Gears of War 3 Beta Preview and Prep
Posted April 13, 2011 by Keadin
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With the Gears of War 3 beta starting shortly on April 25th, Microsoft and Epic Games decided to invite a few select journalists and community members to get an early hands-on with it and see what they thought. Structured like a tournament, the players were pitted in chainsaw-combat across new maps like Trenches and Thrashball for ultimate Gears supremacy.
Gears of War has always been a great competitive game over Xbox Live, but with Gears of War 3 it really feels like Epic is putting in the extra effort to make the competitive experience really shine. With an all new lobby system, players have the ability to quickly adjust everything from their weapon load-outs to their characters of choice and weapon skins. The pre-game loading screen has also been updated to show an overhead view of the map and highlight the key areas with the best weapons, eliminating any excuses for not knowing where to get your Torque Bow.
One of the coolest new additions to the interface is the ability to tag enemies from behind cover with the left stick. While looking at an enemy, players can click the stick and highlight any baddie for the rest of the team to focus fire on. This was incredibly helpful when you’re against the ropes and need your teammates to take notice pronto.
Of course, Gears of War 3 wouldn’t be a fitting successor without its share of new executions and gory chainsaw kills; more than a few times there were audible gasps of horror from the crowd as someone got disassembled by a sneaking chainsaw attack. The all-new sawed-off shotgun also earned its fair share of gasps as it tore apart CoG soldiers and Locust alike at point-blank range. With constant close-quarters action and plenty of visceral deaths, Gears of War 3 makes a fantastic spectator sport.
While April 25th and the beta’s release are still a little ways off, you can secure your invite by preordering the game at your local retailer. Or for those of you who just can’t wait until the 25th, you can get in on the action early on April 18th by picking up a new copy of Bulletstorm Epic Edition. You’ll want to get in as early as possible because stats in the beta will earn you unlocks for when the full game releases September 20th this year:
Flaming Hammerburst Complete one match by Sunday, April 24 to permanently unlock.
Flaming Lancer Complete one match during the week of April 25 to permanently unlock.
Flaming Sawed-Off Shotgun Complete one match during the week of May 2 to permanently unlock.
Flaming Gnasher Shotgun Complete one match during the week of May 9 to permanently unlock.
Beta Tester Medal -- Wear it proudly, Gear. Complete one match in the Beta to permanently unlock.
Thrashball Cole Unlock Thrashball Cole to play as Augustus Cole as he was before Emergence Day -- a legendary Thrashball athlete known for his ferocious, flamboyant style. Complete 50 matches in any game type to unlock for the Beta period. To permanently unlock, complete 10 matches as Thrashball Cole during the Beta period.
Gold-Plated Retro Lancer Before the chainsaw bayonet was deployed at the beginning of the Locust-Human War, the original Lancer assault rifle had a large fixed blade. Complete 90 matches in any game type to unlock for the Beta period. To permanently unlock, score 100 kills with the Gold-Plated Retro Lancer during the Beta period.
Special shout-outs to: Kiesey78, Deadbl0w, xSGTx Slayer, Tokeyoxx, NoBrAiN15, and IamEvilChris for being awesome Gears of War fans! See you dudes online!