Gears of War 3 - Gameplay from PAX

I'm pretty sure you guys have checked out these previous articles about the Gears 3 beta and the unlocks you can obtain by playing. If not, check them out.

Now how about watching a guy play the Gears 3 beta and getting absolutely stomped? The mode they are playing is Team Deathmatch, but unlike hitting a certain killcount, in Gears of War 3 you are given a certain amount of tickets for your team. Every time you or someone on your team dies, you lose a ticket and once those tickets are gone, game over.

Some things you will notice in these videos, is the dynamic environments (scoreboard falls), new weapons (retro lancer), Cole's Thrashball outfit, and some of the weapon skins. I feel sorry for the last dude alive on the team. He totally gets owned.

There are two videos that show the entire match. The second one is less than a minute, but the execution at the end is sweet so make sure you check it out after the jump.

*Note: This is not me playing! Just some guy I recorded while waiting in line.

So when my turn came around, I realized I was well more than rusty. I spent more time getting more assists than actual kills. The game feels mostly the same, and feels a bit more balanced. The ATR (active time reload) system has been tweeked a bit. The area where you can get the bonus damage for the ATR has been greatly reduced making the ATR more skillful. 

The two new weapons I managed to get my hands on are the sawed-off shotgun and the retro lancer. Talk about opposite sides of the spectrum. The new shotgun's aiming cursor literally covers the entire width of the screen. So pretty much if they are next to you on the screen, they will become meat chunks. Anything further away and you'll be turned into chunky bits. 

The retro lancer on the other hand you DO NOT want to use close range. It is definitely meant for mid range at the closest and in mostly a support role. It feels a lot like the regular lancer but without the weight of the regular lancer and accuracy. 

Mostly, after getting a sample of the game, it makes me eager to try the beta once it hits and even more anxious for the full game come September.