With multiplayer quickly coming up on single player in terms of important elements of a gaming experience, more and more developers have begun including a robust leveling/rank system into said online option. Now it looks like Gears of War 3 will institute a similar experience system that will help players unlock everything from new character and weapon skins to bloody executions.

For those who remember, Gears of War 2 received an experience system late in the game but unfortunately the incentives to increase one’s rank were purely superficial. In this newly created system, gamers will have a certain set of challenges, from killing your “nemesis” to getting the first kill, that will correspond to a set amount of experience earned. Call of Duty and now Halo: Reach implement a similar system but, if one were to compare, expect Gears’ experience system to follow closer in line with what Reach is doing rather than Modern Warfare.

As the player progresses through ranks there will be a myriad of unlocks available. Highlighted were two cosmetic changes: one a skin that places Cole in his "Thrashball" uniform and the other was a lancer skin that features the Gears logo. Much like Reach, I wouldn’t expect for these unlockables to create an uneven play experience. While the guys at Epic did consider adding a perks system like what can be found in the Call of Duty games, they found that balancing each of the selected perks would never deliver a product that the entire fan base would be happy with.

Personally, I prefer an experience system that provides more customization options rather than new weapons or abilities. Not only does it even the playing field across the multiplayer experience but it adds a role-playing element to the game that, with the tremendous success of MMOs like World of Warcraft, many gamers enjoy. I know gamers everywhere cannot wait to get their hands on the final game in the trilogy and neither can we.

What do you think of an experience system that provides customization options like skins or executions rather than weapons of abilities? Which do you prefer?

Gears of War 3 will be released some time in late 2011 on the Xbox 360.

Source: Shack News