Gears of War 3 is slated for an April 4th, 2011 release. We’ll be sharing any additional information unveiled at E3 throughout the week.

During their live demo, the four players played through a short section of Gears of War 3 highlighting some of the new gameplay mechanics like trading weapons with others, latching grenades to enemies and shoving them into their buddies, and new executions like the bayonet rush.

The four started out under siege on their way to a a human camp. At first the team fights off a group of locusts, but it doesn’t take long before huge vines start shooting up through the ground around Marcus and company.

These Lambent tentacles quickly spit out Lambent creatures, devastating foes capable of mutating into even hellish, tentacle wielding creatures that will literally tear you apart limb by limb. These are the new threat explored in more depth in Gears 3. The new lambent enemies are tougher, bigger, and are quickly taking over what’s left of the planet.

As the demo progresses, the team fights off several lambent, specifically showing that it’s going to take a lot more coordination and team work to take down your enemies, including a Lambent Berserker—a mutated form of the original Berserker you already hate.

There will be more things to share about Gears of War 3 from E3 in the coming days, including a new game mode called “Beast”. We’ll be posting videos as soon as they’re available.

You may remember seeing some of these shots from the latest issue of Game Informer or Igromania magazine. Others you may have not seen yet. Regardless, these shots are much better quality than the scans available online!

[via Kotaku]

“We still do PC, we still love the PC, but we already saw the impact of piracy: it killed a lot of great independent developers and completely changed our business model.”

Epic has it’s money on Consoles. We’re not sure we’d agree on the reasoning for dwindling sales on PC games developed by them (keeping hardware up to date to play graphic intensive shooters ain’t cheap), but they seem to be spot on in regards to a growing marketplace of console gamers.

At any rate, we’ll see Gears of War 3 on a console long before (if ever) on PC.

[via Kotaku]

This reveal should be a great relief to many Gears of War fans who dealt with lag issues in the first few months after Gears of War 2 was released. EPIC is attempting to improve their multiplayer experience, and this illustrates their commitment to improve upon their previous title.

A New Story Begins

Gears of War 3 starts in the middle of the oceans of Sera…humanity is struggling for survival since the events in Gears of War 2. The Coalition of Governments (COG) fell apart months ago, and we now find ourselves getting by on a makeshift home, a collection of boats and an old Raven’s Nest-class aircraft carrier named “Sovereign“.

They’re eking out an existence there, and that’s where you start the game — you wake up on this village they’ve created.
- Rod Fergusson, Executive Producer

It’s not looking so great for Marcus and friends (Dom and your two new pals you’ll be spending quality time with, Jace Stratton and Anya Stroud), but things are about to get a lot worse. Just moments into the new game, the floating village is attacked by crab-like Lambent creatures.

See, when the Locusts were flooded in GoW 2, humanity dealt a heavy blow to Locusts, but no one recognized the new imminent threat for what it was. A parasitic, root-like creature is slowly destroying the planet, through Imulsion. Imulsion is a radioactive substance that’s been explored to some degree in the first two Gears of War titles. It’s an abundant source of energy for humanity that has ultimately been the cause of human wars, and now is causing Locusts to mutate into these Lambent forms.

These small Lambent enemies are just the start. Soon, infested Drones called Drudges begin mounting a full on assault against the humans on the Raven’s Nest. Drudges can mutate, becoming taller, capable of attacking 3 players at once and firing over cover. Oh, and they suicide-explode-on-you when they are close to death. The team struggles to fight them off, eventually turning to the use of the new Silverback mech suits to defend their home.

In the mess of things, a helicopter lands on board to reveal Chairman Prescott. Prescott arrives to deliver a message to the Raven’s Nest commander, but also delivers a data disk to Marcus Fenix—which is where the new story really begins.

On the disk is a message from Adam Fenix, Marcus’s father. Adam thinks he can save the planet, but he needs Marcus’s help. In Gears of War 3, players will have long-time questions finally answered: what’s the deal with Adam Fenix? what’s the deal with the message at the end of Gears of War 2? how can we save the planet from impending doom?

Cole and Baird

Cole and Baird haven’t been forgotten in Gears of War 3, but instead explore their own adventure. While Marcus, Anya, Jace and Dom being their new mission, Cole and Baird are working with some new pals on in their own separate story. When playing as Cole and Baird, you might hear dialogue from a previous mission played as Fenix and co:

The timeline starts overlapping Pulp Fiction-style, eventually merging in this great, cool, finale moment.
- Cliff Belinski

New Weapons

We’ve already explored a few of the weapons, but here are some new and updated details—and this time we’re positive we’ve got it right.

Pendulum-Era Lancer

The Pendulum Wars was a rough time for humanity, and the Pendulum-Era lancer is a reflection of the past. Similar to the Chainsaw lancer, the older model is a rifle, but lacks a chainsaw. Instead, the gun comes equipped with a bayonet, and is extremely powerful when shooting at close range.

Redesigned Hammerburst

Built for fans of long-range, the newly redesign hammerburst zooms in for accurate headshots. This will be a gun players will see throughout most of the game.

Double Barrel Sawed off Shotgun

As you might imagine, this gem is going to deal some heavy damage in close quarters. According to Game Informer, the cross hair “fills half the screen“.

Digger Launcher

Originally, we thought this was a grenade launcher capable of shooting grenades under cover to explode on the other side. Turns out, this new weapon shoots “explosive piranha” like creatures that dig quickly through the ground. The result is the same, but the process is 10x stranger (and more satisfying) than we originally thought.

The One Shot Rifle

Apparently, this huge new rifle takes out just about any enemy in just one shot. No indication if this will be in multiplayer modes, or simply in campaign.

New Executions

Again, nearly every weapon in Gears of War 3 will have its own unique execution. The Flamethrower can be thrust inside an enemy to torch them from the inside out, sending flames out of their face-holes. The Shotgun can be unhinged, wrap around an opponents neck, and crunch it like a nutshell. The new Pendulum Lancer can knife opponents.

These new executions have to be earned though. Until you complete certain tasks, they will not be available.

Silverbacks

The COG Silverback packs a serious punch with its standard load out Gatling gun and rocket launcher.

We’ve talked a bit about Silverbacks recently, the new controllable mech suits in Gears of War 3. Silverbacks can be equipped with different modules such as gatling guns and rocket launchers, move like a COG soldier, and can also be put into a stationary mode where weapons are still functional but you become heavily shielded and can function as cover for allies.

Basically, it’s a bucket of fun. It’s a walking, talking f— you.
- Cliff Belinski

Arcade Mode

Also introduced in Gears of War 3 is Arcade Mode—a competitive new mode where players are scored while they play.

Arcade mode challenges you to beat out your friends scores and achievements in the single player campaign, and definitely will increase the replay value of Gears of War 3. With the addition of 4-Player coop, and Arcade Mode, the campaign experience is going to feel a lot more complete.

Also added in Arcade mode are Mutators; rule changers that change the way the game is experienced. Mutators can do anything from changing the gravity, to changing the size of players heads.

For the knitty gritty details, we suggest picking up a copy of Junes Game Informer. You can expect some more updates later this week on Game Informer’s Gears of War Hub, as well as on Gears3.com.

Cliff Bleszinski wasn’t too happy with the poorly translated details that originally emerged on the net, but Eurogamer’s effort at translating the article seems more official in our opinion. This time, we think we’ve got accurate information regarding Gears of War 3…and we’re stoked.

New Weapons

In the magazine, 3 new weapons are explained, including the new Grenade Launcher, the Double Barrel Shotgun, and the new Single-Shot Rifle.

There will be several new weapons in Gears of War 3 including the double-barrel shotgun, a weapon that should prove exceedingly useful in close quarter combat.

Grenade Launcher

The new Grenade launcher functions like you might expect, only with the added feature of grenades burrowing underneath enemy cover, and exploding on the other side. That’s right. Grenades that travel underground and pack an explosive surprise for people who think they’re protected by cover.

Double Barrel Shotgun

The new double barrel shotgun allows players to fire a typical slug, or a powerful blast of two slugs at once. Expect this to deal some heavy damage in close quarters.

Single Shot Rifle

The new single shot rifle may only fire one shot at a time, but every consecutive hit on an enemy deals more damage. We’re imagining it to feel like a single-shot M14, only…you know…with the added power of dealing more damage when shooting the same enemy more than once. No complaints from us.

New Grenades

Gears of War 3 will bring back traditional explosive grenades and smoke grenades, but will also introduce the new Napalm Grenade. We’re not sure that this new grenade needs much explaining, but just in case you’re clueless, this probably implies that you’ll be setting a lot more enemies on fire in GoW 3.

Oh, and now when you take someone as a meatshield, you’ll have the added option of latching a grenade to them, and throwing them back to their buddies. The reunion might not be so welcoming.

Melee Takedowns

We’re all familiar with the Lancer Chainsaw, some of us a little too familiar. Gears of War 3 introduces quite a few new ways to take down your foes—each sounding a little more gruesome and over the top.

There is the efficient approach of taking a knife to your enemies throat, some weapons can be used to snap your opponents neck, and now the flamethrower can be used to torch baddies from the inside out—again, none of which make excellent dinner table conversation.

But that seems to be the sort of thing many of you love about Gears of War. Sickos.

Campaign Details

Not too much from the Eurogamer translation speaks to the actual story in the campaign, but 4-Player co-op is confirmed. Swapping weapons with your pals is also an added ability giving players better opportunities for setting up attacks.

Mech suits called Silverbacks will definitely be making an appearance in Gears of War 3, and have an unlimited supply of ammo for their miniguns along with a limited grenade supply for a Grenade launcher. The Silverbacks are heavily armored in front, but provide little protection on their back.

The COG Silverback packs a serious punch with its minigun and grenade launcher, but is only heavily armored in the front.

Expect some more details to be confirmed from June’s issue of Game Informer.

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Those who feel cut out for the challenge should contact us with expressed interest in writing, as well as writing examples (blogs/guides/etc).

What You Get

We’re constantly changing how we reward contributors, but for now, contributors get the following.

• Serious cred for writing for a serious Gears of War publication
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• Dedicated contributors have a tendency to receive free Gears of War swag from time to time.
• Cash via paypal for every few posts

In the newest issue of Game Informer, we’ll get a closer look at new characters in Gears of War 3, along with new weapons and locations. Oh, and there’s a sexy cover.

Hey baby.

Game Informer also promises a month full of Gears of War 3 updates on their site, with their next scheduled reveal to be on May 12th (next Wednesday).

Anya Stroud will be fighting alongside Marcus Fenix and co. in Gears of War 3.

There has been some debate over translations of the article, which Cliffy B has addressed in a tweet, but in synopsis the Magazine details at least one level, “Raven’s Nest“, that appears to take place in a fortress made of battleships in the somewhere in the ocean. There will also be new controllable Mechs in the game called Silverbacks.

In Gears of War 3, players will not only fight the Locusts, but also a new enemy. The Lambent have mutated, and now pose a threat to Humans and Locusts alike. All races are now fighting for survival on a planet where civilization is in ruin and the future is uncertain.

Also noteworthy, as stated previously by the creators of the Gears of War series, Gears of War 3 will end the current story arc. However, the franchise will live on through new stories, and possible through new genres. Is Gears of War going the way of the Halo franchise?

Raven’s Nest is a level in Gears of War 3 that takes place in the middle of the Sea.

The magazine also reveals that players that had a tough time with Gears of War 2 can ease up the difficulty settings in Gears of War 3. Apparently, only 60% of players completed the second Gears of War. This will not mean that the more difficult settings will be tuned down according to Cliff.

We’re holding out on posting any more poorly translated tidbits, but we’re very excited to see some of these new screenshots.