E3 2011: Gears of War 3 Microsoft Press Conference Demo Preview

June 6, 2011 11:44AM PDT

Delta Squad experiences some peril on the high seas in this demo of Gears of War 3 from the Microsoft Press Conference at E3 2011.

Gears of War 3 got some time in the spotlight at Microsoft's press conference today. The demo was preceded by Cliff Bleszinski stating that Gears is better with a friend before he invited none other than Ice-T onstage to take control. Cliff set the stage for what we were about to see by explaining that the human stronghold of Jacinto had fallen, and Marcus, Dom and friends were on a ship at sea that had just fallen under attack by a sea monster.

The demo began with Marcus, Dom, Anya, and some other members of Delta Squad on the lower decks of a ship as the tentacles of the massive sea monster, called a Leviathan, tore effortlessly through the floors of the vessel. Marcus communicated with Cole, who was elsewhere, asking if he could kill the monster from his position. The team pumped plenty of bullets into the beast, at which point it retreated, but not before leaving a few crablike creatures behind, which scurried toward Marcus.

After making short work of these, the Delta Squad hustled up the decks of the ship, as Cole replied to Marcus telling him that "the blond genius" (presumably Baird) had an idea about how to deal with the Leviathan. Upon arriving on the top deck, Marcus stated that they would need "a bigger cattle prod" to deal with the sea monster, and the team headed toward a maintenance bay that contained two mechanical suits called silverbacks. A squad member climbed into one of these suits while Marcus and Dom stayed on foot to deal with its attacks. The monster was back, chomping down on the deck with its huge, hideous maw, giving Marcus a perfect chance to shoot at its glowing eyes. After a bit of this, the creature retreated briefly, but it left behind more of the crablike creatures as well as what appeared to be a few Locust warriors for the team to fight off. No sooner did the squad finish off these threats than the Leviathan returned, seemingly more angry than before. It didn't get a chance to wreak much more havoc, though, as Cole and Baird, positioned on a bridge above, opened a container full of tickers (the small, explosive enemies introduced in Gears 2) onto the creature. Fenix and friends leapt off the ship just as it was engulfed in a massive explosion, bringing the demo to a close.

It's clear that Gears 3's campaign is striving to deliver more of the same huge set-piece moments that helped make the first two Gears games such huge successes. Be sure to check out GameSpot's live stage show on Wednesday morning for more on Gears of War 3.

By Carolyn Petit, Editor

Carolyn Petit has been reading GameSpot since 2000 and writing for it since 2008. She has a particular fondness for games of the 1980s, and intends to leave the field of games journalism as soon as she hears that her local Ghostbusters franchise is hiring.

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31 comments

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Gunathar

One of the best single-player campaign is coming to an end. The first GoW brought forth new gameplay and incredible graphics. GoW 2 featured nice (and gory) jaw-dropping surprises. This one, I hope, is gonna end with a bang.

buttison

Man, this is gonna wipe all Gears haters away!

MJ_kratos

Can't Wait

MJ_kratos

Can't Wait

chyng85

Thanks for the news~!

Phil-teh-Pirate

Why invite Ice T onto the stage? Where in the blue hell of gaming is this even relevant?

wazzmalo

@Elann2008 I'm thinking they might make a prequel that tells us how Marcus went to prison or his father's story.

Elann2008

Gears of War 3 could possibly be the last of the series, but how many times have we heard developers say that? The meaning of "ending the trilogy" means just that though. A trilogy. It could branch off into part 4, which could be an entirely new threat or adventure. I don't think Epic Games could come up with a new game that can top Gears of War series though, but they could certainly try. I heart Gears of War. Even though the multiplayer is laggy, I had so many fun nights playing it with my friends online. It's one of those multiplayers where you could sit back, have a beer, and curse on your microphone. :P

kazumashadow

@TheBatFreak777 yeah i dont want it to end as long as they dont start milking it like Activision did with CoD, if they keep the gripping story no problem gears 2 was full of dramatic moments. i hated it when Carmine died, he was so cool haha

killer690

Story ends with this one, but there will be a prequel just like reach, and I'm sure you'll start out in the pendulum wars, they move onto E day and end with the incarceration of Marcus. I mean, it's fine by me I love Gears, Hate Cliffy B though.....

TheBatFreak777

@kazumashadow I can't imagine it will be the last one. I think companies say this half the time just to get in on people buying it, well, because they THINK it's the last one. Look at any series that has struck gold. Have they ever REALLY ended? :) I guess we'll see though.