Gears Of War 3 Preview

• The following article was published in Issue #1 of The Luchazine, the popular community- operated online magazine on GiantBomb.com

Gears Of War is one of the Xbox 360’s flagship franchises. Fans of the series have enjoyed their adventures with the four testosterone-filled heroes and their participation in the war against the invading Locust forces. With Gears Of War 3, Epic Games is hoping to wrap the story arc up with a final sequel that promises to be even Gearsier than ever. Let’s take a look at what’s been revealed so far.

Story

Gears Of War 2 ended with the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) sinking Jacinto - the last human settlement remaining - in order to flood the Hollow and finish the Locust off once and for all. While they were successful in wiping out enormous numbers of them, a dangerous threat still remains: the Lambent Locust.

Because the COG no longer has a civilization to fall back on, they are now living out their numbered days on something called Raven’s Nest. This makeshift form of shelter is quite literally an aircraft carrier combined with a few other ships. The government fell apart, and the Cogs are now fighting for survival out on the water at the start of the game. Unlike previous games, Epic is putting an emphasis on how the squad is more like a family unit this time around rather than just dudes fighting together. This is apparent from the inclusion of Anya as a squad member, who has taken up arms to join the fight rather than to direct it. The game begins with the Cogs getting attacked, so it’s probably safe to say that they will end up back on dry land fairly quickly. Epic has also confirmed that there will be levels devoted to Cole and Baird, so you won’t be controlling Marcus for the whole game anymore.

The story is being written by Karen Traviss, the author of two Gears of War books and has more coming in the future.

New Weapons

• A different version of the Lancer that has a knife bayonet instead of a chainsaw bayonet. Very effective at close range.
• A double-barreled shotgun that is bad news for multiple enemies up close.
• Something called a Digger Launcher that fires piranha-like organisms into the ground that travel to the enemies and explode upwards.
• Incendiary grenades for people that like to burn enemies to death.
• The One Shot sniper rifle that is capable of eliminating most enemies with a single shot.
• A mech called the Silverback that players can control at specific parts of the campaign. It’s capable of shooting high caliber rounds and rockets on the run, and it can be deployed as a stationary cover when needed.
• A multi-turret with four slots that almost any weapon can fit into. When you fire the turret, all of the guns fire.

Enemies

The Imulsion that the planet Sera used to practically run on has begun to mutate the remaining Locust forces, creating horrific new enemies that are capable of altering their form and producing new ones. Among the new enemies you’ll face is the lambent drudge, a foe that can expand when shot and grow new appendages. When their body is destroyed, their neck then begins to crawl towards the player for a last ditch attempt at killing them.

Multiplayer

The new game mode that Epic has revealed is called Arcade. This mode adds stat-tracking and scoring to the campaign as well as mutators which can alter things like sound effects, gravity, and apparently head sizes (hip, hip, hooray!). According to Epic, Arcade is a way for people to play through the campaign with the sole purpose of shooting monsters rather than experiencing the story.

Epic is also continuing with the concept of multiplayer maps that can change dynamically during the match. Of these is the map called Overpass which takes place just moments before Jacinto is submerged below water. During the match, players will notice the flooding waters and how the entire place is cracking, shifting, breaking apart, and sliding as they begin tumbling towards the Hollow.

Epic Games hasn’t released a ton of details yet, but from what we know now the game looks like it’s on the right path to becoming the best in the series yet. Until the game is released in April 2011, we can only stay tuned for more information.