The Gears of War franchise isn't known for being lighthearted. However, the upcoming Gears of War Judgment attempts to lighten the mood by focusing on the wise-cracking Baird in the lead role.

"There are some truly dark moments, as there should be in a game about monsters exploding," Epic Games writer Rob Auten told Shacknews. "But ultimately we did try to go for a tone that was fun, and you want to hang out with these characters in the sense that they're fun to listen to interact with each other. All my favorite moments of Gears are the ones that had a little bit of lightness to the horror."

"They're getting to know each other, they poke at each other," said writer Tom Bissell. "And they're in a totally absurd situation, and there's a sort of comedy in that absurd situation. It's Gears of War, it's fun, you're not playing this game to experience guilt and remorse."

Introducing new characters meant finding dynamics that would naturally play off each other. "These guys are nascent soldiers, so you drop in more experienced soldiers from either side of the Serran conflict, all of a sudden you have this equation for questions and doubt and factionalism and ribbing."

Check out our preview for more on Gears of War: Judgment's single-player campaign.