Thirteen1

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Multiplayer Beta Hands On

For the last few years, deciding to buy a console shooter has yielded just one burning question – CoD or Battlefield (or Halo if you’re red ring o’death inclined). Meanwhile, Tom Clancy’s series of shooters appear to have been skulking in the shadows, hanging upside down from the ceiling, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce.

Tom Clancy Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (GRFS) may well have a long unwieldy name, but nothing about the gameplay is cumbersome or awkward. In fact, it’s pretty damn good.

When coordinated over headsets, team modes in CoD and Battlefield can result in some wonderfully crafted moves, leading to spectacular victories – but more often than not, half the team plays like a team, while the other half attempt to be Rambo and single-handedly get the win themselves. If this happens in GRFS, Rambo will always die.
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Gears of War 3 – Beta Hands-on!

The level of excitement in the Thirteen1 office surrounding the release of Gears or War 3 later this year is, frankly, unbelievable. Epic’s sci-fi shooter franchise has been an all-time favourite of ours since it’s initiation back in 2006. So with that in mind, imagine how stir-crazy we fan-boys went when we were offered a free pass to access the multiplayer beta of the highly-anticipated title. Also, imagine how tense things got in the office when we realised we only had one access code. To cut a long story short, I was granted access, and I like to think it was because of my awesome hair, but I don’t think that’s the case. Editor Dan is a huge Gears fan, and it was his final decision to give me the Beta key, which I’m very honoured to have received – though I think he’s taken a fall now so he can have first dibs on the final package when it’s up for grabs later this year, sneaky bastard.

On the other hand, at least I’ll have more experience on my side when the time comes to face each other. But I digress, and it’s time to report my impressions of the multiplayer beta. Read More