Ushered into a dark room with a giant red skull glowing at the back of the room, I knew I was in for a treat when I got into my appointment with Epic for Gears of War 3. We were treated to a live demo of a section of the main campaign and the interesting new Beast mode being played by the developers themselves.

The first thing the team wanted to stress was that the four player co-op is no joke. From start to finish, the entire game can be played by four players. This doesn’t mean players 3 and 4 will be shoved in the roles of nameless grunts; they will play as key characters as a part of the story.

The demo covers our heroes en route to Anvil Gate, one of the last active fortresses left standing. A firefight begins with a group of Locust, and the team puts use some new moves. You can now attack while jumping over cover, landing on top of your foe and knocking him down. There are also a slew of new executions to choose from. If you thought the first two Gears of War games were violent, Gears of War 3 raises the bar to new heights. The game is utterly brutal.

Aside from ripping off a Locust’s arm and beating him to death with it, we saw Marcus strap a grenade to a locust and kick him into a crowd of enemies, and we watched with glee as the enemies panicked when they realized it a little bit too late. After the fight concluded, they showed off other new features such as being able to trade weapons and ammo on the fly.

Not long after that fight, the group encounters resistance in the form of the Lambert, a new race that is friend to neither humans nor Locust. The new creatures are very terrifying and present new kinds of challenges. Teamwork is still very important, as the Lambert have a nasty habit of mutating in the middle of battle. You’ll need your teammates to watch your back when your enemies sprout new limbs or break apart and try to flank you.

The mutated Berserker, a foe that was blind in previous games, is back and can now see. She proves much tougher and the team is forced to use hit and run tactics. As the gate is closed, everything seems fine as the walls can’t be forced open� until the Berserker jumps over the wall, just as the demo ends.

Epic has received many messages about players wishing to play as the game’s unique foes, and the developers have taken that idea with and ran with it, creating the Beast mode. It’s sort of a reverse of the popular Horde mode, with assault being the goal instead of holding a position. The humans have made a stronghold, and your group of Locust must eliminate all resistance. The humans are no slouches, and have turrets, traps, and the new Silverback armored suits to make your mission no cake walk.

Your selection of beasts starts off small, with Tickers and Kantus Priests being some of your lower level options. As you advance in waves and score more points, you gain access to some really badass characters, such as Berserkers. But since the Berserker is blind, you have to work with a black screen and use motion feedback to find your enemies.

Just kidding! The developers had us going for a minute with that. Actually, your vision is rather limited. It’s sort of like being very nearsighted. But as the developers also commented, it’s generally a good idea to head in the direction of the bullets, upon where you will smash your hapless foes into tiny pieces like the Hulk.

A good handful of beasts were shown to us. Hardcore fans of the series should recognize many from previous games, while others are new for Gears of War 3. Each creature has their own unique abilities and weapons, so chances are you’ll find someone to suit your tastes. You can always switch after dying too, which gives you the chance to find the right fit for your play style or form a balanced group of Locust to better take down the pesky humans.

The game is still very much in development, so many questions I still had couldn’t be answered just yet, since many things haven’t been finalized. Gears of War 3 is shooting for a April 2011 release.

- Kyle

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- Kyle