Posts with tag GOW
by Griffin McElroy May 25th 2008 6:30PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
We're pretty sure that everyone and their dog played the original
Gears of War the first time around (aside from most Border Collies, who are, in fact,
devout PS3 fanboys), but if you've yet to divide a competitor using a firearm/lumberjack tool,
a Gamestop pre-order listing for a $40 Gears re-release might tickle your fancy. We've yet to hear from Microsoft about details for the title (or a confirmation of the game's existence, for that matter), but as the listing reads "
Gears of War with Maps", we can only assume it will contain the Hidden Fronts DLC as well as the Raven Down and Old Bones levels, rather than
the hit song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. With less than a month until the game's supposed release date of June 24, we're sure to hear more soon.
[Via
X3F]
by Griffin McElroy May 24th 2008 7:00PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
Though
other shooters have surpassed it in terms of Xbox Live activity, we still hold a dear, dear place in our heart for the multiplayer portion of
Gears of War -- a place intricately carved by an enemy chainsaw. Sure, the character advancement of
Call of Duty 4 and
Vegas 2 led to a more compelling overall experience, but they lacked a certain panache that only a well-timed curb stomp can supply.
Imagine our excitement when we caught wind of the
intimidating flood of details for the sequel's multiplayer component in the upcoming issue of UK's X360 magazine. There's a full list of said details on our Microsoft-related sister site, but to inspire you to continue reading, here's a few tantalizing buzzwords you'll find behind
that link:
Meatflag,
Poison gas grenade,
Flamethrower, Ten person multiplayer,
Chainsaw duels, and last but certainly not least,
Verandas. If that didn't sell you, we don't know what will.
[Via
X3F]
by Griffin McElroy Feb 23rd 2008 3:00PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
You may have come to this conclusion when you saw the
debut trailer for Gears of War 2, but
Variety blogger Ben Fritz is claiming that the
hot, chainsaw-on-chainsaw action featured in the preview wasn't just a stylish cutscene -- it's also going to be a gameplay mechanic in the uber-anticipated sequel. Fritz apparently spoke to people who are "close enough to the development team at Epic to know" that chainsaw wielders will now be able to repel, and possibly counter, each other's attacks.
Epic hasn't confirmed this, but given the feature's appearance in the trailer, and the frequent complaints about an "unbalanced" chainsaw combat system in the first
Gears of War, we think it's safe to assume we'll be spending many long winter nights playing
Lumberjack Bushido Blade when the game drops this November.
by Andrew Yoon Jan 1st 2008 12:00PM
Filed under: Features, Sony PlayStation 2, Action
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.
by Alexander Sliwinski Aug 16th 2007 6:25PM
Filed under: Culture, Sony PSP
Late last month we
posted a story on a PSP designed to be the ultimate piece of
God of War modded art. Turns out the eventual winner of that auction, with a bid of $1725 (with 15% going to
Child's Play charity), was Ready at Dawn Studio, the company behind
God of War: Chains of Olympus. But the story doesn't stop there.
Turns out that Ready at Dawn
decided to fly the guy who created the
GoW PSP out to Southern California to hand-deliver it himself. Ramon Stokes, who created the PSP, then got to play the Chains of Olympus demo and hang out for a bit. Sure, this is one of those over-the-top PR sorts of things that y'all can be bitter and jaded about, but it's still cool to see someone make a piece of art and have it be recognized.
by Justin McElroy Apr 30th 2007 12:10PM
Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
We take the hard lumps for you at
Joystiq. For example, we slogged through a purported summary of the 22-page leaked script treatment of the
Gears of War movie over at
Latino Review, spoilers be damned. What we found seemed like a competent, if slightly heavy-handed, take on the game that seems to have been crafted by someone who's actually picked up a controller.
We're not going to talk plot, but rest assured it seems like its on the right track, with all the characters, settings, etc. you'd expect to see. If we're concerned about anything, it's dialog. Admittedly, there's not much of it here, but the direct quotes are gems like "Could have done with that, like, before the wars ended" and "Congratulations, soldier." Maybe the guy just didn't copy and paste the good dialog, we don't know. Of course, if you crave something close to the spirit of the game,
uninspired dialog is a more necessary component than a chainsaw bayonet (which is in there too, don't worry).
In fact, now that we've mentioned it, this may be just a bit
too close to
Gears of War. If the internet were not
so very reputable, we might mention that there's a slight possibility this treatment review may be the product of a devoted fan and not
Mr. Stuart Beattie. Of course, there's no way of knowing at the moment. We'll simply have to pop some corn, grab a soda, and wait for the movie to be released
never.[Via
Xbox 360 Fanboy]
by Justin McElroy Apr 21st 2007 10:30AM
Filed under: Sony PSP, Action
We care about you here at
Joystiq, and in a lot of subtle ways that you probably don't always appreciate. Like see that screenshot up above? That says
"God of Wa: Chains of Olymp
" which we assume is most of the title of the
God of War PSP game. It's set to complete its display in a couple of days when we hope it will say
God of War: Chains of Olympics 2008: Kratos & Mario & Sonic. But it will probably say
God of War: Chains of Olympus, because that's just the way life works.
You know what else? We're not going to tell you how we found it. We'll just say it's the latest addition to
IslandOfRhodes.org, which has become a veritable cornucopia of
GoW secrets, and leave it at that. If you're interested in tracking this title down, we're sure that you can find
that sort of info, but you're not getting it from us. Trust us, it's an hour of random clicking that you're just not going to get back, and by keeping it from you, we have given you the gift of an hour of your life. Now go, and please ... pay it forward.
[Thanks, Daniel]
by James Ransom-Wiley Apr 9th 2007 3:52PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Online
Microsoft has confirmed that the
Gears of War auto-update, featuring the
Annex gametype, will be available today at 4:00 p.m. PDT via Xbox Live. The now official Annex details mirror those released (and subsequently pulled) by Epic
last week -- it's still just 'King of the Hill'. Here are the additional update tweaks:
- VGA cable support: monitor resolution widths greater than or equal to 1280 now render as letterbox; VGA users running at 1280x1024 will now see the game in full 720p (1280x720) resolution in letterboxed form.
- Adjusted Assassination gametype: leader no longer has to unlock weapons and now has to be executed to die
- Adjusted Boomshot: splash damage to be more effective rendering targets down-but-not-out
- Adjusted Hammer of Dawn: aiming will be more forgiving of moving targets
- Adjusted Roadie Run: reduced frequency of accidentally grabbing cover while running
- Kill message ticker: ticker can now be seen while down-but-not-out and spectating
- General: addressed a number of possible exploits in multiplayer
by Alexander Sliwinski Apr 9th 2007 10:34AM
Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Business
In the most
recent podcast of the
1UP Yours show Tim Sweeney and Mark Rein from Epic Games (
Gears of War,
Unreal Tournament) sat down and talked about Xbox Live Marketplace and a host of other topics. But the quote that stuck in people's heads was when Tim Sweeney implied Epic would like to give
Gears of War maps away for free on Xbox Marketplace (like they did the original maps), but Microsoft won't let them.
Sweeney said, "We already released two [maps] and we have four more maps that we've built. We've been wanting to give them away for a long time but actually Microsoft has been pushing back on us for that. They're trying to build this business model around selling additional content for games and that's a valid idea, but definitely we would like to release more stuff for free, and we haven't been able to do so -- yet. Which is unfortunate, there's a lot of good business reasons for releasing free content for a game."
This naturally sparked some
heavy debate on the Evil Avatar forums. Joystiq spoke with Mark Rein over the weekend and he laughed at how out of context the conversation was taken. He asked people to listen to the podcast before they weighed in. He says there are simple business philosophies separating Epic and Microsoft.
Continue reading Microsoft forcing fees? Marketplace Phil. 101 with Epic and Microsoft
by James Ransom-Wiley Mar 8th 2007 3:21PM
Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business
Emilio Lopez's custom
Gears of War doll certainly appears professionally made -- enough so that we expressed a
desire to see it manufactured and sold at retail. The doll even came in a mock retail box when Emilio presented it to his cousin as a Christmas gift. But, like any other do-it-yourself
Munny doll, Emilio's creation is merely a personal homage to Epic's game; not a mischievous business venture. Nevertheless, when Epic and its legal hounds caught wind of the doll, they issued a cease and desist order, claiming Emilio's creation is an unauthorized use of Epic's trademarks. Epic has requested that all trademarks be removed from the doll, packaging, and Emilio's website. Ironically, the logos Emilio used were apparently taken from a fansite pack that Epic had issued.
C'mon Epic dudes, please, back off.[Thanks, Hugbees]
Continue reading Epic threatens to curb stomp fan for Gears of War 'Munny' doll
by James Ransom-Wiley Feb 20th 2007 11:25PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Online
How would you like to curb stomp that soft, pretty face you see to the right?
CliffyB and the Epic gang will be tempting your boots, bullets, and chainsaws this Saturday, February 24, from 7-9pm GMT. The
Gears of Wars developers will be accepting challengers on Xbox Live, holding down the
recently released Old Bones and Raven Down maps. You game?
Here are the relevant Gamertags:
- Mark Rein, Vice President - EPICEMEAMR
- Cliff Bleszinski, Lead Designer - EPICEMEACB
- Rod Fergusson, Producer - EPICEMEARF
- Lee Perry, Lead Level Designer - EPICEMEALP
- Jim Brown, Level Designer - EPICEMEAJB
- Dave Nash, Level Designer - EPICEMEADN
- Ray Davis, Lead Programmer - EPICEMEARD
- Joe Graf, Programmer - EPICEMEAJG
- Rob McLaughlin, Programmer - EPICEMEARM
- Pete Hayes, Artist - EPICEMEAPH
- Additional Epic Staff - EPICEMEA01, EPICEMEA02, EPICEMEA03, EPICEMEA04, EPICEMEA05
by Kevin Kelly Jan 8th 2007 1:51AM
Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online, RPGs
Two million points is quite a haul, and would just about allow you to pay for the horse armor in
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. We keed, we keed! Seriously though, that's a lotta points just waiting to find their way home underneath your gamertag.
In conjunction with the
new content they are sponsoring for
Gears of War, the Discovery Channel is giving away the points through
www.readyaimfire.com www.readyaimfuture.com/, and the site will only be up on January 13th and 14th, so you'd better be quick on your browser and sign in to find out how to qualify for the points. You can head here and read all about the contest.
While the Discovery Channel isn't the first company to give away points on Xbox Live, they are the first network/cable channel to do so. It's probably no coincidence that they're airing their Gamer Generation series while this contest is going on. Gamers, you all are a demographic that everyone wants a slice of, so brace yourselves.
[Thanks to Concaf for the proper url] by Kevin Kelly Nov 15th 2006 7:25PM
Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 had a launch party in Brazil last week, and
announced that they will be selling the system there beginning December 1st. Marcelo Vega of
Xbox Today was at the shindig and snapped some pix that he was kind enough to share with us. Brazilian girls playing the 360? Sign us up, please.
Vega said the crowd erupted in cheers when they announced that
Gears of War would be available at launch (hey, we would too), and were extremely excited to see such an official Xbox presence instead of the numerous pirate consoles. According to the Babelfish translation, the event was "hosted in a house of events in the unglued quarter of São Paulo." Nice!
Check out more pix after the jump. Viva Brazil!
[Thanks, Marcelo!]
Continue reading Xbox 360 launches in Brrrrrrrazil
by Justin Murray Nov 8th 2006 4:55PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360
I just received a disconcerting call from the GameStop automated system. They told me that, due to shipping problems, Gears of War may not be in today. After a quick call, my local shop confirms the bad news.
When I dropped my hard earned $5 (okay, I had credit left over from a trade-in) on a Gears of War preorder, GameStop told me the game would be out on November 7th. What is confusing is why PR materials would list the 12th as the official Emergence Day for a game that GameStop told me to pick up in the store 5 days earlier. A Joystiq insider said that stores were told the street date to sell Gears was the 7th but -- due to distribution problems ranging from UPS to distribution centers -- many stores won't be getting them in as early as expected (Wal-Mart is scheduled to have them tomorrow). The clerk at my local store blamed it on a delay in Memphis.
So, the street date on Gears of War was the 7th, but a confluence of circumstances conspire to leave many of us waiting. This situation, coupled with confusing marketing dates (the game doesn't actually emerge on Emergence Day) and an impressive hype campaign, has left many gamers anxious. Our recommendation: call ahead. Don't be surprised if Gears hasn't emerged at your store just yet.
by Kevin Kelly Nov 7th 2006 12:15PM
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Video
G4tv and
Gamespot have posted video reviews of
Gears of War. The verdict? They both love it. Although, Morgan Webb says the game's hardcore setting is "borderline impossible to play solo" while Gamespot's Jeff Gerstmann says that hardcore isn't too bad until later in the game. Who to believe? We'll go with Gerstmann.
Gamespot's review is much more in-depth and you'll feel like you learned something by watching it; by comparison, who wants to listen to Morgan Webb obviously read something from a script over gameplay video ... again? It's just painful when she says "bitchcakes."
Not only that, but the Gamespot video plays a helluva lot smoother on our computer than the G4 dreck. And can someone please slip Adam Sessler a note about his wardrobe? He dresses like he got knocked on the head and thinks he's Carlos Santana.
Gamespot says, "games don't typically look this good." We hope he's right.
[Thanks, Mactor]
Watch - X-Play's
Gears of War video review (multiplayer only)
Watch - Gamespot's
Gears of War video review
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