Watch Gears of War: Ultimate Edition's grunt-filled, locust-blasting intro cinematic

The opening cinematic for Gears of War Ultimate Edition proves that Sera was a great place to get a glass of wine with a friend until Emergence Day messed it all up. The CGI short follows the (literal) rise of the locust and the near-extermination of the human race. Also it's got Marcus Fenix grunting a whole lot.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition, which fully remasters the original cover-shooting classic with new visuals and gameplay tweaks, is available for pre-order and pre-download on Xbox One ahead of its August 25 release date. Pre-ordering either the Standard Edition or Deluxe Edition will unlock some exclusive bonus skins and characters - here are the specifics, straight from Microsoft:

- Standard Edition ($39.99 USD) - The landmark original Gears of War returns, offering a full digital game download, plus pre-order bonus items including the Adam Fenix and Civilian Anya multiplayer skins and Animated Imulsion Weapon Skin for use in multiplayer matches.

- Deluxe Edition ($59.99 USD) - The ultimate Gears experience. On top of the Standard Edition items, the Deluxe Edition also includes the Deluxe Weapon Skin Pack featuring 10 different Animated Weapon Skins and 36 standard Weapon Skins, as well as the Civilian Marcus Fenix and Aaron Griffin multiplayer characters.

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.