Gears of War 3 Twelve Days of Gearsmas

Among the development community, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that Epic Games has distinguished themselves through both dedication to fan entertainment and a one-of-a-kind sense of humor and attitude. The developers of Gears of War 3 are keeping up that reputation, albeit with a holiday flavor, as today marks the beginning of the 'Twelve Days of Gearsmas.' Each day from now until Christmas, Epic has a special feature or two planned for the online components of Gears 3 that will make play sessions both a blessing and a curse for players.

Following the release of the conclusion to the Gears of War 3 trilogy, Epic came out with a system of fan support and interaction that all multiplayer-focused development teams should take note of. With each and every weekend, a new batch of insanity was unleashed upon the online community, whether it be Big Head Mode, BoomSnipes or any other they could come up with.

The plan is unquestionably a creative and successful way of keeping players returning to your game week after week, and is one that the team is expanding upon this month. Epic has now revealed what will arrive with each of the 'Twelve Days of Gearsmas,' and while the names may leave a bit of mystery, it's clear that Gears fans have a great couple of weeks ahead of them.

Have a look at the announced schedule:

  • Day 1- Fortifications for Free
  • Day 2- No Team Love
  • Day 3- Much Bigger Heads
  • Day 4- 4 Squawking Birds
  • Day 5- Beasts on the cheap
  • Day 6- 6 Boomers Flaming
  • Day 7- Gibbing Comets Ringing
  • Day 8- Experience for Milking
  • Day 9- Locust Ladies Dancing
  • Day 10- 10 Lambent Leaping
  • Day 11- Snowman Heads a Popping
  • Day 12- Mortars Incoming

Versus Schedule:

  • Day 1- Brothers to the End on all maps playlist
  • Day 2- Torque Bow Tag
  • Day 3- Can You Dig it?
  • Day 4-6- Hardcore Weekend — Gnasher/pistol only, pickups limited to boomshot, digger, torque bow, sniper rifle.
  • Day 7 and 8- Boom Snipes
  • Day 9 and 10- This Is My Rifle
  • Day 11- Thanksgibbing
  • Day 12 One Shot One Kill

Along with the skill-testing and hilarity-inducing tweaks the developers have in store, Epic is also running a fan giveaway for the days in question. The first prize up for grabs is the 'Hanover Cougars' Beta Tester T-Shirt from earlier this year, so be sure to keep up with the prizes as the contest runs by heading over to Epic's site.

That makes more than a few reasons to return to Gears of War 3 this holiday season, as the contest coincides with the release of the 'Raam's Shadow' DLC. If you haven't already, check out our review to hear why it's worth the purchase. You're unlikely to find a message board on any Epic site that isn't currently attacking the studio for it's contentious pre-planned DLC strategy, but the overall quality of the content isn't in question.

Which mode or modification are you most looking forward to playing this 'Gearsmas'? It'll be nice to see the return of turkeys, but the sheer lunacy of the 'Hardcore Weekend' is sure to draw a few gluttons for punishment into the versus playlists. If you're more interested in witnessing the insanity than being a part of it, don't forget that you can spectate from safety.

Gears of War 3 is available now, exclusively for the Xbox 360.

Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

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Source: Epic