Following Monday's late-night unveiling of Gears of War 3 on national television, it seems the game couldn't get any more hype. However, Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski is stirring the embers of the publicity bonfire by announcing that the sequel, due out next April, will double the number of players in prior installments' two-person co-op mode.

　　Anya Stroud will almost certainly be one of the four characters players can control in co-op mode.

　　Last night, Bleszinski posted the following message on his Twitter page: "Also, [Epic Games executive producer] Rod [Fergusson] confirmed and I'm posting it here: 4 player integrated story co op in the campaign!"

　　Bleszinski also tweeted that the blond woman in first Gears of War trailer is Anya Stroud, the previously non-combat communications officer who is series hero Marcus Fenix's love interest. Presumably, she will be one of the four characters a player can control in co-op mode.

　　Gears of War 3 will arrive in North America and Asia on April 5, in Japan in April 7, and in Europe and all other territories April 8. Like Gears of War 2, it will be Xbox 360 exclusive, with Bleszinski having said in 2008 that there will be no more installments of the series on the PC.

　　As shown in the trailer below, the game will offer an apocalyptic finale to the series, which has sold 12 million copies. According to Microsoft, the last human city saved at the end of the second game has been obliterated, with Marcus Fenix trying to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde and the mutating lambeth. Huge monsters resembling Mass Effect's Thresher Maw with taloned tentacles were also unveiled, as was the new double-barreled shotgun weapon.

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