Gears of War resurrects the ‘Mad World’ trailer for the Ultimate Edition

One of the most famous game trailers of all time has been given a facelift, and it looks fantastic.

For some, the Mad World trailer for the original Gears of War was the first game trailer they ever saw in a movie theater. The appearance of the trailer in local cinemas, when it premiered in 2006, was as unexpected as the trailer was engaging. 

Gears of War Ultimate Edition is an Xbox One compilation of the first three Gears of War games, all of which were released for the Xbox 360. The redux trailer draws its scenes from all three numbered Gears of War games, and amply demonstrates the improvements between last generation and current-gen consoles.

The look of surprise and despair on the face of series protagonist Marcus Fenix when he sees a comrade skewered by the enemy is stunningly real. This may be pre-rendered animation, of course, but it still shows the improvement in graphics power offered by the Xbox One over the Xbox 360.

The slow, piano-heavy cover of the classic Tears for Fears single was originally recorded by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the movie Donnie Darko in 2001, yet following the now-classic 2006 trailer would be indelibly linked to the Gears of War franchise.

You could see from this HD version of the original Mad World trailer that Gears of War has never been short on graphics quality, either.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition will be released for the Xbox One on Aug. 25.

Screengrab via Xbox/YouTube