Gears of War 3  had some of the most strategic multiplayer at E3. It makes us wonder: has design director Cliff Bleszinski been playing a lot of Team Fortress 2 lately? As part of E3, Epic provided hands-on time with Gears 3’s new “Beast Mode,” in which players finally take control of the franchise’s antagonists, the Locusts. Think Horde Mode meets The Trojan Women. Players can co-op as a hodgepodge of Locust species — from Maulers to Wretches — to slaughter A.I.-controlled human scum. Each of these species comes bundled with distinct controls and style-of-play.

We play as Wretches, the low-level arm-slashing grunt; Tickers, the loveseat-sized bugs that move fast and explode kamikaze-style; Kantus, priestly healers than can revive fallen comrades across the map and holster a weak machine gun; Grenadier Elites, who have an affinity for shotguns and the weapon that shares their name; Grinders, shouldering a chain gun; and Maulers, the massive tank-like monsters with the flailing mace and an even more massive shield. Beast Mode has options for all types of players.

There are, of course, many more species — some locked from the demo and some that we simply don’t have the opportunity to try despite our numerous gameplay sessions. Missing out on those other player types happens partly because of Beast Mode’s structure. Beast Mode, like Horde, is broken into waves. Before each round and after a death, the player chooses from a limited number of species-types available depending on the wave. Early waves have weaker Locust species from which to choose; latter waves naturally feature stronger species.

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