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Tag: Gears of War

  • Microsoft Buys Gears Of War IP, Shifts Development To Black Tusk

    Microsoft Buys Gears Of War IP, Shifts Development To Black Tusk

    Gears of War was the first game on the Xbox 360 to really feel next-gen when it launched in 2006. Epic’s intimate knowledge of Unreal Engine 3 combined with the power of the Xbox 360 helped to make the console look much better in comparison to the just launched PS3. Now after four games, Microsoft is finally making sure it can continue to use Gears of War as a benchmark franchise going forward.

    Microsoft announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Epic Games to purchase the Gears of War IP from the developer. While Microsoft published the first four games in the franchise, it never actually owned the IP. Under those conditions, Epic Games could have easily made a new entry in the franchise for a competing platform. With Microsoft now owning the franchise, it can ensure that Gears of War stays an Xbox exclusive.

    “Epic Games has reached an agreement to sell the ‘Gears of War’ intellectual property rights to Microsoft. We’re very proud of the franchise we built in close partnership with Microsoft over the past decade and are happy that this agreement enables Microsoft to forge ahead with the ‘Gears’ universe on their industry-leading platforms as Epic concentrates its efforts on new projects,” said Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. “Epic remains totally dedicated to supporting Xbox One and is licensing the Unreal Engine 4 technology to Microsoft in support of their future projects.”

    With Microsoft now owning the franchise, is Epic Games still going to develop the games going forward? The studio says it will continue to offer support on Unreal Engine 4 usage, but main development duties will now go to newly formed Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver. It may be a brand new studio, but Microsoft claims to have staffed it with all-star talent, including Rod Fergusson.

    Now that Microsoft owns both Gears of War and Halo, we can probably expect to see the two franchises receive new entries on the Xbox One every other year. We already know Halo 5 is in development, so we’ll probably see that first. As for the next Gears of War, we’re told we’ll hear something later this year.

    Image via Xbox Wire

  • Gears of War: Judgment Season Pass Includes Permanent Double XP

    Gears of War: Judgment Season Pass Includes Permanent Double XP

    Epic Games today announced the details of its “Season Pass” DLC bundle for Gears of War: Judgment.

    For 1600 Microsoft Points ($20), gamers will get two DLC packs that will be made up of six multiplayer maps, two new multiplayer modes, and exclusive armor and weapon skins. Purchasers of the Season Pass will also get early access to new multiplayer maps.

    In addition to this in-game content, Epic will be offering Season Pass subscribers a permanent multiplayer XP boost.

    The junk-food extra XP tie-ins for shooters such as Halo were sketchy, but were limited by their physical nature and limited-time offers. Weekend XP bonuses don’t discriminate among players who don’t have extra cash to spend on DLC. Paying for this permanent double XP offer is, according to Epic, a way “to accelerate your ascent through the ranks.”

    That’s the way Epic is promoting it, at least. Another way to look at it would be to say that players who don’t pony up a $20 tribute will only earn half XP.

    True, extra XP in this case may not confer any winning advantages (unless you consider being a high rank winning), but regardless of whether Judgment‘s XP boost amounts to a pay-to-win scenario, it’s another in a long line of incremental DLC offers that are moving in that direction. While these types offerings are normal and accepted in low-cost mobile games and free-to-play games, seeing them pop up for AAA, $60 console titles is more than a bit disconcerting.

  • Check Out Gears Of War: Judgment’s Multiplayer Modes

    Check Out Gears Of War: Judgment’s Multiplayer Modes

    Gears of War has always had some excellent multiplayer. The introduction of Horde mode in Gears of War 2 introduced a cooperative angle that made the game that much sweeter. The latest game in the series – Gears of War: Judgment – will introduce new elements to multiplayer to hopefully make it even better.

    The folks at People Can Fly, the developers behind Judgment, show off some of the new weapons that will populate the Team Deathmatch mode. The weapons seem to be some of the best the series has yet seen thanks to the super creative efforts from the team behind the original Painkiller and Bulletstorm.

    Beyond Team Deathmatch, the game will also feature Free-For-All, Domination and Overrun. The usual XP bonuses and perks will be present as well.

    Gears of War: Judgment takes players back into the past on March 19 exclusively for Xbox 360.

  • Gears of War: Judgment Multiplayer Early Access Coming March 15

    Gears of War: Judgment Multiplayer Early Access Coming March 15

    Epic Games this week announced that some players who pre-order Gears of War: Judgment will get three days of early access to the game’s new “OverRun” multiplayer mode. Unfortunately, the deal only applies to gamers who order Judgment from GameStop, either online or in-store.

    Those who do pre-order with GameStop will be able to start playing “OverRun” at 3 am EST Saturday, March 16. The early access will run until the launch of the game on March 19. During that time, players can earn XP that will carry over to the full game. The pre-order also comes with a “Young Marcus” character skin and a Lambent weapon skin.

    For those who don’t want to order from GameStop, or aren’t sure if they want to buy another Gears title, a demo for the “OverRun” mode will be available through Xbox LIVE on March 19 when Judgment launches. “OverRun” is a new class-based multiplayer mode that pits COG players (soldiers, medics, engineers, and scouts) against Locust players who can take on the role of wretches, tickers, grenadiers, ragers, kantus, giant serapedes, and maulers.

  • Gears of War: Judgment Will Come With a Free Copy of Gears of War

    Gears of War: Judgment Will Come With a Free Copy of Gears of War

    Though it seems as if Gears of War 3 was just released, we’re now less than two months away from the March 19 launch of Gears of War: Judgment.

    Today, Epic announced that launch copies of the upcoming prequel will include Games on Demand “tokens” for the original Gears of War. Epic claims that half of the people who played Gears of War 3 had never played the original game.

    Accompanying the announcement is a new trailer for Judgment. Though previous videos have focused on what’s new in Gears multiplayer (some interesting stuff, it turns out), this one explains in detail what gamers can expect from the campaign.

    So, what does the Judgment campaign hold in store for Gears fans? More Gears action, of course. Sure, there are some new weapons, enemies, and a new dynamic enemy spawn system, but the action and settings are undeniably familiar. The most notable thing the trailer does is remind gamers that, for better or worse, Baird’s voice will be heard prominently throughout the game.

  • Gears of War: Judgment Multiplayer Gameplay Revealed

    Gears of War: Judgment Multiplayer Gameplay Revealed

    Epic Games released several new previews of its upcoming Gears of War: Judgment this week, each featuring unvarnished gameplay from the title. It’s a refreshing break from game trailers that feature dubstep and have nothing to do with gameplay.

    While the single player campaign previews are short and show a game that is very similar to last year’s Gears of War III, the multiplayer trailers show a faster, more fluid style of battle. Judging by their combined 30-minute length, they also demonstrate how proud Epic is of its updated multiplayer modes. The combined length of the single player campaign previews is just over two minutes.

    The first trailer seen below previews a new multiplayer mode called OverRun. It’s a class-based mode where COG soldiers fight off Locust, who are controlled by enemy players. COG classes include soldier, medic, engineers who can plant turrets, and scouts (snipers). Locust players can take on the role of wretches, tickers, grenadiers, ragers, kantus (healers), giant serapedes, and even maulers. The second trailer shows some classic free-for-all gameplay.

  • Gears of War: Judgment Campaign Gameplay Previews Released

    Gears of War: Judgment Campaign Gameplay Previews Released

    Too often, trailers and previews for games are so carefully curated that they give a false impression of how a game will play. Sometimes game trailers barely even relate to the game in question.

    Epic Games is the type of developer that is superbly confident in its product, though. It knows it has developed one of the best modern game engines around, and is always happy to show off what it can do. Today, the developer has released several new videos depicting pure Gears of War: Judgment gameplay.

    The single player trailers, seen below, make the game appear to be very polished. That’s a good sign for Gears fans, since the game still has another few months of development left before its March 15, 2013 release date. The multiplayer gameplay trailers also feature a complete-looking title.

    Another thing to note is that the gameplay appears to have not changed significantly since last year’s Gears of War 3. That’s great news for fans of the Gears-style gameplay, but it could also feel like “more of the same” for gamers who need an extra reason to pick up a prequel to the original Gears trilogy.

  • Gears of War: Judgement Villain Revealed in New Trailer

    Gears of War: Judgement Villain Revealed in New Trailer

    This year’s Spike Video Game Awards turned out to be a trailer release party. As part of the festivities, Epic Games premiered the first real story trailer for the upcoming Gears of War: Judgment.

    As a prequel in a series steeped in expanded universe back-story, most of the details about Judgment are already known. However, Epic managed to keep the Big Bad a secret until now. The enemy players will be going up against in the Judgment campaign is a Locust commander named Karn, the “villain of Emergence Day.” Players will take on the role of Baird, Cole, and other Gears as they deal with political and strategic considerations in the immediate aftermath of E-Day.

    Gears of War: Judgment is scheduled to launch on March 19, and some of the pre-order bonuses for the title have already been announced.

  • Gears of War: Judgment Pre-Order Trailer Released

    In a holiday season filled with Assassin’s Creed III, Far Cry 3, and Hitman: Absolution trailers, there has been surprisingly little video released concerning Gears of War: Judgment since its announcement at this year’s E3.

    Now that Halo 4 has been released, however, it appears that Epic sees the chance to finally promote its Xbox 360 exclusive, scheduled to hit store shelves on March 19, 2013. Today the company released a trailer showing off a bit of the pre-order bonuses that will be available. For starters, customers who pre-order Gears of War: Judgment will receive the classic hammerburst assault rifle as an in-game weapon.

    Judgment will be the first Gears of War title not shepherded into the market by former Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski. Bleszinski, who had been a part of Epic for over two decades, left the company back in October to move on to the “next stage of his career.”

  • Cliff Bleszinski Leaves Epic Games

    Cliff Bleszinski Leaves Epic Games

    Epic Games today announced that Cliff Bleszinski, design director for the game development studio, has left his position with Epic. Bleszinski has been a part of Epic for over two decades, and has been the public face of the company for years. During his time at Epic, Bleszinski was a part of games such as the Unreal franchise and the Gears of War franchise.

    “In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the ‘Unreal’ and ‘Gears’ series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today,” said Time Sweeny, Epic founder and CEO. “Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life!”

    Epic stated that Bleszinski is moving on to the “next stage of his career,” though what that stage is isn’t mentioned. Responding on Twitter, Bleszinski was also vague about his future plans:

    Epic also released a portion of a personal note Bleszinski sent to his coworkers, which provide some insight into why the man would leave a position so many people would consider a dream job:

    I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business, as Mike likes to say. And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break.

    I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people. Epic only hires the best of the best, and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis, whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines, from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big, rewarding learning experience. I’m confident that each project that is being built, whether at Epic, Chair, PCF, or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike.

  • It Was Only A Matter Of Time Before Minecraft Got DLC

    The beauty of Minecraft is that anybody can make anything in it. There are no expansions beyond the free updates that hit every few months. Many gamers thought it would be the same once Minecraft hit the Xbox 360, but Microsoft isn’t going to give up on selling some good old fashioned DLC to gamers.

    The DLC pack coming to Minecraft on Xbox 360 is the first skin pack, which implies that there will be more down the road. Play XBLA got the skinny on more characters from the first pack that will include skins from some recognizable Microsoft franchises.

    It Was Only A Matter Of Time Before MInecraft Got DLC

    The big addition for somebody like me is obviously Banjo from the N64 classic, Banjo-Kazooie. After all the pain that modern day Rare has put me through, it’s nice to see Microsoft still paying homage to one of their best franchises.

    Alongside Banjo comes Ms ‘Splosion, the main character from the sequel to one of XBLA’s greatest hits, ‘Splosion Man. Clayton Carmine of Gears of War is also along for the ride. Here’s hoping he doesn’t die a horrible, gruesome death like all of his brothers.

    Rounding out the pack is Jack of Blades and the subtly named Prisoner. Jack is from the critically panned XBLA brawler, Fable Heroes, whereas the Prisoner is just a regular skin.

    These character skins are just the latest to be revealed as part of the Minecraft version 1.7.3 on Xbox 360. The first reveal from Skin Pack 1 featured a Creeper, a Covenant Grunt from Halo, ‘Splosion Man and others. There will be 40 character skins in all when it launches alongside the latest update.

  • GDC 2012: Gears of War Creator Was Inspired By Zelda

    Every game creator is inspired by the games of their youth, which in turn leads them to make the next set of games that inspires the next generation of developers.

    Gamasutra is reporting that a panel today at GDC had four legendary game designers talk about the games that influenced them. The game designers in question were Will Wright, Sid Meier, Cliff Bleszinksi and John Romero.

    For a bit of background, here’s what each designer is most famous for. Will Wright was the co-founder of Maxis who created games such as Sim City and the Sims. The last game he was a part of before departing Maxis was Spore.

    Sid Meier is in the same boat as Will Wright as game designers that perhaps need no introduction as his name graces each game that he produces – Sid Meier’s Civilization. What you may not know is that he is also responsible for Alpha Centauri and Pirates.

    Cliff Bleszinski may be the most contemporary designer on the list, but he shot up in notoriety as the creator of the Gears of War franchise. Before that though, he worked on Epic’s Unreal Tournament series. Cliff Bleszinski will always hold a special place in my heart, however, as part of the team that worked on Jazz Jackrabbit.

    Finally, John Romero was a co-founder of id Software where the first-person shooter was born. He was involved in the creation of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, but may be forever remembered as the creator of the ill-fated and absolutely trashy game Daikatana.

    Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get to the games that inspired them to make their most famous games. Will Wright was up first and his inspiration was more of a tool set than a game. He said that Pinball Construction Set for the Apple II was his inspiration for Sim City. The graphical editor was especially of great importance as it paved the way for the simplistic editor tools that were in Sim City.

    Gears Of War Zelda

    Sid Meier said that if it wasn’t for the classic PC game Seven Cities of Gold, he might not have started making historical games like Civilization. The focus on history and real world events led him to realize that topics like this could enter video games and still take hold of the player’s imagination.

    Cliff Bleszinski may have shared the most entertaining story with how his love of Nintendo and The Legend of Zelda led to him being made of fun at school. It may have not inspired any game at the moment for the young game creator to be, but it did put him on the path to becoming a rockstar of the games industry. In his talk, he mentions this ad for Zelda that didn’t really sell the game for him. I wonder why?

    John Romero spoke on how color in video games was his first “wow” moment. He was so used to seeing black and white games and then saw Pac-Man, which was his first game in color.

    While some of these creators went on to make vastly different games from what inspired them, there still is something to be said of the experience that leads us to choose gaming as more than just a hobby.

    What game was your defining moment that led you to realize this was more than just a hobby? Do you have any particular awesome stories? Let us know in the comments.

    [Lead image courtesy of Gamasutra]