During a battle with the Lambent Leviathan which involves 8 COG characters separated into two teams completing separate objectives simultaneously (read about it here: Gears of War 3 campaign impressions), a part of the boss battle allows two of the four players on one of the teams to jump into a mech battle suit, called the Silverback.
When in the Silverback, the player can tap A to deploy it, switching its weapons to more powerful rockets instead of the standard machine gun fire. When deployed, the mech can also be used for cover like any other standard object and even while inside of it deployed, the player can use it for cover as well.
The use of mechs opens the Gears of War franchise to endless possibilities when it comes to vehicle use and perhaps eventually something more akin to Halo in its abundance of usable ground and air vehicles. Bleszinski explained that the mechs in particular were something they wanted in the series since its inception, and not just as an added gameplay feature but as a core focus of the series.
By costing money, Cliffy B is referring to it being one of the many items in the new and improved Horde 2.0 mode, where in-game currency is earned and spent as up to five players fight off waves of Locusts. The currency can be spent on things like barriers, turrets, decoys and even for unlocking weapons.
Click to enlarge for Silverback concept art:
Gears of War 3 releases September 20, 2011, exclusively for the Xbox 360.
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