The beta is open to Bulletstorm buyers today, and will open even further, to those who pre-ordered Gears 3 at Gamestop, on April 25. It will run through May 15.
PSA: Gears of War 3 beta available now to Bulletstorm 'Epic Edition' owners
by JC Fletcher 
on Apr 18th 2011 2:00PM
75
The beta is open to Bulletstorm buyers today, and will open even further, to those who pre-ordered Gears 3 at Gamestop, on April 25. It will run through May 15.
Reader Comments (75)
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:07PM Jawmuncher said
I'm having a lot of fun with it.
It's the best blend of Gears 1 and Gears 2.
Also the Double Barrel shotgun is awesome.
Nothing better than killing 2 people with it at the same time.
It's the best blend of Gears 1 and Gears 2.
Also the Double Barrel shotgun is awesome.
Nothing better than killing 2 people with it at the same time.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 8:31PM GamingColt said
@Jawmuncher
I can honestly say that this BETA is hell of a lot better than Gears 1 and Gears 2 in terms of balance and smoothness. Although Gears 1 will always have that special place in my heart, Gears 3 (so far with only two-four maps and 1-3 game modes) is one of the most beautiful-looking and fun game I've played since Uncharted 2.
EPIC has done a great job.
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I can honestly say that this BETA is hell of a lot better than Gears 1 and Gears 2 in terms of balance and smoothness. Although Gears 1 will always have that special place in my heart, Gears 3 (so far with only two-four maps and 1-3 game modes) is one of the most beautiful-looking and fun game I've played since Uncharted 2.
EPIC has done a great job.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:10PM Tradio said
when will the PC beta be available....hmmmmmm?
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:40PM DarkNightRJ said
@Faenix
I think he's saying he wants there to be a PC version. I would look for Gears 2 before we saw Gears 3 on pc...
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I think he's saying he wants there to be a PC version. I would look for Gears 2 before we saw Gears 3 on pc...
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 5:37PM Mechazawa Prime said
@Hank Hill
You talk like PC gamers are some sort of hivemind.
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You talk like PC gamers are some sort of hivemind.
Posted: Apr 19th 2011 2:17PM Strider119 said
@Qehb I agree. The unfounded "sense" of superiority from PC gamers can be superfluous.
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Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:11PM Vcize said
I don't know if it's just because there aren't enough people online to screw it up yet or not, but it certainly appears that the FINALLY FIXED THE NET CODE!!!!
Played 3 hours over lunch and it was smooth as butter. The gnasher was actually doing what I expected consistently enough that when I pulled the trigger, I was already ready to move on to the next guy or stay focused on that guy because I knew whether that shot would kill him or not ahead of time. In Gears 2 you'd better keep your attention focused on the guy until you see him blown to pieces because you never know if a point blank shot is going to kill him or barely flesh wound him.
Played 3 hours over lunch and it was smooth as butter. The gnasher was actually doing what I expected consistently enough that when I pulled the trigger, I was already ready to move on to the next guy or stay focused on that guy because I knew whether that shot would kill him or not ahead of time. In Gears 2 you'd better keep your attention focused on the guy until you see him blown to pieces because you never know if a point blank shot is going to kill him or barely flesh wound him.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:18PM Uncle Jesse said
@Vcize
I wish my work gave me a 3 hour lunch break. Stupid work!
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I wish my work gave me a 3 hour lunch break. Stupid work!
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:25PM xFenixKnightx said
@Vcize
Dont taze me BRO!!!!! =P
Dangit I couldve been playing it but I traded Bullestorm in for Crysis 2. Oh well, Beta next week.
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Dont taze me BRO!!!!! =P
Dangit I couldve been playing it but I traded Bullestorm in for Crysis 2. Oh well, Beta next week.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:30PM ShadowAsura said
@Vcize Fixed the net code? Where have you been? It's called dedicated servers and they announced them for Gears 3 several months ago. bye-bye host advantage :)
The only downside is that you occasionally won't land on a dedicated server in which case it'll fall back to the old p2p hosting for that match.
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The only downside is that you occasionally won't land on a dedicated server in which case it'll fall back to the old p2p hosting for that match.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:36PM xFenixKnightx said
@Vcize
Is there still frag walltagging? Can you feel the character movement speed is faster. Gears 1 or 3?
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Is there still frag walltagging? Can you feel the character movement speed is faster. Gears 1 or 3?
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:36PM Mazrael said
@ShadowAsura I;m sure it's regional matchmaking too.. It didn't feel laggy like Europe vs US (though with dedicated servers you get an advantage if you live closer to the server than the guy your shooting)
...Oh, and the Lancer isn't a water pistol anymore
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...Oh, and the Lancer isn't a water pistol anymore
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 3:16PM Vcize said
@ShadowAsura
Dedicated servers don't mean crap when it comes to the net code. Gears 2 ran on dedicated servers for the last 6 months and it was still laggy and broken. This is a world of difference, and goes far beyond the difference of Dedicated vs. p2p, which is much smaller than most "OMG DEDICATED SERVERS FIX EVERYTHING" people think.
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Dedicated servers don't mean crap when it comes to the net code. Gears 2 ran on dedicated servers for the last 6 months and it was still laggy and broken. This is a world of difference, and goes far beyond the difference of Dedicated vs. p2p, which is much smaller than most "OMG DEDICATED SERVERS FIX EVERYTHING" people think.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 3:34PM Vcize said
@xFenixKnightx
Unfortunately, the wall tags are still there and the frags still have a huge AoE and damage rate. Someone that loves those things must give Epic a lot of money.
To answer your other question, I've posted my full, in-depth impressions from a true gear's fans point of view (no feature list or blind optimism here, I'm giving it to you straight and answering the REAL questions) on gears3beta.com
http://www.gears3beta.com/the-bosss-first-gears-of-war-3-beta-impressions/
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Unfortunately, the wall tags are still there and the frags still have a huge AoE and damage rate. Someone that loves those things must give Epic a lot of money.
To answer your other question, I've posted my full, in-depth impressions from a true gear's fans point of view (no feature list or blind optimism here, I'm giving it to you straight and answering the REAL questions) on gears3beta.com
http://www.gears3beta.com/the-bosss-first-gears-of-war-3-beta-impressions/
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 4:08PM xFenixKnightx said
@Vcize
Good read. Well, its a Beta. Lets see if we can get some stuff ironed out before the release. I hate wallfrags and mortar myself. Its just so unnecessary. And the smoke stun is back? Weaksauce! W'ell see... I'll b*** in the forums. lol
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Good read. Well, its a Beta. Lets see if we can get some stuff ironed out before the release. I hate wallfrags and mortar myself. Its just so unnecessary. And the smoke stun is back? Weaksauce! W'ell see... I'll b*** in the forums. lol
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 4:35PM Vcize said
@xFenixKnightx
Smoke stun is back but it's really not bad now that you can move around after you get hit by it. Plus the area of effect on it is tiny.
If only they made the AoE on frags that small.
One good thing about the wall tags, if you're roadie running past them I don't think they'll kill you any more. The timer is just a tad bit longer on the wall tags now which I think gives you enough time to get away if you don't stop.
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Smoke stun is back but it's really not bad now that you can move around after you get hit by it. Plus the area of effect on it is tiny.
If only they made the AoE on frags that small.
One good thing about the wall tags, if you're roadie running past them I don't think they'll kill you any more. The timer is just a tad bit longer on the wall tags now which I think gives you enough time to get away if you don't stop.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 5:07PM CaramelZappa said
@Vcize
Great write up. I got really annoyed at Joystiq and Destructoid's impressions just being a list of features and then just mentioning that "the shotty is back"
It's nice to see someone actually go in depth with the mechanics that work, and don't work. For the most part I agree with what you wrote. Except that I like that the mortar has a long delay. I really think that weapon should be campaign and horde only. Even though it's not as overpowered as Gears 1, it never feels fair to be killed by it. Especially now that your team can be "marked" making targeting a lot easier from the other side of the map.
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Great write up. I got really annoyed at Joystiq and Destructoid's impressions just being a list of features and then just mentioning that "the shotty is back"
It's nice to see someone actually go in depth with the mechanics that work, and don't work. For the most part I agree with what you wrote. Except that I like that the mortar has a long delay. I really think that weapon should be campaign and horde only. Even though it's not as overpowered as Gears 1, it never feels fair to be killed by it. Especially now that your team can be "marked" making targeting a lot easier from the other side of the map.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 5:14PM xFenixKnightx said
@(Unverified)
Only a fake Gears fan would say that. :-)
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Only a fake Gears fan would say that. :-)
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 5:32PM CaramelZappa said
@Vcize
Meant even though it's not as overpowered as in Gears 2
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Meant even though it's not as overpowered as in Gears 2
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 6:00PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
@Vcize
This is the one game that makes me want to go buy a 360 & bulletstorm just to play the beta. If it had gears 1 mp + horde mode from gears 2 it'd probably be my goat online title. I already feel that horde is the best co-op experience of all time and gears 1 mp was beast ... Until those dang exploits. Gears 2 mp was weaksauce IMO. If they just sold horde mode on psn I'd pay $30 for it. Glad my bro has an extra 360 he'll let me use. I'll get that gamertag on his 2nd xbl account to you and fenix for some horde mode when the game drops. Love me some horde mode.
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This is the one game that makes me want to go buy a 360 & bulletstorm just to play the beta. If it had gears 1 mp + horde mode from gears 2 it'd probably be my goat online title. I already feel that horde is the best co-op experience of all time and gears 1 mp was beast ... Until those dang exploits. Gears 2 mp was weaksauce IMO. If they just sold horde mode on psn I'd pay $30 for it. Glad my bro has an extra 360 he'll let me use. I'll get that gamertag on his 2nd xbl account to you and fenix for some horde mode when the game drops. Love me some horde mode.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 11:14PM KingOfGods said
@xFenixKnightx
Frag wall tags are still there but they added a delay so it gives you time to get out of the way. in my play of the beta so far i rarely ever ran into anyone tagging frags on the wall and if they did I was able to get away from them most of the time.
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Frag wall tags are still there but they added a delay so it gives you time to get out of the way. in my play of the beta so far i rarely ever ran into anyone tagging frags on the wall and if they did I was able to get away from them most of the time.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:16PM Uncle Jesse said
I'm checking it out tonight, for sure. September is too far away. I think that playing through the Gears games with a friend on insane difficulty might just be some of the most fun I've had gaming in years.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:23PM baby sea tuna said
@Uncle Jesse
Didn't realize you had a 360. GT?
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Didn't realize you had a 360. GT?
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 4:07PM Uncle Jesse said
@baby sea tuna
Sorry for the delay, I was taking my crappy 1 our lunch...
JELLYFEET
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Sorry for the delay, I was taking my crappy 1 our lunch...
JELLYFEET
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:18PM Negatron said
^^ !! YOU'RE ALL JERKS!
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:21PM tdrwiega said
sucks that we wont be able to play KOTH or CTL for 2 weeks
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:33PM worldpattern said
@tdrwiega Yeah, that pisses me off. And only 2 maps and 1 mode for the next week. People are going to get bored so fast.
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Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:22PM baby sea tuna said
NOICE!!
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:30PM worldpattern said
Total BS that Bulletstorm EE owners only get to play 2 maps and 1 gamemode for the next week. Random people who got codes on Twitter were able to play all maps and modes just this past weekend. Feels like a slap in the effin' face from Epic.
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:32PM worldpattern said
That said, the Double Barrel Shotgun is pretty awesome. Got 3 guys in one shot already.
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Posted: Apr 18th 2011 2:56PM TheDarkWayne said
@Mazrael Love charging guys with the retro lancer. It's pretty rare to succeed, and when it does you probably get killed by everyone else, but damn if it isn't worth it.
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Posted: Apr 18th 2011 4:18PM CaramelZappa said
@worldpattern
Pretty sure the earlier beta access codes were mostly for hype and letting journalists get a full view of the beta.
The full beta is cycling through two maps at a time so that they can guarantee that they get statistics on those maps. You can only play 2 maps now, so they know people will play them. Later it will be 2 more maps and you won't be able to play these anymore. That way they get statistics on every map so they can improve them all instead of players quickly finding the maps that are already the best and no one playing the ones that need improvement.
I don't get why you feel so entitled. Did you expect the full game in a free beta?
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Pretty sure the earlier beta access codes were mostly for hype and letting journalists get a full view of the beta.
The full beta is cycling through two maps at a time so that they can guarantee that they get statistics on those maps. You can only play 2 maps now, so they know people will play them. Later it will be 2 more maps and you won't be able to play these anymore. That way they get statistics on every map so they can improve them all instead of players quickly finding the maps that are already the best and no one playing the ones that need improvement.
I don't get why you feel so entitled. Did you expect the full game in a free beta?
Posted: Apr 18th 2011 4:36PM worldpattern said
@CaramelZappa That explains things a lot. However, I'm still annoyed because I bought Bulletstorm EE under the impression, as I'm guessing many others were, that we'd be the first to get a chance to play. Were people winning codes on Twitter the past 3 days not playing all the maps and modes or did they have to wait until this morning just like people who paid for access?
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