Emergence day for the Locust Horde in the latest “Gears of War” title from Epic Games is out – and viewers are warned.

ESRB RATING: MATURE (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language)

The trailer at YouTube warns: “This video may be inappropriate for some users.”

That’s Gears – the video game franchise that has turned into a $1 billion empire for the privately held gaming technology firm based in Cary.

Microsoft is the publisher, and the new Xbox title “Gears of War: Judgment” hits store shelves March 19. Retail price is $59.99.

“Emergence Day just unleashed hell upon the people of Sera,” Epic and Microsoft say in unveiling the trailer.

“A young Lieutenant named Damon Baird and his team, Kilo Squad, must square off against an indomitable locust villain to save a city and its people, and no rules or orders are going to stand in their way.”

Advance orders are being taken at Amazon, and the features highlighted point to what Gears players have come to expect.

Violence. Mayhem. Plus, up to four people can play simultaneously.

Here’s what Amazon is offering:

  • Pre-order bonuses include the original Gears of War DLC, the classic Hammerburst Weapon, and the exclusive “Yong Dom” character skin. With the character skin, you can play as Dom as he was at the time of Emergence Day, six weeks after his role in the brutal Pendulum Wars had come to an end. This exclusive character skin is for use in competitive multiplayer matches in Gears of War: Judgment.
  • Set years prior to the events of the previous “Gears of War” trilogy, “Judgment” centers on Kilo Squad, a troop of soldiers led by Damon Baird and Augustus “The Cole Train” Cole.
  • “Gears of War: Judgment” introduces brand-new multiplayer experiences, including OverRun, a thrilling new class-based competitive mode that pits Locust and COG soldiers in a head-to-head battle unlike anything “Gears” fans have experienced yet.
  • “Gears of War: Judgment” introduces a new Smart Spawn System [S3] for both campaign and multiplayer action.
  • Marking a first for the “Gears” franchise, “Gears of War: Judgment” features a “Misson Declassification” system that lets players experience more challenging gameplay scenarios and achievements by uncovering critical information during the course of the campaign.
  • Playable cooperatively with up to three friends on Xbox LIVE (four players total), “Gears of War: Judgment” depicts the planet Sera on the brink of annihilation by an unstoppable new Locust menace, giving you a new vantage point into one of the richest and most acclaimed sagas in gaming.

Then comes that warning again:

Content Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language.

[EPIC ARCHIVE: Check out more than a decade of Epic stories as reported in WRAL Tech Wire.]