Xbox 360 Fanboy

Don't ask how -- because we don't know -- but Joystiq managed to snag the video that will kick off the GameStop Gears of War 2 tournament this Friday. In the video, Epic's Cliff Bleszinski tells GOW fanboys what they can expect from the new game. We also get some nice footage featuring new Locust enemies. Enough talk though, time to watch. Find the video after the break.

Gamestop finally got around to posting an official website for their Gears of War 2 event that's taking place tomorrow evening at Gamestop stores nationwide. Real quick about it weren't they? The updated website has a convenient listing of all participating stores (PDF) as well as the rules (another PDF) for their mini Gears of War tournament that'll be held at each location. And, just as we expected, the 32 person tournament will award Microsoft points and t-shirt goodness to the best Gears player. Just t-shirt goodness for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best players. Also, don't forget that they will be airing an exclusive Cliff introduced Gears 2 video at the event AND Gamestop will even be awarding an extra 30% trade-in credit towards the reservation of Gears 2. 30%! W00t?

We already touched on the upcoming Comic-Con 2008 festivities, but yesterday Microsoft released an officially official press release detailing all the Gears of War 2 love they'll be showing for Comic-Con attendees. And already, we're jealous we can't attend.

Microsoft will have a booth setup on the floor where everyone can get a chance to play Too Human and Ninja Gaiden II, where also on Saturday, July 26th from 2:00-2:45PM the Cliff Bleszinski and GoW2 lead writer Joshua Ortega will be signing Gears posters. Later on Saturday, from 3:30-4:30PM, team Epic will be holding a "Gears of War" Showcase Panel where Bleszinski, Ortega and Karen Traviss will discuss all things Gears and give an exclusive preview of the vehicles and weapons that'll grace Gears 2 come this Fall. NECA will also be on hand selling an exclusive Carmine figure, previewing the General RAAM figure and there will be other Gears comic and novel goodness all over.

2008 is the year Gears of War 2 takes over Comic-Con and, depressingly, we can't attend. Though, MS does promise to "Bring it Home" via Xbox Live, so that should help our Gears 2 needs. Hopefully it'll be enough.

Holy red Gears of War 2 Xbox 360 Marcus Fenix! It's red! It's Gears-inspired! And it can be all yours if you're willing to play Gears of War online and have luck on your side.

Beginning tomorrow, July 23rd as part of a new Play & Win giveaway held over on Xbox.com, Gears of War gamers will have a chance to win a red comic book inspired GoW2 console, GoW2 t-shirt or a GoW2 poster. A total of five consoles will be awarded, one daily through July 27th, and all you have to do to enter is register and play Gears on Xbox Live each night to receive an entry. The more you play (up to five entries) the more chances you have at winning a pretty new console. Also, if by some random chance, an X3F fanboy wins a gorgeous red console, be sure to get in contact with us. We'll more than likely offer you rare jewels, pure gold bars and our soul in exchange for your console winnings.

Update: Thanks to Matt Banks over at Loot Ninja who supplied a scan of an actual promotional flyer, we have confirmed that the Gamestop GoW2 event will in fact be going down this Friday, July 25th. See you at Gamestop!

Both Gamernode (with their insider's email) and The Wire are reporting that this Friday, July 25th after closing, Gamestop stores nationwide will be hosting Gears of War 2 "After Dark" events. At the events - which are said to be similar to the original GoW After Dark events held back in October 2006 - they will be airing an exclusive video clip where Cliff Bleszinski introduces some never before seen Gears of War 2 footage. We're also hearing that following the exclusive video, each store will be holding a quick 1v1 Gears of War tournament where winners will be awarded Microsoft points for their fragging efforts.

Sadly, we have yet to find mention of the rumored Friday After Dark events on Gamestop.com so, for the time being, we'll plop a fat rumor tag on this news and patiently await word from Gamestop regarding the rumor. Our fingers are double crossed in hopes that we have a Gears 2 event to attend later this week.

Source - GoW2 After Dark event email
Source - GoW2 After Dark event details

Update: Okay, after further picture analysis, what we thought to be the mini-Lancer may actually be the metal tin being slid out of the box. That said, a loose lipped source did mention a mini-Lancer, so that's why we were accepting of the thought. Still, we wouldn't count on a mini Lancer being in the LE. Sorry for getting your hopes up.

There has been a bunch of Gears of War 2 related news coming out of E3 this week including matchmaking specifics, new footage as well as a new multiplayer mode getting revealed. But also exciting was the reveal of the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition's contents which may include some mini Lancer love.

Thanks to the kind Gamestop folks, we know that for the extra $10 price of Limited Edition admission, you'll get steel DVD case, a 48 page "Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2" mini-book, a bonus behind the scenes DVD as well as a code to unlock an in-game gold plated Lancer. Not too shabby. But if you look closer, pictured to the right of the box looks to be an included Lancer mini-replica of some sort even though Gamestop doesn't list it as part of the contents. Funny thing is that this week, during the E3 festivities, we heard from an anonymous but totally reliable source that there will in fact be a mini-Lancer included in the GoW2 LE. Take it for what you will, but we'll be dreaming our mini Lancer dreams all week long.

[Thanks, BAK6E]

Gears of War 2 is arguably the biggest and most anticipated release on any platform for Holiday 2008. Solidifying itself as a force to be reckoned with, Gears 2 was the poster child at Microsoft's E3 press conference. Showcasing a new single-player level, design director Cliff Bleszinski walked attendees through the new Gears experience. Intricate and beautiful environments, large sweeping battles and a horizontally moving elevator? Epic win. Pun is completely intended. If you happened to miss it, or require a place for multiple viewings, we present to you the entire Gears of War 2 on-stage demo from E3 2008.

Our BFFs at Joystiq are hard at work playing through upcoming games so they can drop expert knowledge into your waiting arms.

Like our own Fallout 3 and Banjo Kazooie: Creation Tools hands-on features, expect an in depth report sprinkled with some wacky humor. Here is a recap of all the features Joystiq has been working on. Expect more expert analysis as E3 continues throughout the week and beyond.

Joystiq Hands-on

• Left-4-Dead
• Gears of War 2 (Multiplayer)

Joystiq Eyes-on

• Bayonetta

Joystiq Impressions

• This Is Vegas
• The Wheelman

During a sit down session with Epic's Cliff Bleszinski, MTV Multiplayer confirmed that the game's new five player cooperative Horde mode will include exactly 50 different waves of Locust enemies, each getting progressively more difficult. Seeing that the difficulty curve in later waves gets noticeably more challenging, you'll be able to "bookmark" your Horde mode progress every five waves. But just exactly how difficult does it get? When the lead designer of the game admits that he can only reach wave 27 then you know things get really impossible and really intense.

Coming from our sit down interview with Gears of War 2 producer Rod Fergusson we get further explanation of the game's bots, confirming that (unlike some previously speculated) bots will NOT replace players who drop connection or quit out of games. Fergusson made the argument that there isn't a big disadvantage to losing a teammate mid-game in Gears and that an AI controlled bot taking over just wouldn't be fair due to the differences in player skill and strategies. We did learn though that Gears 2 bots can only be used in social games (makes sense) and must be enabled prior to the game's start via the game setup menu.

Last night, during the Gears of War 2 multiplayer reception, we got a chance to sit down with Gears producer Rod Fergusson to discuss all things Gears 2, specifically discussing how the online matchmaking system will work and what features we can expect.

When we asked how the matchmaking system would be organized and how it compares to Halo 3's system, Fergusson confirmed that Gears 2 will "definitely have playlists", which will be separated into ranked and social / unranked matches comprised of all the different gametypes. When it comes to matching players up in ranked we learn that a player's rank wouldn't be assigned any value or military rank, instead the ranked party would be matched up based on an average of "the rank of the party". When asked about some sort of veto system in matchmaking, we were told that "in the rank system we didn't like the veto system", but they did opt for a friendlier voting system instead. Currently, how it's planned, in all ranked matches there will be two multiplayer maps to vote on then the one that gets the most votes will be played. "If there's a tie or nobody votes," Fergusson continued "we'll just pick a random third one."

Finally, as far as stats go on GearsofWar.com, don't expect too much at launch. "It [online stats] isn't something that's critical for us on day one" Fergusson admitted, though confirming that the engine does mine rich data for much more detailed stats options in the future. Rod Fergusson wasn't afraid to admit that they don't have much experience with rich online stats like say, Bungie, admitting that when it comes to the rollout and implementation of a rich online stat service, "we're baby stepping our way in."

After much anticipation and a bunch of excitement fueled anxiety, we made it to Microsoft's Gears of War 2 multiplayer reception last night where journalist and video game execs mingled, drank some drinks and chainsawed the night away. We were able to test out a few of Gears 2's various multiplayer modes and give the new weapons a test drive all while taking it all in, analyzing the gaming experience and garnering an opinion. Quite simply, we could say the game is "badass" and be on our way. But we're sure you'd like a bit more explanation. Read on to get a flavor of what multiplayer mayhem you'll be experiencing come November 7th.

We're still getting our Gears of War 2 reception at E3. We've gotten a chance to play the game's multiplayer. So far, it's good stuff, and we imagine Gears fans will be pleased. We need to soak up a little bit more before we write up our impressions. In the meantime, check out a gallery of the event itself. Sorry, we're totally barred from capturing any shots of the screens, so you'll have to settle for pictures of the swanky club, Ciudad, where the event is being held in LA. Enjoy.

We'll add more pictures to the gallery when we get a chance.

You see that? You know what that is? That's a Dustin Burg experiencing pure elation. We're at Microsoft's Gears of War 2 reception. We are playing Gears of War 2. Specifically, we're checking out multiplayer, including the new survival co-op mode called Horde. We'll have impressions up sometime tonight, along with a gallery of the proceedings. You've been warned.

You'd think that since the Microsoft Press Conference was over we'd all curl up and think about the awesomeness. Naw! We still got a ton of stuff to show and tell you! So grab a cup of coffee for another content explosion.

This update is all about Gears of War 2. Microsoft released a handful of news screens and concept art for the anticipated sequel today as well as a shot at the retail box art for the game. Word around the Twitter campfire is Cliff Bleszinski's original motto of "bigger, better and more badass" for Gears 2 has been replaced by "epic and intimate." This box art screams it.

[Thanks, N'Gai for the quote]