Joystiq

David Jaffe pleased with Bratner helming God of War film

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-10-01T13:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Action

Having recently confirmed his involvement with God of War's assuredly violent journey to the big (albeit considerably less interactive) screen, film director Brett Ratner is all set to combine his particular track record with the games-to-movie stigma and create the internet's greatest bitchfest. Not everyone's predicting a Greek tragedy, however, with God of War's creator, David Jaffe, earnestly informing us (via video, embedded after the break) that while the adaptation "could be shit," he's nevertheless satisfied with the pedigree of the director, as well as the producer (from Batman Begins!) and the writer, who penned the screenplay for Road to Perdition.

Mind you, he also says he liked X-Men 3, so perhaps he's just pulling our leg on the whole thing. That Jaffe is a rascal, we tell you!

Source -- Brett Ratner confirmation
Source -- David Jaffe video

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Gamestop taking preorders for Gears of War re-release, launches June 24

Griffin McElroy — 2008-05-25T18:30:00+00:00

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]

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Gears of War 2 details emerge from X360 magazine

Griffin McElroy — 2008-05-24T19:00:00+00:00

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]

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Rumor: Gears of War 2 to feature chainsaw duels

Griffin McElroy — 2008-02-23T15:00:00+00:00

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.

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Joystiq's Top 10 of 2007: God of War II

Andrew Yoon — 2008-01-01T12:00:00+00:00

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.

Gallery: God of War II

Extreme fever! ->

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GoW: Chains of Olympus developer buys God of War PSP for $1725

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-08-16T18:25:00+00:00

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.

Gallery: God of War modded PSP

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Gears of War screenplay details leaked online

Justin McElroy — 2007-04-30T12:10:00+00:00

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]

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God of War PSP title nearly revealed

Justin McElroy — 2007-04-21T10:30:00+00:00

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]

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Gears of War update, Annex gametype today

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-04-09T15:52:00+00:00

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

Gallery: Gears of War - Annex

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Microsoft forcing fees? Marketplace Phil. 101 with Epic and Microsoft

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-04-09T10:34:00+00:00

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.

After our conversation, Rein posted a statement on the Evil Avatar forum, sending a copy to Joystiq, which said in part, "Quite frankly Xbox Live Marketplace isn't our store. It's Microsoft's store. Like any retailer they have the right to figure out what goes on the shelves of their store and what price they sell it at. They spend the money to operate the store and deliver the content. They've also spent billions of dollars to create and build Xbox and subsidize it's the price so you can afford it and we can make games for it. As our publisher, they also invested tens of millions of dollars marketing Gears of War, and have done an awesome job for us, so they have a right to a good return on that investment."

Rein says both Epic and Microsoft want to make money, they just have different philosophies on how to do it. Epic believes in giving content away for free, building the user base of their product by adding value after initial purchase. A model they've learned extremely well from being involved in the PC market for years. Microsoft believes in charging up front, and in the case of Xbox Marketplace, they have a store to run and infrastructure to pay for -- this doesn't mean the GoW maps won't be given away for free later like the Halo 2 maps. Rein believes it's their job to advocate for their product to maximize users and profits. It's Microsoft's job to maximize their profits on Xbox Marketplace so that both companies benefit. Rein understands Microsoft has a store to run on their console, makes sure to say they "aren't evil" and can't fault them for trying to make money -- he likes money too.

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Epic threatens to curb stomp fan for Gears of War 'Munny' doll

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-03-08T15:21:00+00:00

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]

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Curb stomp Cliffy, chainsaw Rein (frag Epic on Xbox Live)

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-02-20T23:25:00+00:00

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

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Discovery Channel giving away 2mil MS points [update 1]

Kevin Kelly — 2007-01-08T01:51:00+00:00

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]

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Xbox 360 launches in Brrrrrrrazil

Kevin Kelly — 2006-11-15T19:25:00+00:00

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!]

Are you looking at the consoles or the high heels?

Check out the FIFA love on the middle screen, and of course GoW.

Their swag included these water bottles that look like liquid fuel containers. Are these handy for bathroom breaks too?

Welcome to the party, Brazil. You're in feet-first.

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When is the real Emergence Day?

Justin Murray — 2006-11-08T16:55:00+00:00

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.

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First Gears of War reviews roll in

Kevin Kelly — 2006-11-07T12:15:00+00:00

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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Rift widens between Silver and Gold XBLA memberships

Kevin Kelly — 2006-10-30T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360

Xbox Live's Major Nelson announced on Wednesday that the newest Gears of War trailer was available online ... to Gold subscribers only. This marks the first time that exclusive XBL content has been delayed (not denied) for the free Silver members, and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Nelson commented on his blog entry after mixed reaction from readers, "So here is the deal ... Silver members WILL get access to this ... probably in about a week. This is going to happen more and more (Gold getting things before Silver) so you may want to think about upgrading if you want all the latest and greatest trailers, demos etc."

It's not really a big deal at this point, because the trailer was available online within seconds of appearing on the XBLM. The real problem starts when Gold members start getting demos and downloadable game content before Silver members do; perhaps, eventually, the Silver members won't get them at all. Microsoft will find themselves treading a fine line between how much a Silver member will put up with not having, and how much a Gold member needs to feel justified in paying the cost for their features. It's important to note that this trailer is most likely a trial run by Microsoft (through Major Nelson) to see how things go, since it's not even true "exclusive" content. Nelson (can we just call him Larry, already?) admits that this is the same commercial played last week at X06 Canada. So where's the real super exclusive platinum fanboy stuff, eh?

The point is that Microsoft is finally treating the Gold level like what it is supposed to be, a step above the Silver membership. Silver members don't pay for anything; it's a free service meant to provide an "introduction" to XBL. Gold members pay for additional features and, with it, they expect some perks to be delivered. While it's limited to trailers right now, expect to see it expand to demos, downloadable content, and anything else Microsoft can think about leveraging for more subscribers to make the jump up to the next tier while their model for microtransactions seems to be falling apart with the inmates running the asylum.

And just because we love you, check out that Gears trailer after the jump in SD, or click here for the HD version.

[Thanks, E.J.]

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Cliffy made you a mix tape! (Win this "Mad World" disc) [update 1]

Vladimir Cole — 2006-10-26T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting, First Person Shooters, Joyswag, Video

Gears of War game designer Cliff Bleszinski signed just 15 discs like the one shown above, then someone over in the mailroom screwed up and mailed us one of them, so we're giving it away to a lucky reader before they realize the mistake and issue a recall.

On the disc: Some muddy art, a "15 of 15" designation, our incriminating fingerprints, drool, and what must be CliffyB's siggy.

In the disc: the excellent "Mad World" trailer in full Emo-HD glory, all 60,073 KB of it (filename: Gears_of_War_Mad_World_60_Second_Version_ESRB_720p30_51_8Mbps.wmv). The choice of Gary Jules' downtempo version of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" was inspired, lending the trailer a freshness rarely seen (or heard) in the oft-trite marketing of console shooters. Microsoft evidently recognizes that this is a pretty special trailer, because they've made it an exclusive download for paying Xbox Live subscribers and plan to air it on TV and in cinemas, according to Xbox Live's Major Nelson.

To win this disc:

Before November 1, upload to Veoh a video of yourself lip-synching to the song on the trailer
Be sure to tag your video "Joystiq" (so that we can find it)
post the URL to your video in the comments below (for the enjoyment of other readers)

We'll select a winner at random from the best entries.

[Update 1: Since only four entries were tagged properly, we chose to draw randomly from the four at random. Pezman726's entry won!]

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