14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors of a new game by Epic have been burrowing into our hearts for some time now, and when Cliffy B announced Gears of War 3, everyone was hyped about it.
Leaked details about the dynamic environments, weapons and additional combat systems have made their way to a Russian site and have been spotted by Digital Foundry. Fans of the series will be introduced to a new grenade launcher, which will eject projectiles with the ability to burrow and then emerge to avoid any cover that enemies might use, and a new napalm filled grenade will make any firefight a more interesting spectacle. The fresh weapons in Gears of War 3 also include a double barreled shotgun that fires two shells at the same time and a rifle that does more damage the longer the target remains in the player's sight.
The option to grab downed targets and use them as what the developers called a meat shield is still present in Gears 3, but, now, you can also throw in some sticky grenades before kicking the meat shield in a cluster of enemies and see as they go boom. The new napalm filled grenades will make the entire sequence more of a spectacle.
Epic Games confirmed Gears of War 3 would feature four-player cooperative play but leaked news mentioned that you could swap weapons with your buddies, maybe even during combat. The preview revealed that players could use Lost Planet style exosuits called Silverbacks featuring mini-guns with unlimited ammo along with a limited ammunition grenade launcher. Apparently, they have a strong front armor and weak or no armor behind. The Silverbacks can be used in stationary mode as turrets.
Thanks to the Epic team that kept changing the Unreal 3 engine, now, we can see even more impressive textures and environments can change dramatically as one moves through them. The entire geology of game areas can be affected by phenomena like earthquakes.
We expect to learn more about Gears 3, due to be released in the first quarter of 2011, at E3 next month, and we’re sure we won't be disappointed.