Gears of War 3
Encyclopedia
Gears of War 3 is a third-person shooter
video game developed by Epic Games
and published by Microsoft Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360
. Originally due for release in April 2011, the game was delayed and eventually released on September 20, 2011.
Gears of War 3 made over one million pre-orders making it one of the most anticipated games of 2011. It is the third installment of the Gears of War series
, and the final game in the current story arc.
The story was written by science fiction author Karen Traviss
, who has authored four Gears novels and is working on the next one.
that emphasizes the use of cover and squad tactics in combat situations. The player's character can carry four weapons: one pistol, one set of grenades, and two other weapons, all which can be swapped with other weapons dropped by fallen foes or at stockpiles throughout the game. Most weapons feature a secondary fire mode; the game's signature rifle, the Lancer, includes a chainsaw bayonet that can be used at close range to slice through enemies. When the player reloads a weapons ammunition, they have an opportunity for an "active reload", shown by a small cursor moving over a line with a marked section on the player's heads-up display (HUD). If the player hits a control button when the cursor is in the marked section, they will reload faster with the resulting reload being slightly more powerful than normal bullets. If they press the button outside this section, this temporarily jams the weapon, leaving the player vulnerable. Alternatively, the player can opt to not try to for the active reload, reloading the weapon at normal speed. At times, the player can carry a heavier weapon, such as a mortar or gatling gun, which slows their pace while it is carried.
When in combat, the player can take some damage from enemy fire, filling a blood-colored "crimson omen" on the HUD as a measure of the player's health. By staying out of the line of fire, this will dissipate, but by taking too much damage, the player will become downed, and must be brought to their feet by an ally within a short "bleed-out" period, or else the player will die, unless playing the game on Insane difficultly level in which case a player will died immediately after taking too much damage. The player can also be killed during the bleed-out by the use of an execution move by the enemy. Some types of damage, such as explosives or head shots, can kill the player immediately without the bleed-out period. Similarly, the player can also cause enemies to fall into bleed-out in the same manner. The player and their allies and enemies can use nearly any structure as cover, firing blind from behind it or leaning out to take aimed shots. Players can quickly switch between nearby covering walls or jump over lower cover to rush forward. Within Gears of War 3, some cover can be destroyed after taking some amount of damage, which can be used to a tactical advantage to draw out enemies from cover.
New to Gears of War 3 is the ability to tag enemy opponents; computer-controller allies will then concentrate fire on these marked enemies, while human allies will be alerted to their location on their HUD. Players can now also swap weapons and ammunition with other allies in the course of battle.
The player maintains an experience level
that persists across all game modes. The player earns experience through kills, performing special types of kills, reviving and aiding teammates, and through general process of the campaign or competitive modes. Earning levels unlocks the use of special character skins and weapons within the game's multiplayer mode.
While Augustus Cole and his squad look for supplies from the ruins of his hometown, Chairman Prescott arrives on the Sovereign, providing Marcus with a data disc that shows his father, the scientist Adam Fenix, is still alive. The ship is soon attacked by a Lambent Leviathan; Marcus and his team try to defend the ship, luring the creature into a trap set by Baird at a nearby bridge. Though the Leviathan is destroyed, the ship is also lost. After Marcus, Dom, Cole, Baird, Carmine and Sam reunite, Anya contacts Marcus saying that Jace is with her and that Prescott is wounded. They make it to Prescott, who is mortally wounded from the destruction of the ship. Prescott discloses Adam's location to Marcus, Azura, and then dies of his wounds. Leaving some of his Gears to help the survivors, Marcus, Cole, Dom, and Baird take off towards Anvil Base, where they have the equipment to decode the key, while Anya and the rest care for wounded.
The Gears are forced to travel across Locust-controlled bases, and the Locust Queen, Myrrah, alerts all her troops in their path to the team approach. Marcus and his team eventually hijack a Locust gas barge to travel by air, stopping to help and rescue Dizzy, a skilled mechanic and driver. They arrive at Anvil Gate and help Hoffman defend against a Locust onslaught. Afterwards, they review the encrypted key to find the location of Azura but discover it is protected by a man-made Maelstrom, an artificial hurricane preventing arrival by air or on sea. Hoffman notes the location of a submarine in the ruins of Char, a nearby city, but they will need fuel. Dom suggests traveling to Mercy, where an Imulsion filling station is located — coincidentally, also the home of his dead wife Maria.
At Mercy, the Gears discover humans that have become Lambent from Imulsion poisoning, and fear the infection may spread. As they are surrounded by Lambent forces, Dom finds a truck and decides to drive it through a tunnel and back out into the tanker. The explosion then kills the Lambent and Locust along with Dom. The squad is able to escape but lose their fuel in the process of Dom's death. Turning to Char, they come across Stranded, led by Griffin, who have come to despise the COG due to Char being one of the first chosen cities in the Hammer of Dawn counter-strikes. Griffin holds Dizzy hostage to force the Gears to return a supply of Imulsion from a nearby building; when they return, Myrrah and the Locust have attacked the tower. The Gears escape with Dizzy, while Griffin vows to get revenge for the deaths of the Stranded. Eventually, the team makes their way to the naval base, where the submarine is located. After repairing and refuelling it, they set off for Azura.
After slipping under the Maelstrom, they find Azura is fashioned as a large resort. As they fight off the Locust that are also trying to get to Adam, the team deduce that Prescott had knowledge that Emergence Day was coming, as he had ordered the construction of Azura and brought the world's elite to it prior to the appearance of the Locust. Adam is able to contact the team via the security cameras on the island, and explains he has a cure to stop the Lambent but needs the Gears help to execute it. Marcus and his team fight through the Locust to shut down the Maelstrom generator with Adam's instructions, allowing Baird, Cole and Carmine to arrive together with the remnants of the COG and UIR to provide air and ground support. Baird and Cole reunite with Delta and Baird asks about Dom and Dizzy. Marcus says Dizzy's taking the submarine offshore and that Dom died. As Lambent forces start appearing on the island, the Gears make their way to a hotel where Adam is being kept. En route, they face Myrrah, who reveals that Adam had been working with her for twenty years and refuses to let them help him complete his plan. After dispatching Myrrah, the squad reaches Adam's room. After a brief reunion and hearing news about Dom, Adam explains that Imulsion is a parasite, adapting itself to both Locust and human bodies to create the Lambent, and it is evolving quickly, threatening to destroy Sera. Adam has developed an energy wave that, like a neutron bomb
, will only destroy cells infected by Imulsion. Though this will kill the Lambent, it will also kill the Locust troops; Adam had been in contact with Myrrah to try to stave off the effects on the Locust and to discover a cure that would not harm them, but could not find it in time.
Marcus and his squad escort Adam to the roof of the hotel where the energy generator for his cure sits. The team defends against Myrrah's attack. Carmine, fighting Myrrah from a Raven, is shot down off the tower, presumably killing him. Adam gives the Hammer of Dawn to the squad and the squad uses the Hammer on Myrrah, causing her to crash. Eventually, the machine reaches full power, sending waves of energy across Sera, killing all Locust and Lambent. Adam meanwhile revealed to Baird that he injected himself with Imulsion to find out how it reproduced. He tells Marcus he was glad to see him again and to go live his life for him. Adam then dies due to the Imulsion, turning him into ashes.
With Marcus devastated from his dad's death, Myrrah, still alive from the last attack, explains Adam's plans and blames Marcus for what Adam failed to do. Marcus then stabs Myrrah with Dom's knife, killing her.
The scene changes to show a COG's helmet on the ground, where it is subsequently picked up and put on by Carmine — showing that he survives the attack. The Gears celebrate the Locust's defeat while Marcus mourns Dom and Adam. Anya reminds Marcus that because of Adam, they have a tomorrow. She then takes his hand, puts her head on his shoulder, and with the other Gears looking onward, they all stare into the horizon.
by Cliff Bleszinski
, with a teaser trailer featuring the song "Heron Blue" by Sun Kil Moon
. Prior to the official reveal, an advert for the game was accidentally displayed on the Xbox 360 Dashboard.
will be available exclusively at GameStop
, while a gold version of the replica Retro Lancer is also available exclusively at Play.com
.
.
voices the character of Griffin. It was announced during E3 2011 that Ice-T's band, Body Count
, would be reuniting to make a song titled "The Gears of War", which was featured in the Horde 2.0 trailer.
for the Xbox 360
included early access to the multiplayer beta of Gears of War 3 and access to exclusive content. It was later announced that pre-ordering Gears of War 3 in any edition at GameStop
in the United States or GAME
in the United Kingdom would grant access to the public beta. There will be in-game achievements unlockable exclusively for beta testers that include characters and weapon skins. All players that participate in the beta will receive a medal to identify themselves as beta testers upon the release of the final game. The Bulletstorm
exclusive beta began on April 18, 2011, a week before the GameStop pre-order beta which began on April 25, 2011. The beta concluded on May 15, 2011.
, Gears of War 3 will have unlockables just like Gears of War 2.
The first downloadable content is the "Horde Command Pack", which was released on November 1, 2011. In addition to new character and weapon skins, it provides three new maps for use in Versus and Horde mode and three new fortifications that the players can build.
The second downloadable content is called "Versus Booster Map Pack". It was released on November 24, 2011 and is available for free. The pack contains five multiplayer maps which includes Blood Drive, Azura, and Rustlung, which were originally made available through the Horde Command Pack; and Bullet Marsh and Clocktower, which will be new to Gears of War 3.
The third downloadable content is "RAAM's Shadow", scheduled for release on December 13, 2011. Included in this DLC is six new multiplayer characters, a new weapon set named "Chocolate", new achievements, and over 3 hours of singleplayer gameplay. The story takes place before the first Gears of War, set in Sera post-emergence day. Zeta Squad is enlisted to evacuate Ilima City and protect the citizens against a Locust Kryll storm. The player will be in the role of General RAAM, the main antagonist from the first Gears of War. Zeta is led by Michael Barrick (from “Gears of War” comics fame) and composed of returning characters such as Lt. Minh Young Kim, from the first Gears of War and Tai Kaliso from Gears of War 2, and also includes a new female character, Alicia Valera.
, revealed their commissioned Gears Of War trike. Discovery episodes chronicled their efforts to build the trike, visits to Epic and them interpreting various merchandising and promotional material into the bike. The team from Epic was impressed and even mentioned the possibility of adding the trike to a future game in the series, should they continue it.
. Jeff Gerstmann
of Giant Bomb
gave Gears of War 3 a review of 5/5; stating "Gears of War 3 is a fantastic follow-up that answers important questions about the nature of the Gears universe while backing it all up with an even bigger, better multiplayer suite." IGN called it "the spectacular conclusion to one of the most memorable and celebrated sagas in video games." Game Informer
gave it a 9.5/10, saying that "Gears 3 is a fantastic idea polished to near perfection by an enormous crew of talented developers and a bottomless budget," with "a constantly shuffling deck of threats that encourage players to experiment with new weapons and tactics," "hilariously over-the-top set piece moments," and a "smart approach to network play."
After Eurogamer published an 8/10 review for the game, Epic Games Cliff Bleszinski reported, saying "When people rated Gears 2 higher than Gears 3, it kind of upset me because I know Gears 3 is a better game on every level." His comments were criticized by Destructoid
and GamePro
. In GamePro, McKinley Noble argued that "slamming a "bad" review that's actually pretty favorable does come off as selfish".
The Gears of War franchise as of September 27, 2011, has grossed over $1 billion.
.
The following tracks from commercials/trailers are not available on the soundtrack.
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
video game developed by Epic Games
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
and published by Microsoft Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. Originally due for release in April 2011, the game was delayed and eventually released on September 20, 2011.
Gears of War 3 made over one million pre-orders making it one of the most anticipated games of 2011. It is the third installment of the Gears of War series
Gears of War (series)
Gears of War is a science fiction video game franchise created and owned by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios. The three games that currently make up the series take place on the fictional planet Sera and focus on a war between humans and creatures known as Locust...
, and the final game in the current story arc.
The story was written by science fiction author Karen Traviss
Karen Traviss
Karen Traviss is a science fiction author, and full-time novelist from Wiltshire, England. Originally from the Portsmouth area, Traviss worked as both a journalist and defence correspondent before turning her attention to writing fiction. She also served in both the Territorial Army and the Royal...
, who has authored four Gears novels and is working on the next one.
Gameplay
Gears of War 3, like its predecessors, is a third-person shooterThird-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
that emphasizes the use of cover and squad tactics in combat situations. The player's character can carry four weapons: one pistol, one set of grenades, and two other weapons, all which can be swapped with other weapons dropped by fallen foes or at stockpiles throughout the game. Most weapons feature a secondary fire mode; the game's signature rifle, the Lancer, includes a chainsaw bayonet that can be used at close range to slice through enemies. When the player reloads a weapons ammunition, they have an opportunity for an "active reload", shown by a small cursor moving over a line with a marked section on the player's heads-up display (HUD). If the player hits a control button when the cursor is in the marked section, they will reload faster with the resulting reload being slightly more powerful than normal bullets. If they press the button outside this section, this temporarily jams the weapon, leaving the player vulnerable. Alternatively, the player can opt to not try to for the active reload, reloading the weapon at normal speed. At times, the player can carry a heavier weapon, such as a mortar or gatling gun, which slows their pace while it is carried.
When in combat, the player can take some damage from enemy fire, filling a blood-colored "crimson omen" on the HUD as a measure of the player's health. By staying out of the line of fire, this will dissipate, but by taking too much damage, the player will become downed, and must be brought to their feet by an ally within a short "bleed-out" period, or else the player will die, unless playing the game on Insane difficultly level in which case a player will died immediately after taking too much damage. The player can also be killed during the bleed-out by the use of an execution move by the enemy. Some types of damage, such as explosives or head shots, can kill the player immediately without the bleed-out period. Similarly, the player can also cause enemies to fall into bleed-out in the same manner. The player and their allies and enemies can use nearly any structure as cover, firing blind from behind it or leaning out to take aimed shots. Players can quickly switch between nearby covering walls or jump over lower cover to rush forward. Within Gears of War 3, some cover can be destroyed after taking some amount of damage, which can be used to a tactical advantage to draw out enemies from cover.
New to Gears of War 3 is the ability to tag enemy opponents; computer-controller allies will then concentrate fire on these marked enemies, while human allies will be alerted to their location on their HUD. Players can now also swap weapons and ammunition with other allies in the course of battle.
The player maintains an experience level
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
that persists across all game modes. The player earns experience through kills, performing special types of kills, reviving and aiding teammates, and through general process of the campaign or competitive modes. Earning levels unlocks the use of special character skins and weapons within the game's multiplayer mode.
Setting
In Gears of War 2, Marcus Fenix and his COG forces were forced to destroy the Jacinto plateau, the last major city on the planet Sera since the appearance of the Locust on Emergence Day seventeen years prior, to flood the Locust tunnels and slow the spread of Lambent (Locust creatures mutated by their exposure to the energic liquid known as Imulsion).Plot
Taking place eighteen months since Jacinto was flooded, the human survivors have moved to the island of Vectes to rebuild. After a generally quiet period, the Imulsion infected Lambent began to emerge from underground. Hiding something, the COG head of state, Chairman Prescott, abandoned the COG. Now leaderless and being forced off the island, the COG disbands and separates to the safest places left. Victor Hoffman takes some survivors to Anvil Gate while Delta squad sets off on a Raven's Nest Class carrier, the CNV Sovereign, with the remaining humans to avoid further Lambent incursion.While Augustus Cole and his squad look for supplies from the ruins of his hometown, Chairman Prescott arrives on the Sovereign, providing Marcus with a data disc that shows his father, the scientist Adam Fenix, is still alive. The ship is soon attacked by a Lambent Leviathan; Marcus and his team try to defend the ship, luring the creature into a trap set by Baird at a nearby bridge. Though the Leviathan is destroyed, the ship is also lost. After Marcus, Dom, Cole, Baird, Carmine and Sam reunite, Anya contacts Marcus saying that Jace is with her and that Prescott is wounded. They make it to Prescott, who is mortally wounded from the destruction of the ship. Prescott discloses Adam's location to Marcus, Azura, and then dies of his wounds. Leaving some of his Gears to help the survivors, Marcus, Cole, Dom, and Baird take off towards Anvil Base, where they have the equipment to decode the key, while Anya and the rest care for wounded.
The Gears are forced to travel across Locust-controlled bases, and the Locust Queen, Myrrah, alerts all her troops in their path to the team approach. Marcus and his team eventually hijack a Locust gas barge to travel by air, stopping to help and rescue Dizzy, a skilled mechanic and driver. They arrive at Anvil Gate and help Hoffman defend against a Locust onslaught. Afterwards, they review the encrypted key to find the location of Azura but discover it is protected by a man-made Maelstrom, an artificial hurricane preventing arrival by air or on sea. Hoffman notes the location of a submarine in the ruins of Char, a nearby city, but they will need fuel. Dom suggests traveling to Mercy, where an Imulsion filling station is located — coincidentally, also the home of his dead wife Maria.
At Mercy, the Gears discover humans that have become Lambent from Imulsion poisoning, and fear the infection may spread. As they are surrounded by Lambent forces, Dom finds a truck and decides to drive it through a tunnel and back out into the tanker. The explosion then kills the Lambent and Locust along with Dom. The squad is able to escape but lose their fuel in the process of Dom's death. Turning to Char, they come across Stranded, led by Griffin, who have come to despise the COG due to Char being one of the first chosen cities in the Hammer of Dawn counter-strikes. Griffin holds Dizzy hostage to force the Gears to return a supply of Imulsion from a nearby building; when they return, Myrrah and the Locust have attacked the tower. The Gears escape with Dizzy, while Griffin vows to get revenge for the deaths of the Stranded. Eventually, the team makes their way to the naval base, where the submarine is located. After repairing and refuelling it, they set off for Azura.
After slipping under the Maelstrom, they find Azura is fashioned as a large resort. As they fight off the Locust that are also trying to get to Adam, the team deduce that Prescott had knowledge that Emergence Day was coming, as he had ordered the construction of Azura and brought the world's elite to it prior to the appearance of the Locust. Adam is able to contact the team via the security cameras on the island, and explains he has a cure to stop the Lambent but needs the Gears help to execute it. Marcus and his team fight through the Locust to shut down the Maelstrom generator with Adam's instructions, allowing Baird, Cole and Carmine to arrive together with the remnants of the COG and UIR to provide air and ground support. Baird and Cole reunite with Delta and Baird asks about Dom and Dizzy. Marcus says Dizzy's taking the submarine offshore and that Dom died. As Lambent forces start appearing on the island, the Gears make their way to a hotel where Adam is being kept. En route, they face Myrrah, who reveals that Adam had been working with her for twenty years and refuses to let them help him complete his plan. After dispatching Myrrah, the squad reaches Adam's room. After a brief reunion and hearing news about Dom, Adam explains that Imulsion is a parasite, adapting itself to both Locust and human bodies to create the Lambent, and it is evolving quickly, threatening to destroy Sera. Adam has developed an energy wave that, like a neutron bomb
Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...
, will only destroy cells infected by Imulsion. Though this will kill the Lambent, it will also kill the Locust troops; Adam had been in contact with Myrrah to try to stave off the effects on the Locust and to discover a cure that would not harm them, but could not find it in time.
Marcus and his squad escort Adam to the roof of the hotel where the energy generator for his cure sits. The team defends against Myrrah's attack. Carmine, fighting Myrrah from a Raven, is shot down off the tower, presumably killing him. Adam gives the Hammer of Dawn to the squad and the squad uses the Hammer on Myrrah, causing her to crash. Eventually, the machine reaches full power, sending waves of energy across Sera, killing all Locust and Lambent. Adam meanwhile revealed to Baird that he injected himself with Imulsion to find out how it reproduced. He tells Marcus he was glad to see him again and to go live his life for him. Adam then dies due to the Imulsion, turning him into ashes.
With Marcus devastated from his dad's death, Myrrah, still alive from the last attack, explains Adam's plans and blames Marcus for what Adam failed to do. Marcus then stabs Myrrah with Dom's knife, killing her.
The scene changes to show a COG's helmet on the ground, where it is subsequently picked up and put on by Carmine — showing that he survives the attack. The Gears celebrate the Locust's defeat while Marcus mourns Dom and Adam. Anya reminds Marcus that because of Adam, they have a tomorrow. She then takes his hand, puts her head on his shoulder, and with the other Gears looking onward, they all stare into the horizon.
Stereoscopic 3D
Gears of War 3 includes a stereoscopic mode for 3DTV sets. It uses TriOviz for Games Technology, which is integrated with Unreal Engine 3, for stereoscopic 3D support. All "Gears of War 3" gameplay and cinematics have S3D support, and this extends to split-screen play as well.Marketing
Gears of War 3 was officially unveiled on Late Night with Jimmy FallonLate Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
by Cliff Bleszinski
Cliff Bleszinski
Clifford Michael "Cliff" Bleszinski is the design director for the game development company Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War franchise...
, with a teaser trailer featuring the song "Heron Blue" by Sun Kil Moon
Sun Kil Moon
Sun Kil Moon is a music project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, best known for his previous band Red House Painters. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake the writing, composing, singing, and guitar playing, accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass...
. Prior to the official reveal, an advert for the game was accidentally displayed on the Xbox 360 Dashboard.
Retail version
The game was available for pre-order in three retail versions: Standard, Limited, and Epic. The game also has special character variants based on where the game was pre-ordered. Confirmed variants include Mechanic Baird, Commando Dom, Savage Grenadier Elite, and Savage Kantus. On May 23, 2011, Epic Games confirmed that an exclusive replica Retro Lancer designed by NECANational Entertainment Collectibles Association
The National Entertainment Collectibles Association or NECA is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey...
will be available exclusively at GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
, while a gold version of the replica Retro Lancer is also available exclusively at Play.com
Play.com
Play Ltd., trading as Play.com, is a Jersey-based online retailer of DVDs, CDs, books, gadgets, video games, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and other electronic products, as well as clothes and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rakuten Group....
.
- The Standard Edition contains the game, a cut-down manual, and a sheet of Gears of War 3 themed decals.
- The Limited Edition contains an Octus Award Box with the Octus Service Medal awarded to Dr. Adam Fenix, exclusive Adam Fenix playable character for multiplayer, fabric COG flag, and the personal effects of Dr. Adam Fenix such as his Last Will and Testament, Hammer of Dawn schematics and Fenix family mementos.
- The Epic Edition includes everything from the Limited Edition as well as a Marcus Fenix statue, a 96 page book about the game's art and design, and the Infected Omen Weapon Pack that includes skins for the Lancer, Hammerburst, Retro Lancer, Sawed Off Shotgun and Gnasher Shotgun.
- The game can also come bundled with a limited edition Gears of War 3 console. The console will also include a headset, two wireless controllers, a 320GB hard drive, and two tokens to unlock Adam Fenix and the Infected Omen Weapon Pack.
Fate of Carmine voting campaign
Clayton Carmine, brother of Anthony and Benjamin, of the previous two games, appears in Gears of War 3. Carmine is more competent in the third game, with tattoos of his brothers and the reasons they died on his arms (Keep your head down! and Practice reloading!). He was shown wielding a Mulcher machine gun in several released pictures from the game. A vote was held between July 29, 2010 and September 6, 2010 to determine whether Carmine would live or die based on sales of Xbox avatar T-Shirts available for purchase on Xbox live; Epic had developed endings reflecting either choice prior to the conclusion of the vote. Additionally, actual T-shirts were available from San Diego Comic-Con with all purchases. The voting campaign raised over $150,000, which was all donated to Child's PlayChild's Play (charity)
Child's Play is a charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games-based webcomic Penny Arcade that organizes worldwide toy drives to children's hospitals. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins founded Child's Play in 2003 to improve the lives of sick children by...
.
Collaboration with Ice-T
Ice-TICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
voices the character of Griffin. It was announced during E3 2011 that Ice-T's band, Body Count
Body Count
Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1990. The group is fronted by rapper and actor Ice-T, who founded the group out of his interest in heavy metal music, taking on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of the group's songs. Lead guitarist...
, would be reuniting to make a song titled "The Gears of War", which was featured in the Horde 2.0 trailer.
Multiplayer beta
On December 17, 2010, Epic Games confirmed that the Epic Edition of BulletstormBulletstorm
Bulletstorm is a first-person shooter video game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, and is published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
included early access to the multiplayer beta of Gears of War 3 and access to exclusive content. It was later announced that pre-ordering Gears of War 3 in any edition at GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
in the United States or GAME
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
in the United Kingdom would grant access to the public beta. There will be in-game achievements unlockable exclusively for beta testers that include characters and weapon skins. All players that participate in the beta will receive a medal to identify themselves as beta testers upon the release of the final game. The Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm is a first-person shooter video game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, and is published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows...
exclusive beta began on April 18, 2011, a week before the GameStop pre-order beta which began on April 25, 2011. The beta concluded on May 15, 2011.
Unlockables
Announced via Twitter from Cliff BleszinskiCliff Bleszinski
Clifford Michael "Cliff" Bleszinski is the design director for the game development company Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War franchise...
, Gears of War 3 will have unlockables just like Gears of War 2.
- On April 1, 2011, Bleszinski announced as an April Fools' joke via twitter that Gears of War 3 will have a new unlockable weapon in the form of a 6 barrelled shotgun that has a special ability to shoot nukes. The beta had exclusive unlockables, such as a Golden Retro Lancer by completing 90 matches in any game type, and earning 100 kills with it will unlock it for use in the full game. Players who purchased the Bulletstorm Epic Edition unlocked an exclusive Flaming Hammerburst for use in the beta and the full game.
- Epic announced that players must hold on to their beta saved file for their unlockables to appear in the full game. It was also confirmed on June 24, 2011 that completing required achievements from Gears of WarGears of WarGears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
and Gears of War 2Gears of War 2Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. The game was officially released in North America, Europe and...
will earn the player new weapon skins and medals in Gears of War 3. - The Gold Lancer and Hammerburst have been confirmed as returning from Gears of War 2 to Gears of War 3. Rod Fergusson announced that players with the Veteran Gear achievement from Gears of War 2 will earn an in-game Old Guard medal and callsign as well as gold variants of all five starting weapons. There was a method to obtain all five gold weapons without the achievement, but after listening to negative fan feed back, they have since made the golden Gnasher shotgun exclusive to Veteran Gear players.
- Chrome weapon skins for the five starting weapons have also been confirmed to be unlockable by playing the Xbox 360 or PC version of Gears of War and Gears of War 2.
- It was confirmed by Rod Fergusson that the player will earn the green liquid metal skin in a special marketing promotion for Jack in the BoxJack in the BoxJack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant founded by Robert O. Peterson in 1951 in San Diego, California, where it is still headquartered today. In total, the chain has 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast of the United States...
. - People who watch the Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol trailer on Xbox LiveXbox LiveXbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
and then complete Gears of War 3 on Insane Difficulty by December 25, 2011 either in single or multiplayer mode will unlock an exclusive Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Weapon Skin Pack. This pack comes with weapon skins for the Lancer, Retro Lancer, Hammerburst, Gnasher and Sawed-off Shotgun. Those that have already completed the game on Insane will automatically receive the pack on December 31.
Downloadable content
On 29 August 2011, Microsoft and Epic Games announced a Gears of War 3 Season Pass that entitles gamers to the first four installments of downloadable content (at a discount) that will roll out over the course of the next year, with the first releasing in November 2011. Previous characters in the series, including Tai, Minh, Skorge and RAAM, will be future downloadable content characters.It has also been confirmed that Story DLC will be available after launch, and that the regular cast of Gears of War will not be in future DLC.The first downloadable content is the "Horde Command Pack", which was released on November 1, 2011. In addition to new character and weapon skins, it provides three new maps for use in Versus and Horde mode and three new fortifications that the players can build.
The second downloadable content is called "Versus Booster Map Pack". It was released on November 24, 2011 and is available for free. The pack contains five multiplayer maps which includes Blood Drive, Azura, and Rustlung, which were originally made available through the Horde Command Pack; and Bullet Marsh and Clocktower, which will be new to Gears of War 3.
The third downloadable content is "RAAM's Shadow", scheduled for release on December 13, 2011. Included in this DLC is six new multiplayer characters, a new weapon set named "Chocolate", new achievements, and over 3 hours of singleplayer gameplay. The story takes place before the first Gears of War, set in Sera post-emergence day. Zeta Squad is enlisted to evacuate Ilima City and protect the citizens against a Locust Kryll storm. The player will be in the role of General RAAM, the main antagonist from the first Gears of War. Zeta is led by Michael Barrick (from “Gears of War” comics fame) and composed of returning characters such as Lt. Minh Young Kim, from the first Gears of War and Tai Kaliso from Gears of War 2, and also includes a new female character, Alicia Valera.
Gears Of War 3 Trike
At the San Diego Comic Con International Convention, Paul Jr. Designs aka PJD, the company of Paul Teutul, Jr. from the Discovery series American ChopperAmerican Chopper
American Chopper is a reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul, Sr. and his son Paul Teutul, Jr. , who manufacture custom motorcycles. Orange County Choppers is in Newburgh, New York...
, revealed their commissioned Gears Of War trike. Discovery episodes chronicled their efforts to build the trike, visits to Epic and them interpreting various merchandising and promotional material into the bike. The team from Epic was impressed and even mentioned the possibility of adding the trike to a future game in the series, should they continue it.
Reception
Upon release, Gears of War 3 received universal acclaim, garnering an aggregate score of 91.95% on GameRankings and 91/100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Jeff Gerstmann
Jeff Gerstmann
Jeff Gerstmann is an American video game journalist and former editorial director of the gaming website GameSpot and the founder of the gaming website Giant Bomb. He began working at GameSpot in the fall of 1996, around the launch of VideoGameSpot when GameSpot separated PC and console games into...
of Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb is an American video game website and wiki that includes gaming news, reviews, commentary, and video, created by former GameSpot editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis in collaboration with Whiskey Media...
gave Gears of War 3 a review of 5/5; stating "Gears of War 3 is a fantastic follow-up that answers important questions about the nature of the Gears universe while backing it all up with an even bigger, better multiplayer suite." IGN called it "the spectacular conclusion to one of the most memorable and celebrated sagas in video games." Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
gave it a 9.5/10, saying that "Gears 3 is a fantastic idea polished to near perfection by an enormous crew of talented developers and a bottomless budget," with "a constantly shuffling deck of threats that encourage players to experiment with new weapons and tactics," "hilariously over-the-top set piece moments," and a "smart approach to network play."
After Eurogamer published an 8/10 review for the game, Epic Games Cliff Bleszinski reported, saying "When people rated Gears 2 higher than Gears 3, it kind of upset me because I know Gears 3 is a better game on every level." His comments were criticized by Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
and GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
. In GamePro, McKinley Noble argued that "slamming a "bad" review that's actually pretty favorable does come off as selfish".
Sales
Gears of War 3 sold more than 3 million copies during its first week — higher than the previous two Gears series.The Gears of War franchise as of September 27, 2011, has grossed over $1 billion.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Gears of War 3 was released on September 20, 2011, under the record label Sumthing Else Music Works. The music was composed by Steve JablonskySteve Jablonsky
Steven Jablonsky is an American music composer for film, television and video games. He has been the music director for all the Michael Bay movies produced and directed since The Island...
.
The following tracks from commercials/trailers are not available on the soundtrack.
- The Gears of War by Body CountBody CountBody Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1990. The group is fronted by rapper and actor Ice-T, who founded the group out of his interest in heavy metal music, taking on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of the group's songs. Lead guitarist...
- Heron Blue by Sun Kil MoonSun Kil MoonSun Kil Moon is a music project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, best known for his previous band Red House Painters. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake the writing, composing, singing, and guitar playing, accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass...
- War PigsWar Pigs"War Pigs" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their 1970 album Paranoid. It is generally believed that the band wrote the song as a protest against the Vietnam War; however, when Sabbath played "War Pigs" in the mid-'70s, they projected scenes from World War II.As explained in...
by Black SabbathBlack SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22... - Into Dust by Mazzy Star
- Mad World by Gary Jules