How to play insane Beast online

If you only play multiplayer, then you aren't missing anything by skipping Gears 1 or 2 (other than familiarity with the game mechanics).

As for the single player, there is a story and it does tie up a lot of loose ends from the first two games (I haven't played much of the campaign yet, this is just what I've heard from reviews and such). There is a "previously on Gears" intro movie that you can play before the campaign starts to get you up to speed.

If you watch the intro movie, and possibly read about the plot of the first two games on the internet, you would probably have enough info to not be confused by the story in Gears 3.

While looking at an enemy, hold down the left trigger button (as if to aim your weapon) and click down the left stick. Your character should then say something along the lines of "enemy spotted" and a symbol will appear over the enemy's head.

Additional information:

• Spotting an enemy in Horde mode will earn you a little cash if that enemy is subsequently killed.
• If you are killed in Horde mode, you can still spot enemies for your team mates by entering ghost mode by pressing X (which enables you to float around the map) and then clicking the left stick to spot enemies. This enables you to earn cash to use in the next round, or to buy yourself back into the round if you earn enough.
• Weapons and ammo can also be spotted using the same technique; if you spot 3 weapons that are subsequently picked up by team mates, you will earn the Reconnaissance ribbon.
• You can earn the Military Intelligence ribbon by spotting 5 enemies that are subsequently killed.
• Spotting enough enemies will earn you the Spotter medal.