Gears Bonus Content Released Two brand new maps, a video and a game update are now available for Gears of War - just press X at the main menu screen! Why not read our thoughts on the update and bonus content too. 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 >
GRAW 2 Demo Play Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and become one of the U.S. military's elite fighting unit.
Hidden Fronts Check out Epic’s Hidden Fronts Map Pack. Screenshots and info galore!
Voices of Gears of War In this article, we deliver the finest morsels of Xbox Live stupidity directly to your Internet machine by means of an article on a website. Behold, the voices of Gears of War!
Tuesday, 5 June, 2007 – Gears of War News
Steve Superville Interviewed 22:47 PST | redef | Print News The latest developer interview has appeared at the official Gears website. This time the interviewed was conducted with Steve Superville, who seems like quite a charismatic character. Here’s a taste:
Plenty of gamers out there would love to get jobs working on games. How did you break into the industry?
After three years of pre-vet classes at Rutgers I decided I didn’t want to actually be a vet. I didn’t really know what else to do so I figure, I like video games, maybe I’ll try a programming course. Soon I was skipping classes to work on various Half-Life engine mods, including Counter-Strike (back around beta version 4 for those who remember) and Kanonball. One class, numerical analysis, I attended three times: the first class, the midterm, and the final. I don’t recommend this path for anyone. Looking back, I probably could use the information I would have gotten, but I was having too much fun making games.
Are you ready for a war? The third circuit stop of this year's 2007 World Series of Video Games is right around the corner. The event is taking place at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, TX on July 5-8, 2007 and features 4 circuit games as well as a number of gaming activities. With the Gears of War prize purse totaling $10,000 it surely will be a battle for survival on the battlefield.
Sunday, 3 June, 2007 – Gears of War News
Gears Novel In The Works? 0:10 PST | redef | Print News Joystiq is reporting about a story on VH1 Game Break in which they’ve spotted the presale of a Gears Novel by Steven Kent. There aren’t any details, but VH1 is already speculating that there may be multiple books on the way. It'll definitely be interesting to see what comes of this!
Gears' Lessons Applied to UT3 2:23 PST | redef | Print News PC Games Hardware has an interview with Tim Sweeney in which he makes some comments concerning Gears. While the interview is primarily centered around Unreal Tournament 3, Gears fans will find some interesting bits (including the comments below).
PCGH: Are there any things you learned while developing Gears of War for next gen consoles that you can now benefit from when finalizing UT 3 for the PC?
Tim Sweeney: The Gears of War experience on Xbox 360 taught us to optimize for multi-core, and to improve the low-level performance of the key engine systems. This has carried over very well to PC. The division of UE3's rendering and gameplay into separate threads, implemented originally for 360, has brought even more significant gains on PC where there is a more heavyweight hardware abstraction layer in DirectX, hence more CPU time spent in rendering relative to gameplay.
Thursday, 24 May, 2007 – Gears of War News
Gears Update "Coming Along Nicely" 20:08 PST | redef | Print News Mark Rein has made a forum post alerting fans that a new Gears update is “coming along nicely.” There aren’t a whole lot of details, but there will be new achievements. Here’s the post:
The next Gears of War update is coming along nicely. We don't have a release timeframe for it yet but I just wanted to let you know we're making significant progress. In addition to the previously mentioned plan to improve roadie run we're also going to have new achievements relating to Annex and the Hidden Fronts DLC. Of course no title update would be complete without more exploit squashing and the ever-popular "general housekeeping".
Tuesday, 22 May, 2007 – Gears of War News
Jay Hawkins Interviewed 0:16 PST | redef | Print News The official Gears website is continuing their series of interviews with the creators of our beloved game. This time they interviewed Jay Hawkins, who is a rather awesome concept artist. Here’s a taste:
We all know that game developers work crazy hours. What was the longest day you put in working on Gears of War, and what were you doing?
As a concept artist my long hours are put in at the beginning of a project. If I am still crunching towards the end then something has gone very, very wrong. I did put in one 70-hour week after I went on vacation once. I didn’t realize we had a greenlight for Microsoft the following Friday, and I was supposed to have four finished designs for the game. I was working on Unreal Tournament 3 simultaneously, and I lost track of deadlines. Needless to say I did one vehicle, one character, and two weapon concepts in four days. It wasn’t fun.
Monday, 14 May, 2007 – Gears of War News
Gears of Golf? 14:54 PST | redef | Print News Apparently just about anything is possible. There are some reports floating around that a Gears-themed golf game could be in the works by Epic. While it certainly does seem that such a game exists, it won’t be available to the public. Mark Rein has made a forum post detailing the situation:
Nobody is actually playing this nor is there any intention of doing a golf game in the Gears of War franchise. It was simply a demo that one of our programmers whipped up to show off how you could make any kind of game with Unreal Engine 3 - not just the kind of games people had made with it thus far or the kind we tend to make.
Planet Transformers Launches 14:37 PST | redef | Print News While this isn’t exactly Gears-related, I’m sure many fans will nevertheless be interested. The latest website to launch on the GameSpy network in none other than Planet Transformers. Not only do they have a lot of info concerning the upcoming movie, but there’s also info about the many Transformer-themed games. Do make sure you pay them a visit!
Friday, 11 May, 2007 – Gears of War News
Rod Fergusson Interviewed 1:02 PST | redef | Print News Rod Fergusson is providing some more insight to some Gears topics in an interview at Gameplayer. A few different topics are covered, but the majority of the interview concerns multiplayer. Here’s an example:
Q: As more and more players get active online are you finding it less important to invest developmental time and budget into single player experiences?
No I don’t think so: as we say ‘people come for the single player and stay for the multiplayer’. I think multiplayer plays an important role in the longevity of the game and of the franchise as it allows people to continue experiencing the game on a day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year basis, but it is the single player that gets people emotionally involved in the game and gives them the history, background, relationships and emotion of the world. If you went into the Gears multiplayer without ever experiencing the single player I think you would have a good time, but I don’t think you would be as emotionally invested in the world and in the weapons and in the experience itself...
What do you think is the most innovative part of Gears of War?
For me it is the sense of immersion. To break it down, the immersion comes from a bunch of different parts of the game. It comes from the graphics technology, sound design, attention to detail in characters and environments, the tons of tweaks to animations to get the solid feeling of slamming into cover or meleeing someone, and even the music keeping you in the mood. It’s basically everything, but it makes you feel like you’re there, and I think we have taken it one step further along than what has already been done.
Thursday, 3 May, 2007 – Gears of War News
Hidden Fronts Media 23:37 PST | redef | Print News The Hidden Fronts Map Pack is now available and Team Xbox has plenty of new media that showcases the four new maps. Not only are there screenshots, but there are also videos from each map. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for a little inspiration before you spend your allowance.
The built environment of the abandoned subway makes for some interesting combat moments. Multiple railways equal multiple trenches, which can be used uniquely for cover. If there happens to be a subway car occupying said trench, it, too, can be used creatively for cover. The abandoned subway cars not only bridge the gap of these indentations in the earth, but they also inspire heated melee combat, since they are so closed-quarters in nature. Some have only one entrance and exit way, while others continue right on through, which allowed for several occurrences of disgruntled COG Southbounder versus agitated Locust Northbounder.
Tuesday, 1 May, 2007 – Gears of War News
Hidden Fronts Map Pack Soon 19:26 PST | redef | Print News This Thursday Microsoft and Epic will be releasing the Hidden Fronts Map Pack on Xbox Live! The pack contains four new maps which are described below. The initial release will be available at the cost of 800 “Microsoft Points” and for free on September 3rd. Here’s some info:
On Thursday, May 3, ready your weapons and prepare for battle as Gears of War® releases four new action-packed multiplayer maps in the thrilling "Hidden Fronts" Multiplayer Map Pack.
COG soldiers and the Locust Horde will clash once again for control of these four dynamic new areas: Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process, and Subway.
Bullet Marsh In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.
Garden This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.
Process Teams must fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.
Subway Timgad 's Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.
The "Hidden Fronts" Multiplayer Map Pack will explode onto Xbox LIVE® Marketplace on May 3 for 800 Microsoft Points. All four of the new maps will be made available at no cost over Xbox LIVE on Sept. 3, 2007.
And if you’re looking for more info make sure you check out Team Xbox. At midnight tonight they will be launching a preview of the new maps.
Tanya Jessen Interviewed 23:39 PST | redef | Print News The official Gears of War site has posted another interview with one of their own. This time they interviewed Tanya Jessen, who is an associate producer at Epic. Here’s a taste:
We all know that game developers work crazy hours. What was the longest day you put in working on Gears of War, and what were you doing?
My longest day was probably 30 hours. I was working on a demo to approve for a press visit. That week alone, I’d say I worked about 100 hours.
