Embedded: First Impressions of the ‘Gears of War 3’ Beta

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So far, 2011 looks like a year without Halo. (Yes, we know about those Combat Evolved rumors…) What that means is that Gears of War 3 will be the big tentpole title for the Xbox faithful this fall. Epic Games will be rolling an appetizer of what to expect when the multiplayer beta launches in two weeks, but this week the dev studio made an exclusive preview available for the press and VIPs. (More on TIME.com: Microsoft Pushes Gears of War 3 From Spring 2011 to Next Fall)

You can play three Versus Mode match types in the GOW3 beta: Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Capture the Leader. Team Deathmatch plays as you’d expect, with players controlling the human COG soldiers and the subterranean Locust monsters facing off to get the most kills. Weapons get strewn all over the map and it’s a mad, lethal scramble to grab them all. One thing I’ve noticed is that long-distance arms like the Torque Bow and the Sniper Rifle tend to be scarcer than the others.

The King of the Hill mode is location-based, working off of a take-and-hold mechanic. Select locations get highlighted by glowing rings of light and each side scrambles to get there first. The quicker you get to the location and hold it, the more points your team scores. Each round ends when a team reaches the score objective, which appeared to be randomly generated. (More on TIME.com: Epic Games President Talks “Bulletstorm,” “Gear of War 3” Multiplayer Beta)

But the mode I played the most was Capture the Leader. It’s a ton of fun, with each side getting a player designated as the leader. Teams then need to hunt and capture that player for 30 seconds to win a round. Yes, it’s a variant on the old staple Capture the Flag but one where the  objective’s not only always moving but can fight back. So the battle never sits on one part of the map too long. Even playing with strangers, I found this match type to be the most strategic. Do you go all out for the opposing team’s leader at first? Let them come to you? And what’s the best way to safeguard your leader, especially if he goes off running to engage the enemy straight away? (More on TIME.com: Epic Games President Talks “Bulletstorm,” “Gear of War 3” Multiplayer Beta)

Glimpsing at the beta teases players that Gears 3 will be the best-looking game of the series. The Old Town map is bright and airy, looking like a quasi-European village. It’d be quaint if not for all the curb-stomping going on. Checkout is a dilapidated big-box store, so imagine a firefight at Costco and you’re halfway there. Finally, the Thrashball map mimics an old football stadium and invokes Cole Train’s glory days as a pro athlete. (You can dress up the loudmouth COG soldier in his old sports uniform, too, and it’s an awesome thing to behold.)

All throughout, the level design is great, peppered with nooks and crannies with a good use of verticality, too. You’re not going to be way up above the fray but a few spots let you plan strategically how to engage your foes. There’s a few new weapons in the beta, including the retro Pendulum Wars Lancer (the bayonet-like precursor to the iconic Lancer chainsaw rifle) and a sawed-off shotgun. The Pendulum Lancer’s a nasty weapon that put me down in as little as two shots sometimes. The sawed-off will be your best option in close-quarters combat, which will happen a lot. (More on TIME.com: The Techland Interview: Cliff Bleszinski, Part 2)

So far, these multiplayer modes in the beta come across as faster and more chaotic than the Horde Mode that was introduced in Gears 2. Where Horde Mode was more strategic and created escalating tension, these modes that are going in Gears 3 are more manic. There’ll be little camping out behind cover as your opponents aggressively seek you out in a Capture the Leader match.

The beta includes collectible medals and ribbons that you earn for in-game feats like dying the least in a round, racking up the most kills or assisting your teammates  more than anyone else. As in loads of other shooters, all these go towards your experience points and let you unlock new looks for your weapons.

When I spoke to Cliff Bleszinski a month back at GDC, I asked him how he felt about Gears 3‘s move to a fall release date and doing a beta for the first time. “It’s actually advantageous,” he said. “We can do a beta and we can do a demo. If we screwed up a launch of Gears 3 online, we would sink the franchise.” From the looks of what I’ve played of the Gears of War 3 demo so far, the men and women at Epic Games don’t need to worry.  (More on TIME.com: “Bulletstorm” Review: A Rain of Pain That Feels Pretty Good)

If you’ve pre-ordered the game or got the Bulletstorm: Epic Edition, then you can access the beta starting on April 18th. Otherwise, the beta opens on April 25th and closes on May 15th.

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