PSA: Full Gears of War 3 beta launches today, more content next week

by James Ransom-Wiley on Apr 25th 2011 11:02AM

If you're just joining the Gears of War 3 beta today, then you're not that big of a fan, are you? Sure, it means you've pre-ordered the game from GameStop (or another participating retailer outside of the US) and secured your ticket to the beta, but true Gearsheads have been playing through their copies of Bulletstorm for a full seven days now. What's your excuse?

Your half-assed engagement means that you're already way behind in the race to unlock the most demanding rewards before the beta ends on May 15, including the "Thrashball Cole" character skin and the Gold-Plated Retro Lancer weapon skin (both pictured). And, of course, you've already excluded yourself from adding the Flaming Hammerburst to your permanent arsenal -- it was only available to beta players last week.

If you're saying to yourself, "I really don't care about the unlockables -- I just don't wanna get owned by all the 'cheaters' who have been playing the beta forever already." Well, for one, you're lying to yourself. But you can also check out some tips for preparing to enter the beta from senior gameplay designer Lee Perry over on Ars Technica. And you can relax a little, too. Bulletstorm early access players were limited to Team Deathmatch on two maps, so they're just as new to the King of the Hill mode and the Trenchtown and Old Town maps as you are.

Additionally, next Monday, May 2, Epic will reintroduce the Capture the Leader mode, rounding out the beta's full slate of three gametypes on four maps (not to mention, "special events and surprises" will occur "throughout the beta"). But if you wait until then, it's kind of like why bother?

Update: Corrected schedule of gametypes and maps availability.

Show full PR text

Join the Biggest Gaming Event of the Spring as the "Gears of War 3" Multiplayer Beta Kicks off Today
Fans unite to help shape the biggest blockbuster of 2011

Rally your brothers in arms and charge into battle with Delta Squad as the multiplayer beta for this year's most anticipated blockbuster, "Gears of War 3," officially launches today on Xbox LIVE. Fans who've preordered "Gears of War 3" from GameStop* can jump into the action and help perfect the award-winning multiplayer experience in the epic finale to one of gaming's most celebrated sagas.

Over the next three weeks, players will have the opportunity to get an early taste of three brand new competitive modes on four breathtaking maps:

Beta Content Schedule

April 25 – May 1
The beta kicks off with the new Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill modes on three explosive battlegrounds: Thrashball, Checkout and Trenches.

May 2 – May 8
The action amps up with the addition of Capture the Leader and a fan-picked map from the Facebook voting contest, Old Town.

May 9 – May 15
The mayhem continues with Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Capture the Leader on all four maps.

Additionally, fans can look forward to special events and surprises throughout the beta, and unlock exclusive medals, weapon skins and character variants, which they can carry over to their retail copy of "Gears of War 3" when it launches on Sept. 20. For example, players can complete 50 matches in any game type to unlock Thrashball Cole during the beta. Completing 10 matches as the Thrashball athlete during the beta period will permanently unlock the character variant for the retail version of "Gears of War 3." For additional details on the unlockables and the beta, please refer to the official Epic Games FAQ: http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=767359.

Powered by dedicated servers, "Gears of War 3" offers the series' most feature-packed versus multiplayer experience yet, and raises the bar with new game types, weapons, visceral executions, playable characters, squad communication tools, a deep player rewards system, and more. New players will enjoy the finely balanced gameplay and streamlined game types, which make "Gears of War 3" deeper and more accessible than ever before, allowing anyone to instantly jump into the action.

Developed by acclaimed studio Epic Games, "Gears of War 3" is available for preorder today in three distinct editions – Standard ($59.99 USD), Limited ($79.99) and Epic ($149.99). For additional details on the game and the beta, please visit gearsofwar.xbox.com.

*For the full list of participating global retailers, please visit: http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Templates/Secondary.aspx?id=2004

More coverage: Gears of War 3 beta: The rundown

Tags: beta, epic-games, gamestop, gears-of-war-3, microsoft, xbox, xbox-live

Reader Comments (61)

I'll pass on this shotgun-fest.

I know I'm gonna get downvoted for saying that, but I guess the truth hurts.

I just wish the focus was on tactics (where this game becomes brilliant), not shotgun-spamming.

@The Pork
The truth does hurt, but this is a shotgun-fest that you have to love!!! it take a special person to appreciate being blown in half by a shotgun for about 80% of you deaths. Maybe you just can't take it

OT: so excited to get out if class today and play the he'll out of this. I'm hoping the gameplay is more akin to Gears 1 MP and not Gears 2 MP though :/

@The Pork I enjoy the game, but I feel like with the addition of a shared life pool and spawning, the tactical side of the game had been decreased.

There used to be more tension with the one life format. Now it's like everyone rushes to each point as fast as they can and tries to use thier sawed off before you use your sawed off.

One of the better things about the life pool is that power weapons aren't the end-all, be-all that they used to be. Games used to revolve around who can secure the power weapons in the other two versions, at least this time it's like "Who cares that you got the boomshot first, that's at best going to be 3 kills out of a pool of 20"

@The Pork

That is where you're wrong. I've just started playing the beta today, and I was surprised to see how balanced it all is. In no way is it a shotgun fest anymore.

@The Pork I agree to an extent. I love the beta and I love gears as a franchise, but this life pool feature isn't my favorite thing in the world. I liked when you had one life per round. It made for more tense moments when it's one and done. And likewise you had to be more coordinated as a group. With this spawning feature everyone seems to want to try and run up in your face and fire off thier sawed off. If they make it, good for them, if they don't, they don't care because they have 20 more tries.

That being said, one of the good parts about having a spawn pool is that you lessen the value of power weapons. In Gears and Gears 2, entire matches hinged on who was able to secure the power weapon the fastest. A boom shot would single handedly win games for you, being able to take out more than half thier team. Now it's like "Oh you got the boomshot? Big deal. That's going to take out 3 people at best from a pool of 20"

On the whole though, I wish they would bring the one life format back at least as just a variant game type.

@Strider119

The downside of the one-life is that if you suck (which I do) you do a lot of watching, and not a lot of playing...and it was hard to ever get better since, once again, you'd do more watching than playing.

@The Pork

its sawed off shotgun fest indeed.....if you dont have the shotgun up close...you are done....I wish they Beta tested the Horde mode....I LOVE horde

@Strider119

Good points Strider, absolutely.

In terms of tactics, the one other annoying thing I've noticed with the beta (in addition to endless shotguns) is that very few people are using the tag feature. It's so easy to click in that left stick to help others out, but no one wants to use it.

I get that people aren't going to talk that much (par for the course on any console I find), but the whole point of the tag feature is to cater to those people who don't want to talk, but (theoretically) still want to help in some way. It's just not happening that way though.

@The Pork This isn't a shotty fest.. I practically never use it, I'm taken out by the retro lancer charge more than anything.. I stick to the (chainsaw) Lancer, it's not the water pistol it was in Gears 2

@The Pork I would have agreed with you, but its much easier to combat against this time around. The lancer is super accurate though the power is decreased, retro lancer is powerful but high spread but the melee rocks, the hammerburst is akin to a low powered sniper with no zoom...the gnasher (shotgun) is about the same though the sawed off is kind of stupid as getting hit anywhere within about 2-4 feet in front of another player is instant death, though the clip size is only 4 and the reload time is killer.

@baby sea tuna Yeah I know that was a concern they had talked about when developing the game. That's why I was thinking maybe bring it back as a variant game type option.

I can see the pros and cons of the life pool, and really I'm on the fence about it. I guess in the end I'm human and I'm scared fo change and I want my familar gametype that I've played for the last 5 years to at least be an option.

@Strider119 Warzone and Execution are still in the game, just not in the beta. I love them too, and there will still be these 1-life game types to play.

It still has a lot of shotgun use, mainly by people that have a hard time using the gnasher, and opt to use the sawed-off to get easier kills. However, more often than not I just Hammerburst them down. And it's still in balance anyway, that's why it's a beta.

@The Pork

Retro Lancer (think CoD SMG) beats shotgun every time.

Just wanted to clarify that Old Town is already active on the beta :)

@(Unverified)

I haven't seen it. :(

I'm going to go buy this demo today lol I need a brake from fight night champion haven't killed anything in a while

@skbkoy65 me too. I've been busy playing portal 2, pokemon black, and psn is down so my xbox is gonna see some action with this beta.

@skbkoy65

*whispers*
Psst! hey kid, its not a demo, and the word yer lookin for is "break."

Well I'll finally get to join in the fun today. I just didn't like the demo for Bulletstorm enough to want it, but I can justify a $5 preorder for a game that I'm getting anyway.

I do wish I hadn't missed the bunny masks from yesterday though. Something about shotgunning a bunny in face makes me giggle.

Finally!!!!!! I cant wait to get off work! Stupid work!

As much as I want to try this out, my hate for Gamestop overrules it...pass.

"What's your excuse?"

I've only had a 360 for over a year.
I rarely like stuff made by Epic.

But shotgun fest? Count me in! (Let's see if it impresses me!)

So.much.fun. Just watch out for that dang Mantle Kick!

CTL was out since last Sunday.

@MarkcusD You only get CTL if your out of sync with the server, first 2 weeks are team deathmatch, mostly played with i's

Yeah I don't like the hanmerburst as much as the lancer. But thrashball Cole is epic. Im glad I got the beta, after work it's going down. Anyone want to join my gamertag is xFSUx Batman.

I Just pre-ordered the game on gamestop.com, waited for my free beta code to be emailed then canceled said pre-order. love bypassing the system. not to mention that for some reason they gave me a duke nukem forever early access demo code as well. Hopefully the beta is good!

@Mechazawa Prime

How long did it take? I did the same but I haven't received anything. (beta code)

@philmcfail

Pre-ordered yesterday evening and got it this morning before noon.

@Mechazawa Prime

Wonder why I was down voted. I only canceled the pre-order because I don't want to wait 3-5 extra days for shipping, not to mention pay those 3 extra bucks to have my game arrive later than it would If I went in store.

I got 2 game in this morning before work. Got the beta tester achievement, awesome. And got blown in half bout 7 times, again awesome. I like the ranking system the game has going now. Thats what gets me addicted to the cod games.

@(Unverified) Off topic however if you wonder why quake arena or similar games arn't being played online remember this level/rank up statement if people don't see random numbers going up they arn't playing it.

I bought Bulletstorm on Saturday, played this a bit yesterday, and remembered just how infuriating I find Gears' multiplayer.

That said, it does feel a little more balanced against the Gnasher, as I was able to pull off a few non-chainsaw kills with the Lancer. But I still feel like I suck at it just because I don't want to play it the exactly same way as everyone else. I'll give it some more time over the next few weeks, to unlock Cole Train if nothing else.

@Boring K I'm anti-shotgun if for no other reason than like you said, wanting to be different. I go lancer or hammer pretty much non-stop until I'm out of ammo. It's a doable strategy, you just have to work from a distance and move on more of an anticipatory basis as opposed to a reactionary one.

I will say that the active reload lancer and hammer seem pretty strong. It's a nice balance and it helps keep people from getting too close. Or getting to know you on an emotional level. "My parents never loved me, auughhhhh, bang-bang-bang-bang"

@Boring K Use Hammerburst or Retro Lancer. Problem solved.

As much as I love the sawn off shotty , I think running half way across the map and spear folk with the retro lancer is much more satisfying

Beta experience so far, in a haiku:

He slowly approaches foes
Shotguns thwart his plans
Woe, no unlocks for him now

@darkinchworm
Wow, I just realized that I totally blew this by doing 7/5/7 rather than the proper 5/7/5.

Whatever, I'm still proud. Sort of.

Of all the Gears to complain about being shotgun-fests (which IMO is a good thing, but I digress), this ain't it.

The retro-lancer is mega powerful. Most good players have the majority of their kills coming out of the barrel of that gun, not the shotgun.

@Vcize
I especially don't understand people complaining about the sawed off. It's only got one shot at a time and a really long reload time. On top of that the Hammerburst and Retro Lancer are really powerful this time around, and if you have one out anyone charging at you with the shotgun doesn't stand a chance. It's really only a shotgun fest for those who haven't figured out that the game is finally balanced properly.

Okay guys, here's how it all breaks down:

Lancer is great for support, back up your squad from a distance and remember to spot!
Hammerburst is much the same story, but it can down enemies a LOT faster. It has almost zero recoil when looking through the ironsights.
Retro Lancer is very powerful, but the spread increases drastically with each shot. Use it single-shot at a distance, or hip-fire it up close (it's just as accurate from the hip as it is when aiming). The bayonet charge can definitely take you by surprise if you're on the receiving end, it looks very similar to a regular roadie run.
Gnashers are reminiscent of their Gears 1 form, the random bullet patterns seem to have been done away with in favor of a slight nerf in damage. It will still definitely one-shot at point-blank, though.
Sawed-off shotty will literally decimate anyone in range. That range is very short, but it's got enough power to take out two or three enemies in a single shot. Great for plowing through a duo after you've downed one of them, justpull out the sawed off and blow them both away when one goes to revive the other. Be careful with your aim though; if you miss, you're either dead or running. Reloading this thing takes for-friggin'-ever, which is good because it really balances things between it and the gnasher.

All gametypes and maps were playable for a few days (for the lucky VIP players) prior to the beta going live for Bulletstorm owners. Any player you see running around as Baird or a Kantus probably had access to the VIP event, and will probably smoke your ass one-on-one. The first week was supposed to only have TDM on Thrashball and Checkout, but Old Town and Trenches leaked early due to some of the VIP players leaving their consoles on (or so I've heard, but those two maps definitely became playable about halfway through the first week).

That's pretty much the synopsis of everything that's happened up to date, so if you've read this, you should be able to jump in and have at least some semblance of knowing what you're doing. =]

Old town and King of the Hill (aka annex) were both made available last night. Capture the Leader was taken down just before the Bulletstorm folks got in.

Honestly, I really don't care about the unlockables -- I just want to get owned by all the 'cheaters' who have been playing the beta forever already.
Repeatedly.

@Negatron hear, hear. I haven't played Gears since the month of Gears 2 release due to how horrible the connections and finding a match were for it. But anyhow, you hit my number one complaint thus far for this one on the nose.

I beat Bulletstorm and haven't looked at the Gears beta yet...
What's my excuse?
Oh, a little Portal2 mixed with some Portal2 co-op, and a touch of Portal2 : 2nd run.
I'll definitely be rocking this junt when it drops for real, though.
Too many actual games to play to worry about a beta. :(

So anyone still playing gears2? wondering if it'd be a worthwhile multi fix for awhile.

It's still in the top 10 charts, so I would say yes

I don't know why people call it a shotgun fest (the beta) when the rifles are strong as hell and can easily compete with the Gnasher.

Meh. I went back to Horde on GoW2. Why no Horde nor Co-Op is in the beta is beyond me.
And the shotty (sawed off or otherwise) is still powerful more than it should be.
And tossing nades?
Give me freakin HORDE!!!! HUMANS!!!!

Now for my rant. I played. I killed. I was killed. Over. And over. And man. someone needs to lay off the redBull and colourful metaphors!

(reading below this means you realize I am provoking and ranting...so don't got there).

(I warned you) :P

Hey, you like MP? Good for you. I prefer games that promote co-op and teamwork, not lone-wolf or aggressive tendencies (Yeah, curb-stomp, face-smashing, spine-beating gore...). And so much for attracting the "créme de le créme" of Agro-posers... you did well Cliffy B.

I just see another violent multi-player game destined to appease immature and mentally-underdeveloped, under-achieving Gamestop employees that STILL live in their parent's basements (if that don't grey me out...heh).

@MassDragonEffectAge

What in the wide world of sports?

You can certainly run around and lone wolf it if you want at Gears, but the most successful teams are the ones that work together. I've played the bejeesus out of every FPS out there (I'm a Tribes player at heart, so don't bother lecturing me about team play, that game is the 'team play' king) and out of the major franchises that are really popular right now Gears and BC are the ones that most reward teams for working together.

That's what makes Gears great. You can get by passably if you just feel like shutting off your brain and running around to own some fools, but at the same time people working together strategically will always have an extremely large advantage.

It suits both playstyles, whatever you're in the mood for. And this idea that it's made for immature basement dwellers just because it's gory shows the immaturity of only one person here - you. Gears probably has one of the oldest player bases of any FPS franchise right now.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Gears of War 3

PSA: Full Gears of War 3 beta launches today, more content next week

Reader Comments (61)

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:07AM The Pork said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:18AM Aesir Renegade said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 4:34PM Strider119 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:36AM Grubasaurus Rex said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:27AM Strider119 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:40AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:47AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:57AM The Pork said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:01PM Mazrael said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:13PM sammo21 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:45PM Strider119 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 2:11PM WeRequireMOARMinerals said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 5:02PM SirUrza said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:10AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 5:02PM SirUrza said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:13AM skbkoy65 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:37PM halfportalfortress4dead said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 1:42PM Negatron said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:14AM The Tim said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:15AM xFenixKnightx said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:51AM profeteer said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:34AM religiousjedi said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:36AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:42AM MarkcusD said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:03PM Mazrael said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:44AM xFSUxBatman said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 11:57AM Mechazawa Prime said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 6:59PM philmcfail said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 7:43PM Mechazawa Prime said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 5:08PM Mechazawa Prime said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:02PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:26PM kyte420 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:07PM Boring K said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:41PM Strider119 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 2:13PM WeRequireMOARMinerals said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:10PM YerGaffer said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:36PM darkinchworm said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 9:48PM darkinchworm said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 12:45PM Vcize said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 2:46PM CaramelZappa said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 10:43PM trendscenedental said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 1:32PM Schlecht said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 1:48PM Negatron said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 10:04AM Johnny Neat said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 2:23PM JonahStein said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 2:37PM Gashlycrumb said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:37PM darkinchworm said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 3:32PM JGray73 said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 3:59PM MassDragonEffectAge said

Posted: Apr 25th 2011 4:57PM Vcize said

Gears of War 3 Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is a stranger in a strange land

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW