Xbox Gaming in South Africa

It's not a task to be taken lightly, to expand upon a narrative as revered as the Gears of War trilogy - this is a story which gamers have been following for years, and a legendary trilogy which was neatly wrapped up by spectacular finale, Gears of War 3. Epic Games probably made a good decision then to forgo any kind of "but wait, there's more!" addendum for the first campaign-focused add-on, instead going back to the root of the saga with RAAM's Shadow - a three act adventure casting new light on the events which kicked off the Locust-shredding extravaganza in the first place. Set for release next week, we were given the opportunity to have an early look at RAAM's Shadow, to see just what Epic has in store for the Gears faithful.

Obviously it would have been folly to change the classic Gears of War formula, and as such most of the dynamics remain instantly recognizable for series veterans. Third-person cover based Locus Horde hunting, a team of gruff, thick necked protagonists, and impressive level architecture as your arena for battle. Since the story for RAAM's Shadow runs more or less along the Gears of War 1 timeline, but independently of the events which unfolded around Marcus, Dom and the rest of Delta Squad, we're strapped into the boots of an all new squad of burly soldiers for most of this three hour mini-campaign. "All new" isn't entirely correct though - lead protagonist Michael Barrick is a fresh face for the game franchise, having made his debut in the Gears expanded universe as part of the comic book series, and squad member Alicia Valera is an all new cast member, but other starring roles are filled by familiar faces. Gears of War 2's Tai makes a comeback, having been benched for Gears 3, as does Lieutenant Kim from the original Gears, and we meet up with Gears 3 newcomer Jayce for the first time here too, albeit as a baseball bat wielding civilian. Along with a return to the original Gears timeline, RAAM's Shadow also marks the return of a number of game mechanics from the first game, like the Locust spawn point grub holes which need to be sealed with a carefully lobbed grenade -  elements which fit so intuitively in the Gears of War gameplay that you might not even realise they've been missing of late.

Swapping characters during the campaign isn't a new concept for the Gears trilogy, a mechanic which Gears 3 used to the full to help tie up loose ends for the different characters, and a trend which continues for RAAM's Shadow. In fact it makes up a key element of this new story arc - the chance to play not only as CoG soldiers, but also as the fearsome General RAAM himself. Taking control of RAAM presents quite a different style of play, his immense size and strength making for an imposing presence on the battlefield. No more diving for cover when the CoG roll in, the focus is on savage offense, carving through enemies with his guided swarm of Kryll (which also serve as a mobile personal shield), or disemboweling those unfortunate to get close to him with a massive, jagged sword. Surrounded by hulking Locust monstrosities, there is a feeling of unstoppable might that comes with playing the bad guy.

Moving between Zeta Squad and RAAM mission scenarios makes for a clear change in pace, but the core narrative is still focused on the cover-based gun-play of Barrick and his team. With Ilima City under threat, and the sky darkening in preparation for the impending Kryllstorm, Zeta Squad is tasked with evacuating the city - a task which, in typical Gears fashion, sends them from checkpoint to checkpoint in search of survivors, following dead leads, and being constantly ambushed by the Horde. The gameworld feels different this time though, because Ilima is in a far less decayed state than we are used to - by the time Gears of War 3 came to an end, the world of Sera was almost completely decimated, and it's refreshing to see so much of the architecture and environments in tact. As with Gears 3, there is more emphasis on outdoor environments than with previous franchise entries, all created with the same lavish attention to detail that we saw with the series' grand finale a few months back.

When a franchise has such a fervently dedicated multiplayer support base as Gears of War does, you would expect the focus to be on the online component when it comes to building new downloadable content - people never seem to tire of endless map packs and new ways to kill one another, so multiplayer-based DLC is pretty much a license to print money. In that light, RAAM's Shadow is something of a rare treat for single-player gamers. This DLC will add new characters for use in both co-op and other multiplayer modes, as well as a new sawn-off shotgun to blast your friends to pieces with, but it's the rather lengthy campaign which takes the spotlight here. While no one could accuse Epic of shortchanging fans with Gears of War 3's campaign, it's still good news to know that there is more of the story to be told. Indeed, there is much more to expand upon, elements which will determine whether this a campaign worthy of carrying the Gears of War title, but we'll save all of that for when we put RAAM's Shadow through its paces for our final verdict. While we can't say too much just yet (Act III was strictly off limits for preview coverage), it's quite safe to say that Gears of War fans have plenty to look forward to when RAAM's Shadow launches on Xbox LIVE on 13 December for 1200 MS Points.