Yes I have the beta, my cousin works at Epic and he sent me a beta code. I only had a chance to play two games because I'm currently very busy but I will be getting back on later tonight. So here is a quick rundown of my impressions so far.

Graphics- The game looks stunning, everything is butter smooth and the extra color makes a world of difference. I would have been happy just watching endless ink grenades go off and chasing chickens through the yards. The animations are still a little jerky but they have time to fix that.

Gameplay- So much better than gears 2. The increased movement speed is a much welcome addition, the shooting feels more fluid. Being able to zoom into first person for the hamerburst is wonderful. The sawed off shotgun is devastating but you need to litteraly be a few inches away for it to really do any harm and the reload time is massive. It seems like its a little harder to do perfect reloads but my timing may just be off. You can now extend your executions as long as you want by continously pressing Y but when you do your camera becomes locked so that you can no longer tell if someone is approaching you from behind. You can also join a game after a round is over too instead of having to wait until the end of the match. When I played there were literally only 32 people on so right now it feels like a tight knit community of friends playing games and having a blast.

Maps- The one map I played on was a huge, huge improvement over almost anything in Gears 2. I forget the name but it was a village/farm map with a very fable like feel to it.Gears of War 2 was filled with maps that had dead ends and narrow entrances leading to horribly dull stalemates when people camped in corners and planted grenades everywhere. In contrast the map I played on was open and free flowing with each area having multiple angles to attack from.

Menus- I felt like Gears of War 2 had very clunky menus. In Gears 3 everything feels much moroe streamlined and intuitive. I still haven't had a chance to tinker around too much though.

Overall I feel like what I've played of Gears of War 3 is a big improvement over its predecessor. Don't get me wrong at its core this is the same Gears we've all come to know so well. But what it seems they have done is listen to feedback and finetune the things we loved and remove the things we hated and the result is a game that feels familiar but has a new sparkle to it, and I love it.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities but keep in mind I've barely gotten a taste of the game. I'll try to get some more hours in but with my upcoming schedule thats going to be tough.

edit- updating with pics. Copy and paste whole link, clicking hyperlink will give an error

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25643057/2011-04-09 14.21.08.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25643057/2011-04-09 14.20.02.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25643057/2011-04-09 14.26.40.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25643057/2011-04-09 14.26.48.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25643057/2011-04-09 14.27.52.jpg

Do you think the game plays more like Gears of War 1 or 2?

(Careful, your answer here may cement or delay a launch day purchase! No pressure)

I agree with Kowen! You should take some pics!

Sounds massively better then Gears 2 MP (which did not float my boat at all)

That's great to hear, especially about the movement speed. I wasn't feeling Gears 2 that much (other than horde) and I was hoping that 3 would be better. I'm starting to feel a whole lot better as I'm looking forward to more impressions, thanks.

My son told me a kid on his friends list has been playing the beta and I thought he was mistaken. Must have a hook up like you.

Your one lucky sob, you know that?  

Proof or STFU

Don't you think thats a little unecessary?

I hope you are kidding because Mendicate will carve you up, lol.

lol seriously, you can tell who the newbies are.  If this guy is really questioning mendicates credibility he must have not been here for long.

Anyways I'm jealous and I too have a buddy in the Beta and he said its incredible, graphically would you say its the best thing youve played on the 360?

Nice! Gears2 was underwhelming, for me (part of the reason why I didn't get a new xbox after it died)

This just may be the incentive I need to get a new 360