gow2
Latest
GDC floorplan speculation with Epic, MS and Gears
TeamXbox put on their speculation hat today with their analysis of this year's GDC floorplan and how it relates to a possible Gears of War 2 announcement. Strap on your tin foil hats and chew on some for extra measure, because we're going in. Let's break down TeamXbox's speculative theory. This year at GDC Microsoft has outdone themselves and has paid for the largest floorspace of any company attending. And guess who has the second largest floorspace? No, not Sony or Nintendo, it's our friends over at Epic Games. And guess where their floorspace is situated. Correct, both Microsoft and Epic Games' GDC gigantic floorspaces are right next to eachother. Gasp! Taking everything one step further, both Microsoft and Epic have absolutely no partnership or connection other than their Gears of War roots. So, this all must mean that the massive amount of floorspace and close proximity means that we'll see a Gears of War 2 announcement at GDC! W00t! Or Epic just needs lots of room to showcase their Unreal Engine 3 and Microsoft wants to make a splash, because they're Microsoft and have money coming out of their ears. Meh, we prefer the Gears 2 speculation. It's more exciting and gives us something hope for.
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2007: God of War II
QTE. Quick Time Events. It stands proud as one of the most annoying video game design clichés in use today. You might remember them from games like Resident Evil 4 and the original God of War, described by game developers as a device that makes you feel like you're playing a cutscene, as opposed to watching it. It was so cool when we first saw it -- but when every single game ever decided to add QTE, it became less ... welcome.So, how did God of War II trick us into having so much fun with its QTE-riddled cinematics? Probably because the game remembered exactly what made these sequences fun. There was the all-important feeling of empowerment from these moment, where every button pressed felt like it had consequence. When we cracked Theseus' head open by slamming it into a door over and over again, we felt the same blood thirst that Kratos must have undeniably felt. We weren't pressing buttons simply because the game told us to. Rather, we pressed buttons because it intrinsically made so much sense. We were one with Kratos. RARGH! Some may argue that God of War II doesn't innovate enough to warrant any GOTY accolades. Hey, it's not like the first one really broke new ground either. (And that didn't stop the original from winning GOTY.) Instead, God of War II so finely executes what has already been done before. Giant boss battles are nothing new to video games, but those found here are exceptionally well placed (and paced!) throughout the game. Even the first level's backdrop is a giant animated statue that you ultimately go sword-to-face with. Each battle is filled with a ferocity, a viciousness that reminds you that these are very powerful gods and demons you're fighting.God of War II shows that the PS2 is still capable of producing wonderful gaming experiences. It highlights the true value of excellent design over pure technology, and offers so much of that all-important commodity we seek from games: fun. %Gallery-1588% Extreme fever! ->
Gears of War 2 pre-orders were on Amazon
We didn't want to post this, because we really didn't feel it to be newsworthy seeing that A) Gears of War 2 is nearly a guaranteed and B) retailers don't know anything more than we do when it comes to release dates. So, when news that Amazon.com was offering Gears of War 2 pre-orders with an expected release date of November 15th, 2008 our response was something along the lines of "so what?". Like we said, Cliffy already pretty much confirmed GoW2's existence in numerous interviews and Amazon.com simply wants to make a quick buck with pre-orders for a game that they have no release date for. But others thought it was newsworthy (tipsters included), so the GoW2 pre-order "news" has been making the internet rounds and now Amazon.com has pulled the listing. So, there you have it.You know, now that we've actually taken the time to put our fingers to the keyboard this is totally sounding like news. Funny, we guess we were wrong about this story all along. Oops.[Thanks, to (literally) all three thousand tipsters]
God of War 2 dev responds to public outcry
Remember that God of War 2 dev who thought the Wii's appeal was a novelty and wore off quickly? Well, he's posted a response to all who found his earlier claims to be too hard to digest. He goes on to say "First let me say I am not so quickly judging and writing off the wii..I am just saying what I played was not doing it for me. I think it is a good system...I just did not get bowled over with a sense of "Oh my god this is the future." He also goes on to say a few things in regards to the social appeal of the system, stating "When friends come over though...I will be playing the wii a whole lot more...cause it is fun in a social situation...like freaking Guitar Hero. I played the hell out of the first one for a week or so...but then it kind of wore off for me...I still played it, just not as much. Of course when I have people over it becomes fun again. So to me..right now...the wii is a great social machine...but when I want to sit around and get sucked into a game for a lengthy session I am not gonna be playing the wii." Again, has this guy heard of Twilight Princess? We sank 50 hours into the game before our final confrontation with the game's boss and found the experience to be one of the most immersive of our entire life.
God of War dev thinks Wii gets boring quickly
As a director for the upcoming Sony game God of War 2, Cory Barlog is no stranger to the game's industry. He knows the ins and outs, and (we imagine) has a large love for the medium. We'll tell you what he doesn't love though: his newly-acquired Wii. Upon getting the gift and opening it, Cory contributes "It was fun...but the wow factor wore off fairly quick."He goes on to talk a bit about the game he wanted to play most (how that wasn't Twilight Princess, we'll never know), saying "The one game I wanted to play, Trauma Center, was definitely a bit of a let down. The wiimote was woefully inaccurate and sapped the fun of the game. The Wii sports golf and bowling was cool...the boxing is freaking terrible though. In the end I hope to see some cool games come out of it, though it has me worried that the whole 'what new thing can you do with the controller' fad will wear off after awhile and I will have left is a much slimmer wireless gamecube." We can't say we share his opinions, but what about you guys? Do you think the system is headed where he sees it going?
