Gears of War
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GOW pictures worth a thousand words
The Gears of War photoshop contest we told you about a couple of weeks ago has drawn to a close. If you don't remember, the object of the contest was to create a Gears of War image. That's it. Some funny (and not so funny) images were sent in to Aeropause and they have picked their winner and compiled some of the best entries into a single post. The entry pictured above is one of our favorites. Head over to Aeropause to check out the winning image (he gets Gears of War!) and some honorable mentions.
Gears of War is 'goldish,' CliffyB done
"My job as designer of Gears of War is, well, more or less done," writes CliffyB in his latest blog, titled "fin." The Gears lead designer is now off to fulfill his duties for the hype machine, leaving us to assume that Epic's game is gold and ready to lead Microsoft's holiday charge. Of course, Cliffy "can't speak to the status of gold" ... or can he? During a recent interview with Major Nelson, the designer clearly drops the "gold" word:"We actually found out like about week before we went gold that [the final boss] was actually too tough to beat, even on casual." [8:19][Thanks, Baker]
CliffyB puts his baby on the bus
In a post on his personal blog, Epic it-boy CliffyB says his work on the monumental gaming/hype event known as Gears of War essentially done -- save for the promotional tour:My job as designer of Gears of War is, well, more or less done. I can't speak to the status of gold or shipping but those of you familiar with development know that at a certain point you've just got to let your baby get on the school bus and hope for the best.The days of shipping a game and hopping on a plane for someplace warm to get the heck away are long gone. I've got a busy few weeks ahead of me filled with promotional events; a pair of them in everyone's favorite town of LA. Microsoft knows they're not launching a game anymore, ever since the smash of Halo 2 I think they've realized that they're launching entertainment itself. It's not just a game, it's a f---ing EVENT. Congratulations, Cliff, your hard work has earned your game a some precious time in my mental cycle. Now get to work on Gears of War 2.
X360F at the GOW "After Dark" event
A buddy and I hiked out to GameStop last night for the Gears of War "After Dark" event. You know, the one with the "exclusive" video that's been on the internet for a whole day now. Of course, the dinky YouTube video doesn't really do the game justice like a 42" HDTV (I forced myself not to watch the leaked video so I could see it on a big screen). We met some GOW fans, shot some (probably awful) video, and we even got some swag. Read on for our experience and X360F's first video evar -- shot by good friend and occasional commenter, thomdano (scroll to the bottom if the thought of reading about our visit makes you cringe).
X360F will be at Gamestop tonight [update 1]
Sure, we've all seen the video now, thus nullifying tonight's Gears of War event at GameStops around the US. In fact, Joystiq even told everyone there's really no reason to go. Call me stubborn then, because I'm going. A buddy of mine has even agreed to film it, assuming the GameStop goons will let us. What's more, I promise that any swag I receive will be swiftly given away right here on Xbox 360 Fanboy. So, if by some bizarre cosmic coincidence you happen to be reading this and live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, you can meet my buddy and me at the Woodland Hills GameStop (I'll be the guy in a red shirt that's being followed by another guy with a camera). Come by and chat with us about Gears of War. You might even see yourself on the internet without paying those nasty hosting fees!Is anybody bothering to go to their local GameStop? After all, you will get free stuff, and we're sure you'll see better quality video than the YouTube stuff we posted earlier. So, who's going?Update: The event is over now, and we have some fairly extensive coverage (and a video!). Check it out here.
EB / GameStop GoW preview video [update 1]
12 minutes of fresh Gears of War footage from the EB/GameStop preview! Update: Video is now embedded after the break. [Thanks Krazy Koala]
Don't bother tonight, see Gamestop's Gears video here
Select Gamestop stores are hosting a special Gear of War event tonight after closing up shop. Why didn't we tell you about this earlier? There are two reasons. First, they're only showing video of the game, it won't be playable -- yes, we're excited about it ... but not that excited. Second, the giveaways are pretty weak: lanyards and pins. Where's the free shirts or -- even better -- demo discs? Really, exclusive video content? Isn't this what Xbox Live was made for?Since we're loathe to recommend that you run down to your local Gamestop on a Saturday night to crowd in and watch video of a game you've undoubtedly pre-ordered and will be playing in a couple weeks, we're extremely pleased to present you with ... the very same video footage they'll be showing tonight! So, unless you have a real hankering for those lanyards and pins, and an absolute void where your social life should be, we think you oughta skip Gamestop tonight and start practicing for playing Gears.Video is embedded after the break, in two parts. One of the exclusive footage and the other is a clip of CliffyB telling folks they won't find that exclusive footage on the internet ... you mean, this internet?[Many thanks, geneticdefect!]
Gears of War achievements reveal new game details
Gears of War's 1000 gamer points will be distributed throughout 49 achievements. To earn these points, you'll have to beat all three difficulty levels (Casual, Hardcore, and Insane), and then beat the game again in co-op mode (using Dom); and at some point collect all the hidden COG tags (like 'dog tags'), taking out some particularly nasty Locust-types along the way. You'll also have to perfect the game's reload system and then take your skills online where, if you really must have every last point, like "Seriously ...", you'll need to amass 10,000 frags in ranked play.Browsing the list of Gears achievements does reveal some little known tidbits about the game (without revealing major spoilers): Single-player/co-op campaign is five acts, plus training level (the prison break) COG tags will be hidden, collectible items "Berserker" and "Corpser" are two of the Locust classes General RAAM is a boss Weapon names include: Boomshot, Torque Bow, Longshot, and Hammer of Dawn Gears was inspired by Brokeback Mountain, hence the "I Can't Quit You Dom" achievement [Thanks, Baker]
Sign up to play Gears of War early
It looks like registration for the Gears of War cemetery event is now open. What's more, it looks like another event is planned for Six Flags New England. So, sign up now for your chance to play Gears of War with celebrities who have no idea what it is (Paris Hilton heard it was "hot"). If you're lucky, you might even be invited to the private concert with aging metal band, Megadeth.[Via Major Nelson]
GOW launch event at a Hollywood graveyard
The marketing blitz for Gears of War is finally building up steam, as another GOW event is planned for this month (you gonna be at GameStop this Saturday?). The event, scheduled for October 26th at 12:01 AM, will be held in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in beautiful Los Angeles. The event -- part of "Match Made in Hell" month (sheesh) -- promises to mix up the likes of CliffyB and the GOW team, developers, game industry big shots, and even (gasp) celebrities. If you'd like to win a chance to attend, check out the "Match Made in Hell" website (as of this posting, registration has not opened for this event). It seems like Epic and Microsoft are really pushing the horror angle of Gears of War. Maybe we're just seasoned by marathon sessions of Silent Hill games, but GOW doesn't look all that scary to us. Hopefully, we'll hear a little more about it before the game ships.
Germany says NEIN to Gears of War
Entschuldigung Cliffy B, aber dein Spiel ist verboten! VERBOTEN! Germany's Unterhaltungssoftware Selbskontrolle (USK), the German version of the ESRB, has refused to give the upcoming Gears of War a rating due to the game's violence. This doesn't outright ban the game in the country, but puts it in a state of limbo. This is the second time in recent memory that the USK denied to rate a game due to violence, they used the same tactic on Capcom's Dead Rising. German gamers currently need to import Dead Rising from another European country to play.German politicking and regulations on video games has always been strong. Despite the Wolfenstein series' anti-Nazi message, images of swastikas and Nazism are still banned in the country -- unless in a historial context -- and therefore no Wolfenstein for the Germans. It is understandable that Germany might be a little sensitive on that whole Nazi thing; however, the USK not rating a game, whatever the reason, as a tactic to passive aggressively ban it is an insulting move against the German people. Doesn't the USK trust German gamers, especially adults, to make up their own minds?
Surprise! Gears banned in Germany
Another day, another violent game banned in Germany. It seems that Gears of War -- like Dead Rising before it -- has effectively been banned in Germany. This requires some explanation, as the game isn't technically banned. Basically, the ratings board -- charmingly named Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle -- refuses to dole out a rating at all. As a result, German stores will be unable to sell the game. It sounds worse than it is, though, because real German gamers know they can always import from Austria.Microsoft could retool the game and make it suitable for impressionable young Germans, but that would cause Live compatibility issues with other versions. Hence, banned. So, any bets on which game will be banned next? Our vote: Viva Piñata. Seriously, you can beat innocent piñatas to death in that game. It's sick.[Thanks, Bobby]
Gears demo rumor is shot down (again)
Epic guru, Mark Rein, has once again shot down the ever persistent Gears of War demo rumor. It flared up again yesterday when web denizens spotted the Gears of War demo graphic above. "Just saw the dog tag image with the "Microsoft points". It just isn't true. There is no demo coming out before the game ships and I have no idea if we'll do one after the game ships or not. Right now there are no plans to do one as I said earlier in this thread. I have asked Microsoft to take that image down."It's kind of weird when developers have to ask Microsoft to take something down. Makes us wonder how serious the split between Microsoft PR and developers really is.[Thanks, aragorn]
See GOW Live this Saturday!
What are you doing this Saturday? Would you like to see sneak peek of Gears of War? Then you'd best call up your local GameStop. This weekend, GameStop will be hosting a special Gears of War preview event. Held for one hour after store closing, participants -- 17 years or older -- will be treated to exclusive Gears of War video content and get some free swag to boot. It may not be as cool as, say, actually getting to play the game, but it's pretty sweet nonetheless. As an added bonus, GameStop will also be selling 3-month and 1-year Live cards for $5 off retail price. If you'd like to attend, call your local GameStop for details. Snap some pictures while you're there, and we'll post 'em right here on 360 Fanboy.[Thanks, delerious]
Gears demo is coming ... but will it cost you? [update 1]
[Update: Epic's Mark Rein shot this (admittedly unlikely) rumor down himself writing, "Just saw the dog tag image with the 'Microsoft points.' It just isn't true. There is no demo coming out before the game ships and I have no idea if we'll do one after the game ships or not. Right now there are no plans to do one as I said earlier in this thread. I have asked Microsoft to take that image down." This still doesn't explain why the Gears of War demo "dog tag" exists in the first place if there are no plans to make a demo, but at least Rein intimates there are no plans to charge for said demo.]Microsoft plans to promote their upcoming killer app with a playable demo, distributed digitally using their Xbox Live network. Sure, we're not certain when they'll do it -- all signs are pointing to a post-Gears release -- but we all knew they would. Now it's a question of why buy the cow (Gears of War in this case) when you can get the milk for free (that would be the Gears of War demo). If Gears doesn't have any trouble selling, best to sit on that demo until it does. Still with us?Well, one potential answer might be to get that delicious milk out to market sooner, but not give it away after all (we're still talking about the Gears demo here). A page on the British Xbox.com site very clearly lists "Gears of War demo" as an example of "content downloads in Xbox Live Marketplace," right next to pay content (like Joust, Pac-Man, and Frogger) and XBL currency (like oh, say, Microsoft Points logos and cards). Now, you'll recognize the Gamertag pics at the bottom are the freebies, so it's not like the image is comprised solely of pay-only items ... so is this simply an unfortunate layout?As for when that demo is coming, it wasn't released after Epic's first big tease (that was the retail date), or their second (which ended up being a new website), but we know of a couple 360 owners who wouldn't mind getting some free milk. We've contacted Microsoft to get their response on the possibility of paid demos and the plans for a Gears demo. [Thanks lord hobo; via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
A Gears of War demo after all? [update 1]
A savvy forum member over at Xboxic spotted something pretty interesting on the British Xbox.com. On the page explaining Marketplace and MS Points there's a graphic showing the fabulous things you can buy. Among them is a Gears of War demo. Could the previously denied demo be coming after all? Maybe, but then again, Epic hasn't said that there won't ever be a demo, just not before the game's release. This find seems to confirm the demo's existence, but that doesn't mean it's coming out any time soon. A worrisome note, why is the GOW demo grouped with all that premium content? I mean, demos are free, right? Right?[Via Xboxic]Update: This rumor has been officially canned. Click here for full scoop.
Behold! The GOW collector's tin
Xboxygen sends us this purty picture of the Gears of War collector's tin. The collector's edition, for those who don't know, contains a hardbound art book and a DVD full of extra features. It's interesting to note that this case is different from the cases we've grown to love for games like Halo 2 and DOOM 3. It looks like a normal plastic case could actually fit inside that tin (and maybe it does?). Yeah, yeah, we know, it's not exactly mind rattling news, but we can't resist even the tiniest Gears of War development. So, do you like the case? Will you fork over 70 bucks to get it?
GOW Photoshop contest
Richard -- still love that name -- over at Aeropause is hosting a Gears of War contest. The winner, naturally, will get a copy of Gears of War and plenty of swag to boot. Second place gets a GOW faceplate and swag, and third place just gets plain old swag. All you have to do is send in a GOW image that has been cleverly Photoshopped in some way. All winners will get their entry featured on Aeropause as well. Head over to Aeropause for all the details. We're not hosting the contest, but we'd love to see what you come up with anyway. Link your entry in the comments and maybe we'll feature it here. Now if we could just convince some companies to send 360 Fanboy some swag, maybe we could give stuff away. Any takers? Capcom, Epic, Microsoft? Anybody? [Thanks, Dan]
Teaser site reveals new GOW tidbits
The revamped Gears of War site has officially launched, brothers and sisters. The site is one of those interactive doohickeys akin to the Alone in the Dark and Condemned websites. You "play" as Marcus still trapped in his cell. When the lights black out, you're left with 4 matches to light up your surroundings. Highlight a message scrawled onto the wall and you can watch flashbacks that reveal the game's story and more about Emergence Day and the Locust horde. Anyone looking forward to Gears of War should check it out.[Via Gamerscore Blog]
Gear up...for more viral marketing
GearsForum admin Mark Reign has dispelled rumors (generated by Epic's own hype machine) that a GoW demo is on the way. Don't worry, Cliffy. we're all going to buy your game. Just get it on the shelf.
