Gears of War 3 Preview: Updated Multiplayer Hands-On
We rev up our lancer and find out what's new in Epic Games' third-person shooter.
The fact that Gears of War 3 has been pushed to the fall of next year may be disappointing to some, but fans should be happy to know that even though it was a business decision to release it during the holidays instead of in April, this gives developer Epic Games the opportunity to have a multiplayer beta for Gears of War 3. On top of this, executive producer Rod Fergusson also announced that there will now be dedicated servers--which will be tested during the beta--when the game launches internationally. We recently visited Epic Games, where Fergusson and design director Cliff Bleszinski shared the news regarding the multiplayer beta and dedicated servers, and we were able to play the new competitive multiplayer modes in Gears of War 3.
One noticeable change when you jump into a multiplayer match is that the menu system is much easier to navigate, making it easy to coordinate matches with people you know. Your list of friends is displayed in the top right, so you can stick together as a team and then choose which mode you want to play in. Fan-favorite modes such as Warzone and Execution have been untouched, and Wingman will stay the same, with the exception that it will now allow eight players instead of 10. Depending on where you spawned on the map, there was a distinct disadvantage for the unfortunate souls who appeared in the middle, so the extra players have been removed to balance out the mode.
Three new modes have been added. The first is Team Deathmatch, which may seem like the oldest and most common mode in the realm of shooters, but it comes with a Gears twist. Each team is given 20 respawns to begin with, and once your team has run out, the game turns into Warzone, where you don't get any respawns for the last five kills. This gives the game an intense finish (you're also playing for best out of three), and if you do happen to die, you won't be sitting out for very long. Fergusson explained that these changes were made to make the game more approachable, which is a primary focus for the third game in the series. Both he and Bleszinski talked about how they want to remove some of the barriers so players who have never touched a Gears game before can jump in and not feel frustrated or punished. In Warzone, you end up sitting out a lot, but in Team Deathmatch people can jump right back in shortly after they die instead of sitting out for minutes at a time. As an example of giving newcomers a hand, in Team Deathmatch, if you are buckling faster than the sinking city of Jacinto and eating up all the respawns, it will take a little bit longer for you to get back into the game, and you could spawn near a teammate for some extra cover.
The other two new modes are combinations of existing modes from Gears of War 2. Capture the Leader is a combination of Guardian and Submission with a few tweaks. Your goal is to capture the leader of the opposing team, which could be either Queen Myrrah or Chairman Prescott, who are now playable characters. Once you've captured the leader, there's no longer a ring to drag him or her to. Instead, you have to hold onto them for 30 seconds while your teammates rally around you to protect you. As a captured leader, you have the ability to try to interfere with your captor by pressing B repeatedly to try to throw off your captor's aim. If you time it right, you can even break free. As the leader, you also have the ability to see through walls, making it easier to see where the enemy is coming from. King of the Hill this time around is a combination of Annex and…King of the Hill. Fergusson explained that the goal was to get many people playing the same game type, and combining similar game modes and renaming them made for a clearer rule set. Your team must capture and hold the ring to collect points, but you don't have to stay in it to hold it. The ring also moves around the map based on a timer, whether you're holding it or not, and the game uses Wingman spawn points to prevent camping. All the modes we played required a fair amount of teamwork and were a blast to play, especially with the new arsenal.
Several new weapons have been added, including a new sawed-off shotgun. Given the popularity of the gnasher shotgun in general, the sawed-off shotgun will instantly turn your foes into a bloody mist if you can get close enough to deal damage. You have to almost be touching your opponent for this to work; otherwise you'll miss, and with the extended reload time, you'd better start running. If you do happen to fire it at point-blank range, though, it will decimate your enemy, as well as anyone else within range, in a single shot. It works well in smaller maps, where you're prone to pulling out a short-range weapon anyway and sneaking up behind your opponent. As seen in the demo at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, a new Pendulum-era retro lancer with a bayonet attached lets you charge up to your opponents and skewer them with your blade. You need to be at a full charge, though, taking about four or five steps to get started. Otherwise you just bounce off of them. The regular lancer that we're all used to has been tweaked so you no longer get interrupted while you're using the chainsaw. It just needs to be revved up completely, so there is a window of time where you can still get hit and have to start again, but as long as you have it out and ready, you're all set to start slicing. The gorgon pistol is now a full automatic submachine gun, which comes in handy when holding a meatshield. Also seen at E3 was the bag-and-tag feature, where you stuff a grenade into your incapacitated opponent and send it off as an explosive present to the next person who comes in contact with it. This works incredibly well with incendiary grenades, which are particularly nasty and function like Molotov cocktails that explode on impact and leave behind a trail of deadly flames.
295 comments
This game looks great visually, but from the videos it looks like they haven't changed much about the game play from GoW 2. The first game of the series will probably remain as the best in the series - it had an unmatched atmosphere(I loved how bleak the world was), a dynamic multi-player(if you had skills you could obliterate the other team in seconds) and none of the filler modes(sometimes more doesn't necessarily mean better OR more "epic"). Its too bad that the second game was so different from the first. I tried to play the multi player in the second game, but it just wasn't as fun.
@WhatsY0UTUB3 Yeah but you're going to be pissed when you get killed by anything anyway? The chainsaw is original and badass! Quit whining it's not the end of the world.
@Ferg1213 Well obviously if I saw someone running straight at me with a chainsaw I wouldn't die. Its when you're walking around a corner and some 8 year old that know how to hold down B kills you that is annoying. Or if you're in a shotgun battle and someone just comes behind you and chainsaws you. It's like a vacuum. It's stupid. Jump away then just get sucked back.
@WhatsY0UTUB3 Are you serious? Yeah, it can be annoying, but it's not hard to avoid if you're relatively decent :L Jesus.
Gahh I hate the chainsaw. I stopped play gears 2 because of all the noobs that just use the chainsaw. I was hoping they had got rid of it.
Whens there gonna be some news on Horde. it's november now. at least tell us one new feature in the mode =)
WOW all the changes! I like that that Epic added some new toys and not just tweeks, though the IS mode for the Hammer Burst is going to rock so hard for me, as well as the new full auto Gorgon SMG, and the new fire nades will add some much needed tactical choice to the nade type. the new Lancer means more rifles to choose from, and the One shot, plus all the old guns, and the Sawed off Shotty, as well as the new nade types, and meele options just add even more depth to the carnage that Gears is known for. I just hope they kept the Chainsaw dules thoes were fun as hell. I also hope the Hammer Burst has some cool ways to smack players around too.
I'm glad you can look down your sights now I hope they make it so you can play in first person
@hitomo I don't know how well the game was ported but I do know that Epic's response to not allowing the game on pc was because of piracy...and did you say don't blame piracy lol piracy is always to blame because it is stealing.
OMG!!! I cannot wait!!! This game is looking awesome. Couldn't get enough of Gears 2, this is going to be worth the long wait.
ohh yeah,this will definitely be worth ALL the wait.Ohh and i wanted to say, SUCK IT PS3 LOSER,HAHAHAHAHA!!
I don't know if anyone has noticed, at the beginning with Marcus, his lancer is pink. I guess colors may also be part of the weapon customization?
hey, so does anyone else think that the game looks gorgeous? Kind of like ps3 level? I mean maybe it's because I'm an xbox 360 fanboy, but I think it looks a little bit better than uncharted 2, that game that Naughty Dog said it was impossible for the x-360, Come the thumbs down from the ps3 fanboys XD
Do you want to make a better Gears? Put an FPS fulltime camera option and make this for PC using DX11. Also, use the multiplayer power of a PC and forget shiit consoles, learn with Valve and make more changes in the game.
I know people are gonna throw me rocks on this one , but I simply didn´t like Gears 2 story that much, and ratter like the first one a lot more, for a few thngs that i´ll list here: 1) The darker tone, and the whole " Men withouth necks kicking ass " atmosphere that gears 2 lacks; 2) Sometimes less is better: ( like the movie Cloverfield, u dont need to see the monster to know its there); 3) Marcus voice was so much deeper and calm, u never see him yelling to inspire confidence and command, wheres in Gears 2 seens like his mic is broken , always yelling " Control, Control , Anya"!! 4) I know they´ve tryied to make Gears 2 more epic by throwing in a bigger story, but they also made it that much more impersonal , I mean a Brumack in the 1st one was our f** nightmare, and now in G2 its Oh , just another Brumack. 5) Also about the story, how the f** can a GLOBAL war between 2 species be global when Jacinto and the Hollow are not even 100 miles away from each other? I know its a videogame but wth, should make at least some geografical sense. 6) RAAM > Skorge anytime. And wtf about that Lambent Brumack at the end? Just my opinion thou... Now we can play as girls and have OMG pink weapons.... Bye Bye Gears feeling...
-- "Yup I agree..Unholy123, When gears came out ammo was plentiful for all weapons, you reload them on the ammobox and everything gets replenished to full capacity. Now..thanks to those pointless T.otally U.seless DOWNGRADES, ammo count gets cut to more than half. I clearly remember on the first day the mulcher gatling gun had 500 rounds, the mortar having 5 shells. Now..250 rounds and 3 shells. Whats worse..the trusty Ol' Lancer..started off with 600. Now...maximium load 541. It's bad enough they move slow compared to Gears 1. But "cheaping out on Ammo?"..that's a bit Low. Hopefully No more..T.otally U.seless Downgrades..in the 3rd Chapter." What's funny is..I got banned from the Epic Website for writing this. LMAo..
lol people so testy over a garbage MP, Horde mode and co-op only thing worth connecting to live with GoW2 the MP was weird and lag ridden you could run up to people and shoot them point blank with the shotty and nothing yet in the first gow you could insta gib people from medium distance with that thing. I expect with that trend in mind i'll find that gow3 mp sucks worse with weird ass lag and even more useless grenades to start with in MP. Who knows it might not but I know one thing, and thats im getting GoW3 for the story and not because im expecting some great MP experience thats balanced and lag free.
@C_T_Skye (continued) Why not let the players decide who they want to play with? Join a game and dominate everyone and want a challenge? Quit. UTILIZE THE SYSTEM THAT MICROSOFT IMPLEMENTED SUBMIT PLAYER REVIEWS OF THOSE PEOPLE AS "LACKING SKILL" and you wont be matched up with them in the future. Get owned? Find a game where you can compete, or don't whine that everyone is too good, find someone that is willing to HELP you get better. Gears 2 was horrible because you dont even have the freedom to do that. You play in the matches that THEY want you to play in. GAY Oh wait.....you can practice against BOTS.....that even on Insane aren't as good as a POOR Gears 1 player. Thanks but no thanks. Gears 2 is trash, and the only people that disagree are simply wrong. @Tokinblckgie Glad to see that there is someone that understands english and reason......not to mention quality. (The offer is there for you too, aP1MPnamedGEKKO on XBL always looking for good players) P.S. I should really thank Cliffy actually, in the ramp up to Gears 2 launch Gears 1 pretty much died.....until Gears 2 came out. Now I think more people play Gears 1 than did in the months leading up to Gears 2.
@ C_T_Skye Yeah, I would imagine I wouldn't be that great at Gear 2 online.....because I refuse to play it. It's farking garbage, the only people that do "love" it that I know were just chainsaw whores in Gears 1. If you think you can handle what I'll throw down your throat in Gears 1 tho, hit me up, aP1MPnamedGEKKO on XBL I'll rock your socks off. Honestly, I took a week off work for Gears 2 launch, I was that stoked for it. But sadly, they completely NOOBED the multiplayer, the only saving grace was and IS the campaign, which I've already recognized as complete greatness, and Horde but both of them are cake, I beat Horde on the 2nd day of release, and the Campaign on the 3rd. I waited in line 8 hours to be the first person in line to take this farcking drink coaster home, and IMMEDIATELY after the first match I had a sick feeling in my stomach because it was obvious that Cliffy had a stomach full of Goatsecks nut when he thought up these "improvements" He was grasping straws (and balls) when he tried (unsuccessfully) to emulate the matchmaking features of Halo 2 and MW.
@Mr_Clark 1) I did mean singleplayer. 2) If you read the books and comics chronologically to the games, you'd notice there is an indepth story. 3) /end conversation.
@feleas ...You play Gears for the... story? I was unaware Gears had one. Easily impressed I guess. Perhaps you just mean single player? Big difference.
To be honest, I played the Gears games for the story, not the multiplayer. So I didn't really mind the Gears 2 multiplayer issues because I rarely was on it. I was busy having too much fun on split screen co-op or local games, lol.
You lied to all your fansboy about fixing host advantage I'll wait for the beta before I decide to cheer for this game. Thumbs me down for speaking the truth I don't care simpletons.
i just pray there's no horrible lag and glitches like gears 2 still has. don't get me wrong i LOVE gears games even though it seems like I'm a ps3 fanboy. i played gears 2 when it launched for 15 hours straight i felt so sick but it was so worth it.
Conversation powered by Livefyre
Related Unions
Hot Forum Topics
- Game like GTA or Saints Row
- I'm looking for a new 360 TPS with an interesting hook.
- Gears of war 3 Insane CO-OP campaign, join!!!
- team player for horde and beast leaderboards. daytime availability. female
- Looking for Campaign Coop Partner!
- zz w34k zz
- What happened to this board?
- Where am I?
- Greetings
- See All Gears of War 3 Forum Topics »
Gears of War 3
Not Following
- Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
- Developer(s): Epic Games
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: M
Gears of War 3 Navigation
Games You May Like
Battlefield 1942 (PC)
Halo: Combat Evolved (XBOX)
Perfect Dark Zero (X360)
Final Fantasy V (PS)
Super Star Wars (SNES)
Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.
