Gears of War 2 News & Info

[Boost King]

Gears of War 2 News & Info.

The purpose of this thread is for discussion on Gears of War 2 News and Information as it becomes available. Certainly over the upcoming months more will be revealed about this game, whether official, or unofficial. If we could all post here and discuss that would be great. Lets keep any talk about other shooters and opinions out of this thread, I want to stay on topic so it doesn't get shut down.

Cheers,
Boosty.

================================================== =======

GEARS 2 ARTICLE, 12 PAGES - SOURCED FROM GAMEINFORMER
(I'll add some highlights here as I read thru it... don't want to overstep my bounds, not typing the whole article word for word... buy the magazine!)

New Faces (character art for each):


Quote:
Tai Kaliso: While Cole and Baird are still a big part of the story, they won’t be attached to Delta Squad as the new game opens. The reunion with those popular characters will have some lead up first, and until then, you’ll be meeting some new personalities. The most memorable of these new additions may be Tai, a spiritual and meditative warrior from a tradition of honor-bound fighters. This familiar archetype should add a fun and perhaps mystical dynamic to the squad.

Chairman Prescott: Lots of gamers found themselves wondering if Marcus’ domineering superior officer was the head of the human government. It turns out that Hoffman is only second in command. Above him stands the Chairman, an almost dictatorial military leader who nonetheless has made the hard choices necessary to keep humanity alive through decades of warfare. As Gears 2 opens, this leader of the COG forces will deliver a speech to the troops before sending them reeling into the suicidal mission ahead.

Dizzy: In the seemingly unending struggle with the Locust Horde, the military forces of the COG have taken massive casualties. Somewhere along the way, Operation Lifeboat was enacted to bring in some fresh blood. Under this new act, the Coalition government will rescue a Stranded family and bring them into the relative story of a COG-protected zone. In return, the able-bodied men of that family join up and contribute their skills to the war effort. Such is the case with hardened soldier Dizzy, a new character who drives the massive Derrick on which Delta Squad ascends into the mountains. With a trademark drawl and an insistence on calling his truck "Betty", he's a colorful new addition to the cast.

Maria Santiago: When Emergence Day struck, Dom's wife Maria became a victim as surely as if she had died in that first attack. On that day, her children were killed. Unable to deal with the shock and loss, Maria lost herself in the ruins of civilization. For Dominic, who joined the COG to protect his family, no priority is higher than to retrieve his lost love - his very personal quest to find her is a major part of the story that unfolds in Gears 2.


Gears of War 2 begins six months after the deployment of the light mass bomb at the end of Part 1.

Quote:
"We want to fulfill the promise - it is a war. It's more than just these four guys. The first game felt very personal, and in a lot of ways that was good," senior producer Rod Fergusson tells us. However, it's clear from our time with the team that Gears 2 will shoot for a much larger conflict. "In order to save jacinto, they have no choice but to take the war to the Locust," Fergusson continues. "They're going to push back and go underground, and bring the battle to them."


Lots of talk about the new Unreal tech. GI says the story and gameplay are a pretty major leap forward from the original game, but an equally large step is being made in the behind-the-scenes tech. Gears 2 is set to impress just like Gears 1 did. New character lighting, it's a step away from realistic lighting and towards cinematic lighting. New version of Unreal 3 constantly shifts the lighting technique in order to make a character stand out in the environment. Ambient occlusion is another tech being used. Unreal's new ability to render huge numbers of individual creatures at the same time... hundereds of Locust troops, each moving independently and as unique individuals. Awesome water effects, soft body physics.

Most multiplayer details are under wraps. There is a remake of Gridlock. Step up in technology is obvious. "We hear hints of all sorts of new multiplayer features, from dramatically expanded co-op modes to multiplayer content that takes advantage of Unreal's new ability to deliver huge numbers of the Locust horde at one time, but confirmed details will have to wait until a later date."

"Gameplay of Gears 2 will appear mostly familiar to fans, with a few small variations. The core cover/shoot mechanics remain largely intact, but the use of cover has been carefully retouched so it will be harder to get hit while protected, as the character will rest a little further back from the corners. Active reloads won't be dramatically altered, particularly with the returning weapons. However, some of the new arsenal may vary the way in whihc active reloads are used. New chainsaw duels expand that gruesome combat mechanic to deliver even more excitement. Boss battles return, but a big push is geared towards refining them, making them more fun and epic in scale.

"We have creatures that make the Brumak look like a baby panda bear." -Cliff Bleszinski

Drop in and drop out co-op.

Multiple save files to maintain the integrity of each playthrough without abandoning your other attempts.

Gears 2 will have different difficulty settings for each player in co-op. One person can play on Hardcore, one on Casual, for instance. When you are together, the game will understand what that means, and when you split up, you will have individual experiences. Details on how this works exactly are under wraps.

A fourth difficulty is being added for the most casual gamers. Harder difficulty settings will remain "truly devastating." They say Casual in the first game wasn't casual enough. This way everyone who wants to pick up the controller will be embraced.

COG Centaur tank. Takes the best parts of a monster truck and a military tank and combines them. There's a dedicated level where you'll pilot one.

"We were shown a vast underground cave level wherin Marcus and his companions will take the fight to the Locust. Unlike the sometimes cramped and and linear subterranean paths from the first game, the cavern complex is vast and breathtaking. Branching levels and open spaces give players true tactical choices as they decide which way to tackle an assault. Whatever path you choose, bio-luminescent plants light light the faces of the new Locust Kantus enemies. These monk-like devils hum low and droning chants that can be focused into sonic attacks against you. They wield weapons like the new Gorgon burst pistol and poison grenades, both of which can become part of your arsenal if you play your cards right. However, the Kantus' true danger lies in their ability to revive their fallen bretheren from afar. Where before you could rest easy after taking down an enemy soldier, now there is the constant danger of them rising back up to continue to fight. The only alternative is to brave the hail of gunfire to break through enemy ranks and kill the Kantus sulking in the rear. Along the way, you may not have access to stable cover anymore, so you'll have to make do with the moving kind. Massive Locust rock worms will emerge from the cavern walls during battle, guided by the Kantus' chanting. Luckily, the creatures are so large you can hide behind them as they sliter about, and you too will be able to guide them to an advantageous firing position."

The team at Epic is well aware that many players out there hunger for a deeper and more involved storytelling experience. Lots of emotion this time. Joshua Ortega has been brought on, he is a novelist / comic writer. Really sounds like they are working a lot on the story. Sense of depth with the characters. A "darker and more heartfelt narrative." "THE STAKES ARE RAISED. THIS IS HUMANITY'S LAST STAND. EVERYTHING IS AT RISK. NOTHING IS SAFE." -Joshua Ortega


Voice actors returning include John DiMaggio as Marcus Fenix, and Carlos Ferro as Dominic Santiago. They will be recording the dialogue side by side, more authentic this way.

Forced walking scenes that masked loading time have been replaced with a dynamic conversation camera system - focused facial close ups, shifting dramatic angles, but the player is still in control. There is a "SHUT UP" button that will let you have Marcus end the conversation early and get back to the action.

"There's a certain percentage of the audience that wants to skip all that, and they just want to shoot some s---, and we're more than willing to cater to that." -Cliff Bleszinski

There are collectibles that are relevant to the story. COG tags can be examined to learn about who owned them. War Journal from the pause screen shows your collectibles and what you're missing, and the locations to search for them.

Many Achievements will be able to be earned in Single or Multiplayer. You can check for instance, if you need 1,000 headshots, you can look at your progress in the journal.

Your floating robot has a video screen now, so Anya can give you mission updates face to face.



Quote:
A SLICE OF ACTION. As seen in the second level of Gears of War 2, Assault. The sun-dappled pine forests are in stark contrast to the roiling convoy of human machinery as it rolls up the pristine mountain pass. Fenix and his squad stand atop their massive wheeled transport. Dizzy, the driver of their derrick, is shouting curses over the roar of the engine. As a breathtaking valley vista opens up to the west, the first mortar slams into a nearby derrick, leaving behind a flaming husk. The flying nemacyst and their explosive assaults are only the spear point of the Locust defense. After some near misses, the derrick tunbles off the dirst road and stalls. An emergence hole opens up nearby and Locust infantry begin to pour out. Firing wildly, Marcus and his team push back the assault. Even as Dizzy gets the truck running, a Brumak appears and gives chase. Crashing headlong throught he cracking and snapping trees, Dizzy forces the derrick into high gear, even as the transport across the way is overrun. Leaping from their new attack platform, enemy troops attempt to board, and Marcus rushes out from cover to curb stomp the assailants. Ahead, in the distance, a narrow bridge stands, wide enough for only one vehicle. The Locust driver sneers and speeds up his derrick as the drop into the gorge up ahead looms large.


"Gears of War 2 is real, and it looks every bit as formidable and impressive as we hoped. It's bigger and better than before, and the people making it are insistent that you'll be playing it in its entirety in just over half a year." -Game Informer


OK I think that covers all the main Gears 2 points.

[FLANKER 5]

Nice find Boost...i was looking at the comparison of Gridlock from the first one to GoW2 and it looks significantly different, can't wait for this game....

[IIJoshIII]

Damn I'm not gonna read all that so I'll just post some things that I want to see.
-More players in Co op- Being able to use Marcus, Dom, Carmine, Cole Train, and I forget the other dudes name for some reason.
-An obvious one is a longer campaign
-More innovative multiplayer maps. The old maps are nice and pretty, but they are plain in terms of playability.
-Harder Insane difficulty. Insane felt the same as Hardcore.
-Capture the Flag

[boom!headshot]

I was to hear that they're going to focus alot more on the story this time because the first game left so many things unanswered. I hope this leads to a much longer campaign. I also hope that at some point in the story that ***** Baird dies a horrible humiliating death. I can't stand that guy.

oh and i'll go ahead and say his now, the Derrick or centuar tank as you called it, looks almost exactly like the elephant in Halo 3.

[FLANKER 5]

Damn I'm not gonna read all that so I'll just post some things that I want to see.
-More players in Co op- Being able to use Marcus, Dom, Carmine, Cole Train, and I forget the other dudes name for some reason.
-An obvious one is a longer campaign
-More innovative multiplayer maps. The old maps are nice and pretty, but they are plain in terms of playability.
-Harder Insane difficulty. Insane felt the same as Hardcore.
-Capture the Flag

I just read that there are new characters....I think 4 or 5..and I think they said that they are still focusing on the characters Cole and Baird just not too much as Boosts article says...(Carmine is Dead if I remember right). They have these new CoG dudes that are toughcore, and I guess Dom is trying to find his dead wife throughout the story (Maria Santiago)..I skimmed through this article in a GameInformer magazine so I don't remember much, I can't find it..

[Boost King]

I personally am glad to see that they are focusing more on the story and have hired a writer essentially. Gears 1 was great IMO, but was criticised for lack of story. I am confident Gears 2 will improve on this area.

It also certainly is indicated many new characters will join the game, excellent stuff.

I also read that they were taking the battle to the locust. I hope the majority of the game is not spent underground. personally I love the surface levels as I love looking at the ruins of Sera and the immense architecture of the buildings and environments. I find caves rather boring in comparison, so hopefully a decent balance is given to above and under ground missions.

Looks like 360 gamers can finally battle brumacks, and rather early on in the game as well (per above article, seems like Level 2). I am over the brumack, I played the PC version and he was in that. :)

My only prayer I say each day is to ensure GOW2 is released in November and does not get pushed into 2009. Its always a possibility, but Epic assure us it can deliver. Not too sure of their track record with other games, but GOW1 did come out when stated, so fingers crossed.

Boost

[Boost King]

Also if anyone has this Gameinformer Magazine, any chance of scanning the pictures and uploading to this thread. We dont get that Magazine in Australia, so no chance of me seeing the pics.

Boost

[IIJoshIII]

I'll pick it up at Albertsons if they have it.

[Boost King]

Excellent!!!

[IIJoshIII]

Bad news my friend. I went to Albertsons, Smiths, Borders, and Barnes and Noble to find nothing but GamePro,OXM, Nintendo, and Playstation Mag :/

[Boost King]

Doh!

:(

Thanks for trying anyway, appreciate that.

Boost

[FriskyDingo]

hey boost I will go pick a copy up at wal-mart tommorow and scan it

[Boost King]

Mate that would be excellent.

Boost

[Mik]

Hey, did some searching on the internet and found a few shots. Will do more searching after I've mowed some more lawns.

http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planetgearsofwar.gamespy.com/images/news/g2_041308_1.jpg
http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planetgearsofwar.gamespy.com/images/news/g2_041308_2.jpg
NeoGAF - View Single Post - Gears of War 2 - Lots of new info from Game Informer (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10546767&postcount=1)

If the links don't work then I can upload them. Anyways, that's only two shots and the cover of the magazine, but I'll try and find more later.

[Spartan1127]

Anyone who doesn't buy this game is a moron.

[vote4fairtax]

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr?!
yarp?
narp?


well, i think most people are gonna buy it. It will be interesting to see if it can outsell their flagship UT3 when that finally ships.

[Mik]

What the heck?

But I agree with spartan.

[Scotracer]

Gears 1 was wank, Gears 2 will be wank coated in sugar....still ****ing disgusting.

[Boost King]

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr?!
yarp?
narp?


well, i think most people are gonna buy it. It will be interesting to see if it can outsell their flagship UT3 when that finally ships.


I was reading on IGN a recent article from Comicon where IGN interviewed the producer of Gears of War from Epic (not cliffy B, some other guy). Anyway, they made mention about UT3 on 360 and they said it will be the most superior version of UT3 than the others, even PC!, but personally I think they were just referring to PS3 version anyway.

But personally UT3 sales have not been that strong, especially on PS3 anyway. Lets hope the 360 version is worth the play. If a June release is on the cards, that gives the game some 5 months before GOW2 is released.

Also, another announcement, it October, the GOW comic is being released. It is going to provide lots of backstory to GOW that just wont make it into the game (Otherwise it will turn GOW2 into a RPG with that much story line). So the comic will help out for the hardcore fans wanting to know more. Also, GOW 2 apparantly will take place 6 months after the end of GOW1. Marcus and Dom are tipped off to the whereabouts of Maria (Dom's wife). They head out to the location, and of course, boom!, locusts emerge for a surprise attack and its on. Marcus and Dom, push back and so the game begins.

I also found scanned images as well of GOW2 article in full. I'll try n post em all up tonight, they are large in size, so I hope it works. Maybe I'll just post the links instead, we will see.

Boost

[IIJoshIII]

A comic eh? I would read into that.

[Mik]

What ever happened to the Halo 3 comic?

[Blasterpez]

Maybe they can make the backstory downloadable content and charge everyone for it.

[Boost King]

Oh and speaking of DLC, Epic pretty much said as well in this interview that DLC will be things like maps etc. They wont charge us or do DLC for extra guns or weapons etc etc.

Thats nice to know.

[Boost King]

Gears of War 2 Trailer

Hey, the gears of war 2 gameplay trailer is on Gametrailers.com tonight, or in 5 hours from right now, which is, well for Australia 8:30pm, so around 1:30am.

So check the site, and post your impressions afterwards.

Hope its decent.

Boost

[Mik]

Yep, but don't worry if you miss it, it'll be on the marketplace on Saturday sometime.

[Boost King]

Well I just saw the video demo of the first level and I was impressed. The game looks very very playable already, and to be honest, looked finished. I was happy to see some new weapons, new kill tactics (neck snap), chainsaw attacks and duels, brumack battles and tons of action on screen.

I think November may require me to take some annual leave and devote my life to this game.

But, of course I'll reserve full judgement till I've played it myself. Cant wait!

[FLANKER 5]

Well I just saw the video demo of the first level and I was impressed. The game looks very very playable already, and to be honest, looked finished. I was happy to see some new weapons, new kill tactics (neck snap), chainsaw attacks and duels, brumack battles and tons of action on screen.

I think November may require me to take some annual leave and devote my life to this game.

But, of course I'll reserve full judgement till I've played it myself. Cant wait!

I agree, it looks so sweet....Love the new "break neck" feature, cant wait for november!

[Spartan1127]

Yeah, the new gameplay video does look pretty sweet. i love the much more wide open space. Seeing this makes me realize that original GOW was pretty claustrophobic.

[XabiTorres]

I cant wait to get breaking some necks. Great trailer. November cant come soon enough

[IIJoshIII]

Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg Omg!!!!!!!

[Boost King]

I guess also we shouldn't call it a trailer cause its not a movie sequence or preview. Its actual gameplay video, so even more OMG OMG OMG is deserved.

I hope GOW2 delivers on all fronts, I really hope it does.

Either way, I'll support the game for sure.

[Boost King]

Hey,

I just saw a video on gametrailers for GOW2, that was a interview with Cliffy B.

In it he made mention to the fact that Carmine is back, but he wont go into the specifics. He also mentioned you can pound the enemy on the ground, as a finishing move. So far he confirmed the neck snap, kurbstomp and ground pound, as well as a whole host of others to wait for that involve using weapons, ie the blades of the torque bow.

In terms of online play, he stated GOW2 will ship with more maps than were available in GOW1, which is great news. He also mentioned online play will be a 5 vs 5 style, as well as more different types of game modes as well.

CLiffy commented the story will be improved big time, as well as single player being much longer than the original.

Gee, it sounds like Epic are addressing the gripes with the first version, which is great to see. I am glad its going to be 5 vs 5, even better, although 12 or 16 players would be ace. But even if it were possible, most games released in AU wont even support that level of players, cause our internet blows.

Oh well.

Still 5 vs 5 is easy done.

Boost

[Spartan1127]

What about respawns?

[shane32Eire]

Looks ***

[IIJoshIII]

What about respawns?
Forget respawns. Respawns are ***. If you want respawns play Annex. The rest wont have them and I'm glad.

[bevo1981]

looks great, but i can't see any graphical upgrades from the first one which was an early system release. am i just spoiled because the first looks so good?

[Boost King]

I think its a bit hard to tell graphical upgrades, without first seeing actual gameplay. All we've seen is trailers either on Xbox or PC.

Wait to play this game in 1080p, on a 40+ inch LCD/Plasma, then judge it.
Also, dont forget GOW1 was the leader graphic wise for the 360 at the time. Epic will surely surpass its previous best. Just look at GOW on PC, the graphics are freaking amazing, especially in 2400 x 1600 or whatever. I run in 1680 x 1050 and that ****s on the XB1 version beleive me.

Epic can do masterpieces, the only limitation here peoples is the hardware of the 360, oh and the PS3 for you fanboys, both have the same sized GPU from memory at 512mb.

Boost

[Blasterpez]

looks great, but i can't see any graphical upgrades from the first one which was an early system release. am i just spoiled because the first looks so good?

There are a couple trailers you can watch that show clips from the new game rendered with the new engine next to the same scenes rendered with the old engine. You can see the difference pretty clearly there. i don't know the link, but they were in one of these gears o' war forums.

[Mik]

Actually, that thing that was on GameTrailers TV and was put on the XBLM was real gameplay.

[Boost King]

Yes I know it was real gameplay, but it was not full screen, ie in HD, in all 1979 x 1080p glory.

Thats my point.

Besides, its going to look better, and its only a early preview as well, no means final product.

Boost

[7thdeadlysin]

It looks great so far, and they still have until November or so to tweak it. Definitely a buy for me.

[Mik]

I'm really worried about how all of this will play into multiplayer though. Will we still be able to take enemies hostage and all of this other stuff like in the video? Will they have fixed the glitches? Will there still be bullet lag and host-advantage?

[pancho lefty]

So is it pretty certain that this is the holiday game to get?

[Boost King]

I'm really worried about how all of this will play into multiplayer though. Will we still be able to take enemies hostage and all of this other stuff like in the video? Will they have fixed the glitches? Will there still be bullet lag and host-advantage?

Hi,

I'll tackle this question. Cliffy said you'll be able to take people hostage in Multiplayer, however, as soon as your taken hostage, essentially you'll be dead and respawn anyway, so its not like you'll be stuck waiting etc.
PLus Cliffy stated that you technically wont be able to run up and see your old self as hostage, cause the body will break down quite quickly.

In regards to Glitches, these are fixed over and over again. GOW has had like 10 patches so far addressing glitches, so Epic are trying. However, people will always try to take advantages of code glitches so lets hope it is not too bad.

Bullet Lag and Host advantage. My friend, these are like bread and butter and are part of the online gaming experience. As long as people join other peoples servers, spread accross the world, lag, ping etc will always exist. Its just a fact of life. Nothing Epic can do will fix this. However, the only tips to avoid lag is to select local games in your region (ie silver matches) which means the ping is very low and the distance is quite near, so you'll have a better experience.
If you select a red game, its most likely the otherside of the world, and you will definately lag.
If you want a lag free (0 ping) game, then buy a router, have 9 other mates come over with their 360's and Monitors, and all hook up to that router, and its game on!
Finally, its up to Microsoft to set up dedicated servers so that we can connect to these in our specific countries and this will still not eliminate lag, but it will make it much more even for all players.

Hope that helps.

Boost

[IIJoshIII]

I hope that something is done about numerous people leaving every game. I swear if people lose a single round they will say **** it and just leave. I RARELY finish a game with a full room.

[Mik]

In the current Gears of War, they've yet to fix about 50 glitches that I can think of off the top of my head, though that's probably because they're working so diligently on GoW2 right?
I remember I use to frequent the GoW forums and there were constantly discussions on how fixing bullet lag would be possible. Maybe one of the IT experts here could shed some light on that? Anyways, I'm not sure why Microsoft wouldn't start hosting their own servers for one of the biggest games in XBOX 360 history. Bullet lag and host advantage was a HUGE problem in the first GoW, so I would assume Epic is doing SOMETHING to fix it.

[IIJoshIII]

Gears of War 2: Too violent for some? - Video Game Feature - Yahoo! Video Games (http://us.i1.yimg.com/videogames.yahoo.com/feature/gears-of-war-2-too-violent-for-some-/1212888)

****in sweet baby

[Boost King]

Thanks for the article Josh. I dont think it says anything we dont know, but surprisingly they said the reverse chainsaw is from the groin up, but cliffy said (and displayed) its from the Torso up, not groin up. That could be the difference between being R18 or M15, you can never be sure with censor boards!

Also, Cliffy said it will be bloodier and more gruesome than the first.

Lets hope it doesn't get censored in AU, otherwise its another UK Import!

Boost

[IIJoshIII]

Agreed. When it said groin I scratched my head and re watched the vid and it starts from his mid back.

[ElderScroller27]

could be the difference between being R18 or M15, you can never be sure with censor boards!

Also, Cliffy said it will be bloodier and more gruesome than the first.

Lets hope it doesn't get censored in AU, otherwise its another UK Import!

Boost


Either way you're getting cut in half with a chainsaw.... and thats just good!

[Boost King]

Hell yeah!

Chainsaws for the TMFW!!!!

[Spartan1127]

This was taken from Gametrailers:

"just bought this months x360 magazine and it has a lot of details on gears 2 multiplayer.

-New weapon Scorcher (Flamethrower) "most realistic fire in a game we've ever seen"
-5 vs 5
-Assasination gametype altered. everyone respawns until their leader is dead. when the leader is killed they stop rewpawing and the game ends when everyone is dead on one team.
-Assasination renamed 'Guardian'.
-New gametype 'Wingman' 10 players split into teams of two.each team is played as different character (eg marcus and marcus vs Dom and Dom etc)
-Features Matchmaking
-Exectucions now vary on the weapon you holding (eg sniper rifle will be used like a golf club)
-Curb stomp returns
-'Y' will cause your character to unleach several brutal punches to a downed enemy, killing him.
-'A' will cause you to pick up the enemy and use him as a shield. The player your using as a shield will go to the respawn line.
-New gametype 'meatflag' sort of like CTF but epic have done this in their own way. The flag will instead be character wandering around the centre of the map. He has his own weapons and even a place on the leaderboard.
To capture him you will need to down him and pick him up as a meatshield and take him back, slowly, to your base. If you shoot the meatflag enough times while he's being dragged back to base, his captor will loose him and he'll go crazy on everyone around him.
-Specific weapons will cycle round the maps.
-Stopping power - if your running towards an enemy but he is firing straight into your chest, you will slow down.
-The oppurtunity to spawn with either the lancer or hammerburst.
-Hammerburst gone through significant alterations. The faster you tap the the right trigger, the faster it fires. quicker shooting = more recoil however.
-New weapon Medusa. could be considered a power weapon. 6 shots per burst.
-Bullet shields. big metal shield that stops you from getting hit. can be planted into the ground to make a new cover. enemies can kick it down though if they get close enough.
-Grenades can be stuck anywhere. not just on enemies. they can be planted on the ground,walls,doors etc to produce a proximity mine.
-smoke grenades carry a stun effect that ragdolls anyone in range.
-new weapon poison gas grenade. produces a cloud of smoke that kills anything that lingers in it. they can be stuck onto enemies were the will slowly die. people stuck by the gas grenade can also injure team-mates if the get too close.
-On games with no respawn, when you are dead you can fly around the map as a "ghost cam". You can even take screenshots that will be uploaded to the community.
-Gridlock returns. However its more overgrown now, plants and grass growing.
(everything is still the same though- cars are where they where etc)
-New map - 'river' - symetrical map, each team has a thin strip of land with a house and sniping tower, and inbetween them a river.
-New map - 'Security' - long thin map. to the left and right are stairs leading to veranda's that run the entire length of the map. you are barred access however by red lasers, which will kill you if attempting to pass through. A power weapon is barred on the other side of the map while at the other it is defended by sentry guns. There is a button in the middle of the map that turns the lasers and sentry's off for 20 seconds.
-New locust 'hammerhead' (helmet makes him look sorta like a hammerhead shark)
-New locust 'Grenadier' (this is the guy we saw in the video were marcus punches him to death)
-Two people can chainsaw one guy at the same time.
-New cog 'Tai' has aboriginal tattoo's.
-New cog 'Dizzy' "looks like chuck Norris"
-Cole returns for multiplayer at least.

Thats all folks"

Enjoy.

[IIJoshIII]

Sweet thanks.

[Boost King]

Excellent article SPartan. It seems every time Cliffy speaks he mentions something else to someone etc. Slowly all his comments are building up and were getting a great new picture of what is to be expected. I cant wait to see the new Gridlock, overgrown etc. THat was the best map for most people. ALso, the new attacks/executions sound great.

Man oh man am I excited now.

Boost

[Boost King]

More info on GOW2

CONFIRMED BY EPIC
Information that has been confirmed officially by Epic or Epic Staff.

- It will be a larger, more intense Battlefield.
- Chainsaw duels
- Improved cover system
- Hammer burst now single shot
- Meat shield in both multi player and single player
- Carmine is back
- Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the light mass bomb was detonated in gears
- Gas grenade(poison grenade)
- Gorgon burst pistol(locust 6 round burst pistol)
- Active reloads adjusted different features for different guns
- New weapon specific melee's and executions
- Drop in drop out co-op
- Multiple difficulty settings
- Gridlock is back
- Two new species confirmed, locust rock worms and locust kantus(able to use sonic attacks and revive fallen locust)
- Blood trails and smearing
- War journal
- Deeper story
- 5 vs 5 online
- New way to chainsaw(taint to neck)
- New characters
- Destructible environments
- No longer invincible during chainsaw
- Vehicle levels
- Forced walking scenes replaced with a dynamic conversation camera system
- Notable graphical improvements in terms of lighting and amount of enemies on screen.
- Longer story line
- New weapon Scorcher (Flamethrower)
- Assassination game type altered. everyone respawns until their leader is dead. when the leader is killed they stop respawing and the game ends when everyone is dead on one team.
- Assassination renamed 'Guardian'.
- New game type 'Wingman' 10 players split into teams of two.each team is played as different character (eg Marcus and Marcus vs Dom and Dom etc)
- Features Matchmaking
- New game type 'meat flag' sort of like CTF but epic have done this in their own way. The flag will instead be character wandering around the center of the map. He has his own weapons and even a place on the leader board.To capture him you will need to down him and pick him up as a meat shield and take him back, slowly, to your base. If you shoot the meat flag enough times while he's being dragged back to base, his captor will loose him and he'll go crazy on everyone around him.
- Specific weapons will cycle round the maps.
- Stopping power - if your running towards an enemy but he is firing straight into your chest, you will slow down.
- The opportunity to spawn with either the lancer or hammer burst.
- Bullet shields. big metal shield that stops you from getting hit. can be planted into the ground to make a new cover. enemies can kick it down though if they get close enough. However you can only use a pistol when carrying it also it slows you down drastically.
- Grenades can be stuck anywhere. not just on enemies. they can be planted on the ground,walls,doors etc to produce a proximity mine.
- Smoke grenades carry a stun effect that rag dolls anyone in range.
- On games with no respawn, when you are dead you can fly around the map as a "ghost cam". You can even take screen shots that will be uploaded to the community.
- New map - 'river' - symmetrical map, each team has a thin strip of land with a house and sniping tower, and in between them a river.
- New map - 'Security' - long thin map. to the left and right are stairs leading to veranda's that run the entire length of the map. you are barred access however by red lasers, which will kill you if attempting to pass through. A power weapon is barred on the other side of the map while at the other it is defended by sentry guns. There is a button in the middle of the map that turns the lasers and sentry's off for 20 seconds.
- "X" button: Traditional curb-stomp.
- "B" button: Melee attack that will be weapon specific. (Longshot sniper rifle will be used as a golf club of death.)
- "Y" button: Flips your opponent over and let's you punch in their face ... UFC style.
- "A" button: Use your enemy as a "meatshield" that limits your weapon choice to a pistol.
- All weapons have a variable amount of "stopping power" that'll slow down an opponent's running or diving abilities.
- Whoever does the quickest amount of "B" button tapping will be victorious.
- Your teammates can help give you an edge in the duel by shooting the opponent which will give you the upper hand on the "B" button mini-game.
- No duel will occur if a player is chainsawed from behind. Instead, "butt to head" chainsaw animation will kick in giving the attacker and instant kill.
- Two people can chainsaw one guy at the same time.

UNCONFIRMED INFORMATION
Information that would be provided by as "Rumors".

Nothing Currently...

FALSE INFORMATION
Information that has been proven False by moderators on Epic Forums.

- The length of the campaign will be around 15 hours
- If you play the entire main campaign in co-op, there will be special cut-scenes and decisions that will affect the game various endings.
- A new boss called "acheron" revealed. it looks like a gargantuan mammoth that the locust use in order to destroy large vehicles
- New multiplayer mode called "ordeal", it's a mission where you compete to see who kills 100 enemies first.
- New multiplayer mode called "en-garde", chainsaws only!
- Stamina Bar

Thanks to: Epic Games Forums - View Profile: ICRI XSTEALTHX (http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/member.php?u=1315436)

Hope this has summed up all of the changes and postings thus far, I think its done a great job of that.

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[Sneakster]

God I can't wait. I'm taking a vacation for the whole first week of November. :top:

[Ultramafia]

god why did i let my friend who disappears and never returns **** borrow my GOW. I just need to chainsaw like 5 - 6 people to get my fix. everything sounds amazing. keep it coming.

[mistercrow]

I can hardly wait to play this. I loved the first one and this one looks way better.

[Boost King]

I must admit, I would have settled for a identical game, with just fresh content and more story. But what Epic are doing here is great.
Almost every claim about poor story, minimal maps, few modes of online play are all being dealt with, plus extra weapons etc.

I think GOW2, I am predicting will be a 9.5+ / 10. I think its the GOTY already, and thats without playing it!

Nah, just playing, I'll reserve judgement till I play it for real, but I still do think it will impress many, even dislikers of GOW1.

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[Sir Charles]

Its shaping up to be a beauty, thats for sure.

[oli]

Link: Brand New Gears 2 Scans from EGM - GameTrailers.com Forums (http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=412914)


HIGHLIGHTS
- Locust will rip a guy's arm off and beat him to death with it as their Y button execution.
- If you go down with a frag in your hand, you can detonate it while you're downed, and take-out anyone trying to execute you.
- You can call for help while downed and your indicator will flash on teammates' screens.
- According to this the Gnasher is the one with the golf club finisher, and the Longshot gets slammed straight down on the enemy's skull, butt-first. - Looks like the melee executions will still be the quickest way to execute someone up close, taking reportedly, a half-second...
- ARing the Scorcher increases its effective range.
- All grenades can be stuck to walls, and the smoke's blast will knock shields out of enemy hands.
- Random weapon spawns will be sensitive to similar styles of weapons, so, the Longshot would be replaced by the Torque...
- There appears to be a black-clad Theron-style locust with eerily familiar eyes and a suspicious, triangular, black marking on his head in one of the shots...
- The Y button allows for a variety of executions, including the fist-pummeling for the COGs, the rip-the-arm-off move above for the Locust, and many weapon-specific executions, for instance, you can take the enemy's head, place it on the Torque's blade tip, and rip it off with your foot.
- When using a shield, any exposed body parts are still fair game.
- Passing mention of a new "Wall hugging" ability. Not sure what that refers to.
- Screenshots taken while dead will be scored based on variables such as how many particle effects are present, or how close to centered the enemies are, is there blood or an execution present... The system was likened to Pokemon Snap or Dead Rising. The images will have their own Leaderboards so players can compete for who has the best screenshots.
- The meatflag in Meatflag is a loudmouth Stranded. The scoring area in MF will move around to various locations after a while.
- Subway is the only other returning map.
- The new Locust pistol is once again called the Gorgon. I suspect Medusa was a mistake.
- Solid cover will not be completely destructible (at least in MP) but you will be able to chip away a couple inches to get a slight angle on someone.

[Boost King]

Hi Oli,

Nice link. I just bought a Aussie Official XB magazine, and the article looks identical, same pics as well. I was thinking of scanning it, but you've saved me the pain.

I love the new gridlock, can wait to play that map first.

Boost

[oli]

Yeah , Gridlock was a huge favourite among the Gears community , so adding a new theme to it will be an instant hit.

Gears of War 2 Sales Prediction: the game will sell 10million copies worldwide. « XboxOZ360 - Weblog (http://xboxoz360.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/gears-of-war-2-sales-prediction-the-game-will-sell-10million-copies-worldwide/)

Sale of Gears Of War 2 could eclipse old sales record.




©2008 Aaron Bertinetti:
Ed Note: This is the second in a series of articles by our writer looking at the monthly “predictions” of sales of games based on his own methodology. We will bring you many new and upcoming games Predictions based on a projected One Months sales. We hope that this will garner discussion and debate within the community and hopefully have an effect on peoples perception of the games that are heading our way, or that have recently been released.

You will also find some current Video’s on Gears Of War 2, plus the recent Tech Demo of the Unreal Engine 3, and some earlier demos of what the Engine can do, and what to expect in future games powered by the Unreal Engine 3 (3.5) - enjoy. Anyhow, enough of my drivel, please continue on and enjoy TWODGSz’s interesting Predictions for Gears Of War 2.

“`The release of GTAIV broke software sales worldwide but it also illustrated a key issue with multiplatform titles. Whilst they may sell more as a whole, console specific attach rates are less compared to the potential of a title if console exclusive. It also makes predicting multiplatform sales relatively difficult. Thankfully in Part Two I’ll be looking at Gears of War 2, Microsoft’s biggest exclusive title for the Xbox360 this year, which will be released November 2008.

“`All the following figures are based on tracking data sourced from VGChartz and rounded to a single decimal.

Part Two
Gears of War was released early on in the life of the Xbox360 during mid November of 2006, a full ten and half months earlier than Halo 3 and to a much smaller console install base of 5.3m that rose to a modest 8.3m ten weeks later.

Currently there have been 5.2m sales of Gears of War. 0.9m came in week one, 0.5m in week two (56% drop), 0.4m in week three (20% drop), 0.3m in week four (25% drop) and a lesser sales erosion to a steady 0.21m average over the next six weeks. Sales were much steadier over the medium term compared to Halo3 which saw a week two erosion of 80% to Gears relatively small 56%. What this tells us is that Gears was fuelled largely by a post release marketing campaign and word of mouth.

Gears of War’s ten week console attach rate was 40.1%, the same as Halo 3.


Currently there are approximately 18.9m consoles worldwide. Based on current trends we can confidently assume there will be 22.6m consoles by mid November and ten weeks later 24m consoles. However, it’s important to note that there are four key factors over the coming months that may significantly change these console predictions and hence sales forecasts. In a later article I will explain the importance of relative prices, BluRay, “Newton”, and economic growth to the expansion of the Xbox 360’s console base over the following six months and beyond.

But for now let’s just assume a 24m console base, ten weeks after the release of Gears of War 2 in mid November 2008.

Here’s where it gets interesting…
Currently there are little in the way of analyst predictions but simExchange, which is a common source for Wall Street and the financial press, is currently forecasting approximately 8.1m lifetime sales of Gears of War 2.

Many people argue that Gears of War 2 is a less mainstream game than Halo 3. The logic is that because of its more mature content its appeal is limited and Microsoft’s ability to market it in a Halo 3 fashion is markedly reduced. Personally I think Marcus Fenix would be more likely to curb stomp a Spartan-green can of Mountain Dew before he ever appeared on it!



Regardless, under such reasoning if we take the original Gears of War sales experience and apply the relevant attach rate of 40.1% we see approximately 10m copies of Gears of War 2 being sold within ten weeks, of which 3.8m will come in first week sales and 7.3m within the first month.

As a result, Gears of War 2 would resoundingly beat the Halo 3 sales records of 5.1m in the first month by about 2.2m copies and would also become Microsoft’s highest selling exclusive title by the end of January 2009.

However, others would argue that Gears of War 2 could very well be this year’s Halo 3 and as a result will follow a similar sales pattern. The argument is that despite its more mature audience it maintains a strong and growing mainstream presence, a large fan base beyond 5m gamers and Microsoft have already indicated it will be at the forefront of its marketing muscle come Christmas 2008 (REM songs and all!).

If Gears of War 2 is a blockbuster and behaves similarly to Halo 3 it will still sell 10m copies but 7.3m copies will come in the first week alone, and 9.3m within the first month! This would be more than an 80% increase on Halo 3’s first month sales record.

The Prediction…
As much as I’d like to believe Gears of War 2 has the same mainstream appeal as Halo 3, I just can’t picture mums and dads en masse buying the bloody sequel to put under the Christmas tree. I’m quite happy to believe Gears of War 2 has the potential to sell 10m copies, but given its pre Christmas release and that other titles to release in this period like Fable 2 are more family friendly, I have trouble seeing those huge week one numbers coming to pass.

My prediction is that Gears of War 2 will sell 10m copies within ten weeks of release, of which 3.8m will be in the first week and 7.3m within the first month. Gears of War 2 will not only topple Halo 3’s first month and ten week sales records but it appears likely that it will also beat Halo 3’s opening week sales record.I’ll also predict Gears of War 2 will certainly be “bigger, better and more badass” than the original, but that come November I may well be sick of hearing that phrase even if it’s completely and utterly true.

Now if only November would hurry up and get here!

[Boost King]

Hi,

Gears of War New Weapons, see image.

Boost