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Up for auction: Marcus Fenix
Recently spotted on eBay was a handful of Marcus Fenix statuettes. Most of you will recognize Mr. Fenix as a the hulking badass with a chainsaw on his gun from Gears of War. The statuette is roughly 15cm tall, hand painted, and has a limited edition production number on the base. Curiously, all three auctions are based in the UK (the currency for each is in GBP). Was Microsoft running some special promotion in the UK (or is some guy using three user names to sell them)? All three statues have at least 2 days left on the auction block, and the highest bid currently stands at £65 ($126.33). If you've got the urge -- and the cash -- to have one for your very own, you still have plenty of time to place a bid. Given how much they're going for right now, we could see these hitting $200 by the time the auctions end. How much would you fork over to get one?See an embiggened image after the break.
Gears named 3rd most important game of '06
Gamasutra recently sent a request to its readers from the game industry, asking them to name the games that created a true "quantum leap" in game design this year. Sandwiched in between critical darlings, Okami and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, was Epic's Gears of War in the number 3 spot on the list. Each game on the list is supplemented with a paragraph or two contributed by Gamasutra readers and industry professionals. The achievements of Gears of War are nicely summarized by Game Developer Magazine's Brandon Sheffield, who notes the amazing graphics (of course) and cover-based gameplay. In particular, we share his sentiments about GOW's co-op: "I'm personally most fond of the game's cooperative play – the most fully-realized truly cooperative action experience in games since the days of 2D beat 'em ups – Double Dragon and their ilk." We were also reminded of 2D co-op games of yore (Contra, in this case). Congratulations, Gears of War. The industry likes you. They really like you! Props also to Dead Rising for receiving an honorable mention. What game provided this year's greatest "quantum leap" in your opinion?
GOW kids: 2 million strong ... and growing
The unstoppable force that is Gears of War just keeps on being unstoppable. Microsoft announced today that the game has now topped worldwide sales of 2 million units. Keep in mind, this is 2 million copies sold in only six weeks of availability. Damn. Microsoft, naturally, is very happy with the development, and is quick to point out some more impressive numbers. Gears of War has seen over 1 million unique users on Live, playing a combined 10 million online games, and unlocking 7 million achievements. Okay, it's official: if the 360 has a killer app, Gears of War is it.
Possible Christmas present: a Gears patch
In an interview with Planet Gears of War, Mark Rein revealed that the first patch for Gears of War would be for "housekeeping" purposes and will make only small adjustments to the game itself -- including the announced fix for squished aspect ratios. Many had hoped that the patch would add the much discussed party system to the game, but it looks like that will have to wait for next year. And, according to Rein, the first patch might not make it out this year either. Apparently, Microsoft's certification department closes fairly early in December, and Epic is toiling to get the patch in as soon as possible. The interview also contains a few questions about the game's success and where it will move in future iterations, so Gears fans may want to give it a read. By far, the best answer in the interview was the last one made by CliffyB. When thanked for answering "stupid questions," Cliffy replies, "There are no stupid questions, only PR approved answers." Priceless.[Via DCEmu. Image via Planet Gears of War.]
Perplexed by my quiet 360, how does yours work? [update 1]
Recently I've had some issues with my 360. I think it decided that it would rather kill itself than let me play Viva Piñata ... but that was its decision not mine. So, I sold it "as-is" and picked me up a new one locally, pretty new box and all! Though I noticed an interesting quirk after playing Gears recently. I noticed something that didn't happen on my previous 360 model. When playing Gears, throughout multiplayer (specifically when sitting in a lobby), the humming of the disc drive couldn't be heard, because the spinning of the disc actually slowed down. My previous Xbox 360 kept rotating the disc full speed, never missing a step, and never altered the spin speed ever. My spiffy new 360 must be uber smart and knows when it doesn't have to spin at 400 MPH, thus creating a moment of silent bliss. At first it startled me as I wondered why the disc quit spinning, but now it's just a welcomed surprise to hear the quiet. Does your 360 spin down when playing certain games or am I just drinking too much Pepto-Bismol?Update 1: It looks like I found the answer to my perplexion! Previously, my other console was rocking a Hitachi DVD drive (the more common LOUD version) as opposed to the Samsung model (which is known to be quieter and more rare). I checked out my new console and it looks like I have a Samsung DVD drive in my 360. This could be why certain games read differently by slowing down etc. Let's do some more investigative work ... anyone whose disc drive spins down during games (like mine) head over to Llamma's site and verify which drive you have. I'm thinking this is how the Samsung drive works, but we'll get to the bottom of this as a team. Teamwork FTW!
GOW VGA bug fix is done, but not available
Epic head honcho, Mark Rein, dropped into the Gears of War forums to let players know that a fix for a VGA aspect ration problem has been developed. Normally, this would be great news. Unfortunately, the fix still has to go through certification before it can be rolled into the next update -- which should also include some other new features (ranked friends?). For those who don't know, the VGA bug created a problem for players without widescreen TV sets, resulting in a squished picture. Rein intimates that the reason for this error was actually because Epic only tested Gears on widescreen monitors. He assures us that Epic now owns a regular 4:3 monitor for future testing. We're glad for the correction, but it seems like more than a few developers aren't testing all the media configurations out there. Maybe Microsoft needs more specific testing guidelines.Have any of you been affected by this problem?[Via Joystiq]
Gears sells 1 million in two weeks [update 1]
Excuse us while we wipe the mock surprise from our faces, but Microsoft announced yesterday that Gears of War has officially broken the 1 million copies sold mark. Sure, it's no surprise that GOW would sell a million, but it is very impressive that it has managed to do so in only two weeks. In fact, Gears of War has now become the fastest selling Xbox game evar. What is more, the game's popularity has driven more subscribers to Xbox Live Gold. According to Microsoft, paying subscriptions have jumped by %50. Of course, this achievement isn't quite as grand when you factor in the number of trial subscriptions that were boxed with Gears of War. Still, just like drugs, the first taste is free, and many trial subscribers will probably convert after two blissful months days of Gears. MS is also quick to point out that Gears has quickly become one of the highest rated games of all time (according to GameRankings.com), earning an average review score of 95% -- right now it's sandwiched between Wind Waker and San Andreas. Love it or hate it, if the 360 has a killer app, Gears of War is it. Did any of you pick up a 360 just for Gears?Update: Trial subscriptions are 2 days not two months.
Aussies to get free Live this weekend
Emergence Day is fast approaching the land down under*, and according to Australian gaming site, PALGN, Microsoft is giving Aussies a free weekend of Xbox Live Gold to celebrate. Starting this Friday at 3PM EST and ending Sunday at 10PM EST, the free weekend will give Australians a chance to play some Gears of War the way it was meant to be played. Additionally, David McLean of Microsoft Australia believes that Gears of War is on its way to becoming the 360's fastest million seller, outdoing all original Xbox titles. We have to ask the same question as PALGN, though: does that include Halo 2?How many of our Australian readers are picking up Gears this Friday (or possibly nicked it already)? If GOW isn't your thing, we suggest you wile away the weekend with Small Arms instead.*It was really, really hard not to make a Men at Work joke here.[Via QJ]
Microsoft lets it slip: Gears is a trilogy
CliffyB can deny it all he wants, but Gears of War is getting a sequel, two sequels in fact. In a recent interview with GameDaily, Jeff Bell, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for Interactive Entertainment Business (say that three times fast), confirmed that GOW is a planned trilogy. To wit:"The goal of this ad is to establish Marcus Fenix as the hero of the Gears of War trilogy."Bell was of course referring to the now infamous "Mad World" ad for Gears of War. For those interested, the interview also discusses Microsoft's strategy in the burgeoning console wars, but really, who cares about that, right? Gears of War is a trilogy, just like that other game we could mention. And trilogies, as we all know, are the new hotness.[Via You NEWB. Thanks, KilgoreTrout XL]
Don't beat on kids for GoW
A 36 year old man in Detroit thinks it's okay to go around beating the crap out of a 15 year kid so he can get his hands on a video game. The man, Deion, was waiting in line at Gamestop to purchase Gears of War when the manager announced that they were running out of copies. So, logically he decided to push his way to the front of the line, have a confrontation, and proceeded to pummel a poor 15 year old kid for his copy of the game. The guy was arrested and the kid was taken to the hospital for his injuries. As for punishment, who's up for letting that kid have a chance to chainsaw old Deion in half?[Via Digg]
When is the real Emergence Day?
I just received a disconcerting call from the GameStop automated system. They told me that, due to shipping problems, Gears of War may not be in today. After a quick call, my local shop confirms the bad news. When I dropped my hard earned $5 (okay, I had credit left over from a trade-in) on a Gears of War preorder, GameStop told me the game would be out on November 7th. What is confusing is why PR materials would list the 12th as the official Emergence Day for a game that GameStop told me to pick up in the store 5 days earlier. A Joystiq insider said that stores were told the street date to sell Gears was the 7th but -- due to distribution problems ranging from UPS to distribution centers -- many stores won't be getting them in as early as expected (Wal-Mart is scheduled to have them tomorrow). The clerk at my local store blamed it on a delay in Memphis. So, the street date on Gears of War was the 7th, but a confluence of circumstances conspire to leave many of us waiting. This situation, coupled with confusing marketing dates (the game doesn't actually emerge on Emergence Day) and an impressive hype campaign, has left many gamers anxious. Our recommendation: call ahead. Don't be surprised if Gears hasn't emerged at your store just yet.
Gears of War HD videos
If you somehow haven't already gotten your hands on what is being called by many "the best looking game ever" feast your eyes on these 720p -- and naturally available in Xbox 360-compatible WMV -- trailers. The level of detail in this game is amazing and a great reason to own an HDTV and Xbox 360. If there's any doubt over whether or not you should pick up Gears of War this holiday season and the reviews haven't been convincing enough, let these videos do all the convincing necessary. It might not be native 1080p but we doubt there'll be time to count pixels once the bullets start flying.Read - The first 10 minutes: Gears of War - XboxydeRead - Gears of War - Gametrailers
GOW merch madness, new faceplates, crate
Sure, Gears of War makes a great videogame, but it makes an even better lunchbox. Joystiq got their hands on the first images of the impending tidal wave of Gears merchandise (all of these are made by Mad Catz). The image above is in fact not a lunchbox, but rather a "console crate," presumably for hauling your 360 to Gears of War LAN parties. It looks like there will actually be 4 different faceplates, with 3 of them exclusive to different stores. See each faceplate after the break.
CliffyB's got your jump button right here
F*** jump.That's what he said and, in a recent interview with CVG, CliffyB elaborates on his original theory that Gears of War is more Bionic Commando than Mario. You are jumping ... just with a grappling hook ... and on a different plane. He explains, "In GoW you're essentially jumping but you're jumping on the X and Y axis. So you're leaping into the environment. If you were to look at a GoW battlefield from an overhead view, it would almost look like a Sonic or Mario level because that's how all the cover plays out."That's a pretty novel way of looking at the game's construction. Though Cliffy does his best to appear otherwise, he often reveals a thoughtful side. Our favorite part of the interview: when he eschews the sentiment that a Hollywood adaptation means your game has made it. "I love movies but I believe I'm working in the most exciting sector of the entertainment industry." Oh snap! Take that movies! But he still offered up his candidate for the role of Marcus: Clive Owen. Really? He seems like he would need to put on about 150 ell-bees of muscle. And what's all this about Scarlett Johansson?
Win a date with CliffyB and play some Gears *squeeeeeal*
We missed telling you guys about the "Match Made in Hell" Gears of War promotion, but we'll make it up to you by cluing you into another opportunity to get your mitts on the 360's upcoming chainsaw-sim. According to a now missing Xbox.com page (helpfully clipped after the break), you'll be able to win a chance to play Gears a full week before the unwashed masses. And that's not all, you'll get to play it with CliffyB himself at Epic Studios in beautiful Raleigh, North Carolina.Rules are simple: you must be a resident of the US or Canada (sorry Hungary!); you must be 18 or older; you have to enter before October 15th; and you need to fill out this form. Hop to it! If any Fanboys win, make sure to wear something nice ... and bring flowers![Via TriXie]
Unreal Engine 3 MIA on Revolution?
Epic Games' Mark Rein, in a Q & A session attended by Joystiq Blogger Christopher Grant during the recent GDC, said that we probably "won't be seeing Unreal Engine 3 on the Revolution." Mark implied that the Unreal Engine 2 would be more than sufficient for anything the platform may demand and had yet to be informed on what the final specs for the console would be. Mark's comments were more towards down-scaling HD projects, such as the upcoming Gears of War, for the console and cited that it would not be very cost effective. We assume that titles will eventually utilize the Unreal Engine 3 on the console, however upcoming titles created specifically with HD resolutions in mind are more than likely not going to see an incarnation on Nintendo's system.
