Those of you who have the Epic Edition of Bulletstorm will get an early week of play on the Gears of War 3 beta.  It begins April 18th for Bullestorm Epic Edition owners and a week later on April 25th for those of you who preorder Gears of War 3.  I’m so ready for this!

Over the course of the beta program, three new competitive multiplayer modes and four exclusive maps will be rolled out, all running on dedicated servers and providing fans with the opportunity to help shape the biggest blockbuster game of 2011. Two of the four multiplayer maps, Trenches and Old Town, were selected by “Gears” fans through a Facebook poll that generated thousands of votes.

And to make the beta even more awesome, you can unlock the retro Lancer for use in the final game along with other cool little bonuses.

Unlockables:
· Beta Tester Medal – Complete one match in the beta to unlock the Beta Tester medal, which will carry over to your gamer profile in the final game. The Beta Tester title will be featured in the “Gears 3″ multiplayer lobby as well.
· Thrashball Cole – Complete 50 matches in any game type to unlock the Thrashball Cole character variant in the beta. Once unlocked, complete 10 matches as Thrashball Cole during the beta and the character will carry over to your gamer profile in the final game.
· Gold-Plated Retro Lancer – Show your ultimate “Gears of War” fandom by unlocking the Gold-Plated Retro Lancer. Complete 90 matches in any game type to unlock it for the beta, and score 100 kills with it once unlocked to carry the exclusive weapon skin over to your gamer profile in the final game.
· Flaming Hammerburst – Complete one match by Sunday, April 24 and unlock this weapon variant.
· Flaming Lancer – Complete one match during the week of April 25 and unlock this weapon variant.
· Flaming Sawed-Off Shotgun – Complete one match during the week of May 2 to unlock this weapon variant.
· Flaming Gnasher Shotgun – Complete one match during the week of May 9 to unlock this weapon variant.

COG TOWN!!!!!