Aside from brand new titles, the Xbox press conference at E3 had a few things in store for the nostalgic crowd. The big wave came with the new Backwards Compatibility feature that allowed players to use their favorite Xbox 360 titles on the Xbox One, including the popular Gears of War franchise. In addition, the first game in the series was getting its own remake called Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. However, Microsoft recently added a few more surprises to the remake.
Thanks to the Backwards Compatibility feature, buying Gears of War: Ultimate Edition between August 25 and December 31, 2015 will give you access to the rest of the games in the series. If you didn’t have an Xbox 360 or didn’t purchase the original games in their physical disc forms, the “new” title should have them as downloads.
However, Backwards Compatibility means that you don’t really need Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, because the series was one of the most sought-out titles for Xbox One compatibility, and you can still use the original discs to play it in the coming months. (Hopefully, yours aren’t scratched.)
If you do get the game, it’s important to note that only the first Gears of War title is getting a remake. In addition to a graphical upgrade, it includes new maps, modes, a harder difficulty level and early access to the beta of Gears of War 4. The other titles are just the same Xbox 360 games that now work with the Xbox One.
