The boys and girls at Epic Games have been working hard on some new DLC to extend the life of your Gears of War 2 purchase. Gamers will be able to get their grubby mitts on the Snowblind Map Pack, containing four new multiplayer maps (Grindyard, Fuel Depot, Under Hill, and Courtyard), March 31st for 800 MS Points.

Cold gas and hot lead don’t mix. Remember that.

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.

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

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

The 360 version isn’t as far behind the PS3 version as most people thought.

Apparently, to make up for the lack of user-generated content, Epic has thrown in a few exclusive bits to the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III. Oh, and the disc will also contain a sneak peek at Gears of War 2.

The 360 version will offer 5 new maps and 2 new characters not available in the PS3 release, as well as the aforementioned split-screen mode. But maybe you knew that already. What you probably didn’t know, however, is that Cliffy Blaznats will also offer some color commentary on an exclusive, as yet unseen video preview of the upcoming Gears of War 2.

Does this make up for the near infinite possibilities of user-generated content like that found on the PS3 version of UT3? Mark Rein, vice president of the world (and Epic Games), had this to say:

“This is a great title and, with two-player split screen support and some very cool new content, Xbox 360 players should be thrilled with this fantastic version of the game.”

I’ll be the judge of how thrilled I am about your game, thanks. UT3 is set to ship July 7th for the Xbox 360, with a review most likely to follow shortly thereafter.

Source

The first bit of Gears of War 2 gameplay that we are to be treated to will be hosted tonight at 10:30 PST on 1UP’s video outlet GameVideos.

It is unknown as to what said gameplay video will contain, whether it’s single or multi player, what revelations will be had, or if we’ll even be alongside the good old Delta squad. And while I’m already pimping 1UP’s content, you may want to watch The 1UP Show to help ease the wait.

Check back later today for an update.

*Update* – Microsoft has announced that the footage will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace from from 7am BST on May 10.

Source: 1UP, Image, Videogamer.com

In a response to a poster who asks what games will be at GDC this year, Surfer Girl says “YES” to seven games. These games are MotorStorm 2, Alan Wake, Too Human, InFamous, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2 and Gears of War 2.

There are three other games that might possibly make it to the event: SOCOM PS3, Metal Gear Solid 4, and WipEout HD.

Unlike last year, Sony and Nintendo won’t be having keynote presentations, so it might be wishful thinking to expect anything on the scale of Sony’s reveal of Home and LittleBigPlanet.

On the other hand, there is a Microsoft day booked for Tuesday, along with an hour long Microsoft keynote. Big things could be coming from the Xbox camp.

What games can we confirm for GDC? Mercenaries 2, Far Cry 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and Battlefield: Bad Company.

In addition to these, Square Enix will be presenting their Final Fantasy XIII engine, and three big Fable 2 secrets will be revealed. You heard it here first.

Make sure to come to Ripten for all of your GDC coverage.

*Update* -  Surfer Girl has since retracted her predictions, blaming sleep deprivation for her original outburst.  Please read about this here, along with further titbits on what will be at GDC’08.

Current and future UE3 clients will be eligible to witness these latest upgrades and enhancements within Epic’s expo suite at GDC.

The first presentation on February 20th will see Epic Games’ Programmer Martin Sweitzer dropping some programming edu-mi-cation on your ass, followed by an Unreal Tournament 3 postmortem two days later presented by President Michael Capps and Producer Jeff Morris.

You can look forward to GDC ’08 coverage as it happens here on Ripten.

Source: Next-Gen.biz