If you’ve ever played Gears multiplayer with me, you probably heard me scream “he’s freaking glitching!” on more than one occasion. Well the Gears of War sequel was in attendance at Glitch Fest 2000. Check out the full list of glitches features in the video above.

I can’t decide if the maker(s) of this video loved the game or hated it. I personally loved it and wasn’t bothered by (nor do I remember) any of these glitches features. I will admit that after the first minute, I tabbed into another application and listened to the audio from the clip. Enjoy.

Source: Kotaku

Richard Garriott, aka Lord/General British, aka spaceman extraordinaire, has done a lot of great things in his life, exiting the Earth’s orbit notwithstanding. The Ultima games are landmark Western RPGs, and if it weren’t for Ultima Online you wouldn’t be playing World of Warcraft today.

Tabula Rasa, though, doesn’t really stand as much of a testament to the fellow. That’s not just my opinion – it’s Amazon.com’s as well. Previously listed as $4.99, it now costs a paltry $0.96. This is no database error – it’s been at that price for a few days now.

I didn’t play TR, but I heard it was pretty dang awful. It presumably still comes with 30 days of free subsriciption – but is it still even worth it when you’re paying more for shipping than you are the game itself? Sound off if you’ve played this thing, and let us know if it’s worth 100 of our precious pennies.

This just in from the world of “things that make you go hmmm” news. In an interview with Irish radio station RedFM, Cliff Bleszinski jokingly (we hope) shared his thoughts on the popularity that comes with being one of the most well known game devs on the planet.

His comment (shown below) gives the impression that young boys voluntarily shed their underoos in his presence.

“This would be a great job if I wanted to sleep with 15 year-old boys,”

The King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, is transforming Neverland Ranch into a giant game development studio as we speak. Video games and amusement park rides?!? I’m well over 15 and even my pants are about to come off.

Yes, I totally wrote about this just so I could make the Michael Jackson reference. Sue me.

Source: VG247

Leave it to CliffyB to raise the bar. Some of us here at Ripten certainly see Gears of War’s world as more than a mere backdrop for chainsaw duels and Mountain Dew-fueled testosterone fests.

But would we go as far as this? That photo pictured above – of Dom, Marcus Fenix’ right hand bro, and his girl – the subject of much melancholy in the ad campaign and supposedly the focal point of Dom’s story in Gears 2? You can own it for yourself – it comes with the Limited Edition of the game. CliffyB has his own, and he keeps it close at all times, more so than you’d imagine.:

“I keep it in my wallet,” Bleszinski told EDGE to their surprise. It’s good to know he’s that invested in his characters’ stories…

Personally I really don’t give a hoot about Dom’s sob story, but I know that game developers, no matter the game, must obviously take the worlds they create very seriously. Few of them, I imagine, carry them in their wallets.

I haven’t played Fallout 3. But please, somebody who has, please tell me: do all the NPCs have bulletproof adamantium skulls? I understand every action in the game is determined by stats and behind-the-scenes dice rolls, and that the game isn’t an action game or a shooter, but this is pretty ridiculous, and if it’s not totally indicative of what actually goes down in the game, well, it’s at least funny.

32 headshots. Ouch. Hit the jump and see it for yourself.

G4TV’s Adam Sessler shares his words of wisdom with us once again in the latest edition of Sessler’s Soapbox. The gloves come off as Adam delves into the often shady reality of exclusive content and washes it down with a tall glass of New Yorker/Gears of War kick-ass. Sessler in COG armor is enough to scare even the biggest locust back underground.

Hit the jump and prepare to be rant-ified.

The word on the Locust infested streets of Sera is that Legendary Pictures is looking to purchase Epic Games. No clue as to whether or not the companies would change their name, but they might as well go for “Uber,” I can’t really think of any thing else that tops Epic or Legendary (Artifact perhaps?)

The two studios have been working closely with each other on the film adaptation of Gears of War, and apparently have bonded over a love of Chainsaw Bayonets, leading to speculation that the purchase is at the very least being discussed seriously.

Legendary Pictures’ chairman Thomas Tull has shown interest in video games before, as he was co-founder of publisher Brass Entertainment, but subsequently left, as the company was focused on Hollywood licensed productions, and we all know how those tend to go.

So perhaps Tull has gotten a taste for gaming and is looking for a real company to get involved with. He could certainly do much worse than Epic, which owns the Gears of War franchise and the Unreal Engine.

Legendary offered no comment but Epic had some nice things to say about Legendary, which at least indicates they play well together, so getting hitched isn’t totally out of the question.

“We have publicly announced that Epic and Legendary are partnering on the “Gears of War” movie. We’re very excited about that project and have the highest regard for Thomas Tull and his organization,” said a spokesperson for Epic.

The pairing would provide Epic with whole helluva lotta money, and Legendary would get an epic game studio (sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Stay tuned for more info as it comes.

Source: Variety

There’s a new Gears 2 TV spot/trailer that hit today – it’s another minute-long meditative piece in the vein of Gears 1’s “Mad World” spot that captured the hearts of so many. It’s got the same somber but pretty soundtrack, Marcus looking glum, minimal exposition, the works. Personally I think it’s a much better piece of advertisement than its predecessor, but the jury’s out on the larger consensus among gamers.

Now, the Gears of War franchise being something that’s very male, I wondered if maybe this ad would have enough artistic sway to win someone over who’s not exactly into big dudes with soul patches and chainsaw bayonets. Someone like my girlfriend.  After all that’s what these ads are designed to do – make the game seem like something more sophisticated than dudes killin other dudes.

Hit the jump to watch the clip, and to hear what my better half has to say.

So here’s the ad:

My initial thought was “this isn’t going to work like ‘Mad World’ did for people who don’t know anything about the game” because people aren’t going to get that these guys are riding drills underground to go fight aliens. I thought it assumed a little too much and failed for that, even though I thought it was artistically and emotionally more powerful than “Mad World”.

So I showed it to my girlfriend. Her name is changed for anonymity’s sake:

(4:27:58 PM) Mary Beth: i found it quite appealing
(4:28:02 PM) Mary Beth: it was mysterious
(4:28:17 PM) Mary Beth: and i liked the intro
(4:28:25 PM) Mary Beth: personal touches and stuff
(4:28:56 PM) Mary Beth: the big guns weren’t as deterring as they could have been
(4:29:02 PM) Mary Beth: cause i really felt the sense of mission

Sounds like it worked the way it was made to. The personal and emotional qualities shone through and pulled her in even though she hates guns. But what about the aforementioned confusion about the drills and such?

(4:29:32 PM) Me: people were saying “nobody’s going to get this ad because they have no idea that they’re going underground to fight aliens”
(4:29:40 PM) Mary Beth: i figured that out
(4:29:46 PM) Me: uhh
(4:29:55 PM) Mary Beth: i mean, i saw the other things going underground
(4:29:58 PM) Mary Beth: and then they got in one
(4:30:07 PM) Me: but how did you figure there’d be aliens
(4:30:08 PM) Mary Beth: and they always fight aliens, don’t they?
(4:30:19 PM) Mary Beth: it looked weird down there
(4:30:23 PM) Mary Beth: aliens would make sense

Microsoft has a hell of an advertising team. They’re smart enough to know that maybe holding off on some exposition works, too. Because it’s always aliens. You can count on people to assume that.

I’m sorry to say that while I consider myself a fairly loyal Gears of War fan, it’s my opinion that the gang at Epic overcomplicated their most recent attempt to market Gears 2.

I have tried to focus long enough to figure out what the hell the mystery COG tags point to, but despite the multitude of posts around the web claiming to have all the answers, I simply can’t bring myself to give a fuck any longer.

Seriously, unless cracking the code grants me a few hours alone in the Playboy Mansion grotto with two handfuls (you read that right) of Playboy Bunnies, it’s just too much work.

What do you think? Are you interested in complex marketing attempts, or would you prefer that companies “keep it simple stupid.”

With the release of Gears 2 quickly approaching, I decided that it might be a good time for me to take a quick roadie run down Sera Lane — one that involves a three-hour “I refuse to accept no as an answer” road trip. Those who know me won’t be surprised, but looking back, even I wonder what the hell I was thinking.

When the first Gears was announced, I was probably one of the few people that hadn’t been aware of the game’s hype. Epic’s new IP was brought to my attention by a friend I had spent countless hours playing Call of Duty 2 with on Xbox LIVE.

He kept telling me about this “Mad World” commercial that I just had to see. I repeatedly brushed it off with responses like, “Yeah OK, let’s go play some more COD2.” Then one day while channel surfing, I stumbled on the commercial he had been harping about.

There haven’t been many gaming-related “oh shit” moments for me that took place prior to actually playing a game, but this commercial was certainly one of them. The Gears of War “Mad World” trailer combined a soothing melody with harsh visuals to create what I found to be a near-perfect balance of inner peace and outer chaos.

No less than ten minutes later, I was on YouTube replaying it over and over, and the next few weeks of XBL buddy chat consisted of me singing the Mad World theme song into the ears of my extremely patient online friends. The TV spot piqued my interest in the game, and it wasn’t long before I found myself reserving it at my local GameStop. Reservation? Check! Everything under control? Not so much.

I woke one morning (it was probably more like noon) to the sound of my cell phone alerting me of a new voicemail message. After playing the excited message from my friend, who had just got his copy, I realized that some GameStop locations were selling their pre-orders before others. A quick call to the one I had reserved my copy at opened my eyes to two things: 1) my GameStop had yet to get the games, and 2) GameStop reservations are not transferable to other locations.

My reservation was made at a location just outside of Boston, and while the location actually in Boston got the game, they wouldn’t honor the reservation I made at the other location. I was told, “Sorry, there’s no way you can play the game today.” Wrong answer.

I got on the horn and started calling every GameStop that I could find until I found one that was willing to help me out. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was about three hours away in Connecticut. So I gathered up some food and drink, hopped into my car, drove from Massachusetts to Connecticut, purchased the game, shared my story with a few Gears fans in-store, exchanged gamertags, got back in my car, and drove back with the following scene from Road Trip looping through my head.

Tell me not to play? I think not! After all of that, you would think I got home and played the hell out of the game, right? Wrong. I powered up my 360 and didn’t even make it through the intro tutorial before a sense of disappointment set in. It might have been the fact that I was exhausted, but I wasn’t really feeling the controls (which is funny looking back on it now), and so I powered my system down and didn’t play the game again for days.

Eventually, I got a call to take the game online and experience Gears multiplayer with some buddies. I never looked back. From that point forward, I became “Cole Train”, belting out “woot woot baby” after every kill. The controls, which where admittedly different, grew on me and became second nature. Anything that got in my way was greeted by a roadie run/diving roll combo, topped off with a shotgun blast to the face!

To put things into perspective, my friends and I spent an ungodly amount of time playing COD2 online, but even that paled in comparison to the amount of time we invested into Gears multiplayer. Innovative weapons like the Torque Bow, Hammer of Dawn, and Chainsaw Bayonet kept us coming back for more.

New maps were eventually released, and updates were made to fix some issues gamers ran into as gameplay evolved (i.e. sticky bomb abuse, roadie run exploits, etc.), but like any game, over time people moved on to newer titles.

Bethesda began their marketing campaign for FallOut 3, and I found myself comparing their initial commercial to the Gears “Mad World” TV spot, even going as far as asking readers which cinematic presentation they preferred. Around that same time, rumors began to circulate about a sequel to Gears (imagine that) and interests started to perk again. Nothing could be confirmed, and speculation set in that an announcement would be made at the upcoming Game Developers Conference.

It wasn’t long before I found myself in the front row of the Microsoft GDC Keynote, and as expected, the Gears sequel talk cut through the crowd like a chainsaw tearing open a Locust’s chest. I overheard a crew member for another site confirm that the game would be announced as he directed his camera man to “make sure he got the shot of Cliffy coming on stage at the end.” So, like any good blogger, I called the tip in to the home team and “Gears 2 Confirmed” hit the front page of our site.

Since then, a lot has happened. The dueling chainsaw feature we predicted from GDC was confirmed, and a slew of new features were revealed. Five-man team support, meat shields, revamped executions, new weapons, achievements, and an in-game achievement tracker have got the Gears community buzzing at an all time high.

With the original Gears of War “Mad World” trailer deemed an instant classic by many, including myself, Epic was tasked with introducing the world to Gears 2 with the same level of quality and cinematic flair. While different in its approach, the “Rendezvous with Death” trailer is both well-executed and multi-purposed as it prominently highlights one of the game’s new features: the meat shield.

In addition to the TV spot, Epic went all out with online and offline marketing as well. Unleashing splash page mystery images, developer diaries, and most recently sending various media outlets their own brand of giant decoder rings in the form of metal COG tags. With everything from Gears of War shoes, to books, to user-designed case mods, it’s obvious that Marcus and the boys are in high demand.

The game that was once referred to as “bigger, better, and more badass” by the lead designer himself may no longer be officially represented as such, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t be all of those things. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am extremely excited about the Gears of War 2 release and will make sure that I’m fully prepared to terminate Locust come November 7th. See you online beeshes!!!

Title: Gears of War 2 Publisher: Microsoft Rating: Mature Content: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language Platforms: Xbox 360 The gears of war continue to turn as Marcus Fenix and his squad of Cogs go back into action in the sequel to Microsoft and developer Epic Games’ blockbuster action title.

In a recent interview, Cliff Bleszinski talked a bit about his opinion on Resistance 2, and how it might affect the sales of GoW2. Since the two games will be shipping in the same week there might be a bit of competition in sales, despite the sci-fi shooters being released exclusively on different consoles.

Bleszinski shoots down the speculations that this might be cause for bad blood between himself and the CEO of Insomniac Games, Ted Price, stating:

“Ted (Price) is a wonderful guy and I think they do great work. Everybody loves this dynasty shit where they want to see Ted and I fighting in a fountain pulling each other’s hair or something like that. Sorry, but it’s not going to happen. They’re making their own sci-fi extravaganza, as are we. When you break it down and look at each game, it’s largely apples to oranges.”

Granted, it’s more like comparing sepia apples to glowing oranges (has anyone else noticed that everything in Resistance 2 glows orange?). It’s still interesting to see that while these two games might fall under the same genre, they will probably both offer completely different experiences when it comes to gameplay and story.

Which one will you be buying this November?

Source: Dasgamer.com

The latest installment of the Gears of War 2 Developer Diaries, titled “Never Fight Alone”, gives us an inside look at some of the changes made by Epic to improve the mulitplayer aspect of Gears 2.

Highlights include the addition of stopping power when firing at advancing targets, crawling when you’re down, new multiplayer modes, maps, and a candid discussion regarding the influence of psychological warfare.

Have at the video after the jump.

First there was the Lancer Assault Rifle replica. Now, for your consideration, the brain trust at Globe skate footwear bring you the Gears of War Special Edition Co-op shoe. Chainsaw bayonet not included.

The website declares that:

“Globe has teamed up with EPIC and their Gears of War video game, one of the best selling combat video games of all-time, to bring you a Special Edition Co-op shoe based on Globe’s Fusion Model. This one comes with a big pop of the Gears of War icon inside and out.”

What exactly is a “shoe of war” made of? It features spandex, breathable mesh, and kinetic EVA cushioning for flinging oneself behind strategic cover whilst taking fire.

The shoe is planned to be priced $70 – $80 and comes in sizes men’s sizes 5 through 14. Must have for the fashionable shod gamer – or 15-year-olds who have too bilked too much money from their parents.

No work yet on whether or not Gears commando Marcus Fenix has endorsed the shoe, but early word from his publicist is that “the triple stitching aids in the crushing of Locust trachea quite nicely.”

Have something you think we should show on Geeked-Out? Email it to us.

Source: globe.tv

By now you have likely heard that the highly anticipated Gears of War 2 will not be making its way to your PC. Assuming that you wanted to play it there in the first place, the news may have come as a disappointment to you.

Personally, I don’t play very many games on my PC, with the exception of an obscure MMO called World of Warcraft that you may or may not have heard of. Regardless, according to the PC Gaming Alliance, which I had the opportunity to speak to at the past GDC, the PC gaming population is alive and growing. Epic Games VP, Mark Rein, is a member of this alliance which also includes representatives from NVIDIA, Dell, Intel, Gateway, and others.

That said, I decided to reach out to Mark and ask him personally about his company’s decision to not release Gears 2 on the PC. Specifically, I reiterated the statements made in a recent interview, by his lead designer (CliffyB if you live under a rock), where he had cited piracy concerns as the reason for the focus on the 360.

Here’s the problem right now; the person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know BitTorrent to know all the elements so they can pirate software. Therefore, high-end videogames are suffering very much on the PC.

Right now, it makes sense for us to focus on Xbox 360 for a number of reasons. Not least PCs with multiple configurations and piracy.

I asked Mark to respond to the statements made by his designer, stating “Your lead designer has been quoted saying that piracy is the main concern”, to which he responded:

The reason we decided not to develop Gears 2 for PC was so that we could focus our resources on making Gears 2 the best possible Xbox 360 game it could be rather than splitting them across multiple platforms like we did with the first one. I think Gears 2 will be a better game for it and that this was the right decision.

Mark’s response makes no mention of piracy as a deterrent in the game’s creation for the PC, and by not doing so it almost directly contradicts it as the motive. Taking Mark at his word, it is still hard pill to swallow for PC gamers.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with Cliff’s savvy consumer analogy, you can hardly disagree that piracy adversely effects the bottom line of digitally distributed media creators. Some may argue both points as rubbish, and it would be their right to do so, but I can understand the logic behind both.

Finally, I asked Mark about the piracy concern in general on PC’s and if he and the PCGA had any plans to deal with the concern in the future, to which he responded:

“This issue is something we’re looking at as a group …”

He then added that I would be better served contacting the group’s Intel representative for further insight into their plans, which I fully intend to do. There was a time not long ago when piracy was a major concern for consoles, but due to technology advances, that has become less of a mainstream problem. Here’s to hoping a solution is arrived upon for the PC sooner rather than later.

To quote Cole Train (my favorite Gears character) “Who loves ya, baby?” The answer — CliffyB loves you baby. And to prove it, he is apparently giving Gears fans five original Gears 1 maps in Gears 2. The list, according to the latest issue of GamePro magazine, includes Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion (my hands down favorite), and Tyro Station.

To get your hands on this release date DLC for free you will need to turn in the voucher code included with each new purchase of Gears 2.

Source: evilavatar.com

Though Cliffy says that your goal in Gears 2 is to kill the Locust “potentially once and for all”, something tells me that the more people that try to kill them on the game’s release date, the more likely they will resurface again and again. Just a hunch.

The latest installment of the Gears of War 2 Dev Diary digs deeper into the plot behind the sequel, promising  a plot that extends beyond Marcus focusing more on the Delta Squad as a whole.

The “angry white man”, the “half hispanic” jokester, the “charismatic african”, and the “caucasian anti-hero” will be fleshed out for your gaming enjoyment soon enough. My popcorn is ready, and my sixty bucks is in a safe location waiting patiently.

Check out the video after the jump.

New Fracture Multiplayer footage surfaced in the form of a walkthrough. I tried really hard to watch it, and focus only on the game itself, but all I could think was “oh my God, that is going to be CliffyB in twenty years.”

Is it just me or does that guy’s over the top dude-a-riffic enthusiasm seem a bit like someone else we know? Hey, I’m all for Seth Benton, Senior Multiplayer Lead, being excited about his own product — I’m just saying that it sounds like this is the first time “SethyB” is seeing his own game in action.

Anyway, the game does look pretty “awesome”, so “totally” check it out after the jump.

Source: Kotaku

On Nov. 7, Amazon.com is offering a special promotion with the yet to be released Gears of War 2: a replica COG Lancer Assault Rifle.

Evidently no replica Locust torso is available to saw through. Bollocks.

The replica Lancer comes complete with the infamous chainsaw bayonet and what appears to be Locust blood spattered liberally.

According to J. Mennella, who commented on the Amazon.com offer, he/she/it claims that they were able to handle it at the San Diego Comic Con and that “it lights up and makes noises. And its pretty heavy too.”

While Gears of War fans may be panting over the offer, I’m waiting for Games Workshop to offer a working chainsword for Dawn of War II. Though nothing of the kind has been announced, I can only wait with baited breath for such a thing to be available to all budding Space Marines, lumberjacks, and Canadian bus riders.

Link: amazon.com

After being nominated as some of the people in videogaming that need to “shut the fuck up“, Cliff Bleszinski and Mark Rein take it to the ring to decide which of the two of them wins the right to shut up more. Using the photo upload tools in EA’s new game Facebreaker, I was able to poorly reconstruct these two mammoths of mutilating machismo and let them do their thing. Video follows.

Mark came out swinging and really had Cliffy on the ropes, but the Blaznats is no bitch and came back with a vengeance. Too bad there’s a time limit — we’ll have to wait until the game releases in September to see what would happen if they weren’t confined to mere 90-second slap fights.

P.S. Does anyone else get the overwhelming urge to barf all over the place whenever they are subjected to EA Trax, or is that just me?

As one would imagine, Gears of Wars 2 has a pretty strong presence at Comic-Con 2008. Aside from talking about the upcoming film adaptation, Cliff Bleszinski also discussed a few things about the game, one of which being the inclusion of “linked achievements.”

The way linked achievements will work is that if a player has certain achievements from the first Gears of War unlocked, the player will receive special rewards in Gears 2. Scroll down for a few examples, but keep in mind that these could be considered spoilers.

You’ve been warned!

• Completion of Act One in Gears 1 unlocks a playable Anthony Carmine in Gears 2
• Gathering 10 COG tags in Gears 1 unlocks Minh Young Kim in Gears 2
• Killing Raam in Gears 1 unlocks a playable Raam in Gears 2

Those three were the only ones revealed, but I would assume that there will be more. I think it’s a cool idea and hats off to the Epic crew for being innovative.

Continuing our coverage of Comic-Con 2008, during a Gears of War panel, the developer formerly known as CliffyB was asked about the upcoming film adaptation of his beloved shooter. Read what he had to say after the break.

Everyone knows that videogame-to-film adaptations have a pretty awful track record, so Cliff started off by addressing just that.

“Look, we know that video game movies have been pretty bad, but just think how bad comic book movies were for such a long time.”

With The Dark Knight getting rave reviews and smashing box office records left and right, it’s a great time to point that out. Cliff then goes on to say that they aren’t just looking at any buff, meaty guys to fill the roles.

“I know people have ideas where they want to see some wrestler, some huge buff guy. The thing we care most about is charisma, someone you’d want to watch for two hours.”

It’s an odd choice of words, as professional wrestlers are very charismatic. Still, I get what he’s saying.

Gears of War is currently set to hit theaters Summer 2010.

The recent GearHeads podcast shed light on several new features, as well as changes to the old, that will debut in the highly anticipated Gears of War sequel. While some of the changes may not thrill you, the long list of enhancements proves (if nothing else) that Epic listens to their fans, and is not willing to simply rely on past success.

Hit the jump for the list along with my two cents on each feature.

Gruesome Torque Bow Headshots: Landing a successful headshot will tear your opponents head off and adhere it to the nearest structural object until detonation. If Epic applies the “chicken with its head cut off” theory, this could end up being a shit load of fun to watch go down.

Look Mom, No Stun: Anyone who has ever had their close range attack interrupted by a well timed pistol whip will be happy to know that Epic is eliminating the ability to stun an opponent with melee attacks. If you were a fan of this tactic however, sorry, but CliffyB just shit in your Cheerios.

Boom-Shaka-Reload: One of the most uber cheese weapons (if used correctly) from Gears 1 was undoubtedly the Boomshot. The second installment of the weapon now comes with four rounds instead of two, and allows the user to fire two simultaneous as a successful active reload bonus.

Active Snipe No More: If you are that active reload assassin who started each match by making a mad dash for the sniper rifle, you will be disappointed to hear that your bread and butter attack strategy is no more. Learn to live with faster reload and a slight increase to damage, or move on to another weapon.

Downed By Your Own Grenade: It was announced previously that this installment of Gears would allow gamers to mount grenades to walls allowing them to act as proximity bombs. That said, while a grenade mounted to a surface by your own teammate will not hurt you in passing, if an enemy shoots it while you are near, it will knock you on your ass. This seems like fair game to me and I am glad Epic threw this in.

Smoking Is Bad For Your Health: While not the single target damage whore many of us hoped for, the Scorcher allows for AOE type damage when going up against multiple opponents. In addition, its flames can temporarily blind a target. Visually, the weapon gives those hit by its blast radius an orange glow comparable to that of a cigarette.

Careful, You’re Bleeding: Critically injured enemies will now leave a trail of blood after being hit by a weapon that fires bullets. A great idea that will definitely help aggressive types hunt down runaways.

Head Over Shield: Shields will not only provide cover to pistol toting gamers, but those that maneuver their way in close enough, will be able to perform a decapitating execution move with their shield. It also appears that more than one individual will be able to benefit from a shield, as a teammate will be able to hide behind the holder and provide additional firepower.

Keep Your Distance, Or Else: A well timed toss of the new poison grenade will take out a group of tightly packed opponents with little effort. While the smoke emitted from this grenade type will be distinctive, it is best that you and your buddies don’t ride each others ass Socom style.

So there you have it. The podcast contains a good chunk of new information, but due to some editing issues outlined by the host durring the intro, it is at times a chore to listen to. I’m pretty confident that I got all of the main points down, but if you get the urge to listen in yourself, you can download the file here.

Cliff Bleszinski, lead game designer of Gears of War 2, cites Metal Gear Solid as the kind of game Epic doesn’t want to make. What were his exact words? Read on to find out.

In a recent interview with IGN, CliffyB was quoted in saying the following:

“Metal Gear Solid is our example of the game we’re not doing. Passive entertainment is on its way out.”

The story itself is just IGN’s preview of Gears multiplayer, which is interesting, but CliffyB’s quote kinda came out of nowhere. Am I sensationalizing this, or did CliffyB just totally dis Metal Gear Solid?

Source: xbox360.ign.com

As you may have noticed, Day Three exploits are going up a little later than usual. Unfortunately, we had a run-in with the Blaznatz chewing up our bandwidth, so we were unable to get a good connection. Damn him and his chainsaw bayonet…

We’ve decided to combine our day three info with day four, which would officially make this Ripten’s GDC 08 Coverage: Day Seven. Read on for all the goodness.

A lot of stuff happened over the past two days. Everything will be explained in more detail by the peeps that were there, so don’t bust my balls if I don’t deliver the full monty right now.

We got a sneak peak at a bunch of upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games, courtesy of the XNA dev tool. There were a few titles that actually haven’t been announced yet, so stay tuned for that.

We also met with the Zeitguyz team for Recoil: Retrograd, and saw quite a bit of Havok stuff (which you can read about here).

Jon ran off and did a bunch of interviews while Chad and I went to the Microsoft keynote. A lot of good stuff was talked about there, including Ninja Gaiden II, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, and XNA 2 — er, just XNA. Sorry, I got on a roll there with the 2s.

We got some coverage of the IGF and Game Developer Awards, had a Q&A with Sid Meier, saw new footage of Mercenaries 2, Prototype, and The Force Unleashed, saw RealTime Worlds’ new MMO, hung out with the peeps from X-Play, and had a quiet evening with Will Wright.

Of course there are other things we did, too, like your mom. Oh, snap! Seriously, though, we attended quite a few events and will give you the complete story shortly.

In the meantime, rest easy knowing that I was only once almost run over by a speeding fucktard in a BMW, and Chad was kind enough to half almost attempt to save me. Thanks Chad!

We also had a kind soul offer to taxi us back to our hotel for just slightly more than the cost of taking an actual taxi, but this ride had the added thrill of almost getting us murdered. The dude was kind, but very strange. He called us “country bumpkins” and never really answered me when I specifically asked whether or not he was going to kill us. I take that as a definite “maybe”, but perhaps he just didn’t do it because he knew we were expecting it.

Moral of the story here, kids, is that you should never cross the street — ever, and under no circumstances should you get in someone’s car before asking if they are going to kill you. Wise words from your good pals at Ripten.