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.

Having tired of rubbing actual elbows with fellow teammates, Epic Games' always verbose VP Mark Rein has confessed that he and his squad of developers have "pretty much run out of space" in the company's North Carolina base of operations, and that plans are well underway for an expansion to "at least" double the facility's current size. According to a report by North Carolina's News Observer, the devs coughed up a cool $1.57 million for the new office space, which will be positioned on a five-acre lot adjacent to Epic's current 31,000-square foot HQ.

Headcount at Epic currently stands at 94, with current growth of around one new employee a month expected to continue for the next couple of years. So with all of this added space, will the developers get to spread out, and maybe quit knocking over each others' Mt. Dew as they reach for their mouse? Unlikely, as the report notes that the new facility will instead be largely used to house the numerous play testers that visit Epic, rather than have to rent out space down the street. We understand the need completely, though until the devs get additional space of their own we'd suggest judicious application of lids.

GamePro has an exclusive interview up with Stuart Beattie, writer of the forthcoming Gears of War movie. He's been tapped for the job since he did a bang-up job writing the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It's too bad they didn't use him for the sequels, because they were ... craptastic.

He drops some interesting details about the upcoming film, including the fact that 300 ain't too bad of a reference movie, "That film was shot completely on green screen, which is amazing when you actually see the film. It's probably how we're going to do Gears of War."

Beattie will be pouring himself into the job apparently, "I hope it's extremely collaborative. From my point of view it's definitely going to be, because I'm going to be riding their asses about it." Personally we don't care whose ass he rides, as long as a good movie comes out of it.

Speaking to CVG, Epic Games vice president Mark Rein has expressed his belief that graphical advancement in PC games will be partially reined in (OOF!) due to the limitations and financial viability of consoles. "Publishers are generally putting their money where the highest return is, and in the past that's been on consoles and I think that's still the case," said Rein. "So if you build the game that's a really super amazing high-end game, how do you make all the money you could make from that game, because it'll be too high end eventually to be on PS3 or Xbox 360."

As a result, Rein expects consoles to "pretty much define what the next five years of games look like on the PC" and titles pushing the DirectX 10 envelope to be in the minority. PC versions should, however, benefit from several enhancements a la Gears of War. "That's the value to me of the PC, that the source content we have is still really high resolution, much higher than we can show on a 512MB machine. You can use that content on the PC, you can express it in higher resolutions and higher frame rates and turn on more effects. I think that's what you'll see, PC games where we turn it up higher."

Though it sounds like console technology is cramping the PC's style, the Xbox 360 and PS3 (and those who develop for them) are still immersed in the design transition from single processors to parallel architectures. There's a lot more wind to be coaxed from those sails yet.

The just-announced Gears of War looks fantastic on the PC. The already-beautiful Unreal Engine 3 is pushed even further on Games For Windows as can be seen in this first ever footage of the game running on the PC. With new levels, a level editor, and more surprises on the way, will Xbox 360 owners cry at feeling neglected by this "super-awesome" version?

Gears of War is no longer a Xbox 360 exclusive. Neither is Viva Pinata. Two of Microsoft's premiere console titles is now getting the Games For Windows treatment. The Game of the Year-winning shooter from Epic will gain a few enhancements on the PC, such as five new levels, a new editor, and "some very big surprises." Could the game look even prettier on a DirectX 10 PC? Believe it. Thankfully, the game will run on both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Viva Pinata and a major list of new Games for Windows titles were revealed at the Microsoft keynote, including titles such as Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties, Stranglehold, Blacksite: Area 51, and Kane and Lynch: Dead Men.

You know the old saying: game designers always want to be comedians, and comedians always want to be game designers. As part of DSI Comedy Theater, Gears of War creator CliffyB provided humorous anecdotes on his childhood and what drove him to the Nintendo World Championship. The troupe provides performance inspired by CliffyB's stories.

We don't want to spoil any of it, so go on and check it out yourself. Video embedded after the break.

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival can be described in many ways, but gamer's paradise is not the first phrase that comes to mind. Monstrosity of music, perhaps, or neo-hippie nirvana -- these are much more apt descriptions. However, one tiny corner of the farm was in fact an electronic Eden, gamer style, at this year's festival.

We were curious about the console's presence at the festival, and the Microsoft rep on hand wasn't shy about answering questions. "Why not Bonnaroo? There are tons of people, it's good exposure for the system, and it's a great chance to demonstrate the 360." From what we saw of the crowds in the tent, she was right about the exposure. The Arcade was never empty, and several of the consoles had small crowds clustered around the screens.

The Xbox 360 Discothéque Arcade, like so many of the enclosed structures at Bonnaroo, didn't look like much from the outside. Dust-streaked white walls shielded gamers from the boiling Tennessee sun, and the doorway was perfectly positioned to catch the occasional (and very welcome) breeze. Inside, thick shag rugs and battered sofas turned the Arcade into the perfect chill-out area. While the tent wasn't air-conditioned, the simple presence of shade made the Arcade a big draw for gamers and nongamers alike.

If you're one of the thousands, nay millions, hoping that a Gears of War sequel is on the plate for Microsoft's super-secret Min-E3 plans ... you're just going to have to wait longer.

Mark Rein, VP of Epic Games, tells BeyondUnreal.com that they are not announcing a sequel to Gears this year at E3. He writes to them, "Did you see the update we just did for Gears of War last week? We're still working on the first one." Rein has been saying since GDC that there are no plans to announce a sequel, even though it's been no secret that many will eventually be released. This is the year of Halo for Microsoft, however next year...

New Gears of War achievements are coming June 14 at 2:00 a.m. GMT, which for those in the US means tonight at 10:00 p.m. EDT. A newsbrief on the GoW page outlines the eight new achievements for the Annex gametype and the Hidden Fronts multiplayer map pack.

These achievements are not for those looking for a quick way to upgrade their gamerscore, however, and are primarily for those who want to show off that they've logged in hundreds of hours of game time. Achievements are listed after the break.

Also included in the download is a patch that fixes a number of bugs in the game and multiplayer. The Annex gametype is currently available for free. The Hidden Fronts map pack is 800 MS points now but will go free September 3.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Following rumors of Gears of War heading to the PS3, Epic Games came out with a statement shooting the whole thing down. Quite succinctly, Mark Rein, VP of Epic Games says, "This story is complete bull****. I emailed the site and asked them to take it down. We're very happy with our relationship with Microsoft. If it weren't for them Gears wouldn't be the huge hit it has become."

Mark Rein has said it before and he'll probably have to say it again. In conversations we've had with Rein here at Joystiq, he says that Epic is very happy with their Microsoft relationship. Do they disagree about marketplace transaction fees? Yes. But, like Rein has said in the past, it's Microsoft's store. Seriously, don't expect to see Gears on PS3.

Epic Games Vice President Mark Rein has announced that the next Gears of War update will add "new achievements relating to Annex and the Hidden Fronts [downloadable content]."

Although Gears of War currently has the once-max 1000 gamerscore points alloted over 49 achievements, Microsoft amended the policy to allow an additional 250 points for new content. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion utilized the new policy for its Shivering Isles expansion.

Rein also said that the update will tackle the "previously mentioned plan to improve roadie run" as well as more exploit squashing and the ever-popular 'general housekeeping.'" Not listed? The not-for-public-view Gears of War golf game. Come on Epic, give us Marcus Fenix putt-putt!




[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

[UPDATE: this appears to be system wide across Xbox Live with other games being affected as well. As several people have pointed out, it could be tied to the imminent Dashboard update. We've contacted Microsoft for some answers.]

This is one of those things we experienced firsthand, and thought "Gee, we wonder if people are talking about this on the internet." We were right. Ah yes, the internet, where everyone (including us) turns to when there's a problem with anything. If you have a doctor who looks up your ailments on Wikipedia, you might want a second opinion.

Anyhow, we downloaded the new Gears of War map pack yesterday, and jumped into multiplayer to get some game on. However, every time we searched for games, usually only one or two would show up. What the heck? Normally you'll have tons of games listed, so there must be something going on. We've emailed Epic for an answer, but until then we remain frag-inhibited. The one or two matches that do show up play fine, but we want some options to choose from.

Containing four new maps and a strong allusion to bulletproof codpieces, the "Hidden Fronts" map pack for testosterone explosion simulator, Gears of War, is now available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace. In exchange for 800 MS points ($10), you'll receive approximately 230 megabytes of data that will automagically congeal on your hard drive and form beautiful, post-apocalyptic environments.

Those less intent on wiping out the Locust horde can wait until September 3rd for the maps to become free of charge.

We are not amused. We are not amused, at all! Horse armor was ridiculous, Need for Speed irked us further, but these have clearly been replaced with the five videos on the Xbox Live marketplace, available for 100 MS points each ($1.25 USD), showing the locations of all the COG tags in Gears of War. With free resources like GameFAQS and YouTube already doling out this information to the masses, this is nothing but an unadulterated grab for cash, and because P.T. Barnum was right about suckers, there will be plenty of people who pay for these videos.

Although Mark Rein of Epic Games previously told us that it's Microsoft's store and they can do what they want, in all seriousness, this is insulting to gamers, legitimizes the belief that marketplace is continuing to test the limits of micro-softly-raping-payments and hurts the reputation of Epic. Although these videos are produced by Brady Games, the average consumer is just going to blame Epic and Microsoft. This is exactly what the marketplace should never be used for.