EPIC Games to announce new title at E3… maybe.

Mike Capps has told VentureBeatthat they may announce a new title at this years E3.  This could be the unveiled shooter that EA Games scheduled for early 2011, or it could be a new installment for either Gears of War, Unreal or even a sequel to Shadow Complex.  We wait for E3 in anticipation!

Xbox Live Marketplace release schedule – Feb 23rd to March 24th

Major Nelson has released details of the Xbox Live release schedule for the next few weeks, including Xbox Live Arcade, Games on Demand, Deal of the Week, Avatar Marketplace and Game Add-Ons.

So, without further ado, that list in full…deep breath:

Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week:

March 1: Gears of War Avatar COG Armor (male) (female) 240 points & Helmet (male) (female) 80 points

March 8: Call of Duty: WaW: Map Pack Bundle, 1600 Points

Xbox LIVE Games on Demand:

March 2: Street Fighter IV, Europe, Australia and New Zealand

Xbox Live Arcade: (as previously reported)

March 3: Toy Soldiers – 1200 points

March 10: Scrap Metal – 1200 points

March 17: Perfect Dark – 800 points

March 24: Game Room – free to download. Individual games will cost 240 to 400 points

Xbox Avatar Marketplace:

March 2: Street Fighter IV

March 4: Major League Baseball 2K10

Game Add-Ons

Feb 23:  Star Wars The Force Unleashed,  Hoth Bonus Level – 800 Microsoft Points

Feb 25:  FIFA 10, Ultimate Team Game Add-on  – 400 Microsoft Points

March 2: Resident Evil 5, Desperate Escape Episode – 400 Microsoft Points

All Fronts DLC (Gears of War 2) Review

Ever wondered what Gears of War 2 would be like with a stealth option? Wonder no more! Dark Corners is a campaign chapter that starts with a question… Do you want to go deeper in the hollow via an all new stealth mode or in a more traditional way or all guns blazing?

Overview

Title: All Fronts / Dark Corners DLC for Gears of War 2

Release Date: 29^th July 2008

Developer/Publisher: Epic Games / Microsoft

Genre: Third Person Shooter

Platform[s]: Xbox 360 Downloadable Content

Review

Ever wondered what Gears of War 2 would be like with a stealth option? Wonder no more! Dark Corners is a campaign chapter that starts with a question… Do you want to go deeper in the hollow via an all new stealth mode or in a more traditional way or all guns blazing? We opted for stealth first of all and basically you just walk to your destination pulling levers, avoiding Locusts and walking through doors, we get the feel that this ‘deleted scene’ was deleted for a reason, it’s quite simply boring although it is nice to see a few new Locust animations as you get a bit too close to the enemy and obviously seeing our heroes dressed in Theron Guard uniforms.

The other option is to go in guns’ blazing which is more like the Gears we know and love! One of the main differences in this and the stealth option is being dropped into a prison at one point which sees you battling your way out against a few waves of Locusts, pretty much the same as the rest of the game really. One thing that both routes have in common is meeting an old friend from Gears of War that has been captured by the Locusts; we can’t tell you who it is but fans of the series will be pleased to meet the person.

In terms of length the campaign mode, dependant on difficulty, should only last around 15-20 minutes per choice (Stealth or Guns’ Blazing) so don’t go expecting a whole chapter.

The other part of the DLC is 7 multiplayer maps including the reworking of the original War Machine map from Gears of War.  From playing all of the maps we didn’t really find a single map that we clearly didn’t like and quite frankly we see these maps as the saving grace from the All Fronts DLC pack.

All the maps range in size from small close quarter combat to quite large maps with plenty of cover and hiding places.  For example Way Station is a small map spawning the teams just a few meters away from each other but with a train in the middle separating the teams, the train can of course be moved by operating a lever at the opposite side.

Our pick of the bunch has to be Sanctuary which features wide open space in a brightly lit section of Jacinto.  The map has 3 levels; ground, upper level and basement all of which hold power weapons so the race will be on and expect huge firefights trying to control these areas.

All in all the length of the campaign mode really goes against the price of the content but its saving grace is the quality and amount of maps that come with the pack, hardened Gears fans will be massively satisfied by the pack but casual gamers may feel slightly let down by the price and amount of content.  So to summarize this DLC only buy it if you’re really into playing Gears 2 online as the campaign mode is too shallow to prove a buy on its own merit.

New Platinum Hits Packaging

 

‘In a bold move to make “greatest hits” console game packaging that doesn’t make one want to stab oneself in the retina, Microsoft has apparently deployed new Platinum Hits box art to retail locations.

Kotaku reader Justin spied the new Platinum Hits design, which may no longer induce vomiting, at an upstate New York Target store, seen on the budget version of Gears of War. Gone is the atrocious miniature box art and old style Platinum Hits border that offended the senses, replaced by a new platinum colored banner with the distinction “Greatness Is Earned.” It is noticeably less horrific to take in through the eyes than earlier efforts.’

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Gears of War Boss on 360 – ‘Still more it can do’

VG247:  ’Gears of War 2 executive producer Rod Fergusson has told VG247 that innovations in both games software and Microsoft services mean we’ve yet to see the limit of what can be achieved with Xbox 360.

Fergusson was quoted previously as saying the box had been maxed out, a comment he told us was taken out of context.

“I think there’s still more it can do,” the developer said, talking at GDC.

“Hardware, in some regards, always has limits, but it’s the software that takes advantage of that.

“The [Unreal] engine is evolving – it evolved dramatically from Gears 1 to Gears 2 – and I think you’ll see people continue to push that envelope about how they use the memory, and how they use the hard drive, and all those sort of things.”

He added: “I think you’re always going to see improvements for specific games and the way they can architect the technology to take advantage of the hardware in the best way possible.”

“I think there’s still lots of room to grow.”

Fergusson said that developments in 360 UI software and Live functionality would also help keep the platform fresh.

“I think a lot of it too comes from the services side, and knowing what’s coming to Xbox Live in the next couple of years,” he said.’

Gears of War – No Ten Year Plan

It seems that there is a lack of communication between the Epic staff and comments of a ten year plan made by Gears of War 2 writer Josh Ortega have been denied!

In fact, this came directly from the top man, Mark Rein.

“No, we do not,”

“In this industry you can’t plan games very far in advance. We appreciate the enthusiasm Josh has for our franchise but we don’t have a ten-year plan.

“We always have ideas of where we’d like it to go but it’s determined on a game-by-game basis and ultimately by fan support. Our focus right now is supporting the Gears of War 2 game and community.”

“We’re working on the next title update for Gears of War 2 right now. When this title update is done we’ll start planning the next title update for Gears of War 2.”

OK, maybe they do have a plan and don’t want to brag or they just have an overly enthusiastic writer to deal with.  Either way I think I can speak for everyone when saying that the idea of Gears being built up in the future is great as long as it remains original and keeps getting better!

 

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