bomb, resulting in the Cold War, which in turn resulted in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. ''Gears of War'' follows a similar pattern, especially if you consider the reveal that [[spoiler: the Locusts were first created during the Pendulum wars, unwittingly setting the stage for E-Day]].

Context Fridge / GearsOfWar