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Determine Carmine's fate in Gears of War 3, help Child's Play
The Carmine family is something of a running gag in the Gears of War franchise. More of a dying gag, really, considering a Carmine brother has suffered an undignified death in each game thus far. Naturally, we were all set to see another Carmine brother bite the big one in Gears of War 3 ... and then developer Epic Games threw a curve ball. Rather than putting a red shirt on the latest Carmine -- Clayton, the hulking brute you see above -- Epic is leaving his fate in your hands. Starting July 29, players will be able to buy two new shirts on Avatar Marketplace, one emblazoned with "Save Carmine" and the other with "Carmine Must Die." Each shirt purchased counts as a vote toward one fate or the other. The winning vote will then be implemented in Gears of War 3. We'd call it shameless ploy to sell virtua-shirts, but the proceeds will go to the Child's Play charity. If you're headed to Comic-Con this week, the NECA booth (#3145) will also be selling real versions of both shirts for $20. And yes, they do count as votes. Frankly, we'd like to see the Carmine family redeem itself, but we get the feeling that real Gears fans are kind of sadistic. We've placed a poll after the break to confirm our suspicions. %Gallery-97904%
Interview: Cliff Bleszinski on Gears of War 3
During E3, we managed to distract Cliff Bleszinski, design director for Epic Games and the face of Gears of War, long enough for an interview. Despite our intense interrogation, he remained a good sport throughout and offered us candid answers. The full interview follows. Joystiq: Most of the things we want to ask, you probably can't talk about yet -- like Gears 3 multiplayer ... Cliff Bleszinski: Can't talk about that yet. Okay, let's try it this way: in Gears 1, a lot of people complained about opponents being able to roadie run into them, stun them with a punch and then shoot them -- and you guys fixed that with updates. Are you concerned that the new spearing ability, with the retro Lancer, is going to lead to similar complaints in Gears 3 multiplayer? You know, we try our best that before we ship, we balance these things as much as possible. But when you release into the wild, you never know what the gamers are going to come up with. So in regards to the Lancer charge, we're going to try our best to, you know, play with it as much as we can and you never know. We did six title updates to Gears 2 and we continue to refine that experience. Matchmaking wasn't the best at the start, but we stand behind our products and continue to support them. %Gallery-90396%
Video: Gears of War 3 campaign demonstration
If you were absent, either online or otherwise, from the Microsoft press conference last week at E3, you probably missed out on Cliff Bleszinski's brief demonstration of Gears of War 3's single-player campaign. No worries -- through the power of internet magic, we've captured this moment in time and embedded it in a video posted after the jump. Now you can witness all the profanity, bloodshed and bayoneting from the safety and comfort of your own home.
Preview: Gears of War 3's Beast mode
Beast mode in Gears of War 3 is best described as "inverse Horde." It has you playing as the Locust while you go after waves of CPU-controlled human enemies, who pack Lancers, auto-turrets and even the Hammer of Dawn. As you progress through each wave, the humans become tougher -- both through their tactics and arsenal of weaponry at their disposal, not to mention the ticking of the clock menacingly counting down to zero in the background throughout each wave. And after my time playing this new mode, it's a brilliant fit for Gears of War. %Gallery-90396%
Bleszinski: Horde mode will return in Gears of War 3
We recently sat down (literally) for a chat with Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski here at E3 and grilled him on all things Gears of War 3. While he couldn't give us much on the planned changes to Versus mode, he did confirm that everyone's favorite co-op online mode from Gears of War 2, Horde mode, would in fact return in Gears of War 3. Even though Beast mode is in the limelight right now, it doesn't mean Epic Games has forgotten about Horde mode. "Everyone's assuming, for some reason, on my Twitter and stuff, that we're not going to have Horde," Bleszinski said. "Horde will be back. We're just not talking about it right now." You can look for our full interview with Bleszinski in the next few days.
Gears of War 3, now with Ice-T
That rumor about Ice-T playing a role in Gears of War 3? Totally true. The man himself took the stage at tonight's Gears of War 3 shindig in downtown LA, as indicated by Major Nelson on Twitter (and seen in the picture above, also care of Major's tweet). Apparently, he'll voice a character named Griffin, with Gears creator Cliff Bleszinski mentioning Ice "won't stop telling everyone about his role as Griffin in Gears 3." What's that, you say? You're just as excited as we are to hear Ice-T's debut gameplay voiceover role? Good! Now get back to reading about E3 2010, won't you? Update: Microsoft officially detailed Ice's character Griffin as the leader of "a rag-tag group of human survivors, known as the Stranded, who Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad will encounter as they battle the infected Lambent."
Recording artist Drake joins the cast of Gears of War 3
Successful young hip-hop upstart Aubrey Graham -- you may know him as "Drake," the pseudonym he took on upon entering the rap game -- will provide the voice of Jace Stratton, one of the new playable protagonists in Gears of War 3. Rabid fans of the series will likely recognize Stratton as one of the main characters from the comic books. Rabid fans of Degrassi will likely recognize Drake, because that dude was totally on Degrassi. On the subject of Drake's casting, Epic Executive Producer Rod Fergusson explained, "when we began casting for the role, 'So Far Gone' had just released, and Drake's combination of heart and grit was just what we were looking for." That sounds reasonable enough, though we suspect they might just be setting up the cast for the next next game in the series, Gears of Degrassi: The Next Infestation. You heard it here first, folks.
More Gears of War 3 shots than you can shake a Locust at
Click image to light up your eyes with new screens Maybe you were sitting around today, contemplating Gears of War 3, expecting some new screenshots to pore over -- if so, we'd say Miss Cleo has got some competition. Epic Games was kind enough to send us some weapon renders, concept art and even some new in-game shots. Feel free to take a spell in our gallery below and check out the new screens. We've got big dudes, bigger guns and even bigger mechs. What more could you want? %Gallery-94731%
Epic has high hopes for Unreal Engine 4, not worried about CryEngine yet
With the Unreal Engine 4 targeted for use on the next console generation (whenever that is), Epic President Mike Capps is confident that the product will have "better dominance" than its already ubiquitous Unreal Engine 3. Speaking with Edge, Capps notes the next console generation is "really murky compared to last time," but sees the next-gen tech hanging around the mean streets of the PC market. Capps also isn't getting antsy about Crytek's CryEngine 3 being the best solution for developers. He explained, "They've positioned themselves strongly as the 'we're gonna be on console, push one button and it's great on all three platforms' engine. ... They've yet to ship an Xbox 360 game and we're five years in. It surprises me that people take them seriously as a crossplatform engine company. We don't know how to compete against a company that hasn't shipped yet. It's all potential, so we'll see." Crytek previously stated its next engine would arrive in 2012. Now, the real question: will Crytek or Epic even have "next generation consoles" to sell these newfangled engines for in the next couple years?
The Gears of War story in 5 minutes
Gears of War 3 is only a year away so it's, like, totally imperative to brush up on the story thus far. IGN has compiled a little video feature that compresses all the twists and turns of Gears' epic story into five minutes. Obviously, the recap is full of spoilers, so it's probably best not to watch it unless you've played the first two games. Haven't played the first two Gears yet? Well, it's possible to pick up both for $50 or less. They're good games, we promise -- and there's still plenty of time to casually grind through them before the sequel emerges. For those who just want the quick recap fix, that's available after the break.
Gears of War 3 Avatar items emerge
Attention Gears heads: the promised Gears of War 3 Avatar items are now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. So far there are eight items in the collection, including T-shirts, sleeveless COG armor, a hat, and, sweetest of all, a Ticker Avatar pet. The items range in price from 80 ($1) to 320 ($4). Granted, it's not the same as actually playing Gears of War 3 -- which you won't be doing until next year -- but at least you can pretend, right?
Gears of War 3 dated April 5, 2011
The Gears of War "trilogy" will conclude on April 5, 2011 in North America, followed by Japan and Europe on April 7 and 8, respectively. The game, announced last Friday on the Xbox Dashboard, finally had its big (delayed) coming-out trailer last night on late-night national television. For those interested in Gears apparel for their Avatars, new items for the little scamps will be available beginning April 20, 2010. Items, like the new Gears 3 COG armor, can be picked up in the Avatar Marketplace, along with other Gears gear. Find pics of the COG armor in the gallery below. Update: The Gears 3 campaign will feature four-player co-op, according to Cliff Bleszinski. %Gallery-90396%
Watch the Gears of War 3 trailer right now
Why wait for Cliff Bleszinski to debut Gears of War 3 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon? Here's the trailer for the "worst-kept secret in the video game industry," posted to the Late Night website (and embedded above) ... before it's appeared on television. The trailer is prefaced by some banter with Mister B about his vintage Nintendo Power appearance and what makes a great game. The new game has playable female soldiers in it! Take that, Crackdown 2! Don't worry, it's still jam-packed with men who look like refrigerators and mellow music, like the famous Gears of War trailer (in this case, Sun Kil Moon's "Heron Blue"). Other elements mentioned by Cliff include new weapons and new aliens -- "crazy tentacle monsters" with mutating ability. Bleszinski said GOW3 will arrive "probably around April 8" -- one year after his Late Night appearance was supposed to be shown. Wouldn't that have been nice marketing? Oh, well. Update: Official release date is April 5, 2011. And catch Cliff's Late Night appearance after the break. %Gallery-90396%
Epic Games planning gala celebration to open Tokyo office
Fujisoft building in Akihabara [image source] Epic Games has announced the official opening of its Japan office -- on April 15, the company will hold an event in the Fujisoft Building in Tokyo's Akihabara district, and the guest list includes a few gaming luminaries, including No More Heroes' Suda51, Halo Legends producer Joseph Chou and, of course, Epic Games' Tim Sweeney and Jay Wilbur will be there as well. Cliff Bleszinski won't be in attendance -- he'll be delivering an address via video, which we presume will come from the underground bunker where he's working on Gears of War 3. Taka Kawasaki will also be there -- he's the "territory manager" for Epic Games Japan, and he'll give a short address about the purpose of the studio, which will be to handle both licensing and tech support for Unreal Engine 3 in the region with a team hired starting last year at TGS. This will be the sixth such center for Epic, which also operates centers in North Carolina and Utah, and overseas in Poland, Shanghai and Seoul. There was one set up on the far-off planet of Sera, but unfortunately it was destroyed by a giant worm. We're told Sera-based licensees should call Utah if they happen to need engine support.
CliffyB: 'Two upcoming games' on Monday's Late Night; Us: It's totally Bulletstorm and Gears of War 3
When Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski got bumped from last night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon because of a Justin Bieber-shaped "scheduling conflict," someone forgot to tell the Xbox Dashboard programming team who, inadvertently, spoiled Mr. B's big reveal: Gears of War 3. Re-booked for Monday's show with no big reveal has left Epic Games with only one alternative: reveal a second game! CliffyB took to Twitter with the following comment: "NEWSFLASH: Two announcements about two upcoming games on Monday. BOOM!" Lucky for them, Epic has a second game that's just about ready for its close-up, People Can Fly's Bulletstorm. Now, he didn't say specifically that Bulletstorm would be the second "upcoming" game, but the pieces are certainly in place. Take, for example, the cover of next month's Game Informer magazine, which can already be found floating around various corners of the internet. Of course, Epic could simply be following Nintendo's lucrative Pokemon strategy and releasing two editions of Gears of War 3. If so, might we suggest Gears of War 3 Brown and Gears of War 3 Gray? [Update: Not ones to let some internet scans steal their story, the Game Informer crew has come right out and said it, albeit a few days earlier than planned: "The latest issue of Game Informer Magazine [has a] world-exclusive look at People Can Fly's upcoming shooter, Bulletstorm." They've got some higher-res art too, if you're interested.]
Rumor: Gears of Wars 3 details emerge
With this morning's Dashboard surprise (or slipup), we've learned that Gears of War 3 is scheduled to emerge on Xbox 360 next April. Given that Edge Online's earlier prediction of an April 2011 release for the game was spot on, the latest details from the site's anonymous source, said to be in US publishing, could certainly be accurate. From piloting a mech (allegedly appearing in single- and multiplayer modes) to the sequel's summer setting (reported to feature underwater levels, presumably to cool off), the report makes for an interesting read if you're wondering where Marcus and crew could possibly end up next year. As for the bad guys, the Locust Horde is said to be evolving alongside the game's setting, spawning "tentacle-like appendages," which can attack players that are in cover. We've reached out to Microsoft and Epic for confirmation of any of these details, but, like Edge was told, we imagine the best we'll get is, "We don't comment on rumor or speculation."
Gears of War 3 announced by ... your Xbox
We actually hadn't heard that Gears of War 3 was announced -- wasn't Cliff Bleszinski's big reveal bumped to Monday? -- but thanks to the marvels of modern technology and inattentive switch flippers, our Xbox 360 has brought us up to speed. The menu item (shown above) in the Xbox Spotlight channel doesn't lead to any further information, but does seem to confirm that "the epic story concludes April 2011." [Update: It's gone now.] Oh no, all our GoW trilogies are coming to an end! [Thanks, Daryl]
Gears of War director to debut new game on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
It must be warming up outside the epic Games HQ in North Carolina, because Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski is gearing up to debut his latest game. The news comes from none other than Late Night host (and friend of games) Jimmy Fallon, who's tweeted that, "Game designer Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) debuts his new game on Late Night next Thur. Set your TiVos! And your Xboxes." If, like us, you're already grabbing your remote to do just that, Late Night airs on NBC at 12:35/11:35C and Mr. Fallon is specifically referring to the show that will air the night of Thursday, April 8 (or very early Friday, April 9 depending where you live). Any guesses that don't rhyme with "deers and boars tree?"
Rumor: Gears of War 3 in April 2011
A few things in this life are certain: Oprah will have a new book for you to read every month and you can bet there's a new Gears of War in the works. Edge says a source has put a pin in April 2011 as the release window for the third entry in Epic's series -- and we should expect the first teaser trailer next month, on April 8, with a full-on reveal at E3 in June. "Microsoft's keen to avoid a clash with Halo: Reach and wants Natal to own Christmas," alleges Edge's source. "That's why we won't be seeing Gears Of War 3 until next year, but expect a major marketing push ahead of its release." Recently, Epic prez Mike Capps hinted at a major game announcement to be made by the studio during E3. Additionally, EA has teased a "Shooter from Epic" due just before April in Q1 2011.
Rumor: Gears of War 3 in 2010, 5-player co-op
Okay, get this. CVG is reporting that the new issue of EGM features a Gears of War 3 rumor. Come on, that's just silly. Everyone knows that Cliff and the gang have "never announced" a trilogy. (Why do it now?) Besides, suggesting that Gears of War 3 will be released during holiday 2010 is just a little too obvious -- don't you think? Gears 1 in 2006. The sequel in 2008. And part three in 2010? No way. Everyone knows you're supposed to wait three years between the second and third games. And what's this about Gears 3 featuring a "five-player co-op" mode? Ridiculous. There's no way Marcus and Dom's relationship has room for a third wheel, let alone a fourth and fifth. Move along. Nothing to see here.
