The
Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta will be open to all come mid-April and feature three new multiplayer modes across four new maps. Better yet, gamers can vote on which maps they want to play on at the
Gears of War Facebook page and they'll be able to unlock in-game content when the game is released on September 20.
The new multiplayer modes include:
- King of the Hill - Combines with Annex and simplified with a new user interface and ring that moves around the map.
- Capture the Leader - Capture and hold either Chairman Prescott or Queen Myrrah. The leaders aren't useless though as they can see through walls and coordinate their teammates. Also, everyone gets one smoke grenade that can be used to force the player holding the leader to let go.
- Team Deathmatch - Each team gets 15 respawns. Once those are gone, it is game over for the team that gets killed first.
Two maps for the multiplayer beta are confirmed - Stadium and Supermarket. The other two will be chosen in the Facebook contest from a selection of four maps - Mercy, Old Town, Overpass and Trenches.
The unlockable content includes a Gold Retro Lancer and Cole Train in his Thrashball uniform. The Gold Lancer will be unlocked either by playing 90 matches or getting 100 kills with the impaling machine gun. Cole's Thrashball outfit can be unlocked once you play 70 matches of any game type. You get to keep him in the retail version if get 83 matches total.
No word on how the Bulletstorm Epic Edition work into this. Presumably, those that purchased it get into the beta a week early or something.