Terminator Salvation, the Video Game, was pretty much a clone of the Gears of War franchise so it’s quite fitting that Terminator will now make an official ‘crossover’ into the world of ‘Gears’ with a ‘bonus character pack’ DLC.
The Terminator Dark Fate Character Pack – featuring Sarah Connor and the Terminator T-800 Endoskeleton from the film as playable multiplayer characters – will be available for all Gears 5 Xbox Game Pass members who download and play the game before September 16, 2019 or for fans who pre-order any version of Gears 5.
XBOX
Gears 5 hit the stage with a Terminator: Dark Fate presentation to make attendees of E3 “self-aware” of the pre-order bonuses on offer for Terminator Fans.
The Microsoft briefing presentation totally broke all of the rules of Terminator time travel – when a time displacement orb/sphere/field preceded the arrival of a giant T-800 Terminator Endoskeleton on stage (without flesh) this is, of course, breaking the time travel rule of “nothing dead will go”; maybe this Endoskeleton somehow tricked the TDE in the same way the T-1000 did?
The trailer itself, of course, riffed on the opening future war sequence of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Although we are now totally numb to this kind of nostalgia, on some level we appreciated it, though we still continue to seek originality from the franchise.
Just like T2, an Endoskeleton stomps down on a skull – the difference being the Endoskeleton looks more like the one from Terminator Genisys, carrying the signature weapon of the Gears of War franchise (Lancer Assault Rifle with a Chainsaw Bayonet) instead of the default “phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range”.
Gears 5 Terminator: Dark Fate Character Pack Contents
Pre-order any digital edition of Gears 5 or pre-install Gears 5 with an active Xbox Game Pass membership before launch and receive the Terminator Dark Fate Character Pack, featuring Sarah Connor and the T-800 Endoskeleton, the Vector Lancer Skin and 7 days of Boost. (Character pack and skin require Xbox Live Gold on console, membership sold separately.)*
Even better news is Linda Hamilton will actually be voicing Sarah Connor and lending her likeness to this content. Personally, we at TheTerminatorFans.com are more excited to play as Sarah as that will be a unique experience.
Rod Fergusson, studio head of The Coalition (the studio behind the Gears franchise), said that Terminator: Dark Fate feels like a “perfect fit” for the Gears universe.
“Skydance involved us early on, which was really helpful, we got 3D body-scans, 3D models and the production notes from the set which we used as the basis for bringing these characters in the Gears world.”
“One of the things we wanted was to make sure the people involved in the film were happy,”
Rod Fergusson on the inclusion of Linda Hamilton as a voice actor in the game
On the similar nature of strong females leads being a strong connection of Terminator: Dark Fate’s Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and the new protagonist of the Gears franchise ‘Kait’:
“Linda’s portrayal of Sarah Connor, particularly her transformation, is something that has inspired us in Gears 5, Sarah’s journey takes a similar path to the evolution of Kait Diaz in Gears 5, they both get pulled into conflict against their will and it becomes a personal journey for each of them.
With Sarah, we got to follow along with the Terminator Dark Fate production design which formed the basis for what you see in the game. Beyond the required lights and proportion changes, the standard Gears weapon load-out requires even more tactical equipment, things like thigh holsters, and on the like. We worked together to make sure those details looked just right for both universes. ”
Rod Fergusson on Sarah Connor
David Ellison who owns Skydance, and is also a writer and producer of Terminator: Dark Fate said:
” Working with the team at Xbox on this unique partnership has been a true collaboration from the beginning, we’re confident that immersing iconic characters Sarah Connor and the Terminator T-800 Endoskeleton into the Gears universe will enhance the experience for fans of both franchises around the globe, “
David Ellison on integrating iconic Terminator characters into the Gears Universe
We do have some slight issues with Endoskeleton redesigns; especially in a movie that is supposed to be a Terminator 2 sequel and not a Genisys sequel but the head looks better than last time around (stronger and closer to the original designs) but it does very much feel like the Endoskeleton chassis is the same Genisys design, albeit slightly more bulked out and wider in appearance through the shoulders, torso and neck. This was apparently freedom for the game makers to bulk the design a little more.
Maybe Terminator: Dark Fate can win us over with a redesign but it better be implemented amazingly on screen, and there had better be a good reason why these Terminators don’t look the same as they did in T2.
It is unknown if the light strip on the combat chassis is actually part of a partial re-design or if this is a tweak implemented for gameplay/team identity purposes.
“With the T-800 Endoskeleton, our goal was to embody the iconic qualities that everybody knows, but at the same time we were given the freedom to make it our own, including subtle changes like emissive lights that make it a great character for multiplayer, and the larger proportions — a signature characteristic of the Gears of War universe.”
Rod Fergusson on the T-800
There is also a good chance our legs might be being pulled and the original Endoskeleton designs do feature in the movie. Although XBOX state this T-800 Endoskeleton is in the movie… it seems they (the Gears team) may have just been tweaking the Genisys Endoskeleton… ?! Are we secretly getting what we wanted, or nothing of the sort?
Terminator Fan Conar Murdoch commented on our Facebook Page:
“The red hue is for IFF in PVP modes, expect a blue hue for the other team.”
This makes sense… Sarah Connor might have an alternative outfit too perhaps? This would help lessen confusion for players when teaming up in online matches.
The Terminator: Dark Fate character pack will be available for free, either as a pre-order bonus or with Xbox Game Pass /Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
You must purchase the game before September 16 to receive the Terminator: Dark Fate bonus content. The game launches on September 10th. (Early Access September 6th)
Trivia: Famous character of GOW is called James Dominic Fenix
“Old English fēnix was borrowed from Medieval Latin phenix, which is derived from Classical Latin phoenīx.”
Wikipedia
PHOENIX was the working title of Terminator: Dark Fate.
Sources: XBOX Store, XBOX