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GoW Update & Achievements tomorrow
Major Nelson gives word that Gears of War's upcoming title update will be available at 2:00 AM GMT PDT, June 14th. Technically, that's still today in North American timezones. Either way, the update will have 8 new Achievements with a combined worth of 250 Gamerscore, relating to the Hidden Fronts map pack and the new Annex gametype. It also will refine the Roadie Run (again), and fix some exploits in the multiplayer. If you're dropped Gears for some other titles, will this draw you back in?
"Hidden Fronts" screenshots hit the tubes
Not long after we announced the upcoming Multiplayer Map Pack for Gears of War, we were sent screenshots of the four arenas. We have to say, they look mighty nice. Our favorites being that of Garden and Bullet Marsh, which both really take the "destroyed" beauty motif to the next level. Process looks nice, with the eery yellow glow of the Imulsion surrounding the battlefield, but Subway looks kind of run of the mill in the available shots. What do you think of the levels? The rest of the map shots are available after the break.
GoW "Hidden Fronts" Map Pack hitting Thursday
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/GoW_Hidden_Fronts_Map_Pack_hitting_Thursday'; On Thursday May 3rd at 4:00 AM EDT, four new Gears of War maps will be hitting Xbox Live Marketplace as part of the "Hidden Fronts" Multiplayer Map Pack. Running you 800 Microsoft Points, you'll be able to do battle on Process, Garden, Subway, and Bullet Marsh. For those of you concerned about the price, fret not, as you'll be able to download the pack for free four months later, on September 3rd, 2007. We've got the map descriptions from the press release after the break, but the question we've got for you is this: Are you going to get the maps now, or wait a bit first to see if it's worth your hard earned points and hold off till they're free in the fall?
WRUP: beta late than neva edition
So, the weekend is officially upon us, and at least in the Great White North, the forecast is wet and gloomy, which pretty much means sitting back in a Sumo lounge chair and gaming away. We'll probably try to get some final matches of Shadowrun in before the beta ends Monday night, rock out to Guitar Hero II, or go back to old favorites like Oblivion and Gears of War. But that's us. What of you, fellow fanboy, what are you going to be playing?Leaderboards:Xbox 360 Fanboy LeaderboardXbox 360 Fanboy Leaderboard Mk. IIX360F Gamertags:Richard Mitchell -- SenseiRAMDustin Burg -- SuperDunnersDavid Dreger -- Knuckles Dawson
Annex Official Word: King of The Hill-ish
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Annex_Official_Word_King_of_The_Hill_ish'; The official Gears of War website has the full skinny on the upcoming free title update, hitting an Xbox 360 near you on April 9th. The game will play very similar to the Halo series' Team Crazy King gametype, with a 15 second respawn time and unlimited lives. The way Annex works is that a given map will have somewhere between two to five control points, located near key weapon locations on the map. Full details available on gameplay after the break.
Upcoming Gears update fixes glitches & adds gametype
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Upcoming_Gears_update_fixes_glitches_adds_gametype'; DAKing240 let us know about pretty big news for you gearheads out there: Mark Rein dropped into the Gears of War forums to leave a couple tidbits for fans. The next update for the game is currently in certification and he'll have more news for us next week. What he said this week, though, was very promising. For starters, there will be a bunch of glitches fixed, 720p support for VGA users running 1280X1024 and most importantly, a new gametype. Called Annex, Mark says that he's gotten great feedback so far on the new mode, and can't wait for us to get our hands on it. So, you think this new gametype will coincide with the Global Tournament?[Thanks, DAKing240]
Gears of Warnament starts next month
Microsoft and World Cyber Games are holding a tournament for Gears of War starting on April 9th and continuing through May 6th over Xbox Live. For those four weeks, registrants will compete in online ranked matches, where the top 11 players on the leaderboard will win a trip for two to Prague, one of the inspirations for the "destroyed beauty" look of Gears of War, to compete in the finals. Registration opens today and continues on through April 29th. Fortunately, they mean it when they call this a "Global" tournament, as over 24 countries are eligible to enter. Are you going to give this a shot? Do you think everyone who registers will "play fair"?
Epic retracts Gears sequel statement
In our report on Cliffy B's take on Jazz Jackrabbit and its potential for Xbox Live Arcade, he made a tongue-in-cheek remark about "potential sequels" for the Gears of War franchise. Some people took this and ran with it as confirmation that there "ToTAlLY iz a GEars sequaL!1!!". Mark Rein made an appearance on the official Gears of War forum and stated that Cliffy in no way confirmed the development of a sequel. Mark has also said that if popularity and room for innovation was still there, he saw no reasons to stop at three games. So, not that we're suggesting anything, but if there was enough story and progression in the gameplay mechanics, how far can you see the Gears franchise going?[Via Eurogamer]
Live top ten: XBLA Arrival
This week on Xbox Live we see half of the titles holding last week's position, with Gears of War, Crackdown, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Call of Duty 3, and Oblivion keeping their respective first, second, third, fourth and ninth place in the list. We also get treated to having two Xbox Live Arcade titles make it into the mix, with Alien Hominid HD rounding out the top half, and Worms taking in the number seven spot. GRAW 2's multiplayer demo stakes placement between the Arcade arrivals, with Madden NFL 07 and Lost Planet both moving down two spots from last week's standings to finish off the ranking. As per our tradition, we have a list for you with the previous placement in parentheses after the break.
Rumor: Gears of War DLC and Achievement upgrade?
EGM has couple Gears of War rumors in their April issue. Firstly, they mention that Epic might have some DLC in the near future. Live Gamer's dpcough sent in a tip that seems to collaborate (Comment #9) on that, listing off 3 maps and 3 new weapons that could be headed to GoW. The Flamethrower, Plasma Canon and a pair of akimbo Uzis are added to your arsenal and the arenas Suburbs of Sera and a night and day versions of Locust Caverns will supposedly be coming on March 12th. The second rumor is that the Achievements for Gears of War multiplayer will no longer be restricted to ranked play, allowing gamers to unlock them in player matches. Very interesting stuff, but beware, EGM is known for its rumors and Aprils Fools pranks. So, could this be legit, and if so, what do you think about the content and Achievement changes?[Via Xboxic]
Gears of War Video: Torque Bowned
Ah, the Torque Bow, easy to use, difficult to master. Formidable a task as that may be, Nismojoe seemed to handle it with little effort. To top it off, he also threw up a montage of his proficiency with the bow on YouTube. In the video he gets roughly one hundred and eleven (or eleventy-one, for you Tolkien fans) kills, a few deaths here and there, and plenty of gibbled body parts. Due to the graphic nature of this "M" rated game, we're going to keep the video waiting for you after the break.
Live top ten: Agency Ascension
Last week, we had 4 demos on the Xbox Live Activity top ten. This week, we only have one on the list. Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas continue to hold their respective top two spots. Crackdown comes in strong taking third place, pushing Call of Duty 3 down a notch. The Crackdown demo holds its middle of the pack position, even after its retail counterpart has been released. Madden and Lost Planet continue to follow behind, while Oblivion moves up a spot. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 comes in ninth and Saints Row makes a return to the list at tenth. We've got a list ready for you after the break with the title's standings last week in brackets for those statistic hungry types.
