Gears of War: E-Day gives Marcus Fenix a makeover with "more detail in his eyelashes than his entire character model did in the original Gears of War on Xbox 360"

You'd never notice in the frantic new Gears of War: E-Day footage, but hiding under all that dirt and sweat on young Marcus Fenix's face are eyelashes his older self wishes he still had.

In the Gears of War: E-Day Direct that followed the Xbox Games Showcase, we were graced with a close-up look at Marcus Fenix's high-definition mug. While describing the improvements to the character's facial animations (three times more joints!), it was revealed that "Marcus has more detail in his eyelashes than his entire character model did in the original Gears of War on Xbox 360."

It's pitched as an evolution of emotional storytelling in the series, but I think we all know it's really a sign of what was lost when Emergence Day doomed Marcus Fenix's world. The man suddenly had more things to worry about than his killer eyelash game. Years of fighting Locust and scavenging for supplies wore all those extra polygons away, leaving him a sad husk of his former, beautiful self.

That's surely half the reason Microsoft knew it was time to look into the series' past and tell a story of a younger, sexier Marcus Fenix, one with his luscious and detailed eyelashes still intact. The Xbox 360 couldn't handle him at his best, but the Xbox Series X absolutely can.

Honestly, it's going to be hard to look at him the same way again once Gears of War: E-Day is out on October 6. Sure, Microsoft touched up the Gears of War trilogy not that long ago, but after you see what Marcus was working with at his prime it won't be the same. We're going to have to wait another five years for Microsoft to inevitably remake them all—and gift some extra polygons to poor old Marcus Fenix—in a The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered fashion.

Gears of War 6 was considered before The Coalition decided on E-Day, JD Fenix actor says as he pitches a bonkers sequel about Marcus fighting his zombie son