Rumor: Gears of War an on-rails shooter on Kinect

by Ludwig Kietzmann on Feb 9th 2011 5:25AM

Though Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski has succinctly ruled out Kinect support for Gears of War 3, Kotaku's informants insist that Microsoft's motion-sensing camera will be used for a different Gears of War game (there's no indication of a connection to the recently trademarked title, Gears of War: Exile). According to "sources claiming to be familiar with the project," the unannounced game will be an on-rails shooter that automatically moves your meat-head man-tank while you mow down enemies.

Sources claiming to be totally unfamiliar with the project were like, "What, how's that going to work?" and, "Is there going to be another train level?" Thus far, Mr. Bleszinski has offered only a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of the rumor, and we don't expect to hear concrete details until an official announcement -- if there is one. Twisted Pixel's upcoming marionette-'em-up, The Gunstringer, is one of the first games to promise accurate shooting via Kinect, but we've yet to see hand-guided cursors that can move with enough celerity to compete with shooters on the Wii or PlayStation Move.

Then again, Kinect also allows us to defeat Michael Phelps in a swimming contest, so anything is possible.

Source: Kotaku

Tags: epic-games, gears-of-war, kinect, microsoft, shooter, xbox

Reader Comments (60)

Interesting, especially on how would you play this awesome on the Kinect.

@isotrex awesome game*

Said from the beginning that Kinect is extremely limited in what it can do.
On rails is just a step backwards.
But many still think Kinect is revolutionary.

@thebettertwin good thing no one is listening to you right? Including your parents.

@thebettertwin There is no hardware based reason for this to be on the rails, the developers need to do better.

@xXHexagonXx
Microsoft probably threw money at Epic so they could say they finally had a core audience game for Kinect.

@thebettertwin

Well said.

@xXHexagonXx You could do some sort of lean to control movement thing, but honestly, your just going to end up with something even more complicated to control then if you just used a wiimote/move or 360 controller.

@mrantimatter Complicated != bad. I play MMOs and PC RTS with a controller. And while it is a bit more complicated, I much prefer it to a keyboard and mouse.

That said, I have been playing FPS on PC with a webcam alone for years. Given Kinect offers alot more than your standard webcam it should be trivial at best to make a full fledged "FPS" or what have you work on Kinect.

Now couple that with the face that people have Kinect working with 3D games on PC. The controls are just poorly optimized.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

good lord you're such a Sony fanboy.

@maveric101

I guess the truth hurts, huh? Deal with it. :)

@thebettertwin

And of course people still think it's revolutionary. It's a Microsoft product. If anyone else had tried to release Kinect, it would've been shit on and disreguarded from the first moment.

But since it's from Microsoft, by god, it's the best thing ever, and damn anyone who says otherwise.

If this generation has taught us anything, it's that Microsoft always gets a free pass.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Amen.
People have been praising the Kinect, claiming it to be revolutionary, and then all we get are games that force you to be on-rails because you can't make your character walk forward, a fundamental principle found in games since the 70's at least.

I'm sorry, but wake me up when there's a Kinect game that plays as if it was made in the last 15 years and we'll talk.

You know the PS Move? It has buttons that let you do things, such as fundamental concepts like movement.
What's the point of "being the controller" if you can walk in real life and your in-game character can't. That's not me being the controller, that's me being the viewer as I watch the game play for me.
What's the point of a controller if it has a perpetual handicap?

Even though the Kinect was designed to get grandparents and kids to buy their system like the Wii, at least the Wii comes with an analog stick for movement. And doesn't suck.

Just sayin'.

/biased

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

What are you talking about? People did shit on Kinect from the beginning. "What kind of stupid name is Natal? People are going to associate it with babies." "Oh it's a camera? Computer webcams have been doing that forever, and the eyetoy was a PS2 device, once again Microsoft fails."

That's just a few of the comments I've seen against it from day 1. You know what though? A lot of these are people who never tried it. To quote a relative of mine, "I used to be on the 'I hate Kinect' bandwagon, but then we got one as a gift. I was just going to play it for 20 minutes then jump into a more core game, but over an hour and a half later I was sweating and tired and didn't even realize how long I'd been playing it for! And that dancing game, Dance Central, the moves are kinda stupid looking, but it's a pretty fun game."

In the end it's not about how new things are, it's about how fun they are. General consensus seems to be that Kinect and it's games, especially Dance Central, are fun.

Eeeeew.

Will I get to ride the Cole train?

Baby?

@Hivetyrant

Nobody rides the Cole Train baby, The Train rides you.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

@Hivetyrant Gears of War is at home on the rails!

@Hivetyrant

This has made my day. +1 to you all.

@Hivetyrant
"The Cole Train goes WOOO WOOOO!!" -- Bubb Rub

I bet shooting would be a bitch on kinect even if its on rails.

"Your sofa is a chest high wall: Crouch behind it to take cover from Locust fire in this explosive Kinect exclusive set in the Gears of War universe!"

I would not be able to squat for hours on end pretending to be behind a chest high wall.

If it were for a sexual reason maybe...

Maybe, but hours? Don't get ahead of yourse ... never mind.

@Epoque

I C WUT U DID THAR

@Premature ejaculation man

I wish I had your name and avatar. so many possibilities for absurd comments

Hmmm, Sounds interesting. Can't wait to hear more.

no actual release date for gears of war 3 yet? been looking at Games Games and GameSpot and IGN and there is absolutely no information about this. This game has been delayed over and over and over again and now the only info I find is q3 2011. I want an exact release date

On rails shooting is the only way Kinect users can enjoy a FPS, was expecting that

I propose we hereby name this an "On-Flails Shooter"

Pow Pow! It will be like playing cowboys and injuns all over again. Except you'll be shooting at your tv. With your fingers.

I more interested in rails shooters than Gears proper.

Nooooooooooo....oooo.....ooooo....o.o.o.o.ooo..o.oo.o...

*prepares to put his Xbox on ebay*

@Z3R0B4NG Good riddance.

Gawd...really?

A Gears of War on-rails shooter? If this is a taste of things to come I will not be pleased at all.

@Tuxy79 Dont buy what you don't want and do buy what you want. This is not Gears 3 it is a different game.

This doesn't sound bad at all. I always felt like if you're just going to be running from one piece of cover to the next you might as well be playing Time Crisis 3. Which is an awesome and colorful game.

Why can't they just let you hold a controller with Kinect? Am I the only one with this idea? Come on developers!!!!!

Did anyone in hear play Dead Space: Extraction? This sounds like a similar pitch; not necessarily a franchise killer so much as it is an add-on. I for one wouldn't mind trying it, if someone I know would like to buy a Kinect.

@xGeneral DEATHxDEETH82

*in here

MY GRAMMAR--!!

I love the Gears series and will probably pick this up as it will most likely tie into the other games in some way, but I'm like pretty much everyone else... how are they going to make this happen? I was really hoping that there would be some controller + Kinect functionality with a Gears game, but a full-blown, rail shooter that's Kinect-only seems like it might be tricky.

You could do a lot of things with Kinect - throwing grenades with arm movements, head tracking for peeking around cover, voice commands, etc. - but shooting with your hand (PEW, PEW) doesn't quite live up to the GIANT WORMS kind of action. I'm definitely interested and hope more news pops up... if this is real, I should say.

@Uncle Jesse try telling that to the necromorph killer

Kevin Butler and Isaac Clark approve of this

seems weird shooting with my bare hand. I think I need to hold something otherwise it feels like I'm using telekinesis.

pew pew

Apparently no one has played sin and punishment those are on rails and there badass so what makes you think a gears on rails won't exceed that glad you guys aren't developers you lack creativity and imagination

@juno project

I think it's the lack of holding something. It creates a disconnect. sure a wand isn't a gun but it has a trigger that requires pressure.

I know this is kind of off topic, but here is a thought provoking question. If there was complete world peace (which is not possible) but if there was, would all violent media be illegal or frowned upon because they are inciting/provoking and making a profit off of violence?

@RuleBook

For world peace to happen could anyone really profit off of anything? would luxuries like media even exist? or would we all just have skills required to survive that we would trade amongst ourselves?

I wonder if Oprah or Ellen will be handing out copies of this to their studio audience?

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Rumor: Gears of War an on-rails shooter on Kinect

Reader Comments (60)

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:40AM isotrex said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:40AM isotrex said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:42AM thebettertwin said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:47AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 10:35AM xXHexagonXx said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:16AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:24AM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 12:42PM mrantimatter said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 1:01PM Robborboy said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 1:41PM maveric101 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 1:45PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 1:51PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 2:48PM jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 8:08PM sonicspike41 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:47AM Ballistic H said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:47AM Hivetyrant said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:12AM Riley Freeman said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 8:12AM Arteen said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:35AM xGeneral DEATHxDEETH82 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:19AM Fermie Prime said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:48AM Mustang Fanboy said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 5:58AM Epoque said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:03AM Premature ejaculation man said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:10AM Epoque said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:36AM xGeneral DEATHxDEETH82 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 10:01AM eat it said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:11AM Riley Freeman said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:30AM tdreener835 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:31AM SePhiRoX said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:34AM Pure Black World Tendency said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 6:39AM Hong Dong said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 7:31AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 8:00AM Z3R0B4NG said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 8:09AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 8:51AM Tuxy79 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:17AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:06AM Acosta02 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:35AM xreadmore said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:37AM xGeneral DEATHxDEETH82 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:38AM xGeneral DEATHxDEETH82 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:40AM Uncle Jesse said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:46AM Milkman4321 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 9:45AM Milkman4321 said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 10:07AM eat it said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 10:54AM Neptune said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 10:56AM juno project said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:20AM eat it said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:13AM RuleBook said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:23AM eat it said

Posted: Feb 9th 2011 11:17AM (Unverified) said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW