Gears of War 3

[TripleA]

I just think the mechanics of certain games lend themselves to MP more than others. I think Gears is a great single player game but those mechanics unless radically changed aren't necessarily the most conducive for a competitive MP enviroment.

I feel the same way about Dead Space 2 for instance.

I disagree. Like I said, GeOW1s multi-player was really good while GeOW2s multi-player was really bad.

Also, the single-player in Gears -while good- isn't that great of an experience. Especially when you take story into account.

Aside from Uncharted 2, there's pretty much no competition for Gears of War 2, as far as blend of great gameplay, great action set pieces, great pacing, and a story that ties it all together.

Don't know where you are basing your standards on, but Gears of War 2 told a simple story pretty well, which is more than i can say for 99% of games out there that either have a simple story and still can't tell it, or have a stupidly complex story that is unbelievably shitty.

Yeah, if by simple you mean poor and by pretty well you mean averagely.

Sorry, but the story and writing in GeOW2 is absolutely horrible. I actually laughed out loud when

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Dom smoked his wife

[close]

.

That's how bad it was.

[OptimoPeach]

I did too Still, the only thing about the story in shooters that matters to me is the fun factor of the situations I end up in along the way. I couldn't care less about the PLAUSIBILITY or ORIGINALITY or ARTISTIC VALUE of the narrative. Seems silly to regard such a minor asset as an integral component of a good shooter when most RPGs (in which storyline is basically the centerpiece) are still churning out the same terrible shit

[Stoney Mason]

I did too Still, the only thing about the story in shooters that matters to me is the fun factor of the situations I end up in along the way. I couldn't care less about the PLAUSIBILITY or ORIGINALITY or ARTISTIC VALUE of the narrative. Seems silly to regard such a minor asset as an integral component of a good shooter when most RPGs (in which storyline is basically the centerpiece) are still churning out the same terrible shit

This.

1000x times this.

If I want a great story I go read a book or see a movie or watch the Wire. The story in videogames outsides of rare exception is complete bonus. As long as the gameplay is well designed and fun and structured properly as a videogame that's all I care about and I would argue that's all most consumers care about. That's all a videogame needs to do. Get the interaction and structure part correct design wise for me to play an interactive medium.

Yes a story probably matters a bit more in a genre like JRPG but on the flip side of that, the story probably matters a lot less when I'm running around and killing millions of people from level to level in an action killathon game.

[Stoney Mason]

wrong thread.

[brawndolicious]

Underground explosives and mechs are probably good changes since it forces people to not act like such pussies.  One of the problems with gears of war is that all of the mechanics are designed for singleplayer where you move very slowly and methodically through linear levels and have guns that are designed to put a lot of rounds into stupid enemies.  It never really felt like it worked in multiplayer but making these big changes to the cover system design gives me some hope.

[Stoney Mason]

One of the problems with gears of war is that all of the mechanics are designed for singleplayer where you move very slowly and methodically through linear levels and have guns that are designed to put a lot of rounds into stupid enemies.

Agreed.

[AdmiralViscen]

Gears 1 was great when you had a team of friends and were communicating. It was definitely tactical.

[TripleA]

Gears 1 was great when you had a team of friends and were communicating. It was definitely tactical.

Exactly. I really don't know why people think GeOW1 had bad multi-player, for its time, it was easily the best multi-player game out there.

Anyways, regarding story; Yeah, it's important for me in games. Hopefully GeOW3 will have a good story.

[maxy]

Cliff Bleszinski: Creativity, Design, and Reality

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4417/cliff_bleszinski_creativity_.php

Chris Remo has asked the question: Can you have that kind of narrative in a pure shooter? Strip away all the RPG elements, but just have the narrative?

Well, I guess you can kind of say... Well, taking away the RPGs and having the narrative is kind of what Gears is in many ways, right? And you'll see a little bit more RPG elements in the next Gears  game that are very light. That's a total aside.

The thing that was cool was that Mass Effect is kind of an RPG for me, with the cover-based shooting. I think there's a reason why it's been successful. Because gamers love Gears.

It's like well, here's something that's like Gears, but even has more depth, and a different setting. It's Star Wars for this new generation, right? Well, and the addition of the potential for having sex in a video game is also very powerful.

Well, you take Gears, for us -- it's very easy to just jump into this world, come to terms with it very quickly. I have over 20 years of gaming grammar in my head already, but that's already probably a little bit complicated for people, which has been illustrated by people's reaction to the Wii. At the same time, to add like now another layer of complexity...

CB: Possibly, but I think the human mind is capable of so much if you tease it in right.... I always like to use driving as the example, right? Like when you first sat down and turned on a car and got used to driving, it was very, very scary.

And then before you know it, like five years later or however much later, you're on your phone texting, going 90 miles an hour on the highway, changing lanes while eating a cheeseburger. It becomes second nature, right?

It's the same thing with typing on the iPhone. I first saw that, I'm like, "I need buttons. I'm a Blackberry guy." Six months later, I see my friend just going brrrrrrrr [makes quick tapping gesture]. The human mind can adapt as long as you properly teach people's things.

So, you look at... World of Warcraft is a very complex, deep game that takes so many hours to master, but they have, what, 10 plus million subscribers on a regular basis, who are incredibly drawn to that world. So, people are not dumb, and you will only lose money by assuming your customer's an idiot.

[Diunx]

So, I'm the only person in the internet that think these games are crap?

[MCD]

yes.

[Ichirou]

And then before you know it, like five years later or however much later, you're on your phone texting, going 90 miles an hour on the highway, changing lanes while eating a cheeseburger. It becomes second nature, right?

Jesus, I don't want to be on the same road as Cliffy B. when he's driving.

[OptimoPeach]

So, I'm the only person in the internet that think these games are crap?

I do, more or less. The western equivalent of uguu gaming. Co-op makes em worth a play, though

[demi]

So, I'm the only person in the internet that think these games are crap?

Cause they arent on PS3? No, of course not 

[MyNameIsMethodis]

They are certainly crap. A unsophisticated Uncharted for the lesser populace.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Gears of War 2 was fuck awesome.  Screw the haters.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

 

[maxy]

http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/gears-of-war-3/preview/massive-first-look-at-gears-of-war-3/a-20100521134719898075/g-2010040917122084089

6 pages,some spoilers inside

[TripleA]

Gears of War 1 was fuck awesome.  Screw the haters.

Fixed.

[Stoney Mason]

I thought Gears 2 was a better Gears 1. (Outside of the MP which apparently was broken at launch when it shipped) Better set pieces. Better pacing. It was one of the more fun and enjoyable games I played that year especially as a co-op experience. 

It isn't revolutionary like the first game was at the time but I think its a much better and more enjoyable game than the first. (Story is completely throw away in both of course) I'm always down with refinement of a concept. I think Gears is still new enough as a series that it doesn't need to reinvent the wheel again just quite yet.

[Stoney Mason]

I think at the time that Gears 1 was so different than what was out there in the shooter category that is seemed brilliant and remarkable. I remember thinking at the time for instance that I would never play another shooter again that didn't use a cover system. It turned out I was wrong about that but still it shows the effect it had on me at the time.

Now a good 4 or 5 years later where the style and gameplay has been copied over and over by other games makes it seem a little less fresh. But I still think by far they are the best at doing this sort of shooter. There are people who like the Halo style of campaign where its sort of open. That style has never ever really done anything for me. My favorite sort of campaigns are the way Gears handles it. Scripted but scripted in little set piece battle situations.

[WrikaWrek]

I still think and say that Gears 2 was Bad Boys 2 to Gears 1 Bad Boys.

Not feeling too hot about what i'm seeing from Gears 3 though. The whole sleeveless thing bugs the fuck out of me, and it's being shown so soon. I don't think enough effort and care are being put into this production at all. Not enough to become Bad Boys 3.

[The Fake Shemp]

Chalk me up as someone who loves Gears 2, and I never finished the first one. The campaign rocked. I didn't like the multi, but I didn't like the multi for the first one either. That said, is there any doubt that Horde has been copied by almost every shooter?

[Brehvolution]

yeah, Horde was fun. MP, not so much.

[duckman2000]

Gears 2 had some pretty awesome moments, one of my favorite games this gen for sure. A few too many scripted moments, and the dire attempts at giving the poor dudes some humanity were bad, but the game kicked ass. Gears 3 will probably end up being the best action (adventure-shooter) game of the generation, unless ND manages to squeeze out another game before the end of the generation.

That's single player. I haven't played much of the MP. I liked the Invasion mode of UT, but I never got into Horde like I thought I would.

[bork]

I enjoyed Gears 1's campaign enough to play it a couple of times with buddies.  It was fun.  Had a little bit of fun with the multiplayer despite its obvious flaws.

With Gears 2, I was just bored with the game right out of the box.  Horde mode offered some fun but got old fast, multi was even worse since better games were now out, and I barely touched the campaign...just didn't care.

If we're doing the Uncharted comparison thing, then sorry Epic...Naughty Dog wins.

[OptimoPeach]

Gears 3 will probably end up being the best action (adventure-shooter) game of the generation, unless ND manages to squeeze out another game before the end of the generation.

I was all ready to disagree with you until I realized that I haven't wholly enjoyed any shooter's campaign this generation, and you're probably right. Maybe I'm just not too big on single player in shooters, though

[WrikaWrek]

Uncharted 2 is better than GOW2, but i still loved it.

I do hope that GOW3 takes a lot of pages from Naughty Dog's book though.

[MCD]

gears cover shooting is still king, uncharted is no where close to it.

overall package though, yeah sure.

[Smooth Groove]

No doubt that the combat is  superior in Gears.  Critical stuff like aiming sensitivity, hit detection, damage required to kill, etc. still feel a little off in Uncharted 2.   Everything else in U2 is at least as good or better than Gears 2, except for the butt-ugly characters. That category is a wash. 

[OptimoPeach]

Yeah I should append my last post by saying that I'm too poor to own a PS3 and Uncharted is one of the exclusives I haven't been able to play yet :'(

[brawndolicious]

No doubt that the combat is  superior in Gears.  Critical stuff like aiming sensitivity, hit detection, damage required to kill, etc. still feel a little off in Uncharted 2.   Everything else in U2 is at least as good or better than Gears 2, except for the butt-ugly characters. That category is a wash. 

Yeah, but platforming and puzzles and whatnot aren't even in GeOW2.

[maxy]

Hopefully those things stay out of the sequel,we don't need another Tomb raider clone.

[duckman2000]

No doubt that the combat is  superior in Gears.  Critical stuff like aiming sensitivity, hit detection, damage required to kill, etc. still feel a little off in Uncharted 2.   Everything else in U2 is at least as good or better than Gears 2, except for the butt-ugly characters. That category is a wash. 

Right, but the combat in the two games are also quite different. Uncharted 2 is a lot closer related to something like Rainbow Six, whereas everything about Gears (especially hit detection and damage response) feels like a meatier version of the Halo school of combat, with a cover twist. Uncharted 2 also pushes stuff like vertical combat a lot more, with shootouts happening while platforming and leaping between signs. Not that I'd want Gears to adopt that (it would look pretty dumb with Marcus swinging from a street sign), but it's another critical difference.

[WrikaWrek]

Can't even begin to comprehend the comparison between Uncharted 2 and Rainbow Six.

[duckman2000]

That is hardly surprising

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

I always thought the combat in the first Uncharted felt better than the first Gears mainly because Drake controlled a hell of a lot better than Marcus.  Getting in and out of cover in Uncharted was a lot more fluid and natural than Marcus's magnetic attraction to anything with a vertical surface.  I'm not sure what they tweaked about it in Gears 2 but for me it felt much, much better and is one of the reasons I liked Gears 2 over the first....hell, I didn't even really like the first one.

But I think the Uncharted/Gears comparison really only works for Uncharted 1. IMO Uncharted 2 kind of took a life of its own and seperated itself.

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[maxy]

Decide the Fate of Carmine in Gears of War 3

It’s not easy being a Carmine. In fact, it’s often fatal—just ask Anthony or Benjamin. Oh wait, you can’t. They’re dead. With the release of Gears of War 3 swiftly approaching, things aren’t looking good for the latest lamb to the slaughter, Clayton Carmine—unless you do something about it. Starting July 29, Gears fans everywhere will have a chance to determine Carmine’s destiny and benefit the amazing Child’s Play Charity in the process. How can mere mortals guide the hoary hand of fate? Read on for the details.

Fans to Decide the Fate of Carmine in Gears of War 3

Place your vote for the fate of the newest Carmine brother through the purchase of avatar gear on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with benefits going to charity

The fate of Carmine lies in your hands! For the first time in franchise history, Epic Games and Microsoft are giving fans the chance to decide the fate of a character in Gears of War 3. By purchasing avatar gear on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, fans and gaming communities around the globe will decide the destiny of the newest Carmine brother set to appear in Gears of War 3, with all the proceeds going to the Child’s Play Charity.

Keeping with the series’ tradition, Clayton Carmine will be introduced in the trilogy’s final chapter, and like Anthony and Ben, the newest rookie brother runs the high risk of meeting an early death. However, unlike in the previous games, the Xbox community will choose whether Carmine lives or dies by purchasing special Gears of War 3 avatar gear on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Starting July 29, two new avatar t-shirts will be available on the Avatar Marketplace on Xbox LIVE—one shirt reads “Save Carmine,” and the other reads “Carmine Must Die.” By purchasing the “Save Carmine” shirt, you’re casting your vote to let Carmine live in Gears of War 3. Conversely, purchasing the “Carmine Must Die” shirt means you want to see Clayton follow the fate of his brothers.

Fans attending Comic-Con International in San Diego this week will also be able to cast their votes early by purchasing real-life limited edition “Save Carmine” or “Carmine Must Die” t-shirts at the NECA booth (#3145) for $20.00. Gears fans can also visit the Xbox 360 booth (#5153) to be among the first to play Gears of War 3 Beast mode throughout the show. Finally, the team from Epic Games, including design director Cliff Bleszinski, executive producer Rod Fergusson, and lead writer Karen Traviss, will be signing Comic-Con–exclusive posters at the Xbox booth on Saturday, July 24, at noon PDT.

Child’s Play is a community-based games industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world. Through their network of more than 60 hospitals and through the generosity of their community of donors, Child’s Play raises millions of dollars each year to donate games, consoles, and toys to sick children. The proceeds from the sales of the “Save Carmine” and “Carmine Must Die” avatar gear and limited edition NECA t-shirts will go to Child’s Play, so cast your vote, donate to charity, and get cool Gears of War gear! Fans can get up-to-date information about the fate of Clayton Carmine by visiting www.gearsofwar.com.

Published by Microsoft Game Studios and developed by Epic Games, the Gears of War franchise has won over 30 “Game of the Year” awards, sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and redefined the third-person shooter genre for this console generation. The Gears of War series is exclusive to Xbox 360, and its riveting multiplayer action makes it one of the most popular titles on Xbox LIVE. The trilogy finale, Gears of War 3, will release on April 5, 2011, only on Xbox 360.

http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/carmine.htm

[Brehvolution]

I quit reading at "purchase avatar gear".

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

Epic Games and Microsoft might wish it were otherwise, but the story behind the next Gears of War game is as much about Gears of War 2 as it is about Gears of War 3. When new installments in video game mega-franchises like Gears are finally unveiled, players usually only care about what's to come. But in the case of Gears 3, what happened with its predecessor – what is, in fact, still happening with it – is nearly as important to gamers as what's next.

This week, Epic showed off Gears of War 3's online competitive multiplayer for the first time, and there's a lot to share about what's changed, what's back and what the studio's philosophy is regarding online play. Most of the new information will make Gears of War fans weep with joy. But to understand why, you have to know what they've been through.


When Gears of War 2 launched in 2008, matchmaking was painfully slow and sometimes failed entirely. Difficulties with the network code exacerbated the previous game's lopsided host/client-based connection system. The flow from game to game was choppy and full of dead ends. Glitches, bugs and cheating were endemic. Many hardcore Gears of War fans (along with casual fans and newcomers) abandoned Gears 2's multiplayer mode entirely. The community made its voice heard loudly on the official Gears forums and elsewhere on the web.

But rather than stick with the status quo for the final game in the Gears trilogy, Epic has decided to ditch the current host/client system in favor of dedicated servers, run by Epic, that will handle all of the matchmaking neutrally for players worldwide. Gamers can now count on a distant computer to crunch all those ping, latency and bandwidth numbers for them instead of having it done by a single player's code. In theory, dedicated servers should remove one team's advantage over another based solely on internet connection. (This is known in Gears as "host advantage," a phrase uttered in a derisive tone normally reserved for Jar-Jar Binks and Justin Bieber.)

When Title Update 6 rolled out for Gears of War 2, Epic began secretly bringing some of these new dedicated servers online and testing them in the real world. Remember that recent match where you were convinced the other team was winning because they had host advantage? Maybe. Maybe not.

Dedicated servers are a huge change for Gears of War 3, and that addition alone probably would have satisfied a large contingent of the series' fans and critics. But Epic is going all-out with its multiplayer overhaul, leaving many of the choices made for Gears 2 in the dust.

Gears 3 will include true host migration, meaning that if the person who started the game decides to quit (probably because you're beating them too badly), the game is designed to seamlessly choose another player to control the game without skipping a beat. Peer-to-peer voice chat will also be handled by the servers, heading off what Epic anticipates could be some bandwidth limitations in the newest version of Xbox Live. Social matches like the ones introduced in Title Update 6 will be back in Gears 3 and will use the same method of filling in blank spots in the roster with AI bots. Persistent parties will now be a part of the Gears online experience, allowing you and your friends to move between games and modes without having to disband and re-gather after your matches end. And Epic will even be storing your Gears of War 3 profile information on its own servers to prevent some of the file corruption that has occurred in Gears of War 2.

Many of these are key features fans have been requesting for years, and they'll completely transform the Gears of War online multiplayer experience. But we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet.


Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that it planned to push Gears of War 3 from its planned release date of April 5, 2011 to Fall 2011 in order to position it as a holiday release. On the minus side, that means you won't be able to get your hands on it until you're already sick of hearing Jingle Bells. On the plus side, it gives Epic time to do something huge for the franchise: hold a public multiplayer beta.

With six extra months of development time, Executive Producer Rod Fergusson says the team will focus on polishing its levels, doing fine-grain work on art and running the beta on the new dedicated servers, which he hopes will give the team valuable information about what's working in Gears of War 3's multiplayer and what needs to be tweaked.

"The hard part about doing a beta is that a beta is no longer a beta. In the console world a beta is pretty much a demo. People judge you really harshly – they'll make game buying decisions based on your beta," he says.

But Fergusson and his team made the decision that the feedback they hope to get from the community is worth the risk of putting Gears 3's multiplayer out there for public criticism. Although there's no precise date set for the beta just yet, Fergusson says it's scheduled for early 2011.

Despite the obvious advantages of dedicated servers and public betas, neither will necessarily make it easier for inexperienced players or series newcomers to get sucked into Gears online. So Epic has gone back to the drawing board and streamlined the multiplayer modes.

For starters, Guardian and Submission have been merged into a single mode called Capture the Leader. At the beginning of each round in this mode, each team is assigned a leader, and your mission is to grab the enemy's leader and hold him or her for 30 seconds. There are no capture points, just you and your captive as the clock ticks down. As an added twist, the captive has the opportunity to struggle every few seconds by tapping the B button. Time it right and you could throw off your captor's aim at a critical moment, or, if he's already wounded, do just enough damage to break free. In Capture the Leader, leaders also have enhanced tactical/communications capabilities that allow them to see enemy positions by holding down the left bumper.

The new King of the Hill is a hybrid of Gears' current King of the Hill mode mixed with Annex. This one's based on capturing and holding ringed areas that rotate around the map at timed intervals. Enter the ring, and hold it as long as you can in order to milk points out of it. The spawn locations move as well, to prevent players from camping.

"Gears gameplay has always been about creating a front and holding it. In King of the Hill, the ring is the front," says Epic's Jim Brown, lead multiplayer level designer for Gears 3.

The modes that have always typified that hold-the-front philosophy in Gears of War's competitive multiplayer are Warzone and Execution, each a slight variant on the typical deathmatch scenario. Both are back in Gears of War 3, but they're not in the spotlight. The marquee mode is now simply called Team Deathmatch, described as typical team-vs-team multiplayer combat with a Gears twist.

Each team begins with 20 lives, and they gradually dwindle to zero as team members are killed and re-spawn. The last team standing gets a point, and the first team to score two points wins. There are no locked spawn points, so it's impossible to camp in an open area with your back to one, unless you want a bayonet in your back.

 
No new Gears game would be complete without an arsenal of ridiculous weapons. The Pendulum-era Lancer is a particularly brutal beast. Essentially a machine gun with a nasty looking bayonet clamped to the barrel, it's not as accurate as the modern Lancer, but it has a bit more stopping power. Hold down the B button for long enough while moving with the retro Lancer equipped, and your character will break into a deadly roadie run. Whoever gets in the way will find himself dangling from the end of your weapon, impaled on a foot of steel.

Rather than simply choosing between the Hammerburst and Lancer rifles as your preferred starting weapons, Gears of War 3 throws the Pendulum Lancer in the mix, too. And now you can also choose between two default shotguns, the returning Gnasher and the punishing new Sawed-off.

Destined to be both one of the most loved and hated weapons in Gears 3, the Sawed-off is slow, clunky, impractical and altogether awesome. Once you learn how to use it correctly (get in 50% closer than you think you need to), you'll be absolutely hooked on its amazing splattery goodness.




The only other new weapon that comes close to its ridiculousness is the Oneshot, the angry, menopausal mother of all sniper rifles. It weighs a ton, only has one zoom level and makes a godawful whining noise when engaged. It leaves you totally exposed, it's hard to aim, and it broadcasts your intention to fire with a yellow-to-red laser sight similar to the Torque Bow. But, like the Sawed-off, it's a joy to kill with.

In addition to introducing these the new weapons, Epic has gone back into the sandbox to play with some of the existing favorites. The Hammerburst now has an iron-sights zoom that makes it even deadlier at range. The Gorgon burst pistol has been re-named the Gorgon SMG and fires as an automatic now, suddenly making it the go-to gun for meatshield wielders. Grenades can still be tagged to surfaces, but the Ink grenade and the new Incendiary grenade no longer give off warning beeps when thrown. By the time you see one, it's probably already too late.

Those grenade descriptions may have made your mind start spinning with all the applications for Horde battles, but so far Epic is still staying fairly silent on what's in store for Horde. It'll be back in Gears of War 3, with some "fundamental changes," says Fergusson. But beyond that, nothing new has been announced.


What we do know is that Horde, like all multiplayer experiences in Gears of War 3, will be tied into the series' new leveling system, which is leaps and bounds above what was patched into the second game last year. Everything you do, from reviving teammates to holding capture points, will gain you XP, which raises your level. But now, instead of being a meaningless number, your level will lead you to in-game rewards.

In addition to the overarching XP system, there are also new hooks built into Gears of War 3's leveling. Ribbons can be earned for doing things in matches like getting 5-kill streaks, drawing first blood, killing your nemesis and reviving a set number of teammates. Medals are mini-achievements that carry over from match to match and include things like getting a certain number of headshots or becoming an expert with a particular weapon. That, in turn, ties into Titles, which you earn for becoming specialized in certain areas. So if you're a slick enough sniper to earn a title for being an expert with the Longshot, you can actually append a special title related to that onto your in-game character.

Even better, your progress with all these little incentives is constantly being compared to that of your friends. So as you rank up with the shotty, you'll see little pop-ups telling you how you compare to your buddy. And that's not the only reward for getting good with guns.

The Gears of War series is famous for its bloody and over-the-top executions, flourish moves that you can perform on your downed enemies. You'll start with access to each weapon's most basic executions, and as you master them, you'll unlock more. Then using that unlocked execution will earn you XP at an even higher rate. And once a weapon is completely mastered, you earn the right to mash the execution button over and over for an extended period of time while killing an opponent. Imagine standing over a particularly annoying Xbox Live opponent and just pummeling him to pieces with the butt of your shotgun. Yeah, that'll work.

Big changes like these will definitely please Gears of War players, but there's a laundry list of tiny tweaks that also add up to an improved experience. Character movement has been slightly sped up, making multiplayer matches feel nimbler. Aiming reticules are livelier and more realistic. You can now tap the Y button when you see an enemy in order to "spot" him and place a small circle over his head for a few seconds, alerting your teammates to his location (think Battlefield: Bad Company 2, but subtler). Each match now begins with a brief view of an overmap showing weapon locations, spawn points and other map details. A chainsaw rush can now only be stopped by gunfire in the brief two seconds when it's being revved. Players facing one another from behind opposite sides of the same piece of cover now have the option to "mantle kick" over the wall, pushing the opponent backward slightly. Mashing the A button while down now gives you the option of reviving your character or moving him into cover.

 
Those are just the tweaks and new features Epic has shared so far. It's a huge overhaul that manages to change the multiplayer experience while keeping the core Gears philosophy and feel the same. But Epic is also bringing some new zaniness to the table, too. Gears of War 3 will also feature game variants called Mutators (a concept Epic used in Unreal Tournament) that are unlocked as you level up and can be used in co-op online multiplayer modes like Horde. Mutators alter the look and behavior of matches and characters and come with XP modifiers. Want to play as a tiny Marcus Fenix with a huge head, tiny body and super-weird voice? Of course you do.

For all the information Epic has dumped about Gears of War 3's online multiplayer, there's still a lot we don't know. Dedicated servers will be used, but if they fill up or go down, players will be pushed back to the old way of connecting until they can migrate to the servers. But will that be transparent to the user? Epic isn't saying just yet. Will players be able to browse games and create highly customized matches? Will all these tweaks and changes throw the game out of balance? There's no way to know until Gears of War 3 makes its way out into the wild.

Epic has something to prove with the final installment in the Gears trilogy, and they're going all-out to do it. The feature list for Gears of War 3 reads like a fan wish list written in sweat, blood and a healthy dose of crazy juice. Sounds like Epic to us

http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/10/07/gears-of-war-3-multiplayer-video-preview

[Diunx]

People still care about Gears?

[Tieno]

People still care about Gears?

I guess.

For me, I'm more interested in what happens in the story then playing the game itself. It just looks so dated these days.

wtf, this is wrikawrek type of fagotry, homovonio.

[demi]

Gears 3 looks sick. I'm glad they included iron sights. This could be the Halo Reach rejuvenation the series needs for multi.

[TripleA]

GeOW2's multiplayer failed for 3 reasons:

1) Lag.
2) Terrible map design.
3) Terrible game balance.

They're fixing the lag by adding dedicated servers, but they're still making huge fucking maps and ridiculous game mechanics (HINT: If I can see through walls in multiplayer, that is a hack. You should not turn that into a feature).

Sigh.

[Stoney Mason]

[youtube=560,345]#at=212[/youtube]

[Brehvolution]

[Brehvolution]

Got my beta code! I'll be ready.

[Stoney Mason]

http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-gears-of-war-3-multiplayer-beta/17-4017/

[Wario64]

this game is shit hot

[TEEEPO]

ugh. looks hot but shotguns are still as prominent as ever. and now there is a sawed-off shotty.

epic just doesn't get it

oh well, day one.

[Herr Mafflard]

shotguns are awesome, getting Gears 1 vibes. You can still easily take down a shotgun wielding opponent fairly quickly at the right range.

Jeff is just a terrible player - doesn't use dodge at all, uses the lancer at close range, doesn't stick with teammates.

[demi]

I played this around Monday I think. Felt like same ol Gears to me. I had a lot of "BULLSHIT THAT SHOULD HAVE HIT HIM" moments.

[ferrarimanf355]

If anyone has a spare beta code, can I have it? 

[OptimoPeach]

Gears of Snoreeeeeeeeee

I'll give it my one co-op play through and then never touch it again, as per the norm

God shooters suck

edit: Oh. This isn't out until September? Guess I have a while to dread/look forward to this

[Herr Mafflard]

played some of the multi

it's pretty good. maps seem to be more open so there's a lack of hiding and more focus on frenetic positioning and team play.

I played this around Monday I think. Felt like same ol Gears to me. I had a lot of "BULLSHIT THAT SHOULD HAVE HIT HIM" moments.

i think i know what you mean. shots seem to go anywhere when aiming and moving at the same time.

weapons seem balanced. 2 types of each starting weapon means you get to choose between range/accuracy or power.

looking forward to the full game, makes a change from all the multiplayer fpses

[Stoney Mason]

I got my code in today for the demo although it doesn't work until next week.

We'll see on the MP. I fell in love with it in the first game but it never really hooked me in the second so I'm not sure if I just liked the first because it was so original the first time around but I actually just like other shooter types a lot more. 

[Herr Mafflard]

I got my code in today for the demo although it doesn't work until next week.

We'll see on the MP. I fell in love with it in the first game but it never really hooked me in the second so I'm not sure if I just liked the first because it was so original the first time around but I actually just like other shooter types a lot more. 

Pretty much the same here.

It definitely doesn't feel as fresh as the first game. It's likely a better game than the first but asking it to re-capture the same magic online is asking the impossible. We are nostalgia cretins.

[MCD]

Horde baby, Horde.