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Gears of War 3 Unleashes Beast Mode
Epic Games is spending E3 rolling out their newest multiplayer mode for Gears 3 -- a cousin to Horde mode entitled Beast mode. Up to five players can join in on Beast mode, adopting the roles of the many dangerous creatures that make up the Locust Horde in order to squash out the puny humans that stand in the way. The wave structure and type of playable Locust can be customized by the players. Each wave challenges gamers to wipe out ensconced human defenders made up of Stranded and COG soldiers, including named characters from the campaign mode, like Marcus, Cole, and Anya.
The most exciting element of Beast mode is the ability to explore the many varied features and abilities of the different Locust species. In one wave we witnessed, a player went skittering into battle as a Ticker, charging towards gathered human defenders before lighting up and exploding to take them out. Meanwhile, the Wretch galloped between cover points, moving close to tear up the enemy at close range.
Another wave included the option to play as any number of different Boomers, from the Savage Boomer, who uses the digger launcher to delve explosives into the enemy base, to the Mauler Boomer, with his massive spiked ball and chain.
A third wave included the ability to play as a monk-like Kantus, splitting time between firing at the enemy and mystically raising fallen comrades. We also saw a creepy new playable creature called a Serapede, a massive centipede creature that skittered across the map to engage its foes. Players can even adopt the role of the Berserker, with her devastating destructive power and terrible eyesight. To illustrate these creatures' awful vision, Epic alters the screen to make the edges blurry and harder to find enemies.
Along with our recent look at the single-player Gears experience from the Microsoft press conference, a clear picture is beginning to emerge about Gears of War 3. Everything we've seen so far looks solid and exciting, and the game is playing great even almost a year away from release. We're confident that Beast mode won't be the last surprise in store. We'll keep you updated as new weapons, characters, enemies, and game modes are revealed.
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