Gears-of-war-2
Latest
Dragon Age bonuses free in new copies, sold separately if you buy used
click to enlarge Though EA detailed its Dragon Age: Origins Collector's Edition nearly a month ago to retail sites, the company is just now "officially" revealing the package. In doing so, it divulged some interesting details about the digital extras included in all copies of the game. Those buying Dragon Age: Origins (any edition) brand new will receive a free code to download "The Stone Prisoner," along with a "suit of Dragon Age-themed armor that can be used in Dragon Age: Origins as well as in Mass Effect 2." According to EA's press release, "The Stone Prisoner" will consist of "new environments, items, and hours of additional gameplay," and the titular stone golem that you'll be able to add to your party in-game. For those of you not purchasing the game new, EA is offering "The Stone Prisoner" as a standalone DLC pack for $15 -- a dollar amount that makes the similarly bundled Gears of War 2's Flashback Map Pack price look like milk money. Then again, who can say no to a stone golem? It looks like we're picking up the game new when it launches on November 3. %Gallery-28224%
Xbox Live Top 10: There can be only 1 (17)
Major Nelson's latest battle report comes as a bit of a surprise as Halo 3 was the most-played retail game of last week. With all of the new Gears of War 2 content, we were sure that game would be at the top, but Epic's title only managed to claw its way to fourth place yet again. It was bested by the usual double dose of Call of Duty action in Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: World at War.On the XBLA side, the frenetic tag-based combat of Marvel vs Capcom 2 was too much for the competition. Capcom's brawler enjoyed top placement, finally bumping down Battlefield 1943 to second place. Coming in at third was none other than 'Splosion Man, Twisted Pixel's excellent follow-up to previous Arcade hit, The Maw.
Oh hey, Gears of War 2 online play is free this weekend
Attention, all you Silver Xbox Live members out there. It looks like the Gears of War 2 "All Fronts" celebration has something for you too. Specifically, online play is free this weekend. That is to say, a Gold membership is not required. So, go out there and chainsawdomize Locusts (or COGs) to your heart's content. The promotion is already underway and will last until 11:59am Eastern on August 3. So, you'd better get to it on the double, soldier![Via VG247]
Kill Epic employees in Gears of War 2 this Friday
Aside from initiating a week of Gears of War 2 double XP, Epic will also turn loose a few of its employees on the masses. The official site for the game reveals that ten different Epic employees will be playing the new Dark Corners playlist this Friday night, from 4pm ET to 7pm ET. So, grease up your Lancer and be ready ahead of time. Once the event kicks off, you may find these folk Gorgon before you know it. Get it? Gorgon. Hello? Where are you going?[Via Eurogamer]
Joyswag: Gears of War 2 'Dark Corners' DLC [update]
Update: This giveaway is now closed. Winners are being selected and will be notified via email. So, be sure to check your inbox.Gears of War 2 just received fresh downloadable content this week with the release of the Dark Corners expansion and we're on a mission to share the DLC love. So, that's exactly what we're doing by giving away five copies of Dark Corners -- complete with its seven new multiplayer maps and Road to Ruin deleted chapter -- to five lucky readers. Be sure to enter the giveaway and we'll be sure to randomly select the winners in time to benefit from this week's double XP event. Leave a comment telling us which of the new Dark Corners maps you're most excited for. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Limit 1 entry per person This entry period ends at 11:00PM ET on Wednesday, July 29 At that time, we'll randomly select five winners to receive an Xbox Live redemption code for Gears of War 2 Dark Corners ($15 ARV) For a list of complete rules, click here %Gallery-51731%
Gears of War 2 celebrates new DLC with week of double XP
Listen up, COG soldiers! That new 'All Fronts' and 'Dark Corners' DLC isn't the only new development in the war against the Locust, as command has revealed that Gears of War 2 players will receive double XP all week long. This boost in our supply of experience points will be available to all fighting on the Dark Corners public playlist front, as well as in public and private horde skirmishes. You should already see a boost in your supply of XP and HQ has determined that this abundance of points should last us until August 3, so use them wisely. Now get out there and scratch some grubs!
Xbox Live Top 10: 1 vs. 100 joins the fray
Sure, we could sit up here and do our usual Xbox Live Top 10 thing: Major Nelson posted the Xbox Live activity for last week. Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty: World at War and Gears of War 2 were winners, and XBLA's most-played game was Battlefield 1943. All is as we expect with the world. However, we feel the Xbox Live Top 10 has a much more notable characteristic this week: 1 vs. 100! Major confirms that Xbox Live's game show will now be incorporated into the weekly lists. We're anxious to see if it will perform better in the future -- not that seventh place is a bad debut.
Gears of War 2 'All Fronts' and 'Dark Corners' DLC available now
Attention, COG lovers and Locust loathers, the new Gears of War 2 DLC is now available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace. For the truly hardcore Marcus fans out there -- the ones who have already bought all the previous multiplayer maps -- you'll want to look for the Dark Corners Multiplayer Map Pack. It contains seven new multiplayer maps and the single-player level "Road to Ruin" and will set you back 1200 ($15).For those who are new to Gears of War 2 -- or those who have avoided all the DLC thus far -- you'll be better served by the All Fronts Collection, which contains every single multiplayer map released and "Road to Ruin" for 1600 ($20).For a detailed look at all the new multiplayer maps, check out our video walkthrough above. Find our take on "Road to Ruin" after the break.Add Dark Corners to your Xbox 360 download queueAdd All Fronts to your Xbox 360 download queue
Gears of War COG and Locust Armor coming to Xbox Live Avatars
During the Gearsiverse panel at Comic-Con, Epic's Cliff Bleszinski and Ron Fergusson revealed that there will be Gears of War-themed armor of both the COG and Locust variety coming to XBL Avatars soon. One rule that Microsoft imposes on Avatar clothing and models is that they "can't look inhuman," according to Bleszinski. So they pieced together a workaround set of Locust armor that you can check out beyond the break.Look for these new Avatar upgrades to be available when the next Xbox Live dashboard update becomes available soon. Meanwhile, we're going to scurry out to our preview builds to see if they're already available. Be sure and peep the Locust image, just around the corner.
Epic: No more retail Unreal Tournament releases 'for several years'
Epic Games CEO and founder, Tim Sweeney, recently chatted with G4 about the upcoming Dark Corners content for Gears of War 2. Yeah, been there, done that. Sweeney did, however, mention something interesting regarding the future of our favorite fragfest, Unreal Tournament."Unreal Tournament is certainly a major long-term priority but we're planning not to release a major retail game in the series for several years," Sweeney said. He commented that this move was to aid the company in focusing on "a few other initiatives." We're placing our bets on some kind of downloadable release (a smart move since the interest in downloadable FPS games is certainly there), especially since Sweeney took care to only mention retail.[Via Big Download]
Video: Gears of War 2's 'Dark Corners' maps
Epic recently hooked us up with the new Gears of War 2 maps included in the upcoming Dark Corners expansion, so we decided to put together a little video showcasing the new levels. Above you'll find footage of all seven new maps, so dive right in and enjoy. Dark Corners, along with All Fronts, will be available for download through Xbox Live on July 28 for 1,200 ($15) and 1,600 ($20), respectively.
Review: Gears of War 2 'Road to Ruin' (DLC)
Gears of War 2's "Road to Ruin" campaign add-on brings a new chapter to the story with a pair of different ways to enjoy it. You can play through Road to Ruin like the rest of Gears of War 2, shooting and mantling your way through everything in sight, or you can try something new to the Gears of War franchise ... stealth.[Editors' note: This review also features a video walkthrough. So, please, walk with us.]%Gallery-51731%
Half-price Gears of War 2 'All Fronts' accidentally released, pulled [update]
It's official! Gears of War 2 developer Epic Games has confirmed via its forums that the "All Fronts" DLC set to release on July 28 was available on Xbox Live Marketplace by accident early this morning (or: late last night, for you owl-types). According to a posting on the company's forums, "The 'All Fronts' DLC was leaked for 800 MS points last night around 1AM (US Central). When users attempted to download it, they received an error message." Interestingly, a number of folks have not only been able to download it but also play the new content. The forum member continues, writing, "Those who bought them right away are playing them RIGHT NOW -- if you attempt to download them now you will receive an error message ... those [of] you [who] received the first error before Microsoft was alerted can redownload them fine." These statements appear to be confirmed by the flood of excited responses of people playing the game, as well as by statements from Epic's Community Manager "Flak," who explains, "This was a bug or mistake. The DLC is still scheduled for release on the 28th for 1,600 Microsoft points (All Fronts) and 1,200 Microsoft points (Dark Corners)." Unsurprisingly, Epic asks forums users not to upload any video or screenshots of the accidentally released DLC -- so, ya know, you'll probably be seeing it everywhere by noon today ...Update: Microsoft has officially responded to the situation and released this statement:"Earlier this morning, the "Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection" Game Add-on was briefly made available on Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft Points. The content has since been removed and will launch on Tuesday, July 28th worldwide as planned, together with the "Dark Corners" Game Add-on. Pricing will remain as originally intended (1600 and 1200 Microsoft Points for "All Fronts Collection" and "Dark Corners," respectively). The small, lucky group of Xbox Live members who were able to download the content during the short window it was available will be able to retain the content for the price at which it was purchased as well as keep all related Achievements. There won't be any penalties for those who purchased this content early. Think of it as a lucky treat for those with quick reflexes!"There you have it, folks! Enjoy!%Gallery-51731%[Thanks Lucas!]
Gears of War 2's Title Update 4 now live
Heads up, COG soldiers. Epic's Gears of War 2 has just received its highly-anticipated fourth Title Update. The new update not only adds experience to Horde mode, but also fixes a variety of bugs, according to the update notes on the Gears forums. Aside from fixing some issues with the new cringe-inducing smoke grenades, the new update also tweaks the Wingman match type, doing away with some of the issues involving weapon spawning and a particularly nasty exploit where players could get credit for two kills while only killing one opponent. Hopefully, this will fix some of the persistent issues plaguing Gears of War 2's online component. So, grease up your Lancer and head out into battle. This weekend is chock full of XP, after all![Thanks, Paul!]
Cliff Bleszinski explains why there are so many bald space marines
If you think Unreal Engine 3 games feature too much gray and brown, laden with "pillars and girders," all being stomped around on by bald space marines, Cliff "Young Clifford" Bleszinski wants you to blame the tech. Speaking with Develop recently, the man that birthed Marcus Fenix said, "The technology of this generation just happens to be very good at rendering metals and stones and dramatic lighting." He argues that "translucent effects" are much harder to pull of with the technology given and as such, "the tech is good at showing off armor and it's not that good at doing hair ... that's why we have bald space marines."Though we'd argue that there are lots of bald men in our lives who happen to not be space marines -- CheapyD and Dr. Manhattan prime among them -- we can appreciate how Marcus Fenix may be more equipped to take down the Locust than an omnipotent blue man. Wait a minute! Interestingly, Bleszinski also notes during the interview that he's got "like five projects going on right now" -- we're counting Shadow Complex and another (still unannounced) Gears of War, which leaves three unannounced projects? Something is afoot at Epic Games. And it almost certainly involves bald space marines.
Gears of War 2 gets double XP and TU4 this weekend
To celebrate Independance Day, the folks at Epic Games are going to liberate (see what we did there?) Gears of War 2 from some of its nastier afflictions, through another title update. The latest update should drop sometime before this weekend, and will bring some changes to Horde mode. We'll be sure to let you know when the update is ready.On top of that, it's also going to be another Gears-themed weekend, as Epic has turned on the XP firehose. During ranked matches on the public playlist, everyone will receive double the XP, and the winning team will also walk away with an additional 500 XP (plus, you know, their lives). Epic has also added some of its own brand of fireworks to Horde mode as an homage to our own firework-shooting, independence-celebrating festivities planned for this holiday weekend. In every wave of the Horde, there will be added Tickers, and on every 10th wave of every Horde match, there will be only Tickers. The festivities start on Friday morning, and will run until Monday, July 6. [Thanks, Alan!]
Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant coming next month
If you're wondering what to do on a cold night, while snuggling next to a warm fire ... may we suggest, reading? Of course, in this scenario, all electricity is out and video games are no option for you. So, if that's what it takes for you to pick up a book (we kid!), you might be interested in something with a little video game flavor.Coming to bookstores on July 28 is Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant -- from best-selling sci-fi author Karen Traviss (of Star Wars novel fame!).Jacinto's Remnant begins moments following the end of Gears of War 2. It's really hard to tell you what the novel is about without spoiling the ending of 2008's Epic Xbox 360-exclusive, but from what we've seen so far, the book looks to paint a picture of humanity's struggle for survival against a new kind of enemy -- itself. Sounds interesting, so far. Excited?
Halo-themed Avatar clothing spotted in the wild
Select individuals have been seen sporting Halo-themed Avatar clothing recently, with fine young gentleman Randy No Arms being the latest spotted. It makes sense, considering the guy works for Microsoft, but are these new duds a part of the Avatar rewards beta, or is this the Avatar marketplace at work? Regardless, we're totally jealous he's sporting a slew of Halo-branded clothes, including a hat emblazoned with the UNSC symbol, a shirt with a pair of crossed energy swords, and a nice pair of khaki shorts with the Spartan helmet on the left leg.Be sure to hit up our gallery below for some shots of the Avatar marketplace from E3, complete with Gears of War 2 and Halo storefronts.%Gallery-65338%
SIGGRAPH 2009 panel to focus on Fight Night Round 4, Gears of War 2 graphics
The organizer of SIGGRAPH, an annual gathering of digital visual artists, has already implied that gaming will have a larger presence at 2009's conference than in previous years; there's even going to be a keynote address by SimCity creator Will Wright. It's now been announced that a session focusing on real-time computer graphics will explore the creation of visuals for EA Sports' newly released Fight Night Round 4 and Epic Games' not-so-new (but still mightily pretty) Gears of War 2.Titled "Big, Fast, and Cool: Making the Art for Fight Night Round 4 & Gears of War 2" (that title is neither small, quick or cool, by the way), the session is being offered for CG artists because, as SIGGRAPH 2009 real-time rendering chair Evan Hirsch says, "So much of what makes today's videogames so great are the responsive graphics and the stories that unfold during game play." It's a shame about that "during game play" bit; otherwise the entire thing could be called "The cinematics of Metal Gear Solid 4: Watch and Learn." Next year, Kojima. Next year.
Xbox Live Top 10: World remains at war
Dearest Lorraine,Microsoft's Major Nelson has brought us another annual status report on enemy movements throughout Xbox Live, and it's not pretty. Conflict has surrounded us, as the enemy, Call of Duty: World at War, has spread like wildfire, becoming the most-played game last week. We tried to flank it with our platoons of Halo 3 and Gears of War 2, but, alas, the enemy had reinforcements in Call of Duty 4. Hope has diminished, and one only needs walk by the injured tent to feel the full force of the enemy's cruelty.Lorraine, I know not if I will return home. I have managed to live longer than most, but, I feel there's that one bullet out there with my name on it, relentlessly pursuing its new home. Please, take care of my Gamertag when I am gone (I think my Gold subscription ends next month, so look into that), and be sure to earn as many Achievements for me as you can. I suggest you start with Avatar: The Last Airbender.Yours Truly,Gus
