If you own an Xbox 360 (or know anyone who does), you've probably heard of Gears of War - the testosterone fuelled, man-powered shooter, where everyone has arms the size of trees, and voices deeper than Barry White's.
The series tells the tale of mankind's fight against an alien race known as the locust, who've lain dormant below the surface of a planet the humans colonised for millions of years. Unfortunately for humanity, these aren't just normal locusts we're talking about - these are locust that also have arms the size of tree trunks, and teeth that could put Gnasher (the Beano dog) to shame - so as you can expect, a suitably gory battle usually ensues.
Easily the size of tree trunks. These guys put wrestlers to shame.
While we weren't exactly blown away by Gears of War, it's sequel was markedly better, and we do commend it for featuring the option to disable extreme content - making what's otherwise a rather violent and foul mouthed game something that would actually be suitable for a father/child or mother/child gaming session.
In an announcement that many saw coming, Epic Games and Microsoft have announced that Gears of War 3 - the conclusion to the trilogy will be coming out in April next year. The conclusion to the trilogy would be enough to get us excited, if we cared enough about the story, which has been unanimously poor, or nigh on non-existent since day 1, so we're relying on the new features to perk up our excitement.
It's dreary, it's hostile, it's got a man with an impossibly wide chest. Yep, it's Gears of War.
The first details to be announced include the addition of a 4-player co-op mode, the inclusion of female characters (who we hope won't look quite as beefy as the men), and a story that's set 18 months after the end of Gears of War 2. With only 12 months left until its release, you can expect a slow build of information over the course of the next year - but, as with everything else being announced at the moment, expect more details to emerge from the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.
