Behold, fanboys! It's one of those lovely (and quite heavy) metal Gears of War 2 COG tags that other media sites received and other fans are searching for across the globe. Admittedly, we're a bit late on our COG show and tell, but we have a really good excuse. The X3F COG tag was delayed in-transit, thanks to some Locusts interfering by intentionally messing up the package's Fanboy Towers mailing address. No problem, we now have the COG tag in our possession and figured we'd share pictures of it and its CSID. Enter the COG tag's CSID "807081-DJ2T2-EL" over on the Gears 2 Last Day website and you'll unlock a nifty little icon. Did we mention the COG tag is heavy?
Ever wondered what Epic's Cliff Bleszinski listens to while on the road promoting Gears of War 2? Ever had the urge to peer in on his music playing habits and critique his every song playing move? Well, thanks to the Zune software and the promotion of the Gears of War 2 Zune, you can!
Simply head on over to Cliff's official Zune page (we're told by MS PR that this is the real Cliff) to see what he has been playing, what his favorite songs are and wonder why Mr. Gears has played Usher's "Yeah!" twenty-four times. Really Cliff, Usher?
With Microsoft's official confirmation that Gears of War multiplayer maps Gridlock, Canals, Mansion, Subway, and Tyro Station would be remade for Gears 2, comes new comparison shots. The comparison photos (galleried below) show what each map looked like in the original Gears and the prettified version that'll be a part of the free Flashback Map Pack DLC for Gears 2. Let us be the first to say an icy Canals makes a chilled tear run down our cheek. It's lovely.
Today, Microsoft announced that Gears of War 2 has surpassed the original Gears' pre-order numbers and also informed us that it's "poised to become the must-have video game this holiday season." Can't argue that.
Also as part of the press release, we're informed of all their Gears 2 launch plans and offers including a gold Lancer unlock with the limited edition, gold Hammerburst unlock given out at all 20,000 midnight launches, gameplay tips from the Epic team and a special Game with Fame weekend. Not just that, but Microsoft also confirmed that they'll be releasing a Flashback Map Pack (featuring five remade Gears maps) on launch day, which will be a free download with redemption code found in new copies of Gears 2. Bring on November 7th!
Continuing Epic's series of Gears of War 2 subject by subject analysis featurettes, we bring you the latest where Cliff and crew chat about Gears 2 as art and where their inspiration comes from.
You can watch the latest video (currently exclusive to Yahoo!) embedded after the break and take in Gears 2's gorgeous vistas, hear the inspiration behind the architecture, learn what the design focus was and get a sense for the new graphical enhancement the sequel has over the original. Most notably, at around 1:50 minute mark, you'll witness one the most visually stunning underground caves that your eyes have ever come across. Jiggly wiggly plants, jaw dropping water, fog ... oh yeah ... we're in love.
Microsoft's viral Gears of War 2Last Day campaign - where codes found on real life metal COG tags are entered online to unlock Gears 2 related media - is heating up, taking the COG tag discovery to fans worldwide.
When first "announced", the Last Day campaign was presented in a way where we figured that the metal COG tags were only given to select media members and the codes (CSIDs) would only unlock various wallpapers, icons and posters on the Last Day website. Well, things are a bit different now (and still confusing), because now COG tags are being hidden all around the globe and it's your mission to find them, enter the codes online and unlock video content on the Last Day website. COG tag locations are randomly popping up on the website in the form of longitude / latitude coordinates, which you can view right here. There's still a bit of confusion and lack of organization, but you can follow all the latest Last Day COG tag news by reading the epicforums, keeping an eye on Gears 2 community manager SixOkay's Twitter and by browsing the official Last Day website. Find those tags!
Source - Official Last Day website
Source - Last Day discussion
Source - COG tag locations (updated frequently)
Epic Game's Cliff Bleszinski has a confession. Something that he has to get off his chest. His confession; Gears of War 2 is the best game to come out of Epic Games. We agree.
"After two years of pouring our heart and passion into Gears of War 2, the team is immensely happy with what we've created," admittedBleszinski to CVG. "This is Epic's best work yet, and we can't wait to see the response from fans and newcomersto the series alike." You know, we can't wait to see what the response will be either as we sit here sharpening our chainsaw blades in eager anticipating for Reaver riding and all the joy Gears 2 will bring us this November.
Hear that noise? It's the sound of hordes of fanboys scurrying toward their local game store in anticipation of Gears of War 2. Why the sudden dash toward retail? Gears of War 2 has gone gold, that's why.
Developed by Epic Games, Gears of War 2 continues the adventures of Marcus Fenix and his ragtag team of military misfits in a quest to kick Locust butt. Promising a longer campaign experience than the original, Gears 2 has added more weapons, enemies and modes to give Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare a run for their money on the top of the Xbox Live most played list when it hits stores on November 7.
We're not pre-reviewing the game or anything but we're going to go ahead and assume it'll sell like cakes. That are hot. Hotcakes, if you will.
First off, we'll be honest and say we're a bit slow on getting the word out on this whole Gears of War 2 "The Last Day" viral COG tag thing. We blame the Locusts who created an Emergence Hole under our blogging desk ... damn Locusts, we apologize.
So, remember that mysterious Gears of War 2 COG tag that popped up on the Gears 2 vidoc? Well, there's no more mystery, because we know exactly what they're all about. It's a community driven, interactive and viral The Last Day online campaign aimed at getting fans to participate and unlock all kinds of digital Gears 2 goodies.
Each COG tag has a special CSID code on it and were randomly sent to community sites, media outlets, etc. This special code can be entered on the official The Last Day website and, if entered correctly, will unlock a digital wallpaper, buddy icon, audio clip or artwork. So far, Gears 2 community lead SixOkay has a Flickr folder of community discovered COG tags, Gamertag Radio has an account of their experience and the official Gears forums are abuzz with the latest finds and news. So, start your COG tag code search, unlock some Gears 2 goodies and DEMAND that Xbox 360 Fanboy get a special COG tag code to share. Yes, that was a very blunt request.
Our mother-ship (Joystiq) recently got some hands on time with the finished campaign build of Gears of War 2 and were told to get as far as they could. And after six hours of gaming, our Joystiq friends came away with of memories of curb-stomping Locusts, impressive destructible environments, COG journals, a much deeper storyline and plenty of non-stop action.
Their campaign impressions mirror that of what Epic has promised us all along, a bigger, deeper and more action packed sequel that delivers. All said, they were quite impressed with their Gears 2 hands-on session as we can only hope that next time, Epic decides to invite us over for a test run. Emergence day is coming, friends, be prepared.
Team Epic just released yet another Gears of War 2 video featurette, this time the focus is on multiplayer. The video (currently exclusive to ESPN.com) is a pretty good look into the new multiplayer features, each multiplayer mode, the achievements and we also learn that Cliff's favorite trash talking phrase is "douche nozzle". Yup. Check out the vid and take it all in, because Gears 2 is less than a month away.
Are you aware of the seven deadly sins? No, no, not those deadly sins, we're talking about the Seven Eight Deadly Sins of Gears of War 2's Horde mode, which our OXM pals just posted.
OXM's list of Horde deadly sins was formed after recently getting a chance to try out Gears 2's four five player co-op Horde mode and each sin comes across as sound advice. Horde mode advice that not only will save you from being called a "n00b" or "bag of loser dust", but advice that could potentially aid in your team's Horde mode success. You can read all eight deadly sins after the jump, but we just have to point out our two favorites. Number two "Thou Shalt Not Hang Around In The Spawn Zones Like A Douche" and number five "Thou Shalt Not Go All OCD And Take Every Ammo Box" sound spot on to us.
Over the weekend, someone who attended the E for All Expo ninja-snuck off-screen video of gameplay footage from Gears 2's Horde mode. The video, embedded above for your convenience, shows off roughly one minute of multiplayer footage complete with meat shields, Torque Bowing, and the occasional cameo of a blurry head covering the screen. Watch and, if you enjoyed the footage, check the break for an additional few minutes of leaked Gears 2 multiplayer mayhem video complete with "commentary."
Ever wondered what Epic's Cliff Bleszinski listens to while on the road promoting 
