Basic weapon loadout with follow with the Retro Lancer and a Gorgon Pistol, with this all ‘nade spawns are replaced with the always effective Frag Grenades. Like always this event will help you progress on the Socialite achievement

If you’ve played in all the events so far, then you’ll find yourself 20% (5/5) of the way toward earning the Socialite achievement.

“Can You Dig It?” started just about two hours ago and will end on Monday, November 7th at 9AM EST.

Understandably the achievements centralize around Horde mode, with the inclusion of the new content. For the most part the achievements seem reasonable and obtainable. Admittedly, I get the inkling some have been placed in the mix solely to ensure we try all the features.

• The Host with the Most

Host a private Horde Match with a party of 5 players on any Horde Command Pack map (any difficulty).

25

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Kill Locust (Like a Boss)

Defeat a Boss Wave as 5 Onyx Guards (Hardcore difficulty).

100

Concerning the latter, Gears pulls of a successful campaign that uses good pacing and visuals to draw you into the game. The gameplay is not fundamentally different from the previous two Gears games, yet Epic makes the story and combat feel fresh from the beginning. The extended vehicle sections that received so many complaints are now absent, and in their place are poignant plot points that give you time to think about the game you are playing, and allow you to connect with the characters and the story. That’s not to say that Gears has gone soft – there’s still enough blood and guts for any eager soldier to rev their chainsaw through.

Sera has gone from bad to worse. The fight against the Locust has all but destroyed the order of the COG, and the story follows Marcus and his group (including another Carmine), as they make their final stand against the Locust forces and more importantly, the increasingly deadly Lambent. The story is filled with action and drama, but as with every Gears game much of this falls into the ‘bro’ category of shouting, shooting, and high-fiving. Nevertheless, many characters are developed here. Dom’s character receives more emotional weight, and Cole is fleshed out in a surprisingly personal way. Needless to say, Marcus is the focus, and his quest to find his father and save him can at some points seem cliché, yet still draws some genuine emotion from voice actor John DiMaggio as he tries to reconnect with his Dad while fighting off a never-ending horde of monsters.

You are no army in this game, instead you move forward as a group of comrades and friends in a world that has been well crafted to reflect the desperation of the now haggard, and frankly tired heroes.

And Gears 3 does not let up on the monsters. The Lambent, introduced in Gears 2, are the focal enemy in this final chapter of the trilogy, and they come at you in droves. The first signs of their appearance are not subtle – a giant, twisting tendril will explode out of the ground and Lambent will drop from bulging pustules that grow as you watch. They will mutate as they advance and when shot, they’ll explode, sometimes into hordes of tiny enemies that need to be shot – and quickly. The fact that you fight the Lambent more than any other enemy can change the play style you may have used in Gears 1 and 2. There is more ranged combat than close-quarters, and subsequently less execution moves, and this can be a good change for some players, and bad for others. When you finally do meet the Locust again, it’s almost like seeing an old friend. An old friend you have to shoot and preferably disembowel with your chainsaw.

Every battle is a battle of survival, from swapping your precious Lancer for an older, less accurate model to scavenging supplies for that same, outdated weapon just so you can finish off the remaining enemies. You are no army in this game, instead you move forward as a group of comrades and friends in a world that has been well crafted to reflect the desperation of the now haggard, and frankly tired heroes. New characters are introduced – Anya, now armoured, provides Marcus’ shoulder to cry on. The new Sam Byrne has some hilarious exchanges with the ever-cynical Baird and Jayson ‘Jace’ Stratton throws Ice T into the mix as a celebrity voice – the success of which depends on whether you are a fan or not. All of your new partners are thrown into a game of chance, and this is a game that has been fine-tuned by Epic.

Movement and sprinting feels smoother, while the Gears cover system has been made sharper than ever. Chainsawing enemies is still badass and there are new weapons which make you feel, at some moments, utterly invincible. The Digger shoots grenades underground and beneath cover, allowing you to annihilate that oh-so-annoying enemy that never shows his head, while the One-Shot makes you feel like an assassin in the middle of a firefight. The Silverback is also a welcome addition – a high-powered exoskeleton that essentially turns you into a mech, these are strategically placed around the environment and give you another tool to use to kill your enemies, although you can just as easily choose to leave it behind and headstomp everyone instead… if that’s your thing. Every weapon has it’s own execution animation and different challenges set throughout the game encourage you to kill with every weapon available and make use of all the items around you.

While the shotgun is still used a lot, Epic have customized maps do allow for some long ranged countermeasures if your team is willing to use them over the temptation of a quick shotgun kill.

The campaign definitely has it’s moments – if you thought the berserker from Gears 1 was bad, the Lambent berserker will frustrate you beyond your limits. And, despite carrying the Gears label of narrative blandness, there are moments that will tug at your heartstrings – something that Epic should really be commended for considering their franchise’s history of sheer action without emotion. They had the option of simply continuing with a cast of mostly two-dimensional characters, which they had successfully built the franchise upon. Instead they chose to flesh out a few names and attempt to give the story more meaning, for example letting you play as Cole for a section so that you can discover his roots. Some may scoff at Epic’s attempts, but small details, scattered throughout the game, prove their efforts at least partially effective. Depending on which difficulty you play on, the campaign will provide you with a good 14-18 hours of gameplay, and more if you pick insane difficulty, which is made harder in Gears 3 than in either of the past two Gears games. When compared with many other modern shooters this is a sizeable chunk of single player, and there is enough in there to justify more than one play through.

Despite all that, Gears of War 3 is still a Gears game. The gameplay is sharper and there are moments of clarity within the plot, but the overall game is not a huge departure from Gears 1 or 2. The cover system does not change, nor does the shooting. Epic are still playing within their wheelhouse. That’s not to say that Gears 3 is a bad game, indeed everything it does is extremely polished and smooth, but some of it we have seen before. Lambent enemies show some variety but they are still Lambent, and Locust are still Locust. The final boss fight is nothing to write home about and it seems that Epic are relying on the more emotional moments that occur throughout the game, rather than new gameplay mechanics to carry it forward to its final conclusion. While the frame rate is slick, it can baulk under heavy load and the occasional script does not trigger, leaving you stranded within a frozen game, the only option being to reload and try again.

But then there is multiplayer, and it has a lot to offer. Campaign gives you a 4-player co-op mode which is a lot more fun that simply playing on your own. New Horde and Beast modes let you play as either COG or Locust respectively against waves of enemies, in up to 5-player co-op. Epic renamed their Horde mode ‘Horde 2.0′, and it does feel like an upgrade on the old Gears 2 model. You confront waves of enemies as before, but now with cash rewards for killing, and making it to the end of the round. This money can be spent on bulking up your defences with new fortifications, distractions and traps to make each wave easier to destroy. Beast mode takes a different approach by letting you spend your cash on different beasts that you can spawn, from Tickers and Wretches to Boomers and Butchers. Both of these modes are well thought out, and fun to play, but it is the versus multiplayer which is leaps and bounds above the controversial Gears 2 system, and the stand-out multiplayer experience. Extensive beta testing has given Gears 3 dedicated, stable servers with a variety of different multiplayer modes.

New Horde and Beast modes let you play as either COG or Locust respectively against waves of enemies, in up to 5-player co-op.

Warzone and Execution are still there as is the ever-popular Capture the Leader, with a Team Deathmatch thrown in. The crisp gameplay mechanics prove themselves in this arena, and several hidden easter eggs (not to bespoiled here) make playing against your fellow Gear-heads more enjoyable than any previous incarnation of the franchise. Action and movement are now paramount, with tweaks to classic maps and the introduction of new, multi-tiered levels encouraging players both to move around and work with each other. Whether these changes are effective or not really depends on who you play with. Beta testing has allowed Epic to balance the weapons as much as possible, but the go-to weapon is still the shotgun, with plenty of people employing the ‘roll-and-blast’ tactic that was decried in Gears 2. However, the maps do allow for some long ranged countermeasures if your team is willing to use them over the temptation of a quick shotgun kill.

Everything you do in Gears 3, from campaign to deathmatch, earns you experience that unlocks multiplayer character models and weapon skins. This gives the player enough customisation to keep playing the game, while not going as far as other shooters such as Halo or CoD by giving you specific perks. DLC is already available but it mostly concerns buying new weapon skins, which does not scream ‘worth the money’ to all but the most hardcore fans of the series. Nevertheless, Epic have really dumped as much content as they can into Gears and there is certainly no shortage of modes and maps to play. Again, it’s similar to previous Gears of War games; but if you found those fun then Gears 3 will not disappoint.

The game has a finality to it that closes the Gears trilogy in a classy way and left me, at least, a satisfied gamer.

As with most retail releases there are 1000 achievement points to be had, and if you complete the game on insane difficulty, and get your character’s level to 50, you’ll get a big chunk of them. There are however collectibles to be found around the campaign that will net you a few points, as well as single player and multiplayer challenges and medals to bag. Most of these achievements simply require you to dump a lot of hours into the game, and there is only one secret achievement to be found.

Gears of War 3 is the pinnacle of the Gears franchise. It’s no major departure, and it’s not without it’s own flaws but when considered as a third-person shooter, there are few better. The visuals are simply stunning, and depart from the usual greys and browns to bring you new, colourful environments to enjoy. The single player has good pacing and attention to detail while the multiplayer gives you a robust, re-playable experience that towers over Gears 2 in terms of stability and choice. The game has a finality to it that closes the Gears trilogy in a classy way and left me, at least, a satisfied gamer.

You’ll step into the shoes of Zeta Squad led by Michael Barrick with with lieutenant Minh Young Kim, Tai Kaliso and a new ‘femme fatale’ Alicia Valera. With these characters you will be given the task of evacuating and protecting Ilima City.

The new DLC will also allow you to take control of Gears of War 1 boss, General RAAM. This will be the first time you take control of a Locust in the single player.

Cliff Bleszinski said:

“RAAM’s imposing size and strength, along with his Kryll shield, make him one of the most powerful and daunting foes in the ‘Gears’ universe,”

We think fans are going to have a blast unleashing hell upon the poor humans for the first time in a campaign setting.”

The DLC will arrive 13th of December for 1200 Microsoft points and will include a new “Chocolate weapon set”.

According to the in-game calender Epic have officially announced that between 25th Nov – 25th December a new weapon skin is available if you complete “impossible mission.”

Only speculation can be made as of right now as to what the new weapon skin is – but we’ve already have a chicken launcher, so I have every faith in Epic Games that we’ll get something worth the challenge. Also, what could the “impossible mission” be? One thing is for sure, i’m liking the sound of the challenge.

Event Calender.

]]> http://gamereuphoria.com/2011/10/19/platforms/xbox-360/new-gears-of-war-3-weapon-and-mission-added-november-25th/feed 7 http://gamereuphoria.com/2011/10/13/platforms/xbox-360/two-more-gears-of-war-3-events-upcoming http://gamereuphoria.com/2011/10/13/platforms/xbox-360/two-more-gears-of-war-3-events-upcoming#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:25:44 +0000 Alex http://gamereuphoria.com/?p=9886 Two more Gears of War 3 events will be taking place on October 17 and 18.

The first event is “Torque Bow Tag” which will apparently replace all map based weapons with Torque Bows although we’re not completely positive. This will take place on October 17th.

Secondly we have “Ticker Tuesday” which, as far as we know, will replace most enemies in Horde mode with Tickers. This will take place on October 18th.

These events will give you help for achievements such as Socialite, Seriously 3.0 and Enriched and Fortified.

Chances are you can expect more as this decision was based on your feedback from the previous event.

In related news, a season pass for Gears of War 3 has been announced which will allow you access to four DLC packs with a small discount, a similar feature was offered for Mortal Kombat.

The season pass overall will cost 2400 Microsoft points and will be available September 20.

http://on.fb.me/rrvsyh

Take a look at what this Griffin entails below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the most part the achievement seem to be a nice mixture of the first two titles of the franchise – including the returning Seriously achievement, but this time you don’t have to worry about killing 10,000 or even 100,000 – you simply need to reach level 100 in multiplayer.

Our personal favourite achievement is the ‘Welcome to the Big Leagues’ achievement – which is more of a mock achievement, as it awards you with zero gamerscore and is earned through playing your first social multiplayer match.

• Marcus, It’s Your Father 5

Story Progression in Prologue (Standard or Arcade).

• Swimmin’ in Glowie Gravy 10

Story Progression in Act 1 Chapter 2 (Standard or Arcade).

• We Struck Gold, Son! 10

Story Progression in Act 1 Chapter 3 (Standard or Arcade).

• My Turf! Cougars Territory! 10

Story Progression in Act 1 Chapter 5 (Standard or Arcade).

• Putting it Scientifically… 10

Story Progression in Act 1 Chapter 6 (Standard or Arcade).

• Okay, Now We Find Hoffman 10

Story Progression in Act 2 Chapter 1 (Standard or Arcade).

• Oh Yeah, It’s Pirate Time 10

Story Progression in Act 2 Chapter 5 (Standard or Arcade).

• Thanks For Flying GasBag Airways 10

Story Progression in Act 2 Chapter 7 (Standard or Arcade).

• Anvil Gate’s Last Resort 10

Story Progression in Act 3 Chapter 1 (Standard or Arcade).

• Was it Good For You? 10

Story Progression in Act 3 Chapter 2 (Standard or Arcade).

• Lost Your Good Driver Discount 10

Story Progression in Act 3 Chapter 3 (Standard or Arcade).

• Brothers to the End 10

Story Progression in Act 3 Chapter 5 (Standard or Arcade).

• Think You Can Handle That? 10

Story Progression in Act 4 Chapter 3 (Standard or Arcade).

• Baird’s Favorite Kind of Toy 10

Story Progression in Act 4 Chapter 5 (Standard or Arcade).

• Welcome To -redacted- 10

Story Progression in Act 4 Chapter 6 (Standard or Arcade).

• Look at That, Instant Summer. 10

Story Progression in Act 5 Chapter 2 (Standard or Arcade).

• Ok. Faith. Yeah. Got It. 10

Story Progression in Act 5 Chapter 5 (Standard or Arcade).

• You’re Dead! Now Stay Dead! 10

Story Progression in Act 5 Chapter 6 (Standard or Arcade).

• Ready for More 50

Complete all campaign Acts on Casual or Normal Difficulty (Standard or Arcade).

• Ain’t My First Rodeo 50

Complete all campaign Acts on Hardcore Difficulty (Standard or Arcade).

• That’s Just Crazy 75

Complete all campaign Acts on Insane Difficulty (Standard or Arcade). (1)

• Collector 5

Recover 5 Campaign Collectibles (any difficulty, Standard or Arcade).

• Pack Rat 10

Recover 20 Campaign Collectibles (any difficulty, Standard or Arcade).

• Hoarder 15

Recover all 42 Campaign Collectibles (any difficulty, Standard or Arcade).

• Remember the Fallen 15

Recover all 15 COG Tags during the Campaign (any difficulty, Standard or Arcade).

• My Fellow Gears 50

Complete all Campaign Acts in Co-op (any difficulty, Standard or Arcade).

• We Few, We Happy Few… 50

Complete all Campaign Acts in 4 player Co-op (any difficulty, Standard or Arcade). (2)

• Level 5 5

Reach level 5.

• Level 10 10

Reach level 10.

• Level 15 15

Reach level 15.

• Level 25 25

Reach level 25.

• Level 50 50

Reach level 50.

• Judge, Jury and Executioner 10

Get a kill with every possible execution finishing move (any mode).

• Wreaking Locust Vengence 10

Get a kill with every Locust monster in Beast mode (any difficulty).

• Enriched and Fortified 10

Complete all 50 waves of Horde mode (any difficulty, any map).

• It’s All About the Loot! 25

Earn the Bronze “Loot Courtesan” medal.

• All for One, One for All 10

Earn the Bronze “Force Multiplier” medal.

• First Among Equals 25

Earn the Silver “Number 1″ medal.

• Award Winning Tactics 25

Earn at least one Onyx medal.

• Seriously 3.0 100

Reach level 100 and earn every Onyx medal.

• Welcome to Versus 10

Kill 10 enemies in Team Deathmatch (Standard or Casual).

• The Versus Sampler Platter 10

Complete one match of all six Versus game modes (Standard or Casual).

• Welcome to Horde Mode 10

Survive the first 10 waves of Horde mode (any difficulty, any map).

• Welcome to Beast Mode 10

Survive all 12 waves of Beast mode (any difficulty, any map).

• Welcome to Arcade Mode 10

Complete 5 Arcade Campaign chapters in co-op (any difficulty).

• Welcome to the Big Leagues 0

Demonstrate your skill in Casual Versus multiplayer.

• Wait, What Time is it? 10

Earn the maximum Consecutive Match Bonus in Versus multiplayer (Standard or Casual).

• Lambency 50

Execute an Epic employee, or someone who already has Lambency, in Versus multiplayer (any mode).

• Socialite 70

Earn the Onyx “War Supporter” medal.

• Secret Achievement 5

Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.