Kotaku: gow

Amazon Begins Gears of War 2 Pre-Orders, Then Stops?

Mark Wilson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:20:56 MST

Gears of War 2 ~~is available for pre-order on Amazon now~~ was available for Amazon pre-order for moments. They list a release date of November 15th, 2008. Of course, take that date with a grain of salt for the time being, but know that someone, somewhere, somehow thought that Gears of War 2 would be out on November 15th, 2008. And that should mean something. Important.

Feel free to ZOMG! out in the comments. We don't judge you here, friends. Unless it's for banning purposes. Or, you know, to ridicule in our private chat room.

Preoderless Amazon Page [via maxconsole]

GoW Chains of Olympus (Combo Fiesta)

Mark Wilson — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:20:17 MST

Before we get you too excited, we should remind you that GoW Chains of Olympus isn't hitting the PSP until March. With that said, enjoy checking out all these sweet Kratos combos.

While the game looks well-executed on the PSP, my GoW enthusiasm has wained. I actually never finished the sequel, even though I really dug some of the newer elements like the hammer. Maybe the PS3 version's glamorous sheen will reinvigorate my interest in the franchise. Maybe I'm just parting ways with my obsession with the button mashing adventure genre. Am I alone on this one?

Cliffy B Talks Gears of the Rings

Mark Wilson — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:40:07 MDT

Freakin' LOTR. I thought that pop culture had finally overcome the overrated madness of the overrated movies based upon overrated books. But it's inescapable. Take a stew-eating, pure diesel, sci-fi future, manly man game like Gears of War—it seems completely free of of stupid ring fantasies. That doesn't sound like LOTR at all, right Cliffy B?

We wanted the Locust to be intelligent savages; they're like the Uruk-hai in LOTR, only with guns...The Uruk-hai would organise themselves, line up and then storm in - even though they look like horrible monsters. That's what the Locust essentially are...

Freakin' LOTR with guns? Did you really have to ruin it for me, Cliffy? Did you??

Gears: CliffyB reveals Lord of the Rings inspiration [cvg]

Len Wiseman May Direct Gears of War Film

Mark Wilson — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:00:42 MDT

Len Wiseman, director of Live Free or Die Hard and both Underworld films is said to be in negotiations to direct New Line Cinema's Gears of War film. He's a fairly hot director at the moment, especially after building the looking-to-flop Underworld into a franchise making over $200 million worldwide. Since I haven't seen any of his three directed films, I'll refrain from judgment (at least until after the jump).

I will say, however, that anyone bitching on the topic should remember that while Gears is a great game, it had a superficial, complete piece of crap storyline built upon Hollywood cliches. The only reason the IP is worth a dime outside of the gaming world is its brilliant art direction. In my eyes, no director can screw up a narrative experience that was worthless in the first place.

Which Directors Will Get to Helm Gears of War... [via aintitcoolnews]

Why $50 Games Are the New Average, $60 Here for Good

Mark Wilson — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:40:55 MDT

We all knew that the first time we broke down and spent $60 on a game, the floodgates would open and we would atone our sin at the checkout for th rest of our lives. We admitted that the companies had the power, and we were but weak, desperate gamers itching for a fix of HD graphics. Next Generation has actually done the math behind that sick feeling in your stomach, confirming that $60 is the new $50, and that $50+ is the new average.

Their conclusions:

1. Prior to 2007, the average prices for the top 20 games was around $40-$43.
2. During the first half of 2007, prices for the top 20 games has been around $46-$49, without including Guitar Hero II. With Guitar Hero II, included prices are measurably above $50.
3. As the Xbox 360 library expands, it will claim more and more high-priced games in the top 20 list.
4. As Wii games replace PlayStation 2 games in the charts, it will keep the floor of console game prices right at $50.
5. The last two points will together force the average price of top selling games well above $50 in the near future.
6. The only downward pressure on average game prices is coming from the Nintendo DS.

They argue that GHII and Gears of War were the first $60+ games to up the ante in the average price of the top 20 games, but as of 2007 the charts have flooded with $60 titles continuing the price growth.

In the past few months, just the top 10 titles have represented around 30% of all software sales. So in other words, every $60 game in the top 10 has a massive impact on averages—with the only effective counterbalance being $35 titles from the DS.

How Game Prices Are Shooting Higher [nextgeneration]

Clip: God of War on Atlas

Mike Fahey — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:40:01 MST

Sony, in a continuing effort to whip God of War fans into a frenzy, have released another gameplay clip from the sequel. This one features winged Kratos cavorting around and about the humongous Atlas.

Nice to see Atlas muttering his signature phrase, "Uhhhhhhhh." I sincerely hope Sony leaves us some wow moments to discover on our own once the game comes out. Michael Fahey

Gears of Mortal Kombat?

Mike Fahey — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:20:44 MST

No matter how you may feel about Gears of War, you have to admit that it is a visually stunning game...even Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon seems to think so. So much so, in fact, that he wants the next chapter in the MK saga to look like it, as he told Game Informer in a recent interview.

"To me, when I saw Gears of War, I was like, 'Holy s___!' That's the look that we've been talking about." Visually, that's what we want to do."

I somehow doubt Kitana would be nearly as hot with a neck as thick as her waist, but your mileage might vary on that one. Boon went on to explain that this was a time for change in the MK series.

Everything is getting trashed. We're reinventing everything from the ground up. We really think that's needed—you know, we're on Mortal Kombat 8, in a sense—to kind of wipe the slate clean every once in a while, and I kind of feel that now is the time."

Like when you guys wiped the slate clean and made MK4? *shudders* Michael Fahey

MGD 07: Ed Boon Interview [GameInformer.com via Team Xbox]

Alabama Big Screen GoW Tourney

Mike Fahey — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:40:27 MST

If you live in or around Gadsden Alabama you might not be able to attend our New York Barcade Party or read (as a Georgian I am contractually obligated to take at least one cheap shot at Alabama per mention), but come February 3rd you'll be able to experience Gears of War on the big screen. Premiere Cinema 16, MIX 102.9 FM, and GameStop are sponsoring a GoW tournament at the Gadsden Mall movie theater. For a $10 entry fee players can battle it out one on one, best of three rounds, with the top two players receiving a cash prize at the end of the night.

Registration starts tomorrow, so you'd best hurry before the other three internet-savvy Alabamans get wind of this (bonus points!). I kid! I have family in Alabama, and besides, you're the only thing keeping Mississippi from invading. Michael Fahey

Gears of War on the Big Screen [Epicenter Networks - Thanks Decss6!]

Gears of War Sells 3 Million

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:40:00 MST

It was only a little over a month ago that we reported on Gears of War sales reaching 2 million worldwide, and now Microsoft has officially announced yet another million copies to add to the tally. That's something like 40,000+ copies of the game sold a day.

"Like blockbuster titles from Microsoft's Halo franchise and the Grand Theft Auto and Zelda franchises, Gears of War is tracking to be one of the best-selling video games of all time and has established itself as the most successful new IP of the next generation," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft Corp.

Not so sure I'd place the game in the same rank as Zelda or Halo, but the young franchise certainly is off to an interesting start. Ask me again after I've played through part 2. Michael Fahey

'Gears' Goes Triple Platinum [GameDaily]

Clips: CliffyB Introduces New GoW Maps

Mike Fahey — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:40:57 MST

The Gears of War update is live now, complete with fixes, tweaks, and two new multiplayer maps. Rather than try to explain the maps to you myself, I'll let game creator and future Tiger Beat coverboy CliffyB do the talking, courtesy of the preview video available for download via Live, lovingly uploaded to YouTube by the fine folks at Aeropause.

This is probably the first time in the history of the Discovery Channel that it's actually received a shout out, unless you count the Bloodhound Gang song The Bad Touch. Michael Fahey

Gears of War Map Pack 1 on Marketplace [Aeropause - Thanks Chilly!]

Amazing Custom Gears of War Figure

Mike Fahey — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:40:26 MST

Emilio Lopez, the artist for a webcomic called Terranova, created this custom Gears of War action figure to give to his cousin for Christmas.
He started with a Munny do-it-yourself action figure from Kid Robot, added paint and Sculpy, and even created a custom box to create a toy I'd be proud to spend money on. Not for sale unfortunately, but you can certainly pick up a Munny or two yourself and have a go at it. Check the link below for the full process, from sketch to completion. Amazing work! Michael Fahey

Custom Gears of War Munny [Emilio Lopez - Thanks Chris!]
Munny Series 2 Do-It-Yourself Toy [Kid Robot]