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X06: Gears of War impressions
At the X06 post-conference party, Microsoft showed off the first public (meaning not behind-closed-doors) demo of Gears of War. The over-the-shoulder camera work immediately stands out. By simply shaking the perspective as you move (and shaking it more severely as you run for cover), the game takes on an added cinematic feel unmatched by most other shooters. The shaky-cam doesn't get in the way of gameplay nearly as much as I expected, either, thanks to a well-designed tracking system that follows you around corners perfectly.Using the A button as an all-purpose run, duck and dive button based on the context makes is a welcome change from the usual mishmash of FPS button functions, though the game did occasionally have some trouble detecting when I wanted to duck behind some pylons. This is pretty key, because the entirety of the single player demo consisted mainly of ducking behind things and popping out to shoot wave after wave of enemies as they pop out of emergence holes. The fact that this pop-and-shoot gameplay doesn't get immediately repetitive is a testament to the enemy AI, which utilizes cover and team strategies surprisingly well, and a testament to the visceral thrill generated by the game's graphics, which are detailed enough to show off every scar on the soldiers' necks.My only major gripe with the game as it stands now is the ability to come back from the brink of death just by kneeling behind some cover for a short period of time. Between this feature and the frequent checkpoints, the game may not prove much of a challenge for FPS veterans. But the joy of playing Gears of War doesn't really come from the challenge of playing any more than the joy of an action movie comes from the challenge of watching. When everything flows this smoothly, and the details are all handled just right, who cares if you don't have to restart a level 50 times just to finish it?
X06: Press conference liveblogging [update 28]
We're here live at Microsoft's premiere European promotional event, scheduled to start at 7 PM Barcelona time (1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific). Continue reading and keep refreshing for all the announcements and updates straight from Microsoft.
TGS: Cranking the Gears of War
Though it wasn't playable on the Tokyo Game Show floor -- not even in the booth with other mature-rated games like Riot Act (Crackdown) and Dead Rising -- Microsoft was giving press a tease of Gears of War, their fall lineup's killer app. Alan Willard, a technical designer at Epic Games and a giant scruff of a man with a penchant for terse answers, walked us through a demo level gleefully pointing out areas of interest. For example, the gratuitous splattering of blood and gore that spits onto the screen after the equally gratuitous chainsaw-bayoneting was his handiwork. "I did that," he said proudly. And, if you're curious, it's a particle effect.
Gears of War should look great on your crap TV
Gamers will be pleased to learn that all missions in the upcoming Gears of War should be easily accomplished without the need for excessive squinting or unanswered pining for a better television set. According to an entry on the official Epic Games forums, the upcoming, Unreal-powered and unbelievably macho tale of man versus monster has been tested on "small, non-HD TVs, to make sure you can read the writing." Presumably, the legible on-screen text in Gears of War will not be conveyed by a lonely security guard who calls at the worst possible times. Though this news will allay the fears of those still confined to the realms of standard definition, developers shouldn't expect a pat on the head whenever they cater to a huge part of their audience. This just in: Gears of War will totally work on your Xbox 360. Thanks for going the extra mile, Epic![Via 1UP]See also: Dead Rising: patch chance lost! Mea culpa for 360's Kong In defense of Sony's HDMI.O.U.
Gears of War MIA, Japanese consumers for 360 also MIA
If anything were going to drive sales up in the Japanese market for Microsoft's XBox360, Gears of War would have been a good bet. So, where is it? Oh, that's right, it's too graphic so Microsoft wasn't allowed to let people play it at the Tokyo Game Show. That sucks. It's one of the few games worth getting excited for and has received the most royal of hype treatments, but no. No show. Too bad, Microsoft. Time to pull out of Japan... and give Sony Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata while you're at it. So, let's see a show of hands -- who thinks Sony delivered at the Tokyo Game Show? By that, we mean had a better showing than its competitors. I'll raise both of mine. Multiple times.[via Joystiq]
TGS: Gears of War, WRU?!
Killzone 2 isn't the only highly anticipated shooter not rocking the TGS show floor this year. Epic Games' upcoming 360 would-be killer-app Gears of War isn't playable on the show floor, though it is represented in video and pamphlet form at Microsoft's booth.So why is it that a surefire hit, just a couple months from shipping, isn't playable? Microsoft is doing everything they can to woo the heretofore elusive Japanese gamer, so why not trot out their prize-winning pony? Sure, they want to focus all eyes on Hironobu Sakaguchi's 360-exclusive JRPGs Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, but there's plenty of room for all three at TGS. And we know Japanese gamers tend to shy away from the hardcore shooters, but every little bit helps, right?In reality, the real reason Gears of War isn't at TGS isn't as shady as the complete disappearance of Killzone 2 from all Sony communications, it's a problem with Japan's censors. You see, the extremely graphic nature of the game is currently giving Microsoft a little bit of trouble getting it approved. During a press screening of Gears, a Microsoft rep did note that while a TGS showing just wasn't to be, the game will be playable at next week's X06 event in Barcelona. Unfortunately, the European Xbox 360 market doesn't need all the help it can get. Japan does.[Grotesque headshot image, courtesy carbonscoring.]
MS TGS lineup, no Blue Dragon
It's no secret that we're a little excited for Blue Dragon, the little game from Hironobu Sakaguchi's Mistwalker. It's also considered to be one of Microsoft's few big titles in Japan. This makes one wonder why Blue Dragon isn't featured on Microsoft's lineup for the Tokyo Game Show. We can only assume it won't be a no show. After all, Blue Dragon is supposed to be Microsoft's system seller this holiday. This is supposed to be what the Japanese will see when they find out the PS3 is sold out. Suffice it to say, we'd be more than a little surprised if Blue Dragon didn't make an appearance.Still, there are plenty of other notable titles like Forza 2, Viva Piñata, Sonic, DOAX2, and, of course, Gears of War. See the complete list after the jump.
Weird GOW trailer thing on XBLM
Okay, so I grabbed the "new" Gears of War IGN video thingy off of Marketplace last night. Decidedly not HD, this content is ... interesting, to say the least. First of all, this video was made during E3. Why put such an old video on XBLM? I mean, the guy doing the interview is asking, "What's Emergence Day?" I seem to recall a BIG announcement that already cleared that up. Now, to be fair, there is legitimate gameplay in there, which is nice, but the video quality makes it less than optimal.Finally, what's with the radio jingle music? Maybe it's just me, but that's weird, especially in a podcast about videogames. Just seems out of place, you know? Anyway, this video assuages any misgivings I had about never becoming an IGN Insider. You know, back when I read IGN. Sorry this isn't news folks, but that's what happens when you give nerds like me a public venue.
Microsoft brings TGS and X06 home
Remember back at E3 when the Halo 3 trailer was available on Marketplace before Microsoft officially unveiled it at the show? That was only part of the barrage of E3 content that was piped directly into our 360s. It made it a cool perk to have the latest and greatest hardware, allowing thousands of 360 owners to get a piece of E3. It looks like Microsoft plans to continue that tradition at this year's Tokyo Game Show and its own X06 (I had to decline a trip to cover the latter, stupid wedding!). TGS coverage will start on September 20th and run through the 24th. X06 will run September the 25th through the 29th. There is a chance that US and European gamers won't see all the TGS coverage, but Japan got most of the E3 coverage so, it's stands to reason this will be the same.Now we can all look forward to previews of the latest and greatest. Expect more of Blue Dragon, Gears of War, Viva Piñata, Blue Dragon, Fable 2, and Blue Dragon. And, since it's TGS, you'll probably see some Blue Dragon. In all seriousness, we really dug Microsoft's coverage of the last E3 ever, and hopefully this will recapture the same excitement.[Via Xboxic]
Viva Pokemon, Piata explored [update 1]
I flipped on my TV this past Saturday, and what did I see? Lo and behold, it was Viva Piñata. Naturally, it was my journalistic duty to watch an entire episode. Seriously, it had nothing to do with me being a full grown adult who still feels a powerful need to watch cartoons. Microsoft has reiterated time and again that Viva Piñata is their most important game of 2006. Gears of War? That's peanuts to Viva Piñata. Microsoft hopes to hook millions of kiddies on the show, and thus the impending video game. The question is, will it work?
Money guy says next MoH uses Unreal engine
For those unable to decipher perplexing acronyms, the game in question would be Medal of Honor: Airborne, EA's next and next-gen entry in the extremely popular kill the nazis genre. By ways of CNN's Game Over column, analyst P.J. McNealy has asserted that 2007's Medal of Honor would be the first game to benefit from EA's adoption of Unreal Engine 3, with an unannounced title, Dead Space, to follow after. The latter game is likely not based on the office block that developed Rise of the Imperfects.The rest of the column ponders the fate of RenderWare, the widely used middleware engine that EA obtained along with their purchase of Criterion just over two years ago. Apart from the obvious benefit of having Burnout in the stable, EA initially stated that they intended to use an updated version of the engine for next-gen products, none of which have so far managed to materialize (Burnout Revenge for the Xbox 360 was mostly a port, after all). While it's conceivable that RenderWare has since been surpassed by Epic's technology, Mark Rein gives a far more reasonable explanation (yes, really) in an interview with FiringSquad.He suggests that "it comes down to smart resource management" and that EA is merely picking the best engine for the job. Unreal Engine 3 would presumably save them time and money for specific games and could be used in conjunction with their in-house tools. Apparently, you can never have too many engines at your disposal. Perhaps a good question to ask would be: how important is the graphics engine to you? Are you more likely to play a game knowing that it uses Source or Unreal, or is the visual end result the only thing that matters (besides that gameplay thing)?Read - EA's Engine Acquisition examinedRead - Mark Rein on EA's adoption of Unreal
G.O.W. on sale before Emergence Day
CliffyB had some interesting remarks for his brother, who just so happens to be a blogger for Gearheads of War. What did he say? I'm glad you asked. It breaks down like this. Emergence Day, as we all know, is November 12th. Sure, that's a pretty BIG deal, but there's more. The game will begin shipping on November 7th, and:"They'll be able to sell it the minute they get it so some of those stores will have the game well before the 12th."So there you have it, Emergence Day is not so BIG after all. If any of you manage to get it on November 7th, let us know and we'll write it up. Surely Bungie has something to do with this. (117, get it? No? Too nerdy?)[Via Joystiq. Thanks, Mike]
GOW rumblings: no demo?
Following yesterday's BIG announcement that Gears of War will hit the US on November 12th and in the UK on the 17th of November, comes the news that there will not be a demo released before the game ships, or possibly ever. Speaking with TeamXbox, Epic VP, Mark Rein, had this to say:"Demos take a long time to create and polish and we can't afford to get derailed like that if we want to have the game in stores by Thanksgiving. Given a choice of the game this year or a demo this year and the game next year I'm sure every one of you would rather have the game this year because you're already planning to buy it. No idea if we'll do a demo or not after the game ships."Maybe that was the real BIG announcement. Seriously though, we all want a taste of GOW, but is there anyone out there waiting for a demo to make up their minds? If so, tell us why.[Via Fraggerock]
Dead Rising demo here, Gears demo not coming
You know what time it is, don't you? It's time to clear out your 360 hard drive, swollen from demo after demo, turgid and bloated. We've got yet another (Friday) demo, this time Capcom's new zombie-killing title, and she's a big girl. Weighing in at 1014MB, the demo might appear large, but with a 15-minute time limit, it's really just supposed to whet your appetite for zombie gore (just a taste, you're not supposed to swallow it). That's the good news. The bad news: all that room we cleared out for yesterday's "BIG" announcement is gonna be used for the Dead Rising demo. Emergence Day was it, folks. There won't be any face-melting Gears of War demo coming out prior to the retail launch Emergence Day, so says Epic's resident party pooper, Mark Rein: "I don't see any way we could do a demo before the game comes out. We've said that before. Demos take a long time to create and polish and we can't afford to get derailled like that if we want to have the game in stores by Thanksgiving."What about that super-polished E3 multiplayer demo everyone keeps gabbing about? We'd settle for that, y'know. [Thanks for all the tips!]Read - Dead Rising demo on XBLMRead - No Gears demo pre-release
GOW to be released outside America, too?
Before you all start thinking this blogger is a Xenophobic American prick (that's only a half-truth), please note that the above headline is a joke. With that out of the way, everybody knows that Gears of War is hitting North American shores on November 12th. Slightly less publicized, however, is the fact that our European friends can look forward to picking up the game a mere five days later on November 17th -- I suppose they would call it the 17th of November, though.For those of you keeping score, that's the same day PS3 launches in Europe. Zoinks! And, finally, since Ken and I were both indisposed at the time of the BIG announcement, here are some shots of the limited edition collectors booklet "Destroyed Beauty." Who loves ya, fanboys?
The Xbox 360 summer showcase
Over the past couple of days here in New York City, Microsoft has been in town playing host to a few NYC game journos, giving us the opportunity to test drive all the latest titles you'll be seeing soon and even some peripherals, like the Xbox 360 camera.The games I'll talk about are Gears of War, The World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions, Dead Rising, Call of Duty 3, NBA 2K7, WWE: Smackdown vs. Raw, and Tony Hawk's Project 8. Check out my impressions after the break.
Emergence Day emerges as *gasp* Nov. 12
The reason viral gaming campaigns bug us is 'cause the hype never matches the delivery. Last Monday Epic's Mark Rein declared, with a theatrical wave of a rather ham-shaped hand, that there would in fact be a "BIG announcement coming next week." At the same time, in another corner of the gamerverse, XBL gamertags using the fictitious names of fictitious characters pleaded with eager (or disinterested) gamers, "We need your help. Can't talk now. Don't know who to trust. Will send more tomorrow." Codes were delivered, codes were broken, retail sites were apparently updated a little too early and now, on Thursday of the foretold "next week," we know the truth: Gears of War is coming out this fall ... specifically, November 12th! And gone is the Microsoft-published pricepoint of $49.99. This fall, $59.99 (with $69.99 special edition, natch) is the new $49.99. Yay?You see? It's just not that exciting. We already knew it was coming out this fall and educated guesses would have pegged November, just prior to the Nov. 17th PS3 launch, as a likely candidate. And announcing a higher than expected price isn't usually received very well (just ask Sony). Then again, maybe this isn't the BIG announcement. Maybe this is all part of a cleverly orchestrated plot by this guy to get our hopes up, dash them against the rocks like so many brains, and then, when we've hit bottom, throw a face melting Gears of War demo in our very melt-able, exceedingly cynical faces. Your move, Epic.
Epic's big GoW announcement decoded?
Here's an update on that GoW viral marketing scheme from last week. Amateur cryptologists at the Gears of War forum think they've decoded three mysterious messages from Xbox Live member "Mfenix" and come up with a date: November 12 -- presumably "Emergence Day" for the highly anticipated game. How they arrived at that conclusion is equally mysterious. Something about Ghengis Khan and a saxophone. Before you waste any mental energy on that one, keep in mind that we're still expecting a "big announcement" from Epic this week regarding the title. And now, with the seeds of hype firmly planted, Mfenix seems ready to turn things over to the rest of the marketing department. His final message says we can expect "confirmation" today.[Thanks hyJack]
GoW viral campaign on XBL?
An Xbox Live user by the name of MFenix (the main character in Gears of War is Marcus Fenix) is spamming confused gamers with the message "We need your help. Can't talk now. Don't know who to trust. Will send more tomorrow." See pics here. Is this a nascent viral marketing scheme, a bored GoW fanboy, or just CliffyB drunk on XBL? Whoever MFenix is, he doesn't game much. His gamerscore is zero with no games played and the motto "Offline...for now" (Too busy blasting Locust to cheese out Madden, I suppose). Several users in the Epic forums report receiving cryptic replies after contacting him. And, of course, the developers officially mum.Why do viral marketing campaigns, real or imagined, inevitably promote games that are already hyped to hell?[Thanks Seth]
Is Gears of War spamming Xbox Live users?
Tipsters bring word that perhaps some people within the Gears of War camp are spamming a few Xbox Live users. We were under the impression that Microsoft frowned upon the use of these kinds of tactics; in fact, the lack of spam is definitely one of the positives of the whole service. Either way, an Xbox Live user named MFenix (Marcus Fenix is the main character in GoW) is messaging users with the following:We need your help. Can't talk now. Don't know who to trust. Will send more tomorrow.Then followed up with:Thank you for your help. Don't trust messages from anyone but myself and Dom. He's using the covert name of LocustHordeH8r. They are everywhere, and even classified information sent here could be compromised. We're working on a code. More tomorrow.We've contacted Microsoft and they have refused to comment on the rumor or speculation. During the whole MI:3 fiasco, Microsoft's position was this: The recent communication to the customer was NOT sanctioned by Xbox Live. Microsoft's position is that the community will and should manage itself, through providing gamers with a voice they in turn take ownership and responsibility for their experiences. Supporting this, Xbox Live has a robust feedback system in place for situations exactly like this. If required, gamers can file a complaint in the system to report inappropriate behavior or language, which Microsoft will follow-up and investigate fully.Have any of you gotten this? Also, what's your take on using Xbox Live as a place for spam or viral marketing?[Thanks, Paul and Michael Piazza]
