While megatons were nary to be found at Epic Games' Gears of War 2 panel at this year's New York Comic Con, Epic president Michael Capps and writer Joshua Ortega nonetheless revealed a few tidbits that are sure to pique the interest of the Gears faithful.

Immediately after production on the first Gears wrapped up, the team had to ask itself what it could to make the game "bigger" and "more badass." For example, they saw how people responded to the last-minute addition of the chainsaw. What could they do to improve the chainsaw? Chainsaw duels, perhaps?

Cover, which is admittedly inspired by the oft-forgotten Kill.switch, will also be expanded upon in the sequel. Players have already taken cover behind inanimate objects: rocks, walls, etc. But, what if players could take cover behind moving, living things? What if players could kill a massive enemy and then use it as cover? This ultimately led to the development of massive worm creatures for the sequel.

90559

Dom and his "hot chick" (or, what's the story focusing on?)

Epic discovered that gamers enjoyed playing as Dom, and wanted to flesh out his character a bit more in the sequel. "It's humanity's last stand," Ortega notes. But he still wanted to create a more "human" story for Gears 2. Dom's long-lost love interest, Maria, will play an important role in the new story. A more practical matter was brought up by Capps: "Our game is sadly void of hot chicks." Maria would fill that void.

The heroes aren't the only ones that will feel more "human" in the sequel. The Locust finally gained a (British) voice at the end of the original Gears. Expect them to be slightly more "sympathetic" in the sequel, as we see more of their story. However, Capps notes that the game can't make the enemies too human: "In video game storytelling, you really have to build archetypal characters because in Gears of War, Marcus had a hundred lines of dialog -- it's hard to go deeper into his motivations. Spending that time with bad guys is even harder."

"Graphics is pretty much universally hailed as the easiest way to get someone to take a look."

Graphics, then gameplay

Capps talked about the hierarchy of game development. While Wii fans may argue the point, he puts graphics at the top of that list. "Graphics is pretty much universally hailed as the easiest way to get someone to take a look ... if it looks really cool, it gets them in way, way faster than good controls do because they're not playing it yet." Of course, good looks are simply meant to lure people in. After that, it's all about controls, gameplay systems, and balance. When designing a game, all these game mechanics must come before the story. Capps thinks that any other method may create a game that simply isn't fun.

DLC should be free

Even though the game hasn't even released yet, one gamer in the audience asked about the potential for DLC in the future. "Epic has been doing downloadable content since 1996," Capps reminded the audience. His policy on DLC seems to echo the sentiments of Valve's Gabe Newell: "You can make money in post-sales, but you can also convince your fans that 'I bet if I buy Gears 2, I'll get a lot of free sh*t afterwards.'" The recent trend of charging for map packs is something that Capps doesn't seem to approve of.

90560

Is Cole a stereotype?

Fans in the audience expressed their appreciation of Cole Train. However, Capps wanted to speak on the recent controversy over accusations that the character is merely a stereotype. Morgan Gray, Senior Producer at Crystal Dynamics, said "Cole Train is basically like every other effin' black character in a video game. Like here comes the urban stereotype ... They go really far to do a lot of fictional justifications for this culture that they've built, and they go right back to this urban stereotype for the black character."

Capps insinuated that the criticisms may not be valid from a team that created the Lara Croft character. "That character is so Rasta," Capps added. The voice actor ad-libbed most of his lines, Capps noted as his defense.

What about the movie?

Hollywood has been working on a film adaptation of Gears of War. However, not much is known about the project. Seems like legal issues continue to slow the development of this project. "Working with the movie industry is pretty complicated ... it's mostly legal stuff." Capps is obviously excited for the project. With a movie, there's no technical limitations to worry about: "I don't have to worry about framerate ... there's a lot of scenes I'd love to see in a movie."

90561

"Maybe I'll just find a way to give away the PC version for free."

The brumak no one killed

The Games for Windows version of Gears of War included an extra level, which helped fill a plot gap between the mansion and the train yard. PC players were able to experience an epic fight against a Brumak which the 360 version will never get (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/27/gears-of-war-pc-with-20-more/) (due to differences between the PC and 360 versions of the Unreal Engine). Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that this "deleted scene" will ever get its play on consoles. "I'm really proud of that content and I'd love to get it in more people's hands but I can't ... maybe I'll just find a way to give away the PC version for free."

enjoy :cool:

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GameStop -
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You might as well had said, "Made you look" lol

I was hoping for some work friendly pictures of a hot chick and all I got was sausage. :whee:

You might as well had said, "Made you look" lol

I was hoping for some work friendly pictures of a hot chick and all I got was sausage. :whee:

hah i'm actually glad there wasn't any hot chick pics... i'm definitely at work and that would have been not so good for me.

I want a hot chick Gears of War 2 soldier babe. preferably showing belly buton and clevage

Well, adding hot women completes the 13-year-old boy trifecta: Big guns, big muscles, hot girls.

I loved Gears of War, and I'm glad they are embracing its over the top ridiculousness.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6kzCJ4UNWfQ


I cant wait to play this game! It looks a little better than the first one.

Looks great but who thought it wouldnt? Before I had a 360 I played Gears of War on my nephews 360 and was so impressed I went out and bought the Gears of War 360 bundle its a great game and Im sure the sequel will be great too....

Looks amazing for an early build 60frames per second with all that action going on.

But during that scene it was basically an on rails shooter you can't really determine what the action will be the enemies and action come to you the same way everytime.

But what I love is is how EPIC's Mark Rein went from denying GoW2 existence to now showing a video that looks near ready to ship. Ahhm media embargos and keeping secrets


And can we finally get a few screenshots of Banjoo Kazooie Microsoft or does that game not exists anymore? After all it was announced before Gears 1. Now we are seeing actual video of Gears 2 and we still have not seen a screenshot of Banjoo Kazooie since E3 06.

looks good

Gears of war was overrated.

And still is -_-V

Gears of war was overrated.

And still is -_-V

your deals are overrated

Gears of war was overrated.

And still is -_-V

I'll agree with you there, but that preview looks very very good and seems to alleviate my main issue with the first one, the low light levels.

Hopefully this time they will actually give us a real story instead of a mid-action plot. It would be nice to have history on the conflict.

the game looks freakin sweet

good timing Microsoft hype Gears 2 now that GTA 4 has lost its buzz.

But anyways Microsoft can have my $60 now I want Gears 2 because I can use people as "Meatshield" how much fun will that be in multiplayer?!!!

I also wonder if EPIC and Microsft will have another fight about wanting to give away Free Maps (EPIC) and Microsoft wanting people to pay for them.? Does EPIC get that money or Microsoft?

I wonder if they will announce something special about Gears 2 right before MGS 4 launches or maybe a few days after to make MGS 4 fizzle out. I am guessing a 360 price drop (maybe not)

MGS 4 launches 6-12-08

E3 2008 in LA opens 7-15-08 I am guessing Microoft will have a huge publicity push for its games Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Ninjag Gaiden 2, Resident Evil 5, Banjoo Kazooie to really try and steal mindshare from gamers away from PS3.

It would have been smarter of Sony to launch MGS4 right after E3 so that way all the talk at E3 would be centered on MGS 4. They should have done some PR event where gamers could have gone to E3 and bought MGS4 early or on launch day. Bad launch window.

Negative! I loved GOW and didnt find it overrated by any means... IMO its multiplayer was alot more fun than halo the only bad thing was you couldnt create a party for match making... it was hit or miss finding your friends... thats the only thing i would hope for them to fix... Im psyched, i just hope they don't throw another seriously achievment in there (10,000 kills online)

but i would probably be just as excited about MGS4 if that was my type of game...

your deals are overrated

Harsh.

your deals are overrated

Too bad you dont have any front page deal to be overrated about.

Heck, you don't even have any "hot deals" posts to be overrated about.

Seeing the video, I could count 46 different shades of grey. Too bad jacksonpritt's not around.

Too bad you dont have any front page deal to be overrated about.

Heck, you don't even have any "hot deals" posts to be overrated about.

nope and i dont advertise that i do...

can't wait to see the comercial with mad world in it haha i hope they do that again... got me to buy the first one

can't wait to see the comercial with mad world in it haha i hope they do that again... got me to buy the first one

it will be so awesome holding people hostage in multi player i hope they do proximity chat while you have them hostage so you can talk shi!t before you snap their neck

In a recent interview with GameTrailers at Microsoft's Spring Showcase event, Gears of War 2 maestro Cliff Bleszinski dropped a ton of details regarding Marcus Fenix's second outing. Cliffy had plenty to talk about, including new details on Gears of War 2 multiplayer, storyline, vehicles, and the return of a certain fan-favorite character. Here's a quick rundown of exactly what CliffyB had to say:

* Gears 2 will feature 5-on-5 multiplayer with more modes and more maps out of the box than Gears 1. Online functionality wasn't detailed, but Cliffy promises it will be "very competitive with other titles in this space." Dare we hope for a Halo-inspired party system?
* About executions:
o Chainsaw duels can end in a draw, but only occasionally.
o The curb stomp is back
o Players are no longer invulnerable when performing executions
o Once a duel is over, the actual chainsawing is faster, making the entire duel last about as long as a normal chainsaw kill.
* Players who are down but not out can now attempt to crawl away, tapping the A button to crawl faster.
* The game will have "buckets and buckets" of blood. For example, Marcus will leave trails of blood on a wall while taking cover after being injured. "Meat shields" (i.e. hostages) will also drip blood as they are dragged around.
* Players will be able to drive the new Centaur tank, which is something like a cross between a tank and a monster truck (we think it's briefly in the video at around 3:50)
* Carmine (most famous for being on the receiving end of a headshot in the first Gears) will return ... somehow.


source (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33954.html)

:eek: 5 on 5?

EVERY time I see GOW2 I think of GOD Of War 2.

Why didn't they take this into account in the first place??

Many people say Gears 2 looks just like Gears 1. To which I agree BUT you must keep in mind Gears 2 is pushing 60 frames per second Hundreds of Enemies on screen now not just a few dozen. You are part of a 5 man team now not 4. Cover is now "destrcutible" and there is much more physics behind everything. You can now hold "MEAT SHIELDS" basically portable meat cover which is grossly destructible.

Gears 2 is also using the Unreal Engine 3.5 and all those improvements EPIC is also building in many or as much of the Unreal Engine 3.5 into UT 3 for the 360, whiel the PS3 version only supports the Unreal 3.0 engine this is why EPIC publically announced no further support for UT 3 on the PS3.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oxOCd4UVjU&feature=related

Heres a video. Basically thanks to improvements they can render more and show more detail but use less CPU GPU power so thats why the game looks better and runs faster.

EVERY time I see GOW2 I think of GOD Of War 2.

Why didn't they take this into account in the first place??

:iagree: Lets call this Gears 2.

:iagree: Lets call this Gears 2.

i call it by both..

I cant wait for this game! It is going to be awesome!

EVERY time I see GOW2 I think of GOD Of War 2.

Why didn't they take this into account in the first place??

I guess it could be confusing.. but look when you google GOW (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=gow&btnG=Google+Search).

:iagree: Lets call this Gears 2.


I think the correct term is Gears 1.5 :lol:

I think the correct term is Gears 1.5 :lol:

that was the pc version

since searching google with gow comes up with mostly gears of war sites..we know who deserves the actual title.

plus online games>offline games which is another great reason.

I never really enjoyed the multiplayer in Gears 1 it was slow and the host always had an advantage over everyone.

But, I can't wait till this is released...for the PC.

I never really enjoyed the multiplayer in Gears 1 it was slow and the host always had an advantage over everyone.

But, I can't wait till this is released...for the PC.

if its like the PC version of the first gears there wont be very many good matches in the multi player... i have both versions of the first one and it seems like the only people that play the multiplayer on the pc are in europe so the games all lag really bad

if its like the PC version of the first gears there wont be very many good matches in the multi player... i have both versions of the first one and it seems like the only people that play the multiplayer on the pc are in europe so the games all lag really bad

What I meant to say that when gears was only out on the 360 (and i still owned one) i found the multiplayer rather slow paced and boring. Added to that the bullsh*t advantage a host player had made it unbearable to play it IMO.

But the single/coop campaign was very fun which is the reason I am happy about the sequel.

What I meant to say that when gears was only out on the 360 (and i still owned one) i found the multiplayer rather slow paced and boring. Added to that the bullsh*t advantage a host player had made it unbearable to play it IMO.

But the single/coop campaign was very fun which is the reason I am happy about the sequel.

are you more of a UT3 player?

In an interview with OXM, Carlos Ferro (the actor hired to voice Dom Santiago in Gears of War 2) reiterated the fact that Gears 2's story will be much more emotional and deeper this time around. So much so that he feels it goes "beyond" what BioShock had to offer. "A lot happens" says Ferro, "it's going to be more emotionally effecting than BioShock." Really?

Now, we must say, we're hugely optimistic that Gears of War 2 will deliver come November, with the features and badass'ness that Epic has already promised, but to say its storyline will go beyond BioShock's? Well, that just seems super ambitious. Though, we have full faith in the Epic crew, so we say go get 'em guys. Write your Epic hearts out and deliver an emotional Gears experience that we yearned for last Emergence Day.

source (http://www.megatonik.com/2008/05/21/gears-of-war-2-goes-beyond-bioshock-with-storytelling/)

I still haven't even finished Bioshock :|

Not unless they have little girls :nono2:

Bioshock had fairly deep philosophical and literary references riddled throughout it's plot. I highly doubt GoW2 will come close to Bioshock's storyline but who knows, maybe they hired some good writers for it.

The first game was successful because of the cutting edge visuals and fast paced action style gameply, not because of the storyline which was your run of the mill kill-the-aliens style delivery.

I almost had a hard time trying to figure out if it was sometimes satirical in the sense that Starship Troopers/Robocop was or if it was trying to be serious the entire time. In the end, I didn't care because I had fun playing it, but it was not appealing enough for me to play it again on PC now with the added episode at the end of the game.

I still haven't even finished Bioshock :|

Don't feel bad, I haven't either and I bought it a few days after launch!

On topic. I'll believe it when I play it. In other words, I doubt it.

Personally I have never seen a game like BioShock before... I was literally glued to my seat the first week of playing.

You can add me to the "Not finished" list as well.. sad :(

As dated as they may now seem visually, games like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex were amazing in terms of gameplay, storyline, and immersion.

Bioshock did well as a spiritual successor to System Shock

Lol high and eddie... I'm in the EXACT same boat.

I bought Bioshock as soon as it came out... even though I'd previously done almost no research on it. I stayed glued for about a week.. and then... for whatever reason just haven't been back to it..

I beat it :D ... it only took me that first week though

Bioshock is in a league of its own. I was so addicted to that game. I would wake up an extra hour in the morn to play it before work and when I got back home you can bet I was playing it. It took me about 4 days to complete it.

Bioshock is in a league of its own. I was so addicted to that game. I would wake up an extra hour in the morn to play it before work and when I got back home you can bet I was playing it. It took me about 4 days to complete it.

Lol, farkin' A.
I rented it (don't buy single-player games) and was only able to keep it for 7 days without being penalized. You bet your asshole I beat it in that first week. :D

The strength of Bioshock wasn't in the storyline. It was Rapture that really drove bioshock. The characters, the city, and the mystery of what happened. That's where the deepness of the experience came from.

The strength of Bioshock wasn't in the storyline. It was Rapture that really drove bioshock. The characters, the city, and the mystery of what happened. That's where the deepness of the experience came from.

Isn't that all a part of the story?

Also I loved gears 1 but come on the voice acting was pretty lame the story is one we've heard before...all of a sudden they are just gonna make a great story out of it? Somehow I doubt it. That said I buy this day one it comes out for the PC.

Lol high and eddie... I'm in the EXACT same boat.

I bought Bioshock as soon as it came out... even though I'd previously done almost no research on it. I stayed glued for about a week.. and then... for whatever reason just haven't been back to it..
"for whatever reason" = GTA IV :D No need to beat around the bush.

Anyway, I don't believe GOW 2 will rival Bioshock's storyline. Bioshock was a game in its own league IMO (staying on the same topic, you guys should really finish it; it only gets better towards the end). I personally never got into GOW ... played it for a bit and got tired of it. I guess I'm more of a FPS guy.

Theres potential for the GOW story to expand beyond humans vs crab people, but as stated before, its hard to get to such a level of intrigue as Bioshock. However, it should be interesting to see how the crab people developed and such. However, it could only prob get to an intensity like that of the Halo storyline:

GOW------> Halo -------------------------> Bioshock

Not. A. Chance.

Bioshock redefined immersion.

Haven't seen a story as immersive as Bioshock since F.E.A.R.

Maybe I'm the only one.. but FEAR got to me.

I thought FEAR was kind of hokey but I only played a little bit of it.

heh.. wait till you get closer to the end...

COG = Marines
Locust = NAZI's

rinse repeat

now MGS 4 now that will have a heck of a story line if not confusing as heck.

As part of their July Gears of War 2 extravaganza issue (which has yet to spill its contents), we have just come across mention that EGM and 1UP are also set to release the first ever multiplayer footage from Gears of War 2. When will we get the GoW2 multiplayer video love? We aren't exactly sure, but have a sneaky suspicion that the video will go live sometime around June 3rd when their July issue hits newsstands. We say bring on the 5v5 multiplayer footage right this very moment, so we can witness the use of meat shields and gather enough blood to fill all these buckets Cliffy told us to stock up on.

source (http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3167916)

Hey, it's just after 2 PM EST so it's time for another obligatory Gears of War 2 news post. One of our X3F Soldiers tipped us off to scans of a recent article that showcased the new weapons and enemies in Gears 2. Since the other weapons spotted in the scans had been seen in the recent Assault gameplay video, we thought it would be a good time to introduce you to the flamethrower.

This no nonsense inferno-spitting handheld burns red hot and promises to cook a steak in 9 seconds flat, and we don't mean a filet mignon or nothing--we're talking a "half the cow is on your plate, why is my belt still on?" man-steak. We can't even imagine what the execution will be for the flamethrower, but we're sure Epic has something brutal up their sleeve. Hell, as long as Marcus sprinkles some salt and pepper on a dude's charred face afterwards, we're cool with whatever. More scans available at Recenzeher.

source (http://www.recenzeher.eu/screenshot/gears-of-war-2/15)

man those are sweet... i can't wait for this game, its gonna be bad a

yummm medium well done meat shields 14.99 per lb on sale.

with a side of mashed potatos and sour cream.

Seriously what is GOW 2 not going to have? they even have multiplayer vehicles.

5 on 5 should be a lot of fun

I just found my JULY issue of EGM in my mail box it features a 13 page GOW 2 blowout. By Dan Shue

One of teh screen caps clearly show 2 COG chainsawing 1 poor locust. Looks like now its can be double as embarrasing to get chainsawed by 2 players at once.


Also Meatflag is a great new multiplayer game type where one of the innocent lost soul civilians you encountered in Gears one is in the middle of the map you need to rescue him.her but they are shooting at anyone who comes close.

Wingman is also a new multiplayer type

and Gears 2 may feature AI Bots so says EGM

theres also a new move called "Chainsodomy" I'll let your imagination handle that one.

Looks like 3 maps will be returning

Gridlock Subway and I think one more

You can also sacrifice yourself when down with "Martydom"

basically just before you get executed you hold R Trigger to self detonate if you have a grenade.

You can also call for help by raising you hand when down.

You can also crawl when downed

Executions vary: (I'll type exactly what EGM has)

For example, a COG soldier will pulverize his victim's face with his fists, or a Locust will rip off his opponents'a arm and beat him with it. Our fave; taking a downed guy's head and placing it on a Torque Bow's blade tip, then using your foot to pop that noggin off.


(things are sounding almost cartoonish now.)


Also EPIC says there will be no more charging into battle taking a ton of Lancer fire evading then shooting with the shotgun up close. They used the Term "stopping power" which forces anyone running out in the open to take cover or die in theri tracks.

Oh and the flamethrower looks awesome

i can't wait :nod:

Yeah looks awesome especially the Martydom which unlike COD4's which is passive.

Martydom in Gears 2 is active where you can wait until an opponent is near by then detonate. (which leads to a serious dilema do you chrage in for an awesome 'execution" or finshing move? do grab him as a meat shield ? But you risk getting blown up by Martydom)

Best of all is that now Achievemnets kills only count ONCE per match towards your total which forces player to use various weapons. So no more people using only Chainsaw the entire match to get to 100 chainsaw kills only 1 per match counts towards it. =AWESOME

Even though Cliff Bleszinski "can't stand" the cover system of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the outspoken game designer borrowed heavily from the PS3 game when refining the upcoming Gears of War 2 for Xbox 360.


Amid some complaints of the original Gears of War cover system, Bleszinski says: "I felt like the Gears cover system worked like 85 percent of the time and we want to get as close to 100 percent as we can."

As a result, an alternate control scheme is incorporated in Gears 2, "which is pretty similar to Uncharted," says Bleszinski.

"Personally, I can't stand [alternate control scheme]. I like our system," he says. "But it's okay to have that option. We want to make everybody happy."

Our full interview with Bleszinski, published today (http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/features/193148.shtml), also covers the benefits of Unreal Engine 3, destructible environments, chainsaw duels, and why you won't be able to customize your guns in the upcoming sequel.

Gears of War 2 is scheduled for release this November for Xbox 360.

Source (http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=193328)

I hate the GOW cover system. I dont know why, I just do.

Then again I hate GOW, so yeah.

I hate the GOW cover system. I dont know why, I just do.

Then again I hate GOW, so yeah.

I've never played Gears but I thought it was already sort of similar (control wise) to Uncharted, which I like a lot.

I've never played Gears but I thought it was already sort of similar (control wise) to Uncharted, which I like a lot.

Damn u for editing in control wise. I was so about to flame.

i love that game.. i play the multiplayer atleast 3 nights a week.. usually 4 or 5 nights

What the... Who hates GoW? What don't you like about it? The online was awesome until everyone learned how to glitch. Also, online co-op should be mandatory for every game from now until eternity.

I don't know why, but I could only stand uncharted for about 5 minutes before I stopped playing it.

What the... Who hates GoW? What don't you like about it? The online was awesome until everyone learned how to glitch. Also, online co-op should be mandatory for every game from now until eternity.

I don't know why, but I could only stand uncharted for about 5 minutes before I stopped playing it.

yeah i wish they were still doing patches to stop the glitches but its still fun.. i love it when some kids thinks he's all great and brags about being in MLG and ends up getting his a$$ handed to him by my friends an i

What the... Who hates GoW? What don't you like about it? The online was awesome until everyone learned how to glitch. Also, online co-op should be mandatory for every game from now until eternity.

I don't know why, but I could only stand uncharted for about 5 minutes before I stopped playing it.

GearsOWar coop was great. Except it made the game way too easy.

The online was lame. Areas were too small everything was slow. Glitching, host advantage made it so you couldn't kill him. All in all one of the worst online experiences I can think of.

Host advantage with the shotgun and being paired up with laggy British people made me swtich to halo3 then cod4

When you got a good host, limiting the host advantage (which was never as big as people complained about), then Gears was some of the most fun out there. I'm excited for GoW2.

It'll be interesting to see how the "cover system" evolves over the years.

I still like Rainbow Six's best.

Gears of War was the reason i bought a 360... I love Uncharted too... they are both great games.... uncharted is better graphics wise while gears of war was fun because i played it co op with my nephew alot :)

edit:wrong thread

:bump: lets turn this one into the official Gears of War 2 thread..

June 25, 2008 - "New. Better. More. That's not the sexiest way to sell Gears of War 2 to the press, so we came up with this: Bigger! Better! More badass!" This is Cliffy B's opening gambit, and when he adds: "Gears 2 is just an absolute f**king blast!" we know Gears of War 2's multiplayer is going to be a blast. But first up is a quick briefing on the campaign, which was news then, but most of which you've probably heard by now. Mankind is past the brink. The Locust's boreholes are swallowing entire cities and only Jacinto remains. Not only did the Lightmass Bomb triggered in Gears not wipe out the Locust, its fallout has infected the remaining human population with a debilitating disease -- rust lung -- and the Locust have returned with a scarier new force. It's going to be, if you pardon the pun, epic. "We want this to be an entire war, not just a four-man squad behind enemy lines," embellishes Cliffy

The game's famous cover system has been improved, so when you tremble behind stone blocks, you're moved off the corner so are less open to flanking shots. "The system of cover was effective," explains Cliffy, "but we wanted to add the final ten per cent to turn it from really, really good, to phenomenal." Then he adds: "Hands down, this is the best cover system in the business." That's my boy. They've even got a handily bullet-pointed slide: "Campaign: improved visuals. Grander in scope. More intimate violence. New characters. New player vehicles. New monsters. New weapons." Sweet.

Then the multiplayer chat begins. We'll be playing four game modes -- War Zone, Meat Flag, Wingman and Guardian -- across three of the eventual 12 maps Gridlock, River and Security. So to break it down. War Zone is classic team fragging. Now maps will host five-on-five match-ups, an extra player a team. Why? "People are used to teams of five. And they seemed to work better on the maps."

Meat Flag is a particularly Epician take on traditional Capture The Flag game types, in that the 'flag' is a person who really doesn't want to be captured. These will consist of yet-to-be-decided characters from the campaign (we had Franklin, the service station attendant from Gears, but that could change) and having a live flag is a genius touch. Barreling towards the focus point of a map, there's usually an amusing scrap between teams attempting to control the flag, but add into the mix a tooled-up flag that's also trying its darnedest to kill you, and it spices up proceedings to no end. Manage to nab your man and he'll struggle, kick and trash talk you till you score, or you're forced to drop him, i.e, you're dead.

Wingman is another new take on multiplayer. Consisting of five teams of two, you have to balance the aggressiveness of going after the other teams, while protecting your partner. If you go down, he can revive you. If he dies, you're on your own and you've let your man down. It's a brilliantly inspired tactical bout. Five teams jostling on a medium-sized map keeps the battles interesting and continual, and the nature of the match-up forces you to work as a team and co-ordinate a measured combination of concerted attack, while trying to watch your partner's back. Simple aggression will certainly result in at least one teammate's casualty. Then you're stuffed.

Finally, Guardian is another five-on-five throwdown, only one player is the Guardian. As long as he's alive, you can respawn. Once he bites the dust, you're on your last life. And if your Guardian survives, you've still got to clean up the opposition, who may well take your man out. Then it gets frantic. The key here is for the Guardian to keep back in the more protected rear, but as the Guardian is the best player from the last round, just you try holding him back.


All-new is the much vaunted chainsaw duel. Both COG and Locust characters pack chainsaw-equipped hardware, and melée at the same time and the duel animation kicks in. The whole battle -- hitting the B button like mental -- lasts around three seconds, long enough to challenge and find a worthy victor, but short enough to not leave you vulnerable in an enemy's sights for too long. Then the death animation begins. We saw Locust cut cleanly in half, crossways and the classic meat drenching the camera, straight down the chest. Messy incision.

Yup, we can confirm, the violence has remained intact. Something, in our sensitive Manhunt and prostitute-swording times, Cliffy's quick to defend: "The violence is slapstick. It's fun, not nauseous. These are ridiculously large space marines cutting lizards in half!" Locust now have individual finishing animations, and they are cool and varied. Rather than just stepping on heads, you get COGs kneeing enemies in the chest, flipping them over and curb stomping. Sometimes a downed enemy takes multiple fists to the face till it's just meat, and "meat fest" is the only way to describe grenade sticks -- which you can also now do in a retaliatory nature from beyond the grave. Nice touch. Get downed, and you can beg for mercy from your opposition. Hmm… what do you think?


In line with the improved cover system, maps now feature portable shields. These are Viking-like protecting screens which you either hide behind and advance, pistol spitting, or pick up and slam down into the ground for a respite from hot lead.

Our first play is the new Gridlock map: by a country mile the most popular map from Gears. "Gridlock is the one de facto map to play Gears of War on, the map by which all other maps will be judged," reckons Cliffy. "So here's Gridlock 2.0." And 2.0 actually comes to define our day. Epic may well have cunning extras up their sleeves, but the experience, without stating the bleedingly obvious, is Gears 2.0. That's not to say it's not impressive. Everything's flexed to vein-bulging tenseness and you can see the fruits of Epic's toil in a glance.


The graphics are a clear improvement on the last outing, which is no mean boast – Gears was a supermodel amongst console games, with a rare and lasting beauty. This one is Agyness Deyn to Gears' Kate Moss: the next big thing. And that's because, contrary to established thinking, they've moved away from realistic lighting, to what Cliffy described as "movie lighting" -- a look which concentrates on making characters look better as opposed to realistic. Duh. Water now responds to footfalls in a beautifully realistic way and shoot a sandbag and it leaks sand till it empties. Still, clearly graphically, pictures speak louder than words, so drool over the comparison shots while remembering, this is multiplayer, not even campaign shots. And wonder.

Gears multiplayer wasn't broken, so in that aspect they haven't fixed it. But neither have they thrown the baby out with the bathwater. The experience is tighter, sharper and more concentrated. But also very familiar. But that's the thing -- innovate too much and you can spoil the experience. But don't innovate enough and fans looking for new thrills will feel disappointed and short changed. The best barometer is sitting back and watching the rest of the party playing. And Epic can breathe a sigh of relief. This works. From expressions of pained concentration, through constipation face, vinegar face to whooping like a lottery-winning Macau monkey, no geek left unsatisfied. Including IGN.

The slightly rubbish party system of the last has been improved, so you can now play ranked and unranked matches with your buds. Maps can be vetoed in the lobby - a welcome nod to Halo 3 - while the spectator camera is now actually useful. Security cameras have been removed in place of "battle cameras" -- a series of cams you can switch between which either follow the action in an eerily human-like edit, or you can switch between, to learn maps quicker. Or failing that, switch to "ghost cam" and zoom, god-like and disembodied around the levels. There should also be some kind of screen grab camera, with shots rated by the game based on framing, gore and action, which you should be able to post online. Epic were coy about this, so we'll no doubt hear more about that interactive aspect of the game soon.


So, the levels. Gridlock you know. It's the same, only purdier. Security we didn't like so much, but mostly because its complicated layout requires study and practice – something difficult to do when you're thrown into a game against Epic's best. It certainly has potential. Hit buttons to lower laser walls and you can get at the tastier hardware – rocket launchers and flamethrowers, mostly. Yup, squealing, bedwetting fanboys: flamethrowers – before heading to the central area to, you know, do your stuff.

Our favourite was actually River, which takes the circular benefits of Gridlock to new levels. A river runs through the middle under a bridge (under which the sweet hardware resides) for instant flash points, but on each corner there's a barn-like structure for sniper positions and long range shooting which really threw up the best combination of hiding, sniping and all out chainsaw gore splatter. Certainly a future classic.

Later we had a bit of a (frustratingly brief) sit down with Cliffy, to pose some specific questions. Like, how on earth do you cope with the pressure of making a sequel to a five million-selling game? "To be honest, it's fun because in its own unique way, there's no pressure. We completely ignore it and follow our hearts." What lessons did you learn from the first game? "We wanted a blockbuster pace, and in doing so, we lost the story a bit. So that's one of the lessons we learned. This time round there's more repetition. Games aren't movies and aren't consumed in a single sitting. So secondary characters will remind you about stuff, which is re-established in plot cues. Metal Gear Solid is our example of the game we're not doing. Passive entertainment is on its way out -- you need to hook up with this web 2.0 stuff."


You still squeezing good stuff from the Xbox 360 hardware? "Oh yeah, we're going from the bowels of the earth to the highest peaks of Sera, producing those beautiful environmental money shots. We want to create places where you'd want to make your home, and sip coffee in the morning."

One final question: where's the colon? It's the universal law of sequels. "I really fought that one. It wasn't going to be Gears 2: Attack at Jacinto. That's cheesy and it's cheap. There are certain instances where it's okay to go for something a little pulpy, like the Star Wars movies, but every time it came up, I said, what do you want to call it? Gears of War 2: Electric Boogaloo?"



http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/884/884154p1.html

Lucky people playing Gears of War 2, I can just imagine how much better it will be when they finish the game, the flamethrower looks really exciting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eURJVyrmhI

Gears 2's multiplayer preview, 12 maps on disc

The lucky (some say spoiled) crew over at IGN recently got a hands on preview of Gears of War 2's multiplayer, including time with a few of the game's already announced multiplayer modes Guardian, Wingman, Warzone and Submission. Submission? Yup, that's the new name for the mode previously called Meat Flag, because we're sure that wasn't a "socially acceptable" name. Meh.

Their preview is a pretty good read, talking about the mayhem, carnage, fluidness and excitement that Gears of War 2 dishes out, as well as briefly discussing the new party system, confirming that the Longshot will not instant down an opponent and that the "active reload section of the scrolling bar has also been moved around in order to balance things a bit better." Hmm ... interesting.

Other new news coming from the preview is confirmation that Gears 2 will ship with twelve multiplayer maps including the already revealed Gridlock 2.0, River and Security. Joy and oh how we can't wait to give the Gears a test drive at E3.

New Gears of War 2 videos bring the gameplay

The Gears of War 2 footage is flowing again, only this time, it's all Epic approved (and direct feed). We've got a Gears of War 2 gameplay mashup, an interview with lead designer Cliff Bleszinski, and also a high quality version of the video included on the Unreal Tournament III disc. In Cliff's interview, he notes that he wants Gears 2 to be very memorable, stating, "We really want players to feel like they're playing a Hollywood blockbuster experience start to finish." In addition, he says that the environments in the game will be more varied than the first, ranging from underground tunnels (old!) to snow covered mountains (new!). Also mentioned in the interview, over 400 "tweaks" have been made to improve the cover system. Finally, the chainsaw can be used to cut through obstructions and reach new areas.

source (http://www.gametrailers.com/game/6236.html)

I read this will be now 5 v 5 in multiplayer, right? I hope so!

Eddies pre posting. Violation of the rules.

I read this will be now 5 v 5 in multiplayer, right? I hope so!


its more like 10 per room.. most of the game types are 5V5 but there is one that is 2v2v2v2v2.. it will have a party system that lets you go either ranked or unranked with your party.. i hope they get this as close to the halo3 party system as they can..

This will be a good game once it gets to the PC! (for me at least)

if that 360 pricedrop is true... i'd definitely be in on this game.

This will be a good game once it gets to the PC! (for me at least)

This will be a GREAT game on the 360 as well... :wave:

This will be a GREAT game on the 360 as well... :wave:

Did you take my comment as somehow knocking the 360 version?

This will be a good game once it gets to the PC! (for me at least)

if its like gears 1 the pc will have a better tweacked single player but the multiplayer will suck monkey nuts.. i have never found a decent online multiplayer match on the pc

if its like gears 1 the pc will have a better tweacked single player but the multiplayer will suck monkey nuts.. i have never found a decent online multiplayer match on the pc

Considering I felt gears on the 360 multiplayer sucked balls also I didn't see it as bad for the PC. Better visuals, longer gamplay sold me on the PC version. But I did miss the 360 controller. KBM just didn't feel right and the game is sorta slow for a pc shooter imo.

Considering I felt gears on the 360 multiplayer sucked balls also I didn't see it as bad for the PC. Better visuals, longer gamplay sold me on the PC version. But I did miss the 360 controller. KBM just didn't feel right and the game is sorta slow for a pc shooter imo.

you can get the $20 wireless thing for the pc and play with a controller or you can even buy a $20 wired controller from the stootsi.com store.. yeah there is more detail on the pc version but you cant find any decent matches.. all the rooms i ever found had someone from europe in the match and they would lag the hell out of the room and it would just suck.. or some other random BS like nothing but snipers

you can get the $20 wireless thing for the pc and play with a controller or you can even buy a $20 wired controller from the stootsi.com store.. yeah there is more detail on the pc version but you cant find any decent matches.. all the rooms i ever found had someone from europe in the match and they would lag the hell out of the room and it would just suck.. or some other random BS like nothing but snipers

Ya I've seen the wireless controllers. I would only use it for Gears and since it's a game I don't play anymore it's not worth it to me to buy it.

Seeing the video, I could count 46 different shades of grey. Too bad jacksonpritt's not around.

yeah it is really brown
kind of like the colors in mgs4?
why is nintendo the only company that makes bright-colored games?

yeah it is really brown
kind of like the colors in mgs4?
why is nintendo the only company that makes bright-colored games?

Halo is pretty brightly colored. Which IMO is not a good thing

Halo is pretty brightly colored. Which IMO is not a good thing

i dunno i dont mind the colors in halo, but over all the game is too bright.
not enough atmosphere effects and stuff.
i still like the game a lot but it could be better.

yeah it is really brown
kind of like the colors in mgs4?
why is nintendo the only company that makes bright-colored games?

I haven't noticed MGS4 being all brown...? The only thing I've thought about the graphics was that they were really good. The gears games do look a lot more grayish to me but :dontknow: Not that it makes them look bad, they both look pretty good IMO.

I haven't noticed MGS4 being all brown...? The only thing I've thought about the graphics was that they were really good. The gears games do look a lot more grayish to me but :dontknow: Not that it makes them look bad, they both look pretty good IMO.

sorry i have only seen screenshots not sure what the game looks like in motion i just remember early shots not being very colorful

GoW2 campaign footage and map reveal tonight

Exciting news fellow Gears of War 2 fanboys (though, really, aren't we all?), Geoff Keighley and GameTrailers TV will be airing brand spanking new, unseen Gears 2 footage TONIGHT on Spike. Yup, yup! According to their little teaser ad, they'll be talking with Cliff and the Epic crew who'll introduce fresh Gears 2 campaign footage as well as an unannounced multiplayer map. You can watch all the Cliff, Gears and bloody violent gameplay tonight at 1:00AM eastern (10:00PM pacific) on Spike and GameTrailers.com.

And if you aren't busy, you may also want to stick around for the entire episode, because they promise to air the first footage from Rock Band 2 and Fallout 3 as well as BioWare's new project.

source (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36000.html)

just thought i would post the video that was released on the Unreal Tournament 3 disk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079nUfJfA2w

just thought i would post the video that was released on the Unreal Tournament 3 disk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079nUfJfA2w

I finally got to watch it the other day while playing Unreal.. It looks good, but I was never really into the gears of war game.

I finally got to watch it the other day while playing Unreal.. It looks good, but I was never really into the gears of war game.

i love this game.. i still play it more than any other game i have.. but i'll be really happy when they get rid of the host and host advantages.. hopefully they'll do dedicated servers.. there is something very satisfying when you hear someones head pop from a sniper shot

got some more videos

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36217.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36219.html

Bots will not replace quitters in GoW2

Coming from our sit down interview with Gears of War 2 producer Rod Fergusson we get further explanation of the game's bots, confirming that (unlike some previously speculated) bots will NOT replace players who drop connection or quit out of games. Fergusson made the argument that there isn't a big disadvantage to losing a teammate mid-game in Gears and that an AI controlled bot taking over just wouldn't be fair due to the differences in player skill and strategies. We did learn though that Gears 2 bots can only be used in social games (makes sense) and must be enabled prior to the game's start via the game setup menu.

E3 08: Gears of War 2 on-stage demo

http://www.viddler.com/explore/X3F-TV/videos/59/

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/07/gearswarbonuslarge.jpg

Update: Okay, after further picture analysis, what we thought to be the mini-Lancer may actually be the metal tin being slid out of the box. That said, a loose lipped source did mention a mini-Lancer, so that's why we were accepting of the thought. Still, we wouldn't count on a mini Lancer being in the LE. Sorry for getting your hopes up.

There has been a bunch of Gears of War 2 related news coming out of E3 this week including matchmaking specifics, new footage as well as a new multiplayer mode getting revealed. But also exciting was the reveal of the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition's contents which may include some mini Lancer love.

Thanks to the kind Gamestop folks, we know that for the extra $10 price of Limited Edition admission, you'll get steel DVD case, a 48 page "Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2" mini-book, a bonus behind the scenes DVD as well as a code to unlock an in-game gold plated Lancer. Not too shabby. But if you look closer, pictured to the right of the box looks to be an included Lancer mini-replica of some sort even though Gamestop doesn't list it as part of the contents. Funny thing is that this week, during the E3 festivities, we heard from an anonymous but totally reliable source that there will in fact be a mini-Lancer included in the GoW2 LE. Take it for what you will, but we'll be dreaming our mini Lancer dreams all week long.

Gears of War Play & Win Sweepstakes

http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/8294EB19-37AB-44DE-8BFB-E05255F02B24/0/ilmgowConsole.jpg

Battle the Locust Horde and jump into this fun Play & Win Sweepstakes, where you can enter just by registering your gamertag and playing Gears of War® on Xbox LIVE®. You could win a limited-edition Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 console!

Register and play online for a chance at this cool console.

Register and play online for a chance at this cool console.

The sweepstakes runs from July 23–27, and you'll get a new entry into the sweepstakes for each different day you play online.

Before registering for the sweepstakes, make sure your Xbox LIVE account information is accurate! Potential winners will be notified by the sweepstakes administrator and have their prizes shipped using the contact info (e-mail, phone, and address) on their Xbox LIVE profile. If your contact info is not up-to-date you will be disqualified from winning a prize.

There are two ways to register for the sweepstakes: Register online here, or via Xbox LIVE Marketplace by downloading the free Gears of War Play & Win Gamer Picture. To download the Gamer Picture:

1. Sign in to Xbox LIVE and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace
2. Select Game Store
3. Select All Games
4. Select Gears of War
5. Select Gears of War Play & Win Registration Gamer Picture and select Confirm Download
6. Upon the successful completion of the Gamer Picture download you'll see a Thank You for Registering message.

You can also access the free Gears of War Play & Win Registration Gamer Picture via the banner ads running on the Xbox LIVE dashboard.
Sweepstakes Entry

The entry period begins on July 23 and ends July 27, 2008. You'll get a new entry into the sweepstakes for each day you play online (limit five entries total).

Play in an online match to enter.

You could win some great Gears of War 2 merchandise.
Prize Information

At the end of the sweepstakes, we will conduct five drawings, one for each Daily Prize Period. In each Daily Prize Period Drawing, we will select one Daily Grand Prize Winner, one Daily First Prize Winner, and one Daily Second Prize Winner from among all eligible entries received.

Daily Grand Prize Package:

* Custom Gears of War 2 Comic Book Xbox 360 console with matching wireless red controller
* Gears of War 2 T-shirt
* Gears of War 2 poster

Daily First Prize Package:

* Gears of War 2 T-shirt
* Gears of War 2 Poster

Daily Second Prize Package:

* Gears of War 2 Poster

The Play & Win promotions from Xbox.com are an easy way to jump in and interact with the Xbox LIVE community. It's easy to enter and you could win some great prizes. Look for more exciting Play & Win promotions in the future!

damn that is one butt-ugly xbox 360...

free is good though!

free is always good.. win it and sell it on ebay lol

link to sign up (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/g/gearsofwar/playandwin/default.htm)

Play & Win a RROD Gears of War 2 Xbox 360?

Play & Win a RROD Gears of War 2 Xbox 360?

lol.. you went out of your way to post this? I feel like you guys have a PS3 clan now on SD... and I already know the team players.

it's a damn shame...

I guess it's jealousy since PS3 NEVER does any promotions like this.

Might try & play a bit. Gotta see what a used copy of the game is going for.

So you have to have an x360 to win an x360?

So you have to have an x360 to win an x360?

That's what I was thinking. I was going to enter but this appears to be only for 360 owners to get a 2nd.

That's what I was thinking. I was going to enter but this appears to be only for 360 owners to get a 2nd.

GOW2 will be so good that u will want to be plahing it on 2 consoles at once

too bad the ps3 doesnt have any good games or they could do something like this

GOW2 will be so good that u will want to be plahing it on 2 consoles at once

too bad the ps3 doesnt have any good games or they could do something like this

You got me there Cap'n Tup.

I already have a green 360, and if I got a red one... Jeez! It'd be Christmas in July!

So you have to have an x360 to win an x360?

I believe you can be playing GoW on the computer as well and enter with your Live account... Don't quote me on that... God don't quote me.

You got me there Cap'n Tup.

:rofl2: I'm pretty sure this will never get old

That's what I was thinking. I was going to enter but this appears to be only for 360 owners to get a 2nd.

Nope, just go to the website and there is also a link that will let you sign in with your MS Live ID. If you don't have one, just register and you will be entered. I signed up, this sucker would go on ebay in a heartbeat if I won it, he he.

New Gears of War 2 footage from Gamestop tournament

Joystiq has obtained a video that's set to air at the start of Gamestop's Gears of War midnight tournaments tomorrow. The video contains an introduction by Cliff Bleszinski as well as "never-before-seen footage" from Gears of War 2. Is your interest piqued? Video embedded after the break.

source (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/24/new-gears-of-war-2-footage-from-gamestop-tournament/)

Epic Games wants you to know that the Gears of War 2 Lancer bundle (the one that's exclusive to Amazon.com) is selling like "hot cakes" even at the $139 price point. They probably want you to know that so they can further fuel demand by making the product appear to be limited as its sales success soars. We can totally see through all that marketing fluff. Hot cake sales quotes aside, we also learn that the toy Lancer is in fact electronic and with the power of three C size batteries (probably not included), the 36" replica shakes and makes epic chainsaw sounds. Authentic chainsaw sounds! Sign us up for two!

source (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=211329)

Chainsaw sounds. How cute!

what a waste of money

It won't happen obviously, but can you imagine if they made a functional lancer? A fully automatic bb gun with a working chainsaw would be something worth buying IMO. Revving that baby up would get some attention! :lol:

It won't happen obviously, but can you imagine if they made a functional lancer? A fully automatic bb gun with a working chainsaw would be something worth buying IMO. Revving that baby up would get some attention! :lol:

I demand we go further. Why isn't the US military using these already? Hearing a chainsaw revving up is sure to strike fear into the hearts of terrorists the world over!

It won't happen obviously, but can you imagine if they made a functional lancer? A fully automatic bb gun with a working chainsaw would be something worth buying IMO. Revving that baby up would get some attention! :lol:

maybe someone will make thier own airsoft gun with this thing

The Halo 3 Cat helmet went for $129.99 and people thought they could sell it for more on ebay or that it would be valuable. At my Local FYE there are 3 for
$69.99


Now if there was some special level in Gears 2 Collectors Edition that feature some type of on rails shooter level like Area 51 in Aracdes or like Aracde shooters where you could use the Replica Lancer for actual shooting like a light gun type periperal then yes I would buy it.

In a recent X08 interview with Cliff Bleszinski, our Joystiq compadres learned some information regarding Gears of War 2's planned downloadable content. Most importantly, that it's currently in the works and will ship "very soon within' the [Gears of War 2] launch timeframe."

Mr. Bleszinski confirmed that the Gears 2 DLC will be "multiplayer map focused" and will make its release within the magical Gears 2 release window timeframe. As far as pricing goes, Epic isn't saying much, which is totally understandable seeing the controversy surrounding the original Gears DLC was probably a giant headache to deal with. Gears 2 DLC is being worked on and confirmed for release within the launch timeframe. Huzzah!

source (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/22/x08-cliff-bleszinski-talks-gears-of-war-2/)

source (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/22/x08-cliff-bleszinski-talks-gears-of-war-2/)


http://www.amazon.com/Gears-Amazon-com-Exclusive-Lancer-Xbox-360/dp/B001CLYL24

This is beyond BS. You mean they can't even see fit to include it with the $140 Collectors Edition or the $69.99 Limited Edition WTF?? EPIC has said in the past they wanted all of their DLC to be a free download. They even fought with Microsoft to make the Gears 1 Map Pack free. Oh well I'll just wait 9 months till they are free after a period of time. I got burned paying $10 for the useless Gear 1 Map Pack.

I guess Microsoft got to them probably made some deal where Epic can keep all of its Map Pack profits.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/gearsofwar/news.html?sid=6163240 I wonder how far I can throw Mike Capps

Speaking with Spike TV after the network's Video Game Awards (where Gears won four awards), Epic Games president Mike Capps was asked about how the company was going to keep Gears a top seller. He quickly replied, "We always take care of our customers, we always give them stuff for free, and we're going to keep doing that forever. That's how we do it. This is Epic."

He added that the content had been in development long before the game was released but did not divulge a timetable of when it will be released.

Not that we needed it, but this is pretty much proof that DLC is a way to rip off consumers.

I mean, if you can have DLC ready for launch than you can surely just include it in the game, no?

I see this becoming a very disturbing trend. 3/4 of a game is being released with the additional 1/4 being released at an additional charge.

Boo DLC.

Dont know, dont care. not buying GOW2.

Dont know, dont care. not buying GOW2.

Of course not. You don't buy games that are either highly reviewed or highly anticpated. They're all overrated. :P

Of course not. You don't buy games that are either highly reviewed or highly anticpated. They're all overrated. :P

Run along to your "hot shots golf" bud :)

Run along to your "hot shots golf" bud :)

Everybody likes him, but I think he's overrated.

:popcorn:

Didn't Rockstar say the same thing about DLC for GTA4? That it'd be released soon after the game was released? :lol:

Thanks to the Gamerscore Blog's handy schedule, we've been informed that Gears of War 2 is going to be demoed during this weekend's Penny Arcade Expo, though never did we expect Gears 2 to actually be playable on the show floor ... but it is!

According to the official Gears website, from this Friday through Sunday during PAX, the Microsoft booth will be hosting 5v5 Gears of War 2 multiplayer matches. And you can play too! But that isn't all. On top of the Gears 2 multiplayer gaming and the on-stage "Sinkhole" campaign demonstrations, both Gears writer to the stars Joshua Ortega and Gears artist to the stars Pete Hayes will be making a PAX appearance for a quick Q&A session and autograph signing. That said, we still think the meaty bits of the Gears 2 PAX presence is the multiplayer ... we so damn excited!

source (https://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Templates/Secondary.aspx?id=670)

New video game rating information has just been spotted over on the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) website and, wouldn't you know, that it's the rating and listing of all of the Gears of War 2 bonus disc's content. Fun! Admittedly, the disc - included as part of the Gears 2 Limited Edition - doesn't contain too much spoilerific content and is pretty much comprised of a few trailers, character, weapon and vehicle bios as well as some artsy artwork. If you're just too darn snoopy and need to know a bit more about the content that's on the bonus disc, hit the jump. Your inner Gears fanboy will thank you.


source (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/e8ea0df3a881175480256d58003cb570/72654ad71fc0201c802574aa0057819e)

August 29, 2008 - The November 7 release date of Gears of War 2 is steadily approaching and that means that the hype train is steadily starting to pick up steam. As with every massive holiday release, Gears 2 has some serious expectations to live up to. The first game has sold more than five million copies and with Epic's Design Director, Cliff Bleszinski throwing around the phrase "bigger, better, more" at every turn, gamers the world over are expecting a lot from the second entry.

Luckily it seems that Microsoft's biggest game of the year is poised to deliver. While there's little doubt that you're going to be blown away by the single-player and multiplayer trimmings, Gears 2 isn't forgetting about the details. Linked Achievements were first announced at Comic-Con but now we've got the skinny on all three of the newly created rewards. Here's what to expect:


Complete Act 1 in Gears of War: Unlock Anthony Carmine multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.
Find 10 COG tags in Gears of War: Unlock Minh Young Kim multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.
Defeat RAAM in Gears of War: Unlock RAAM multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.

RAAM is back.
For a look at all three unlockable player models, be sure to check out our full image gallery.

Now on to the real list of achievements.

Gears of War 2 Achievements
Green as Grass Train the rook (any difficulty) 10
It's a Trap! Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 2 10
Escort Service Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 4 10
Girl About Town Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 6 10
That Sinking Feeling Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 4 10
Freebaird! Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 5 10
Heartbroken Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 6 10
Longitude and Attitude Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 3 10
Tanks for the Memories Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 4 10
Water Sports Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 6 10
There's a Time for Us Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 2 10
Better Wrapped in Beacon Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 3 10
Have Fun Storming the Castle Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 6 10
And the Horse You Rode in On Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 1 10
You Are the Support, Son Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 2 10
Brumak Rodeo Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 4 10
Does This Look Infected to You? Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 5 10
Tourist of Duty Complete all campaign acts on Casual Difficulty 25
Guerilla Tactician Complete all campaign acts on Normal Difficulty 50
Artist of War Complete all campaign acts on Hardcore Difficulty 75
Suicide Missionary Complete all campaign acts on Insane Difficulty 150
Collector Recover 5 collectibles (any difficulty) 5
Pack Rat Recover 20 collectibles (any difficulty) 15
Completionist Recover all 41 collectibles (any difficulty) 30
One-Night Stand Complete 1 chapter in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or Dom) 10
Open Relationship Complete 10 chapters in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or Dom) 30
Friends with Benefits Complete all acts in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or Dom) 50
Once More, With Feeling Perform 30 perfect active reloads (any mode) 10
Takes a Licking Melee 30 Tickers (any mode) 30
Organ Grinder Kill 30 enemies with a cover mounted Mulcher (any mode) 10
Shock and Awe Kill 30 enemies with the heavy Mortar (any mode) 10
Said the Spider to the Fly Kill 10 enemies with a planted grenade (any mode) 10
Crowd Control Melee 10 enemies down with the Boomshield equipped (any mode) 10
Smells Like Victory Kill 30 enemies with the Scorcher Flamethrower (any mode) 10
Variety Is the Spice of Death Kill an enemy with every weapon in the game (any mode) 30
Seriously 2.0 Kill 100,000 enemies (any mode) 50
Standing Here, Beside Myself Win 3 matches of Wingman (public) 10
Beat the Meatflag Capture 10 meatflags in Submission (public) 10
It's Good to be the King Win 10 rounds of Guardian as the leader (public) 10
You Go Ahead, I'll Be Fine Win three matches of King of the Hill (public) 10
Back to Basic Successfully complete the 5 lessons of multiplayer Training Grounds 10
Party Like It's 1999 Play 1999 rounds of multiplayer (any mode) 30
Around the World, Again Win a multiplayer match on each map (any mode) 30
Dirty, Dirty Horde Survive the first 10 waves of Horde (any difficulty, any map) 20
Hoard the Horde Survive all 50 waves of Horde (any difficulty, any map) 30


You might notice that there are five achievements missing from our list. Check out GearsofWar.com for the remaining handful. Also, click through to the second page for a chat with Cliff Bleszinski where he reveals other unlockables in Gears 2 as well as the fate of the PC version of Gears of War 2.


http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/906/906298p1.html
page 2

At Comic-Con in San Diego, you announced "Linked Achievements" and gave three examples of unlockable content in "Gears of War 2": the characters Anthony Carmine, Minh Young Kim and General RAAM. Will these be characters in the campaign or for multiplayer only?

Cliff: Well considering that those characters were killed in the first Gears of War, I'd say it's pretty hard to bring them back for the campaign! Seriously though, these three characters will be unlocked for play in all of the multiplayer modes in Gears 2.

You also revealed the mystery behind the return of Carmine. Speculation ranged from "he was cloned!" to "he wasn't really dead!" but now you revealed in "Gears of War 2" that Carmine is in fact his brother, Benjamin. How many brothers does Carmine have? Will we see "Charlie Carmine" up next (A, B, C…)?

Cliff: That's an interesting idea! To be honest I was surprised that players thought we'd clone Carmine or that we'd somehow claim that the bullet through the head didn't kill him; the answer always seemed so obvious to us that it's his brother. Benjamin Carmine is just as green and gung-ho as his brother, in fact, he's even a bit more excitable. Ben has some great lines and moments in Gears 2. His family is a military family and it remains to be revealed exactly how large his clan is.

"Linked Achievements" makes it sound like earning Achievements in "Gears of War" unlocks Achievements in "Gears of War 2" automatically. Is this the case?

Cliff: No. Players' Achievements in Gears 1 will unlock content in Gears 2, but they won't automatically give you Achievements in Gears 2.

Do you need to earn these Achievements in "Gears of War" on Xbox 360, or can you earn them in "Gears of War" for Windows?


Unlockable Carmine
Cliff You can unlock these characters in Gears 2 if you earn the Achievements in Gears 1 through Xbox 360 or PC, provided you are using the same Gamertag.

Does this mean you are planning a Windows version of "Gears of War 2"?

Cliff: Gears of War is a great franchise first and foremost for Xbox 360, and therefore we're focusing on that platform for Gears of War 2. We've decided we're not going to do a PC version this time around.

What was the motivation to offer these unlockable multiplayer characters in "Gears of War 2"?

Cliff: We know that fans really liked these characters and thought 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we rewarded Gears fans by letting them play the characters who died in the first game?'

Will there be other ways to unlock these characters apart from completing the necessary Achievements in "Gears of War"?

Cliff: We really wanted to reward the fans who unlocked certain Achievements in Gears 1. This content is truly exclusive and you're not going to unlock it any other way. Which means no, we're not going to make you pay for the unlockables - it's strictly a reward for Gears 1 fans.

There's been a lot of speculation about those three unlockable characters and if those were just examples of "Linked Achievements" or if there's more in store. Can you tell us anything more?


Unlockable Minh
Cliff: Yes, the unlockable Carmine, Kim and RAAM characters constitute all of the unlockable content awarded for progress made in Gears 1. We didn't want to go overboard and create 100 things that you get for playing the first game, but just provide a nice little bonus to those who did play through the first game.

Will there be any unlockable content in "Gears of War 2" earned for playing through "Gears of War 2" itself then?

Cliff: Yes, just like the first game, players can unlock the "Insane" difficulty level by completing the game. I can't wait for everyone to try out Horde mode on Insane, it is truly one of the most challenging feats you'll ever play. Also, as players progress through Gears 2 they will have the opportunity to unlock additional characters for multiplayer, including:

Ben Carmine
Dizzy Wallin
Tai Kaliso
Locust Kantus
Flame Grenadier
A new villain that we'll reveal very soon. He makes RAAM look like a cat cat.
Check back to IGN.com for more coverage on Gears of War 2 as we draw closer to E-Day Part Deux.



As promised, gearsofwar.com is bringing you some exclusive new goodies to help kick off the PAX weekend. By now, you've heard about all of the awesome new features that Gears of War 2 is boasting to make its trademark violence even more intimate. If the intensity of using your enemies as a shield isn't enough of a reward for you, how about getting an achievement score for it, too? Today IGN posted a list of Gears of War 2 achievements, and now we're rounding out that list with five more achievements that reward you for mastering the game's new features!

Crossed Swords – Points 10
Win 10 chainsaw duels (any mode).
A Parting Gift – Points 20
Kill 10 enemies with a grenade while down but not out (any mode).
Pound of Flesh – Points 10
Use a meatshield to save your life 10 times (any mode).
Photojournalist – Points 10
Submit a spectator photo.
Kick 'Em When They're Down – Points 10
Perform all 11 unique executions on a downed enemy.
Be sure to check out the rest of the achievements at IGN, along with more information about the unlockables and linked achievements that Cliff dropped on everyone at Comic-Con a few weeks ago.

- Six Okay


http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Templates/Secondary.aspx?id=676

The third Gears of War 2 video featurette has made its way to the internets and this time around, we get the inside scoop on the campaign's storyline.

The video, currently only available via Nuts.co.uk and embedded after the break, features Cliff and the Epic crew chatting about the Gears 2 storyline including the relationship between Dom and his wife Maria and gives us a look into the team's mindset when creating new characters to join the COG crew. Best part of the latest featurette occurs at around the 4:20 mark, when the Predator looking Skorge Locust makes a cameo. Total badass'ery!

source (http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1564582960/bclid1386739039/bctid1812184300)

Two words...

Bad. Ass.

That video was great - this game cannot come out fast enough!!!

The story in a nutshell: The locusts are back. :lol:

im buying the game and am excited...but the voice acting looks terrible. I mean the Asian Naitve American guy or whatever he is and Dom are so bland and badly played

Excellent, this might be a game that I will buy (or at least rent for that matter) :)

I didn't know Gears needed much of a story... you play it for the action and gore. Well at least that's why I like it. :)

cant wait for this game

im buying the game and am excited...but the voice acting looks terrible. I mean the Asian Naitve American guy or whatever he is and Dom are so bland and badly played

They only showed a few clips - perhaps when seen in context with the story line it will be better. Gears 1 wasn't known for its cinematics or its storyline but IMO it's still the best game on the 360.

Damn I can't wait.

definitely looking forward to this...

Im sure it has a story.

Just not one Ill ever know/care about.

Mark my words.. youll never see this on my gamercard @_@

Fresh Gears 2 screenshots and campaign previews hit the net

Not only has the lifting of the Gears of War 2 embargo brought us news about the Skorge, but we're also being graced with a bunch of brand new in-game screenshots, artwork / renders and a mountain of hands-on, Act 1 campaign reviews that have surfaced across the internets. You can view the mushroom infested, Skorge detailed, explosive and generally in-freakin-credible screenshots in the gallery below, then begin your Gears 2 campaign impression search across the internets. Heck, we'll even get you started: IGN, Eurogamer, TVG, Videogamer and CVG.

Note: We'll be adding additional artwork and render images as soon as they're available.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/tickers-in-town.jpg

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/the-hollow.jpg

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/skorge3.jpg

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/skorge2.jpg

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/skorge1.jpg

No PC version - I'd be really shocked if they stuck to that unless the sales for GOW 1 were terrible.

Just over a month...

No PC version - I'd be really shocked if they stuck to that unless the sales for GOW 1 were terrible.

Just over a month...

you spoke too soon..

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/cuzcliffsayz39.jpg

Bleszinski: Definitely no Gears of War 2 on the PC

During an interview with TVG, Mr. Epic himself, Cliff Bleszinski revealed that they have absolutely no plans to release Gears of War 2 to the PC due, in part, to the fact that the PC market has been dealing with piracy issues.

"Here's the problem right now; the person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know bit torrent to know all the elements so they can pirate software," explained Bleszinski, "it makes sense for us to focus on Xbox 360 for a number of reasons." And when bluntly asked whether Gears 2 would ever see a PC release, Cliff answered with a simple "no". When pressed further if that was a definite decision, Bleszinski stuck to his answer reiterating that Gears 2 would not see a PC release.

source (http://www.totalvideogames.com/articles/Gears_Of_War_2_-_Cliff_Bleszinski_QA_13820.htm)

Just supports the fact that sales must have been terrible...or at least not what they forecasted.

Thanks for the picture - I knew I could count of you bro!

Rumor: Gears 2 map DLC packaged with game

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/gow2girrddddddd.jpg

As if you haven't already been barraged by enough Gears of War 2 news today, we have an interesting downloadable content rumor for you to digest.

Posted over on the Evil Avatar forums is a supposed list of Gears of War 2 information gathered from the latest issue of GamePro magazine. According to Mr. forum poster and his GamePro mag, Gears 2 will ship with a redemption code that enables players to download five remade maps from the original Gears free of charge. The remade maps - Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Tyro Station - will be available to download off the XBLM day one of release, but ONLY to those who purchase a new copy of the game with the redemption code. We aren't exactly sure why Epic would do this other than to influence those who normally buy used to purchase a sealed copy.

Another GamePro magazine rumor is that all who attend Gears 2 midnight launch events will receive a redemption code to unlock an in-game gold plated Hammerburst. It and the Collector's Edition exclusive gold plated Lancer are also said to be unlockable in-game. Interesting, eh?

source (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65501)

i wish it was nov. 7 already:)

i wish it was nov. 7 already

Gonna be a long month waiting on this release...

One more month? Yessss... until then, Saints Row 2 comes out soon!

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/gears2awesomeness.jpg

During a London event where Gears of War 2 was prodominatley featured, lead designer Cliff Bleszinski attempted to clarify a point made by fellow Epic employee Rod Fergusson regarding the power of the Xbox 360. Fergusson, senior producer for Gears 2, was quoted as saying the Xbox 360 was reaching its graphical limit but Bleszinski says people took the remark the wrong way.

"[Rod Fergusson's] quote that was taken out of context," Bleszinski told Videogaming247. "I think we're pushing the 360, but the system's not going to get any more RAM, it's not going to get a faster processor, but at the same time that puts the impetus on our programmers and artists to be smarter with what they work with."
Bleszinski went on to compare the Xbox 360 life cycle to that of the Super Nintendo console; graphics gradually increased in quality and just as it seems to reach its limit someone uses "ninja code tricks" to push more out of the system. "It's amazing what programmers can do. I wouldn't count our guys out yet," Cliff added.

Gears of War 2 hits retail this November 7 exclusively on the Xbox 360.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/gears2awesomeness.jpg



Gears of War 2 hits retail this November 7 exclusively on the Xbox 360.



GOW3 will be for the next system.. it seems like theyre pushing the 360 to its limits with this.. kinda like PS3 with Resistance 2.. itll be interesting to see the sales for those two games.. @_@

Video: A look at the icky enemies of Gears 2

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/media/2008/09/palaceguardsloc.jpg

Continuing their in-depth look at the components that make up Gears of War 2, Epic released a new video featurette (it's exclusive to Eurogamer for the time being) taking a look at the enemies of Gears 2. And we'll be the first to say that we're in for some new crazy detailed and totally badass Locusts as is evident by the Locust Palace Guard seen above.

The six minute video is an interesting look into the design, inspiration and creation process behind the Locusts including a detailed description of the new Tickers, Palace Guards, Kantus, and our friend the Skorge. It's another well produced video that you should view ... like right now. Pro-tip: Watch towards the end, when Cliff give real-life comparisons between RAAM and Skorge. It's epic.

source (http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=15082)

Video: A look at the icky enemies of Gears 2


source (http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=15082)

Are you getting this Eddie? Do you have the first one?

Are you getting this Eddie? Do you have the first one?

No, I never got into the first one. Played it a few times at a friends house, but I never had interest in it really.

This one has potential but I'll probably wait for reviews, and maybe a sale before I go out and buy it.

Are you getting this Eddie? Do you have the first one?

Im guessing ur getting it.. you traitor to ps3..

No, I never got into the first one. Played it a few times at a friends house, but I never had interest in it really.

This one has potential but I'll probably wait for reviews, and maybe a sale before I go out and buy it.

I'm sure it'll get good reviews, even if its just like the first one with the same or better graphics.

is it just me or does gears of war look like unreal tournament 3, i know they use the same engine and all. but the suits the locusts wear look like one in UT3. dont get me wrong i love gears and ut, i just see similar art styles with each game.

is it just me or does gears of war look like unreal tournament 3, i know they use the same engine and all. but the suits the locusts wear look like one in UT3. dont get me wrong i love gears and ut, i just see similar art styles with each game.

not only are they the same engine but they are made by the same company.. Epic games
thats why there are alot of similarities

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/09/gears2zune-1.jpg

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/09/gears2zune-2.jpg

When a company has the luxury of owning the rights to two of the industry's hottest franchises (read that, not the hottest but two of the hottest) you try a little thing called Aggressive Marketing. Aggressive Marketing is a wonderfully terrible thing. It has spawned the likes of Halo branded Mountain Dew, don't kid yourself it was terrible. It makes rotating ads for summer movies a consideration in the map design process (Sup, Rainbox Six Vegas?) and it adds a logo to expensive electronics in hopes of catching the hardcore of guard.

In the market for a Zune? Microsoft has revealed that a limited edition Gears of War 2 Zune bundle will begin shipping on November 7 for $280. The laser-etched "Crimson Omen" plastered 120GB media player comes pre-loaded with 244 pieces of Gears of War media - the soundtrack, concept art, behind-the-scenes videos and other content you've probably already seen here at X3F for free.

source (http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/30/gears-of-war-2-canvasses-special-edition-zune/)

Lol... its halo 3 zune all over again.. I sold those for like 400 bucks.. made near a grand on them :) Now they aren't worth crap..

These things will be hot for a week or so, then come down.. if anyone wants to make a quick buck, buy a few of them :)

Here's an OMG megaton for Gears of War 2 fanboys. That rumor regarding a five pack of multiplayer map DLC being included in new copies of Gears 2 (which was actually brought up during X08) has just been confirmed to be legit according to GamePro. No joke!

How it'll work is that every NEW copy of Gears 2 will come with a redemption code to download a free "Flashback" map pack from the XBLM. This free DLC contains five additional Gears 2 multiplayer maps which are (surprise!) remakes of classic Gears maps including Canals, Gridlock, Mansion, Subway, and Tyro Station. This will ultimately bump the total number of GoW2 multiplayer maps up to 15. We're told the Flashback map pack DLC should be available for download on launch day, but note that Epic has no plans to release the maps as paid content. It's their "thank you" present to loyal fans, so be sure to stay clear of those used copies that are code'less.

GamePro also confirmed that anyone attending a Gears 2 midnight launch event will be given a redemption code to unlock the in-game golden Hammerburst (as seen above) which features a gold plated paint scheme similar to the Collector's Edition's golden Lancer.

source (http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/207319/gears-of-war-2-getting-free-day-one-dlc/)

Video: Gears' top five deadliest Locusts

Using poll information gathered from Gearheads this past February, GearsofWar.com just posted a new top five video, where they count down the top five Locust types as chosen by fans. The video (conveniently embedded above) is voiced by the one and only Damon Baird and starts off the top five countdown fun with those "dumb" Boomers. We won't spoil the countdown by telling you anymore, but we will say it's nice to see vintage clips of the original Gears. And for the record, it's more than apparent that Gears 2 is no Gears 1.5 ... just saying.

source (http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Templates/Secondary.aspx?id=786)

hell yeah i can't wait for gears 2

source (http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/207319/gears-of-war-2-getting-free-day-one-dlc/)

Eddie...making posts like this is bringing back my morning missle. Please stop.

Thanks

In all seriousness...can't. phucking. wait.

A few GoW2 manual pages leak their way online

Other than the disc itself, a video game's manual is the most important and interesting piece of content that comes packaged with a game. That is, if they're colored, because black and white manuals are a total waste of time. What isn't a total waste of time is checking out a few pages of Gears of Wars 2's manual which have mysteriously leaked their way online and can be viewed in our handy gallery below.

Though, note that all of the manual pages are not included (unless Epic devised a new manual numbering system), but there's plenty of interesting manual information to look through. Sadly, we just found out that the Annex gametype is back ... stupid Annex.

source (http://www.gowfans.com/news.php?readmore=18)

I've read a couple different things, but I'm not too clear on the differences between the standard and collector's edition of this... I assume somebody around here knows.

I've read a couple different things, but I'm not too clear on the differences between the standard and collector's edition of this... I assume somebody around here knows.

Gears 2 Limited Edition Content Revealed
What you can expect for your ten extra dollars.
by Nate Ahearn
July 21, 2008 - Just recently websites like EBGames.com began listing the details of the Gears of War 2: Limited Edition package. The package retails for $69.99, ten dollars more expensive than the regular retail release and it includes the following:



Collectible SteelBook DVD Case that we expect to be very similar from what we've seen recently from Halo 3 and Mass Effect.

"Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2," this is a 48-page hardbound art book that we expect to be similar to what was included in the first Gears of War limited edition. You'll find concept art, character profiles and a foreword by Epic's Design Director, Cliff Bleszinski.

Bonus DVD including a making-of documentary and commentary by Epic Games along with promotional videos such as the E3 2008 trailer, Rendezvous.

An exclusive gold-plated Lancer Assault Rifle for use during online play.


The gold-plated Lancer will likely be of significant interest for Gears fanatics, while the rest of the contents of the Limited Edition are more standard fare. Rest assured, we'll have more on Gears 2 as its November 7 release date approaches.

source (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/892/892335p1.html)

sounds like your standard tin can box, making of dvd, artwork book, and the golden lancer during multiplayer (i hear that it is unlockable in the campaign mode)

source (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/892/892335p1.html)

sounds like your standard tin can box, making of dvd, artwork book, and the golden lancer during multiplayer (i hear that it is unlockable in the campaign mode)

I'm getting the special because I'm such a fanboy but honestly - a gold plated gun? Nothing like blending into the surroundings with a Tu-Pac lancer.

Any way of finding out if the gold plated lancer can be unlocked in campaign mode? If there is a way, then that might sway me from buying the special edition since everyone will eventually have access to the gold lancer...

I thought they were giving away codes for the gold plated lancer at midnight release events...

I thought they were giving away codes for the gold plated lancer at midnight release events...


Ohhh my I like your avatar pic and your signature :worship: thats one thing during the debate that biden kept acting like it didnt happen but if anyone watched the democratic nominee debates they would see biden slamming obama left and right and saying obama wasnt fit to run the country :D to bad the obama-bots dont remember that....:nod:

I thought they were giving away codes for the gold plated lancer at midnight release events...

From the rumors I've heard it's the Bling Bling Hammerburst that you get...

Ohhh my I like your avatar pic and your signature :worship: thats one thing during the debate that biden kept acting like it didnt happen but if anyone watched the democratic nominee debates they would see biden slamming obama left and right and saying obama wasnt fit to run the country :D to bad the obama-bots dont remember that....:nod:

how many heart attacks can mccain have left in him? and then have Palin run the country?? HA! :shake:

how many heart attacks can mccain have left in him? and then have Palin run the country?? HA! :shake:

How many years can Obama listen to his racist preacher saying that America deserved 9/11 :eek: 20 years of listening to that guy and being mentored by him and you say that none of it has rubbed off on Obama :lol: Have you seen his preacher on all the youtube videos... its outrageos! if you can see that then still vote for Obama then there is something fundamentally wrong or your a member of the black panthers :lol:... but this isnt the podium Eddie you should know better :lol:

i started the wiki in hopes that people will post any preorder deals or bonuses for Gears 2

i started the wiki in hopes that people will post any preorder deals or bonuses for Gears 2

I preordered the standard edition from Amazon for a $10 gc. There's also that free toy tank deal from BB (posted in the hot deals).

I preordered the standard edition from Amazon for a $10 gc. There's also that free toy tank deal from BB (posted in the hot deals).

and there was another deal on amazon before that if you bought the lancer weapon you got the game free but that was like $140.. i'm hoping that the B&M stores start to get some good exclusive stuff.. that remote control car from best buy is kinda cool but i dont want to pay for shipping and tax and still have to wait for the game

and there was another deal on amazon before that if you bought the lancer weapon you got the game free but that was like $140.. i'm hoping that the B&M stores start to get some good exclusive stuff.. that remote control car from best buy is kinda cool but i dont want to pay for shipping and tax and still have to wait for the game

Yeah, that gun was just way too over the top for me. I think I'd rather have a keychain lancer than that.

http://www.youbuynow.com/img/items/120188831264682700.jpg

Yeah, that gun was just way too over the top for me. I think I'd rather have a keychain lancer than that. :lol:

yeah i was considering it at first but decided against buying anymore useless crap that will just take up more storage space that i dont have

Gears 2 multiplayer footage leaked online

Over the weekend, someone who attended the E for All Expo ninja-snuck off-screen video of gameplay footage from Gears 2's Horde mode. The video, embedded above for your convenience, shows off roughly one minute of multiplayer footage complete with meat shields, Torque Bowing, and the occasional cameo of a blurry head covering the screen. Watch and, if you enjoyed the footage, check the break for an additional few minutes of leaked Gears 2 multiplayer mayhem video complete with "commentary."

video (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/273900.html)

Someone should make a thread compiling all the new release deals for this game, like the lancer deal and the RC deal etc so everyone knows what they will go for.

Someone should make a thread compiling all the new release deals for this game, like the lancer deal and the RC deal etc so everyone knows what they will go for.

somebody should read the posts on the same page as his

i started the wiki in hopes that people will post any preorder deals or bonuses for Gears 2

somebody should read the posts on the same page as his

:lol:

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2008/08/gears2ledisc.jpg

Anyone else's mouth not watering? Yeah, we've got the darn thing pre-ordered, we'll be there in line at midnight with the rest of you, and, once home, we'll be tearing through the cellophane with the usual patience of a two-year-old. We get it, it's meatier, moister and more tender than the first one, but gosh this bird sure looks and smells like the first one Epic served up two years ago.

Admit it, it's odd to think that a potential Game of the Year -- at least, sure to be a critical and commercial success -- is one we, who obsess over this industry, are not obsessing about. Gears of War 2 is just a sure bet. So sure that we don't have to think about it. Was there ever any doubt the game wouldn't "go gold" well in time for its November launch (that's today's news, by the way)? It's not that something's missing, it's that everything's there. Gears 2 is utter professionalism: excellence in design, execution and marketing, right down to the dropped "y." Almost bland tasting, isn't it?

source (http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/archive/2008/10/10/561801.aspx)

i don't understand the topic name

Meaning that the game has gone gold, and its complete. I'll change it for ya

I heard they were delaying releasing the 360 version of this game until the PS3 version is done so they can both be released at the same time. :eek:

I heard they were delaying releasing the 360 version of this game until the PS3 version is done so they can both be released at the same time. :eek:

PS3 will never see Gears Of War

yea fark PS3! GOW2!!!!!

Cliff claims Gears 2 is 'Epic's best work yet'

Epic Game's Cliff Bleszinski has a confession. Something that he has to get off his chest. His confession; Gears of War 2 is the best game to come out of Epic Games. We agree.

"After two years of pouring our heart and passion into Gears of War 2, the team is immensely happy with what we've created," admitted Bleszinski to CVG. "This is Epic's best work yet, and we can't wait to see the response from fans and newcomers to the series alike." You know, we can't wait to see what the response will be either as we sit here sharpening our chainsaw blades in eager anticipating for Reaver riding and all the joy Gears 2 will bring us this November.

source (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=199128)

yea fark PS3! GOW2!!!!!

WERD !!!!!!!!!!!!!

In case you guys didn't know. Some people already have it.

I got this from gaming blog.

Forum poster ''dreammastah'' over at Neogaf has posted images showing Gears of War 2 running on his Xbox 360.

Images at the link.


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13172120&postcount=1045

I heard about this..
So you only get the golden Hammerburst if you get it at a midnight releasing..
Does the store hand out the codes with the orders then??
Any info would be greatly appreciated!

i read somewhere that the golden hammerburst and the golden lancer will be unlockable in the campaign

do you think the multiplayer matchmaking is going to be set up the same? i know in the gow1 the host had a slight advantage

do you think the multiplayer matchmaking is going to be set up the same? i know in the gow1 the host had a slight advantage

If I remember correctly, they are supposedly fixing that. I hope so.

In case you guys didn't know. Some people already have it.

I got this from gaming blog.

Forum poster ''dreammastah'' over at Neogaf has posted images showing Gears of War 2 running on his Xbox 360.

Images at the link.


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13172120&postcount=1045

thats amazing considering the game just went gold the other day and they just started production.. if its true someone is getting fired and sued

If I remember correctly, they are supposedly fixing that. I hope so.

yeah.. no more single hose.. now its a party system and i think they'll have dedicated servers atleast for a while but if they do go back to peer to peer then they'll do what COD4 does and pick the player with the best connection to host and they wont say who it is

Bleszinski: Industry Doesn't Properly Value Visionaries

The games industry doesn't always properly recognize the contributions of individual influential developers, Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski told Gamasutra during a recent interview.

"I don't think the industry values visionaries as much as it could. I really don't," said Bleszinksi, who recently completed work on Gears of War 2. His comments came as part of a more extensive discussion set to appear on Gamasutra at a later date.

The designer compared the games industry's attitude towards creative talent to that of the film industry. "As sad as it is, you're only as good as your last game, in many ways," he said. "In Hollywood, at least, you get movie jail for like a year, and you're out, and you get to try and make another good movie. In games, you screw up once, and no one ever wants to hear from you again. It's pretty sad."

Bleszinkski singled out a few designer examples -- admittedly ones more recognized than most. "Look at a guy like Ken Levine or [Peter] Molyneux or Chris Taylor or [Hideo] Kojima. I mean, we all need to celebrate these people," he said.

While Bleszinksi was sure to state that game development is a heavily-collaborative process, he noted that other creative industries more willing to acknowledge individual creators gain associated marketing benefits.

He pointed to his current role as executive producer on the upcoming Gears of War film as having given him more perspective on the distinctions between the two industries. "It's a very structured, yet organic, process in Hollywood," he said, "where in games it's still the Wild Wild West in some ways right now."

"It absolutely is very much a team effort, and I'm nothing without the 100-plus people who worked on Gears," he acknowledged, "but if I can go out there and evangelize the game and help sell the vision of it, that's a very useful thing, and we're all able to put gas in our gas tanks as a result of it, right?"

source (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20609)

"As sad as it is, you're only as good as your last game, in many ways," he said. "In Hollywood, at least, you get movie jail for like a year, and you're out, and you get to try and make another good movie. In games, you screw up once, and no one ever wants to hear from you again. It's pretty sad."

This may have something to do with the fact they're asking us to pay $60 a pop. People don't like to waste that kind of cash a garbage game and it tends to make them pretty unhappy.

This may have something to do with the fact they're asking us to pay $60 a pop. People don't like to waste that kind of cash a garbage game and it tends to make them pretty unhappy.

kinda like buying UnReal Tournament

kinda like buying UnReal Tournament

I tried to spread the word on that one but nobody around here wanted to hear it. :(

I tried to spread the word on that one but nobody around here wanted to hear it. :(

i like that game

i like that game

:bigeye:

:bigeye:

its run and gun.. you dont think you react.. there are some tactics but its fun to just go no holds bar and just shoot and make things and people explode

its run and gun.. you dont think you react.. there are some tactics but its fun to just go no holds bar and just shoot and make things and people explode

I know, I guess its just not my style. I like run and gun sometimes, but that game just didn't do it for me. I can't really even put my finger on it but I didn't think it was fun at all.

I know, I guess its just not my style. I like run and gun sometimes, but that game just didn't do it for me. I can't really even put my finger on it but I didn't think it was fun at all.

yeah.. Epic has thier bases covered.. 1 high profile FPS and 1 high profile 3rd person

yeah.. Epic has thier bases covered.. 1 high profile FPS and 1 high profile 3rd person

UT3 got decent review scores but hasn't it been a total flop as far as sales?

Edit:
According to VG Chartz
PS3 - Unreal Tournament III Midway Games 0.52m
360 - Unreal Tournament III Midway Games 0.33m

Microsoft's viral Gears of War 2 Last Day campaign - where codes found on real life metal COG tags are entered online to unlock Gears 2 related media - is heating up, taking the COG tag discovery to fans worldwide.

When first "announced", the Last Day campaign was presented in a way where we figured that the metal COG tags were only given to select media members and the codes (CSIDs) would only unlock various wallpapers, icons and posters on the Last Day website. Well, things are a bit different now (and still confusing), because now COG tags are being hidden all around the globe and it's your mission to find them, enter the codes online and unlock video content on the Last Day website. COG tag locations are randomly popping up on the website in the form of longitude / latitude coordinates, which you can view right here. There's still a bit of confusion and lack of organization, but you can follow all the latest Last Day COG tag news by reading the epicforums, keeping an eye on Gears 2 community manager SixOkay's Twitter and by browsing the official Last Day website. Find those tags!

source (updated daily) (http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/showpost.php?p=25565364&postcount=808)

Gears 2 surpasses original's pre-orders, launch plans revealed

Today, Microsoft announced that Gears of War 2 has surpassed the original Gears' pre-order numbers and also informed us that it's "poised to become the must-have video game this holiday season." Can't argue that.

Also as part of the press release, we're informed of all their Gears 2 launch plans and offers including a gold Lancer unlock with the limited edition, gold Hammerburst unlock given out at all 20,000 midnight launches, gameplay tips from the Epic team and a special Game with Fame weekend. Not just that, but Microsoft also confirmed that they'll be releasing a Flashback Map Pack (featuring five remade Gears maps) on launch day, which will be a free download with redemption code found in new copies of Gears 2. Bring on November 7th!

source (http://gamerscoreblog.com/press/archive/2008/10/14/561859.aspx)

Fellas don't buy UTIII - at least not until the price drops to 20.

First day purchase for me because UC was one of my favorite games for the Xbox back in the day.

You might like it if you've never played Gears, but to me it just seems like Gears on meth. It's fun for a Sat. afternoon, but then it just gets really old. If you've played Gears before playing this, you will be majorly disappointed.

With so many users getting the game so early, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a pirated copy of Gears of War 2 has already been leaked in its entirety onto warez sites. The pirated copy, which has been created by group x360inT from the NTSC edition of the game, was released early this morning on a private tracker. With a total file size of 6.76GB, the download has been split into 73 RAR files.

It is worth mentioning that pirated Xbox 360 games only work on modified systems.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/17901/Pirated-Copy-of-Gears-of-War-2-Hits-the-Internet/

So anybody played it yet? :lol: How is it?

So anybody played it yet? :lol: How is it?

So far ive run into absolutely no songs with verses from the Qur'an in it! :P

So far ive run into absolutely no songs with verses from the Qur'an in it! :P

hahaha zing!

i saw two guys on my Fl last night playing Gears 2 already. Both Canadian dudes with modded consoles.

those guys are bold! I'd be too scared of getting banned.

Hmmm... Modded consoles? So are they still on the Xbox Live network?

yeah i would expect those xbox's to be banned come november 19th

theres like 10 minutes of the opening out there on the net, if it not a viral thing, i don't know if its still up on youtube, it gives you a choice of training or to just start the game with a new recruit.

yea i dont think playing gears 2 now is worth me being banned from live for life

the same guys have been playing far cry 2 for weeks now

the same guys have been playing far cry 2 for weeks now

maybe their gaming angels sent down by god and have the ability to never get banned from live.

Right console is so SAFE... no one is going to pirate it.:nono2:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=948943

Right console is so SAFE... no one is going to pirate it.:nono2:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=948943
Yeah but consoles will probably never reach the level of ease of PC piracy. Majority of consumers are unable or unwilling to install a modchip or flash a drive. I am fairly techno-savvy and reading instructions on flashing an xbox drive doesn't look entirely simple. With PC, anybody can download a hacked game with crack which is way easier.

For example, on one private tracker, the top xbox360 games are halo3 and gtaIV. Both of them don't even account for 30,000 downloads combined. Assassin's creed and Command and Conquer for PC both have over 260,000 combined.

They should move the release date up. :D

A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed to Edge that Epic man-shooter, Gears of War 2, will not be coming to neither Germany nor Japan.

“We can confirm that Gears of War 2 will not be available in Germany or Japan indefinitely,” said the Microsoft rep.

http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/10/22/confirmed-no-gears-2-for-germany-or-japan/

all i know is...I found myself to be moderately jealous. haha

the same guys have been playing far cry 2 for weeks now

Makes me think that game must be pretty good if they're playing it for weeks when they obviously have quite the selection available to them. You should ask them if Halo 4 is any good.

Yeah but consoles will probably never reach the level of ease of PC piracy. Majority of consumers are unable or unwilling to install a modchip or flash a drive. I am fairly techno-savvy and reading instructions on flashing an xbox drive doesn't look entirely simple. With PC, anybody can download a hacked game with crack which is way easier.

For example, on one private tracker, the top xbox360 games are halo3 and gtaIV. Both of them don't even account for 30,000 downloads combined. Assassin's creed and Command and Conquer for PC both have over 260,000 combined.


Which is why you see more and more gaming companies want to stop developing for PC.

i booted it up, not a GOW fan so didn't really play it.
Far Cry 2 isn't that great imo either.
Been too busy with Fable2.

And yeah maybe after Nov 19th there'll be issues, but right now as long as its stealth correctly, there's no problems.

Lol have they ever heard of.... MAIL ORDER?

I don't understand this ploy...

Why don't they (the Germans) ban beer and pretzels while they're at it? I'm sure those kill more people a year than video games.

ouch... and Japan's XBOX members were just starting to grow...I would be pissed if i lived there and couldn't play this game.

How does Biohazard (Resident Evil) have no issue but Gears does? :confused:

what had led them to this decision?

Makes me think that game must be pretty good if they're playing it for weeks when they obviously have quite the selection available to them. You should ask them if Halo 4 is any good.

LOL....I know one of them fairly well as we're in the same gaming clan. He says Far Cry 2 is an absolute BUY.

I havent spoken to him since he started playing Gears 2 though.

the japanese will just get it out of hong kong anyways if they really want it, germans can just go across the border and pick it up.. its not like the rest of europe is banning it

Yeah but consoles will probably never reach the level of ease of PC piracy. Majority of consumers are unable or unwilling to install a modchip or flash a drive. I am fairly techno-savvy and reading instructions on flashing an xbox drive doesn't look entirely simple. With PC, anybody can download a hacked game with crack which is way easier.

For example, on one private tracker, the top xbox360 games are halo3 and gtaIV. Both of them don't even account for 30,000 downloads combined. Assassin's creed and Command and Conquer for PC both have over 260,000 combined.
Give it time and console will reach the same level. Right now they are just putting band aids on leaks from a dam.

It's not that hard to find a place that will mod the console for you.

Give it time and console will reach the same level. Right now they are just putting band aids on leaks from a dam.

It's not that hard to find a place that will mod the console for you.

true, but people dont want to go out and do that, especially with the risk of losing online or totally ruining your system. my friend moded his xbox, but didn't have the tools to finish it so a friends friend said he would do it for him and fried his whole box. not worth the risk. plus new consoles come out every few years anyways and with them come harder more improved defenses against moding, at least for the mainstream.

pc games can be downloaded and cracked by even the least technologically inclined without any changes to your actual computer.

Yeah but consoles will probably never reach the level of ease of PC piracy. Majority of consumers are unable or unwilling to install a modchip or flash a drive. I am fairly techno-savvy and reading instructions on flashing an xbox drive doesn't look entirely simple. With PC, anybody can download a hacked game with crack which is way easier.

I have 2 friends who are always bugging me to mod my xbox but since it has already got the red lights twice, I don't think voiding the warranty is worth playing bootleg games.