Giving Us More Gears on the Xbox 360 April 2011 

Cliffy B (Bleszinski design director at Epic Games) and the boys at Epic Games are ready to give us the gears once again on the Xbox 360, but we’re going to have a wait until next Spring to try and save what’s left of humanity.

Gears of War 3 will be an Xbox 360 exclusive, but it would be nice to play this game on the PlayStation 3 one day. Over 18-months have passed since the Jacinto sank into the sea sending humanity to the brink of extinction. A few survivors were spread across the expiring world. The government is in tatters and the military is falling apart, a new threat is on the horizon and it promises to tear what’s left of the planet apart.

Hope isn’t springing eternal. Marcus Fenix and his crew are facing extinction. They are stranded and fighting isn’t a job, it’s what they need to do survive. Gears of War have defined the Xbox 360 online generation and have helped build the Xbox Live phenomena. There’s another act in the Gears of War saga and from what we have seen and heard; this game isn’t resting on its laurels. Epic Games has been a trend setter and with Gears of War 3, they are going to try and do everything bigger, better and badder.

The first level of Gears of War 3 is evidence that Epic Games is trying to redefine the genre that they created. As you navigate Marcus out of his berthing, chaos surrounds you. The ship is worn and creaking and things are bleak and beat up. The story is once-again story driven and if Epic Games has proven one thing, it knows how to tell a story. Two new team members will be added in Gears 3 and they are the first two new characters to be added to the story since the original Gears of War was released. Jace Stratton is a strapping young buck who will be familiar to those gamers who have been following the Gears of War comics. A couple of minutes later, the fourth character is drops into the action. Her name is Anya Shroud. She’s not new, and this is the same woman that has been guiding the Delta team from the base since the first game. She’s the first of a number of female playable characters. This also indicates the dire straits that humanity is facing as all available men and woman must suit up and try to help the human race survive.

Many gamers may be wondering why the human race is in such bad shape, as most of the Locust were destroyed in the flooding almost two years ago. As the four characters navigate the Raven’s Nest carrier the threat becomes clear. Crab like creatures are invading and these aren’t the kind of crabs you would see staring back at you on your plate at Red Lobster. A new foe called the lambent is even more dangerous than the Locusts and the humans had predicted. This third army is made of a parasitic root structure that is taking over the planet inch-by-inch. Lambent stalks are erupting everywhere on the ship. There plantlike tentacles are infecting everything in its path.

The four-person squad can trade weapons and ammunition during battle in Gears of War 3. Players can also take weapons from any other combatant in the war theater. In addition to this broader arsenal, this simple addition a new sense of cooperation has been added to the game play mechanics.
Gamers will also notice that Epic has tried to address the accessibility issue by including varying difficulty levels. Epic has made casual really casual and whether you’re an expert Gears of War player, or playing it for the for the first time you should be able to enjoy the experience this time around.

Since we have some time and we can’t just do one story on Gears of War 3, we will touch on the multiplayer experience in another article. This article was meant to wet your appetite for destruction and give you a taste or a nibble on what you can expect. We are also keeping a few secrets about what we’ve seen because like a fine wine, Gears of War 3 needs to age and when the game comes out we want you to experience things for yourself. We can tell you that this is one game to watch for in a big way as 2011 comes into focus. Gears of War 3 will not disappoint!