Gears of War 3 trailer, release date announced on Jimmy Fallon show

Gears of War 3, the latest installment in the top-selling Gears of War franchise, will hit store shelves in April of 2011. That's the news from creator Cliff Bleszinski, who introduced the Gears of War 3 trailer during a segment of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Gears of War fans, rejoice. Franchise creator Cliff Bleszinski was on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" Monday to officially unveil "Gears of War 3," the long-awaited follow-up to 2008's mature-rated blockbuster "Gears of War 2." Mr. Bleszinski said the game, which will be available in April of 2011, would pit COG forces against the Lambent, the monstrous, mutating species that figured so heavily into the plot of "Gears of War 2."

Bleszinski showed off a trailer called "Ashes to Ashes," which shows an array of COG soldiers – including at least a few familiar faces – barreling through a destroyed city. At one point, the soldiers exchange gunfire with a group of locusts and a giant crab-like creature with spiked limbs. "Graphics are the thing that pull people in," Bleszinski told Mr. Fallon. "But what ultimately matters is gameplay."

Bleszinski, who currently serves as the design director for Epic Games, discussed his storied history in the video games industry, which includes a record-shattering high score on the Nintendo classic Super Mario Brothers. "I made my first game when I was 11," Bleszinski said. "I made my first commercially available game when I was 17." Epic Games released the first "Gears of War" in 2006.

The first two Gears of War games sold a collective 12 million copies, USA Today reports, making the franchise one of the biggest hits on Microsoft's Xbox 360.

According to Bleszinski, "Gears of War 3" will be the first Gears game to include female soldiers – an announcement that drew loud cheers from Fallon's audience. Bleszinski joked that the existence of "Gears of War 3" was the "worst kept secret" in the video game industry, and said he hoped the long lag time between announcement and release would help drum up additional excitement for the game.

Over to you. What are you looking for in "Gears of War 3"? What disappointed you about "Gears of War 2"? Drop us a line in the comments section.