Gears PC: November 6th! Gears of War PC is set to be released as early as November 6th! Do be sure to get all the details with our mini overview and IGN's gigantic preview. More >
Interview & Weapon Guide Don't forget to check out our Gears weapon guide, as well as our interview with Mark & Cliff of Epic. More >
Universe at War Beta Sega is offering FilePlanet subscribers Beta access for
Universe at War.
Hidden Fronts Check out Epic’s Hidden Fronts Map Pack. Screenshots and info galore!
Gears of War PC Gears is coming to the PC, and it’s no mere port! New multiplayer maps, single player chapters, an editor, and a lot more. Check it all out!
Thursday, 4 October, 2007 – Gears of War News
Planet CoD Re-Launches + Halo Contest 21:17 PST | redef | Print NewsOur neighbors over at Planet Call of Duty have re-launched their site with a new design. They, of course, have coverage on that entire (massive) series, including all of the details on Call of Duty 4 which is to be released in about a month.
Also around the network, Planet Halo is currently hosting a rather fantastic contest. Aptly named The DoSomethingAmazing Movie Contest, they are challenging Halo 3 players to make an amazing video. Prizes include a Halo Edition Xbox 360 and Battle Rifle replicas. I expect good (hilarious) things to come from this!
What was it like being able to revisit the first Gears of War game with this new PC iteration before moving on to Gears of War 2?
For the record, we haven't announced anything about any possible follow-up to Gears. I don't see why we'd make a sequel to a game that's sold over 4 million copies, that would be crazy. [...]
No Gears Movie After All? 20:53 PST | redef | Print NewsDespite all of the movie talk recently, there are some rumors floating about that indicate that there may not be any Gearmovie after all. IESB is reporting that “due to the budget concerns the studio has, New Line will most likely not be moving forward on this film.” Oh noes!
CliffyB Interviewed At Kotaku 12:52 PST | redef | Print NewsAnd just in case you haven’t had quite enough interview/preview coverage yet, Kotaku has an interview with CliffyB. While there are Gears PC questions within, the most interesting pertain to development and Cliffy’s start as a developer:
"I was a shitty programmer and an even worse artist, but I somehow managed to code and stumble my way through...like painting my own pictures to make my own game, because I was that hungry and I wanted to make my own games that badly," said Bleszinski. "Today, there are a lot of great colleges that have great game development programs and many of them use Unreal Engine. They assemble these fire team cabals of students to put their own games and mods together, which I think is a great way to teach people the development process not only from the tools and technology process, but also from the social interaction and team-based dynamic of game development and the reasonable trade-offs that are always involved in development."
Gears PC Previews 12:42 PST | redef | Print NewsIGN has a massive 3 page preview of Gears PC. As is the IGN way they have go into a lot of detail that covers both single player and multiplyer aspects. They even go as far as to provide a video interview with CliffyB, which also includes some multiplayer footage. Here’s a tidbit and that video:
It's not surprising that you can do away with the keyboard altogether and use a 360 gamepad to play the PC version of the game. What is surprising is that the game automatically detects your input device as you use it and adjusts the game balance accordingly. To go one better, the game can even switch between modes in real time while you're playing and even updates the small help icons that appear during the game to fit the controller you're using. It might seem like a strange feature to get excited about but it clearly shows the effort that Epic is putting forth to make the PC version every bit as impressive as the console version.
Additionally, ShackNews also has a new preview. They cover all the usual stuff, along with a large image gallery that features three screenshots of the Unreal Editor—which will no doubt be a tease for many modders out there.
Are you excited yet?
Update: Team Xbox also has a preview if you are looking for one more!
CliffyB On The Gears Movie 12:19 PST | redef | Print NewsAn interview over at GameDaily Biz has CliffyB talking about the Gears movie (along with a little talk about the Hitman movie and a Halo movie). It looks like we can expect a R rating, and hopefully some chainsaw action! Here’s a clip:
BIZ: What's it like working with Stuart Beattie, the man who helped turn Pirates of the Caribbean into a Hollywood blockbuster?
CliffyB: Stu is amazing to work with because he knows Gears inside and out. He beat the game several times and he was hooked on multiplayer. You go into these Hollywood meetings and expect a certain type of Hollywood people, many of whom I've met. But Stu was just the most sincere, honest type of Aussie dude. He was just a smart writer. He respects the franchise and he's a fan of it. He also knows how to write a compelling movie and adaptation. There's a lot of back-and-forth with him and a lot of long conversations about the universe and what would make a good film adaptation. I think we have a really great script and now it's just a matter of getting the right director attached and making sure it becomes a "AAA" blockbuster movie.
Gears PC: November 6th 12:00 PST | redef | Print NewsPC fans don’t have much longer to wait for Gears. Reports from various sites (for example VE3D, where they also have a lot of pretty pictures) have declared that that a November 6th release date has been affirmed. Joy!
Wednesday, 3 October, 2007 – Gears of War News
Gears PC Fact Sheet 20:39 PST | redef | Print NewsCapping off this surprisingly busy news day is a fact sheet for the PC version of Gears. There isn’t anything new or particularly startling, but you might still want to check it out. VE3D has a copy.
Mark Rein Video Interview: Gears 2? 20:26 PST | redef | Print NewsA video interview featuring Mark Rein is being provided by GameTrailers from the Tokyo Game Show. Their questions concern the possibility of Gears on the PS3 (it isn’t a genuine possibility it seems), why Epic has not pursued engine development for the Wii, and several rather enthusiastic attempts to squeeze any info about Gears 2 out of Mark. Take a look:
Gears Soundtrack Review 20:18 PST | redef | Print NewsSoundtrackNet has reviewed the Gears of War soundtrack. The reviewer provides a little bit of info about Kevin Riepl who, besides creating the music in Gears, also created the music for the Unreal Tournament series and is working on Huxley. If you are like me you’ll be a little lost in some of the reviewers audio-centric vocabulary, but nevertheless it’s a cool read. Here’s a bit:
Still, Riepl does have a fine ear for manipulation of texture. Consider "Locust, Wretches & Kryll," which is on the CD right after my favorite track title, "I Will Kryll You" (Riepl certain does have a good sense of humor). The track opens with a high synth sound that morphs as though it is being heard underwater. Over that sound, percussive hits bounce back and forth between the right and left channel, effectively disorienting you as a listener. Riepl quickly establishes a percussive ostinato and places a slow-moving brass melody over it, but those initial sounds continue in the background, creating a deliberately and deliciously creepy atmosphere that screams of claustrophobia and cold sweats. And at two and a half minutes, the cue does not overstay its welcome, establishing its mood and leaving you in it as it finishes.
Gears of War Movie, Brief Details 20:13 PST | redef | Print NewsGamePro has interviewed screen writer Stuart Beattie. Beattie is partly responsible for the rather huge Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, and he is working on the Gears of War movie. The interview provides some of Beattie’s views on video game movies, his collaboration with Epic, and some other details. I definitely have hope that this project won’t follow the typical bad-movie trend that video games seem to sustain!
Gamers wondering what a Gears of War movie might look like need only to rent Warner Bros.' Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD of 300. Many film critics called that international blockbuster a movie that looked like a videogame. Now there might be a game that looks like a game on the big screen.
"To me, that's a good movie because that's a movie that is getting people talking about, reading into it," said Beattie. "It's interesting. Everyone's talking about 300. They use it as an example of where things are headed. 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."
Joystiq Previews Gears PC 20:05 PST | redef | Print NewsJoystiq played the PC version of Gears at DigitalLife and have some impressions to show for it. The preview itself isn’t particularly extensive (which might not be a detriment, since the game isn't completely novel at this point), but it makes up for that by providing interesting info that has yet to have been fully explained (such as controls). Here’s a sample:
Using a mouse to aim is liberating, and will allow you to quickly look around the environment, something we're not accustomed to with Gears of War's usually claustrophobic camera. With the mouse, you'll be able to blind-fire at will with a click of the left click button. However, if you want to go in to precision aim mode, you'll have to hold the right-click button. It's a slight change in mentality to use the right-click so often, but the added accuracy of a mouse makes it infinitely easier to pull off the gory, satisfying head shots that Gears of Wars fans love. Will the mouse aim make the game easier? It appears as though it will.
Sunday, 30 September, 2007 – Gears of War News
CliffyB Interviewed At Aeropause 0:17 PST | redef | Print NewsA quickie of an interview with CliffyB has appeared at Aeropause. The interview primarily concerns Gears for PC, and although there isn’t anything particularly new in the interview it’s probably worth a quick read. Here’s a taste:
JH: What is going to happen after Gears of War for the PC is finished? Is it straight on to Gears of War 2, or some other new property? Do we have a solid release date for Gears of War on the PC, or is it still a moving target?
CliffyB: We’re currently looking at November for Gears of War landing on store shelves. The team is also crunching to ship Unreal Tournament 3 which is looking spectacular! After that I believe we’ll all be taking a well deserved vacation in Tijuana. Then who knows… the sky’s the limit.
Tuesday, 25 September, 2007 – Gears of War News
Eurogamers Previews Gears PC 16:57 PST | redef | Print NewsIf you are looking for another Gears PC preview Eurogamer is providing the very latest. Their comments are largely positive, but they do have a few concerns that you might be interested in. Check it out.
Gears Nominated at BAFTA 16:53 PST | redef | Print NewsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced their nominations in the various video game categories of their awards. Gears of War was nominated in the Action and Adventure, Best Game, Gameplay, Technical Achievement, Use of Audio, and The PC World Gamers Award. Having been nominated in that many categories it’s probably a pretty safe bet to insist that Gears will be a big winner, but we’ll have to wait until October 23rd for the results.
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