Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Gearsheads get two-pieced today with news that not only is Gears of War 3 getting a free public multiplayer beta, but also dedicated servers.

According to the Gears of War portal over on Xbox.com, the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine is packing a massive cover feature with details of the incoming multiplayer modes, including the addition of dedicated servers. Joystiq's also just thrown out a preview, with some more information.

Gears of War 3 is following in the footsteps of big multiplayer games by supporting dedicated servers. [Jim Brown, lead designer on the project] said this will provide a more level playing field for gamers and guarantee that the rocky start that Gears of War 2 got off to won't be repeated. In addition, dedicated servers will help ensure better matchmaking times and play into the new party system that Epic is introducing, which encourages friends to congregate online and stay connected even when they're not all playing in the same game mode.

"This all ties in really well with our social matches, which we introduced in a recent Gears of War 2 title update but will be fully supported in Gears of War 3," said Brown. "There are the hardcore ranked guys who can go on and play together, but we're also catering to gamers who just want to jump into the first room that has an opening for a player. It's about get in the game and play."

While dedicated servers will typically provide more stable connectivity and latency for most players - an issue that's plagued both Gears of War 1 and 2 multiplayer - it could limit opportunities for people who prefer to avoid public games (and public people; it's the public people, really). Furthermore, assuming no local dedicated servers are provided, latency will remain an issue for South African players.

Either way, Gears fans will be able to try out the new dedicated servers with the free public multiplayer beta, which will be out before the game's release in Q3 of 2011.