4 Maps are available: Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches, and Old Town
3 Game Modes: Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader, King of the Hill
New Weapons: Retro Lancer, One shot, Sawed Off Shotgun, Incendiary Grenades, Digger launcher.
Unlockables for Retail:
Cole Train (Thrashball outfit): play 50 matches online, then play 10 matches online as Cole Train.
Golden Retro Lancer: Play 90 online matches, then get 100 Kills with the Golden Retro Lancer.
Lets breakdown this beta and let you know what all is going on!
Game Modes
Lets get into the game modes to break down what each of them are and the way to achieve victory. All 3 modes are new to Gears of War or a different take of an existing mode.
Team Deathmatch
This mode is a twist of Warzone as each team as a set number of respawns. For every time you kill an opposing team member their respawn meter counts down until all respawns are gone and then death is final for the round. It's pretty straight forward yet a good way to break into the game.
King of the Hill
This mode is actually pretty much the same as in Gears of War 3. You have a base that alternates around the map and it is the primary objective to occupy the base and absorb it's depleting point total into your team's score, the first team to 170 points are the winners. The base will randomly spawn and begin with a set amount of points, as soon as it spawns those points countdown until they reach 0 and the location moves. This mode is extremely fun because you are not only killing opponents but doing your best to bunker down in the base and collect points, sometimes in a base that is in a wide open space with no cover. Strategy is certainly involved and this is a mode that rewards team work and smart thinking. BTW there are unlimited respawns for both teams.
Capture The Leader
This is a take on Guardian and Submission, where each team will have a leader and are trying to capture the opposing leader. Each leader cannot die and each team member has unlimited respawns, the point is to down the leader and capture him like a human shield and hold him for 30 seconds, if the leader is freed by their teammates then the counter resets and you will have to hold him for 30 more seconds. Killing the man holding the leader as well as setting off a smoke grenade near him will release the leader from capture. As leader when you are captured you will have an occasional melee attack you can use to elbow your capture. This won't free you on it's own but if the person is shooting at your team it will cause them to stop and be stunned for a short amount of time. The mode has it's ups and down and if you can't work together forget it.
Maps
Lets start by covering the maps for the beta, we will start with Thrashball
Trashball is a devastated arena of Cole Trains former sport. The spawn areas are at the opposite ends on the field (The Red Locker Room, and The Blue Locker Room) with 4 spots for big power weapons. In the middle of the field under the scoreboard will be Digger Launcher and the Torque Bow, in the stands there is either a Mulcher or a Mortar, in the concession area there is either a Gorgon SMG or a Boltok pistol, and on the opposite end of the Mortar is a little tunnel with either incendiary grenades or traditional grenades.
The Map works well for Team Deathmatch as well as Capture the Leader though I have seen increasing problems with it in King of the Hill. The alternating of the hill tends to move right on top of a team's spawning area (in KotH you can spawn in multiple places) which can give you a huge advantage or not. It also has many spots that are wide open, leaving you a sitting duck and no place to cover and hold the position. Overall though I enjoy the map and it's choice of weapons. The concession area that also connects to the stands is quite a strong area for your team to bunker down and hold position. Also the big key to the map is the scoreboard. Everytime you or your opponents get a kill the score goes up and the best part is the scoreboard can be shot down and crush anyone underneath it.
Next let's see Checkout
Checkout is a really good map for all 3 of the game modes in the beta, it has several holdout areas and spots where you can protect your leader and KotH has a lot of good spots. I am a little forgetful of the names of the different areas so I will just list off the weapons found on this map. You have the Mulcher, Incendiary and Poison Grenades, Digger Launcher and Lancer, Boltok Pistol and Gorgon SMG. I really dig this map overall and it's proven to give a lot of intense fights and fun rounds. It has 4 areas that you can compare to like 4 stores in a mall, all with places to bunker down and protect if you need to band together.
Lets look at Trenches now
Trenches is an outdoor map with two spawning areas at opposite ends with bunkers holding either Poison Grenades or Incendiary Grenades and an upper level with no weapons but people have been known to run up there as a place where they don't have to worry about who is coming up behind them since it has only one way up. When you reach the center of the map you have a Digger launcher, and a hill that leads to a sniper's nest with a One shot in it. On the opposite end it a little perch with a Mortar for you to rain hell on your opponents. I feel this is a strong map for Team Deathmatch and KotH but not so much Capture the Leader. There are not many places you can be protected as it's very open and leaves you and easy target for the Mortar. You could hide in your spawn point but eventually in CTL your opponents and your team will switch spawn areas leaving your opponents to spawn behind you and take you down. On this map you are best off constantly moving and making sure you stick with your team. Other then that it's a very good map with a variety of weapons and many places for covered fire fights.
Last we got Old Town
Old Town has become my favorite map, maybe because it has my favorite weapon (The Boomshot :D) but I also just love the layout of the map. The primary weapons in this map are The Boomshot (which alternates with the Digger launcher), The Lancer (alt. is the Torque Bow), The Scorcher, as well as incendiary and explosive grenades (that alt. with Poison and Smoke). The map has plenty of little corridors and alleys/side streets providing plenty of areas for cover and close range combat, it's also one of the most fun maps for pretty much every mode available in the beta. I have had plenty of intense KotH matches, CTL as well as Team Deathmatch. There are multiple ways to attack all closed in areas and the weapons are spread out nicely.
Weapons
Now lets get into the new weapons and their usefulness.
First up the Retro Lancer
This gun is a take on the Lancer from the first two (which is also in the game) where the chainsaw is replaced with a bayonet. Also the gun is more powerful but has a big spread the longer you hold the trigger, the cross hairs will expand and cause the gun to be less accurate. To use the bayonet you hold B like you would with the other Lancer and you will charge at your opponent for a set period of time slamming the blade through their chest. You will need a little distance between you and your opponent for this to get the momentum for the kill, also when you are running shots will slow you down and your character screams like a maniac to alert your target. Still when you hit with it the kill is mighty satisfying.
One Shot
The One Shot is an extremely powerful Sniper Rifle that... well.. kills opponents in one shot, but there is a catch. The gun only has 3 bullets, a scope, is laser sighted, and must be charged if you want the full effect of death. When you aim the gun it will beep and the red sight will appear, when it's charged it will beep rapidly and anyone in your sights is devastated to their final resting place. It's a power weapon that is only featured in one level on the beta but with accurate shooters it is mighty dangerous.
Sawed Off Shotgun
This baby right here is a new shotgun that you can start off with instead of the Gnasher (if you so choose). The range on it is much worse then the Gnasher but it's POWERFUL, anyone who is in your range is going to die and it won't be pleasant. The gun has a wide spread making it easy enough to kill without having to aim though you better make sure you got time to run or get away from any other teammates looking to take you out for that fresh kill. It's got a slow reload time even with the active reload though it's a fun weapon. At the same time it's very love/hate online as many people hate how much it is getting used (along with the Gnasher). Just try to understand this is a beta and from the feedback will be a better balanced game at launch.
Incendiary Grenades
The next evolution in hand tossed death are the incendiary grenades. These bad boys explode in a ball of fire upon impact with an opponent or the ground. If this explodes directly onto someone they will instantly die, if it hits the ground or a wall that area burns with flame and injures anyone who touches it or stays on it for a long period of time. They are fun little tools that are usefull weapons especially in a crowded area.
Finally we have the Digger Launcher!
This final weapon is a new explosive tool similar to The Boomshot. Instead of shooting a rocket it shoots a digger which launches underground and once close to an enemy pops out and explodes killing those close and in the area. It's quick, powerful, easy to aim and fun to use. If you are a heavy weapons fan like myself you will enjoy using this along with The Boomshot. It has about the same amount of ammo and it quick.
Final Impressions
The beta these past few weeks has gotten me excited for the final product. It is already so polished in it's match making speed and server consistency. There have not been many lag issues and they have rewarded the testers each week with fun modifiers for the weekend. The added bonus of content that will transfer to the final game is also very pleasing. There are certainly areas that need tweaking but that is what a beta is for, to discover those and fix it to provide a solid product at launch. The game runs smoother then even GoW 2 and actually looks better as well. This is certainly what you want to see from the final chapter in the trilogy and I for one will be sad to see the Beta end on Sunday. Till then I need to bust my ass for a Gold Retro Lancer!
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