If you’re one of those people under the impression that the online multiplayer in Gears of War revolves being repeatedly reduced to a quivering pile of gore by ridiculously powerful shotguns, I don’t blame you for having that perception. It is, after all, an admittedly large part of the game. I will, however, suggest that you take the time to reevaluate. Why? Because every so often, an innovative multiplayer mode comes along that shakes things up in a fun, refreshing way. Last year, it was Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood with its paranoia-inducing stab-filled online component. This year, it’s Gears of War 3 with a retooled Horde mode and the gruesome, monster-filled Beast mode.
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Having a massive shield is never a bad thing.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Gears of War 2 was the first in the series to feature a Horde mode, wherein a player and up to four other friends could pick a map and battle wave after wave of enemies. A heavy emphasis was placed on strategy and teamwork. Leave your teammates to die and they wouldn’t be there to save you when you needed it later. Sit too long in one spot and you might find yourself quickly overrun and out of ammunition. As a whole, it was more similar to a Call of Duty zombie match than it was to anything in Left 4 Dead. Although the enemies changed from wave to wave, including tense boss waves, the weapons didn’t and after fifty waves you might find yourself nodding off between active reloads.
Simply put, this is no longer the case. Gears of War 3 has made Horde feel a lot more tense – a lot more like a horror movie. Ironically enough, they did this by dialing up the tower defense aspects. This isn’t Call of Duty, and we’re not just repairing wooden boards on windows and doors. Players in Horde 2.0 are doing some serious fortifications. There’s spiked barriers that over time can be upgraded to razor wire and eventually laser fences. You can build decoys that distract incoming enemy fire. There are also turrets and the new silverback, which is basically a walking mech-suit. Players can buy all these fortifications, including more weapons and ammunition, by killing enemies and gaining in-game cash.
I'd get behind some cover if I were you.
What’s really exciting about Horde 2.0 is just how quickly the difficulty – and consequently, the terror – escalates. The first few waves are the usual fare of cannon fodder in terms of enemies. There are scurrying Tickers, the ubiquitous humanoid drones and maybe a few wayward Wretches. The real fun starts at the tenth wave with the first “boss match”. Not sure what to expect, my comrades and I were quickly treated to the site of a giant, tyrannosaurian Brumak firing off chain guns and rockets across the entire map. But that was nothing compared to the twentieth wave, where we were greeted by not one, but two Berserkers. I won’t spoil anything, but don’t even bother trying to solo one of these, and don’t waste your time with fortifications. The Berserker cares not for your petty razor wire.
If you’re tired of games and modes that inundate you with a tidal wave of enemies to fight off, then maybe Horde 2.0 isn’t your thing. It’s understandable. That’s why there’s Beast mode. In a complete reversal of Horde, you’re now in the…umm…shoes…of the locust horde rather than the humans. You still get in-game money for your actions, but instead of buying fortifications you’re buying creatures to control. At first you can only buy the basics – the bug-like kamikaze Tickers, the ape-like Wretches, etc. While scurrying across the map and detonating in some unsuspecting human’s face can be immensely satisfying, the real fun comes after the first wave or two, when you’ve finally unlocked the other characters.
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It's going to take more than a boot to smash this bug.
A few of the highlights include Boomers with their ersatz rocket launchers and the Maulers with their giant shields and intimidatingly lethal flails. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that going medieval on someone is definitely within your reach. Not content simply to leave you with the cannon fodder of the locust army, Epic has thrown in a few surprises. The Savage Corpser is an arachnid-like creature that looks like a huge, scaly hand and can decimate fortifications and human characters with just a few hits. Giant Serapedes, if the name doesn’t clue you in, are giant centipede-like creatures with an electric bite and nearly impenetrable armor.
The real prize, however, comes when you’ve wreaked enough havoc and saved up enough cash, is the ability to purchase the Berserker. While controlling the Berserker, you’re subjected to its relative blindness. On the other hand, you don’t need to see all that well considering the fact that you can plow through nearly everything in your way. The first time I took control of one of these beasts, my kills-per-life ratio went from one kill per death to about half a dozen.
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Get off the turret and start running, you moron!
The only downside to these two brilliant multiplayer modes is that they haven’t yet been combined. They can only be played against the computer. Imagine, if you will, something along the lines of the versus mode in Left 4 Dead 2. One wave sees your team taking on the role of the humans fighting off the other team controlling the Locust Horde, and after every wave or so you switch places. AI can be a more than challenging opponent, but nothing beats the ingenuity and improvisational insanity of a real human opponent. However, don’t let this at all detract from your potential enjoyment of smashing barricades and skulls with your giant scaly fists, and don’t let it stifle the necessary creativity needed to take down the Lambent. If Epic never smashes these two modes together to create some Frankenstein-like abomination, Horde 2.0 and Beast mode will still be two of the best multiplayer modes you’ll play this season.