Gears of War 3 – Detailed trailer analysis

It’s finally here. We have the release date for what could quite possibly be the third and final Emergence Day. Cliff Blezenski revealed the debut trailer for Gears of War 3 on tonight’s Jimmy Fallon Live. While the trailer itself clocks in at around roughly a minute, Epic has been kind enough to relay a lot of information in this trailer.

Keeping in tradition with the trailers for the earlier games, the ‘Ashes to Ashes’ trailer for Gears of War 3 features the song, Heron Blue by Sun Kil Moon and adds to the melancholy theme of the trailer. What I initially thought were statues turned out to be the actual people (the chap in the screenshot reminds me of the Stranded) who apparently have been burn to a crisp; all that remains are the ashes. It’s quite possible that they were victims to a larger version of the Hammer of dawn which might have been used to wipe out the locust. However, the Stranded who surfaced because of the flooding that took place at the end of Gears 2, might have been caught in the crossfire.

We then see a surprisingly older version of Dom running through the Ashes, falling over, and being rescued by Marcus just in the nick of time. When compared to the rest of Delta squad, Dom seems to have aged a bit too much. This could be due to the fact that his son and wife are dead. Gears of War fans will remember the emotionally strong scene where Dom is reunited with his wife, Maria and is forced to resentfully do what needs to be done. From the way Dom accepts his fate as the Locust stands above him, ready to shoot, it’s apparent that Dom is a man who has nothing to live for and is fighting with the will to survive. There has been a lot of speculation that the aged person in the trailer could be Adam Fenix but a close look at the facial features of Dom from Gears of War 2 confirm that this indeed is Dominic Santiago.

Marcus Fenix, looks in great shape. The Cole Train fashion seems to be spreading like wildfire as both Marcus and Dom are wearing sleeveless armor. Also, Marcus is holding what most definitely is a classic double barreled shotgun. We all know that the shotgun has been the weapon of choice for most people in multiplayer and adding another shotgun to the fray seems like a wise decision. A quick shot shows a woman providing Dom with a weapon. Who is this woman? Could it be Anya from the earlier games? Or someone totally different? Only time will tell.

This next screen has a lot of information embedded in it. For starters, we get a first look at the worm like lambent locust infected by Emulsion that seems to mutate as you fight them. Not only are these enemies a viable threat to you, but do not seem to bode well with their own uninfected brethren. The physical appearance of this worm-like lambent locust suggests that they are capable of inflicting damage even if the player is safely hidden behind cover. You can also clearly make out that the locust are ignoring Delta squad and focusing their fire on the new threat. This could introduce a whole new gameplay mechanic as a two way fight turns into a three-way bloodbath…somehow similar to the Halo series.

At the end we also get the final release date which is April 2011. Which means we will have to wait one whole year before we can get our hands on Gears of War 3. Stay tuned for more updates.

Update : Cliffy B confirmed in his twitter profile that the breaded guy is indeed Dom and that the blonde is Anya. Here’s what he said

“Dom has a beard and the blonde IS Anya FYI.”

Update 2 : Gears of War 3 will feature 4-way integrated story  co-op play, Cliffy B confirmed yet again!

“Also, Rod confirmed and I’m posting it here: 4 player integrated story co op in the campaign!”