There were so much discussion and so many questions spurred by the two videos I posted from Gears of War 3 this morning that I went back to Microsoft for a walk-through of everything we were seeing in clips.
Turns out there was a lot.
This top video is a montage I created showing off the different executions found in Gears of War 3. This time around there are unique executions for every weapon in the game.
The video kicks off with a look at the delightful execution you can do with the Cog's answer to a flamethrower, the Scorcher. Next we see what happens when you shoot an enemy directly with a Digger, instead of using the tunneling explosive like you're supposed to. The next scene shows us the retro Pendulum Era Lancer execution. Following that we see the new Locust execution which involves ripping a soldier's arm off and beating him to death with it.
The Cog has their own form of this, not shown in the video, where they jump on top of a Locust and pound them in the face with their fists. In multiplayer you can do either of these melee attacks indefinitely to rack up a lot of points. Of course doing that also leaves you open to attack.
The next thing we see in the top video is the new Lancer execution. Finally, we get a look at the amazing Mortar Launcher execution which involves smashing the giant weapon's barrel into and around the enemy's head, decapitating them. At one point Epic played around with the idea of making your next shot with that weapon fire out the head. But they never got around to it.
OK, in this second video we get a look at the the three new maps and three new modes that Epic showed off at their press event.
Gears of War 3 will include. among other modes, a new King of the Hill mode, a Team Deathmatch mode and Capture the Leader.
This first section of the second video gives us a look at Capture the Leader and the special vision mode you have when you're playing as the leader.
Capture the Leader is a blending of Gears of War 2's Guardian and Submission modes. In it you have to find and grab the leader, either Chairman Prescott or the Locust Queen Myrrah. The player racks up points by holding the leader as a meatshield. The leader can't be killed but he can throw elbows to try and break free. They player controlling the leader also gets the special vision mode seen in this video, which allows you to see where friendly and enemy players are in the match.
Next up in the video we get a look at the new King of the Hill mode, which combines Annex and the original King of the Hill. In it you have to capture the red ring to collect points and the ring moves based on a timer. A couple of other things worth noting in this video. You can catch a glance at Cole's fancy Thrashball uniform and see the new sawed-off shotgun in action, when it takes down two locust with one trigger pull. Finally, we get a chance to see what happens when you plant a grenade on a meatshield and kick them toward their colleagues.
Next up is a look at the deadly cute pink Lancer, a reminder that all of the weapons are now customizable in the game. The next section shows off the burrowing Digger, used correctly and the video wraps up with the consequences of a grenade-laden meatshield returning to his friends.
The third mode, Team Deathmatch, isn't noticeable in this clip, but here's the run down: The mode includes respawns, but each team starts with just 15 lives. The first team to run out of lives loses.