Gears of War 3 is right around the corner and Epic Games has opted to put up the entire timeline for the universe for players to know exactly when events are transpiring and how they impacted different events down the line. For some, knowing things like dates in mythology might be viewed as incredibly nerdy, but there's nothing wrong with being interested in some facts and trivia. It's not like you're going to use it as a pick-up line, right?

From the original Gears of War and up to Gears of War 3, the official timeline is broken up into two separate portions: Before Emergence Day and After Emergence Day. The Locust Horde's arrival on the planet Sera is obviously a major turning point in the universe and the population, from a war over emulsion, the planet's predominant energy resource, into a fight for survival over 15 years.

Make sure you read through our review of Gears of War 3 and see if it's worth picking up. The short answer is yes, but that's beside the point. Reading through the Gears of War series timeline will also offer more of an insight into the desperation of the Seran population as they try to stop the Locust invasion. The Coalition of Ordered Governments destroyed their own planet to stop the threat and accomplished nothing but slowing the Locust down and killing many of their own people in the process.

The timeline will also give you a convenient refresher of the events that transpired over the past two games, but let's face it: It's still totally worth playing through Gears 1 and 2 to see how that happens, as well as to see the kind of gameplay changes Epic implemented from game to game. Click to enlarge:

For the super-large, full-size version, click here.

For a more visual aid to see what you can expect from Gears of War 3, watch the final trailer, as well as some actual gameplay from early on in the campaign.

Gears of War 3 releases September 20, 2011 exclusively for Xbox 360.

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Source: Epic Games