Review: Gears of War 3

Sera's an uninhabitable wasteland now. Mutated beasts are ravaging what's left of the human race. Things are really going straight to hell. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Gears of War 3, the third part in the third-person shooter trilogy, comes to a major climax, and reviews all over the interwebs are heralding its praises.

Spoiler alert: this review will be no different.

Epic Games has finely crafted its signature cover-dependent, active-reloading game to both an art and a science. In a word: it's incredible. Cooperative and competitive game types are better than ever, but the Campaign is -- somehow -- both the shining gem and the weak point of this trilogy's swan song. It's exciting, terrifying, and emotional, but it's also not terribly satisfying when it's over.

Read on for the full review of Marcus Fenix's last stand for Sera in Gears of War 3!

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'Gears of War 3' Limited and Epic Editions Unveiled

Epic Edition's 11.2" PVC Fenix Statue. Click for full size.

Epic's Gears of War 3 is one of the most anticipated titles this year, so it's no surprise that Epic has lined up some serious bonuses for the special editions of this COG team's last fight.

Aside from the standard version, both a Limited Edition and an Epic Edition will be available, priced at $79.99 and $149.99, respectively.  That's a non-trivial amount to pay for a video game, but Epic is making sure you get something great for your money.

Gears of War 3 Epic Edition. Click for full size.

The Limited Edition comes with:

• Octus Award Box and a removable, to-scale zinc Octus Service Medal.
• Exclusive Adam Fenix multiplayer character.
• A fabric COG flag.
• Adam Fenix's personal effects: "Last Will & Testament", Hammer of Dawn schematics, and Fenix family mementos.

The Epic Edition (pictured above) comes with:

• Everthing in the Limited Edition: Octus Award, Service Medal, COG flag, Fenix's personal effects, and Fenix multiplayer character
• 11.2" PVC Marcus Fenix statue (pictured top)
• Art and Design of Gears of War book
• Infected Open Weapon Pack (skins for Lancer, Retro Lancer, Hammerburst, Gnasher, Sawed-off Shotgun.)

Gears of War 3 is slated for release on September 20, 2011.  The standard edition is currently available for pre-order, with these newly announced limited editions soon similarly available.

Chair Entertainment Shelves "Ender's Game"

In an conversation with gaming blog Joystiq, Chair Entertainment co-founder Donald Mustard confirmed that the project based on the Orson Scott Card cult classic Ender's Game "has been put on indefinite hold."

Chair Entertainment, a subsidiary of Epic Games, has had a fair amount of success with their 2009, critically-acclaimed Shadow Complex, which was set within the universe of another Orson Scott Card book, Empire.  Like Shadow Complex, the Ender's Game game was intended to be a downloadable game; however, it seems that the parent company couldn't find a spot for the game on its future product lineup:

"We have and had an amazing design for the Ender's Game game," Mustard assured, but "one of Epic's primary objectives is to create original and unique franchises. I don't know that Ender's Game fits into that strategic objective anymore."

However, Joystiq notes, the people at Chair have maintained a good relationship with Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card.  Well, if Chair isn't working on Ender's Game, here's hoping that we get Shadow Complex 2.  (Side note: I really enjoyed Empire.)

E3 2010 Highlights: EA’s Press Conference

Electronic Arts, like Microsoft before it, had nothing particularly mind-blowingly unexpected, but what it did show (particularly the trailer to Star Wars: The Old Republic) had many in a tizzy.  I’ve never even used that word before.  EA opened their event with a beautiful trailer for Criterion Games’ Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, launching November 16, 2010.

Here are the major bulletpoints:

• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit lets you play as a racer or as a cop, with many achievements to be had for either class.
• Dead Space 2 is even more freaky than its predecessor, but the mechanics of the third-person shooter are the same – go for the limbs first, then the kill shot.  Releases on January 25, 2011.
• Medal of Honor takes players to war-torn Afghanistan, going for the most authentic “modern war” game to date.  Demonstrated with a live 24-person deathmatch (interestingly, on PS3s), all Medal of Honor maps are inspired by real places in the war zone.  Gameplay is very much like Modern Warfare 2 with no amazing updates to the formula, even though it was made by DICE whose Battlefield definitely upped the FPS multiplayer score with its bombable everything.  Multiplayer beta launches June 21, 2010 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, with the full game launching October 12, 2010.
• EA’s Gun Club rewards players who play EA’s shooters (presumably), like early beta access and in-game weaponry.
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam expansion pack released this winter!
• EA Sports MMA releases October 19, 2010, seeking to recreate all kinds of realism, down to the stance and movement.
• EA Sports “Live Broadcast” lets players demonstrate their skills online, while thousands watch and live commentators was poetic.  Upload a “hype video” to gain the attention of EA promoters and other players so that you get selected for the live challenge.

• EA Sports Active 2 comes with heart rate monitors, which takes data in real time, and is in ready development for Kinect for the Xbox 360.  All key workout data is uploaded to EA Sports Active website, for future reference and for sharing progress with friends.

• EA Sports Madden NFL 11 promises further evolution to the franchise.  Adds a “Gameflow” playcalling engine that puts players in a virtual huddle with AI coach.  Plays can be created and customized according to user desires, so that you “make plays not just make calls.”
• The Sims 3.  It’s the Sims.  What are you expecting?
• Crysis 2, the successor to the game made all of our PCs cry in obsolescence, is hitting homes this holiday season, and it looks as purty as ever.  Shifting focus to an urban landscape instead of jungle one, Crysis will be playable in true stereoscopic 3D on the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360 (not sure how that’s going to work.)
• Bulletstorm, a new IP and joint venture between Epic Games, People Can Fly, and EA, is “a pulpy, over-the-top first person shooter and knows it.”  It’s like a “fat kid playing with cake,” and it’s coming out February 22, 2011.  Built in pulp sci-fi, that rewards you for doing “cool shit.”  Any game that rewards you for just screwing around must be pretty fun, I would think.  Minimalist GUI design, but very pretty.  Awfully great in this demo, but still pretty.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic looks awesome.  Unfortunately, that’s all the info they shared.

Watch the archived EA presser here, courtesy G4TV!

Game Trailers - E3 2010

Officially Official: "Gears of War 3" Announced

Despite the surprise announcement on the Xbox Dashboard last weekend, Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski went on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to officially announce Gears of War 3 and to premiere a never-before-seen trailer portraying our COGs, the Locusts, and the newly-featured Lambent.

Bleszinski announced that the release date would be "probably April 8th" of next year, but a following press release from Microsoft definitively stated that the game would be released "April 5, 2011 in North America and Asia, April 7 in Japan, and April 8 in Europe and the rest of the world."

See the announcement trailer, "Ashes to Ashes," right here, courtesy of Hulu:

Update on April 13, 2010 at 12:05 PM by Dwight Tejano

This just in from @therealcliffyb:

4 player integrated story co op in the campaign!

Feckin' incredible.  Easily the most exciting piece of news about the game thus far.  Other news: the feisty blonde dispatcher Anya is playable, double-barrel shotguns, and Dom has a beard.

Source

Gears of War 3 Releases Next April

Source: Kotaku.com

In a rather silly slip-up, Microsoft accidentally announced the conclusion of the Gears of War trilogy on the Xbox Dashboard this morning.

Epic Games' design director Cliff Bleszinski was scheduled to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night to bring some big announcement.  The man formerly known as CliffyB, however, rescheduled his appearance at the last minute for Monday, citing that he "wanted to take a couple more days to polish what [they're] showing."

It seems that the timed ads on the Xbox Dashboard weren't given the memo, however; and Gears of War 3 (with release window) was officially announced (briefly) for everyone to see.

It's certainly possible that Bleszinski wasn't going to announce Gears of War 3, but the timing of everything makes the possibility of coincidence suspect.

About three weeks ago, Edge Online first launched the rumor that the game would be released April 2011, with the first trailer being released on April 8 ("exactly one year ahead of the game's pencilled release date.")

The uncanny accuracy in that post lends credence to the GoW3 gameplay rumors from the same source, most of which are worth a second look.  My favorite: COGs get underground grenades to destroy enemies behind cover.