Gears of War 3 at Comic Con: Epic talks story and gameplay
Speaking from San Diego, Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski and Rod Fergusson dropped a number of choice snippets on Gears of War 3.
Story
Kotaku and G4TV were both on site at a Gears of War 3 panel at the San Diego Comic Con, and reported that Fergusson and Bleszinski said the goal with ending the Gears trilogy was to make the story "more personal to all the characters".
Both creatives hinted that long-unanswered questions like whether Marcus's father co-operated with the Locusts and what is the role of the Locust queen, will be answered - perhaps in the comics.
On the character side, it was revealed that Isaiah Mustafa, Old Spice's manly, manly spokesman - will lend his voice to a COG.
Epic was concerned about bringing female COGs into play, but says the characters aren't just "stripper" types, with strong personalities.
Carmine will be playable in four-player co-op, with players three and four switching out between her, Cole and Anya.
Gameplay
Gears of War 3 will feature a "reverse VIP" section for new players. If the game detects a player has achievements indicating they've played previous Gears games extensively, they won't be able to access a special casual section of the game.
Aim assist will also be implemented for casual players. Epic said this third entry is the easiest of the three for new players to get into, with a focus on accessibility and approachability.
Of enemies, around 20 to 30 percent will be Lambent types as opposed to familiar Locusts - although there are new kinds of Locust, as well.
On the subject of multiplayer, Gears of War 3 will be able to restrict some maps to certain weapons, meaning Torquebow Tag will be included.
The Defensive scenario came about as an evolution of how people play the game, and as far as Epic is concerned, Horde mode is "sacred". Epic staff were determined not to "screw it up".
Gears of War 3 is due exclusively on Xbox 360 in September.
Gears of War 2 multiplayer won't be abandoned any time soon, but Gears of War 3 improves on it with an in-built XP system. Players can actually net every multiplayer unlock by playing the campaign.