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Well as previously posted, Gears of War is now available for your PC gaming needs.  Just a reminder it comes with 5 new campaign levels, all the content release to date on the xbox360 version, a new achievement list (though VERY similar to the original).  All that and it’s priced less ($49.99 MSRP) then what you would pay for a used xbox360 copy  and um…well runs on your PC - so dont go stuffing it into your 360.  My birthday is just about a month away - as is Christmas, so if you are so inclined feel free to buy me a copy, I will give you my address Continue reading »

Well I got a press release showing off the Unreal Editor in the Gears of War PC version and I was rather impressed.  The game is packing some serious value - costing about 5 bucks less than a used copy of the 360 version, with this editor, all of the 360 content included, new campaign levels, a new achievements - but its pretty close to the exact same achievements (except the kill achievements aren’t exclusive to ranked matches).  zOMG!

I have never been much of a designer, but the video makes creating a level almost like child’s play.  I was a bit slow on uploading the video, so instead I am just leeching off a copy my friend Deacon uploaded - enjoy!

PS. someone please buy this for me

Online Videos by Veoh.com

That’s right boys and girls Gears of War PC has been officially announced as gold, and on schedule for the November 6th release date.  It isn’t going the route of shadowrun and having cross platform play, but its got me really interested.  The game is a LIVE game, so a new group of achievements are ready for you to unlock - but more importantly the PC release will contain ”all of the content from its Xbox 360 counterpart and all previously released downloadable content (seven multiplayer maps and the Annex game mode)” but also five new campaign chapters, exclusive multiplayer maps, a king of the hill gametype, and you will be able to create your own maps.  All for MSRP of $49.99 (the xbox360 game still goes for $54.95 used without any of the DLC!)

Guaranteed to make console gamers envious.

Official Release to follow Continue reading »

Remember that Hidden Fronts Add On for Gears of War?  Well for those of you that decided to wait it out until it was free - you wait is soon to be over.  Starting Monday September 3rd at 5AM EST you will be able to download the Hidden Fronts Map pack completely free.  The pack adds 4 new maps, 250 more achievement points. 
Continue reading »

Just read this on gamerscoreblog:

Gamers, Ready Your Weapons. Stop. New “Gears of War”

Multiplayer Achievements Added. Stop. End transmission.

http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/06/13/GOWGS.aspx

I just checked the achievement list and they aren’t actually available yet….

Update  12:14 PM:  Just got the official word on this one, posted below.

Thursday, June 14, at 2 a.m. GMT, the stakes get even higher as “Gears of War®”, rated M for Mature, releases eight new Achievements for the “Annex” gametype and the “Hidden Fronts” Multiplayer Map Pack on Xbox LIVE®.

In addition to adding new Achievements, worth a total of 250 points, “Gears of War” developer Epic has improved the Roadie Run controls so players have greater control of their movement and can better annihilate their pestilent enemies. The title update will also help squash multiplayer exploits and provide general housekeeping.

For more details visit http://gearsofwar.com/news/

For those who have yet to man up and join the battle, the “Annex” gametype is now available for free and the “Hidden Fronts” Multiplayer Map Pack is available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points. All four multiplayer maps will be made available at no cost over Xbox LIVE® on Sept. 3, 2007.

Microsoft is having another All Nighter on Gears of War.  Just like the all-nighters in the past there are prizes to be won, and this time you can have your very own “The art of Gears of War” hardcover book.

 read all about it on the official page

You might remember I was a winner back on New Years 2007, which I believe was the first All Nighter and where I got my hands on a copy of Gears of War complete with signatures from Trixie & Major Nelson

So who is going to be participating in this, or are you going to be to busy playing Halo 3 Beta?

On Thursday, May 3, at 9 a.m. GMT, Xbox LIVE. Gears of War releases four new action-packed multiplayer maps in the thrilling Hidden Fronts Multiplayer Map Pack. For 800 Microsoft points, COG soldiers and the Locust Horde will clash once again for control of these four dynamic new areas, including 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.

All four of the new maps will be made available at no cost over Xbox LIVE on Sept. 3, 2007.

Mr & Mrs Achievement are ramping up their first tournament starting Friday!  They are giving away 1,600 MS points to each member of the winning team. (6,400 total).  So all you Gears of Wars players head on over and see what you can do.

Head on over to 360gl for more info

Well based on the Official Rules, the winner of the Play and Win with Shooter should have been contacted via email all ready.

On or around March 24, 2007, 111 potential winners will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received

As for the Play and Win with Blades of glory, winners will be selected ‘On or about April 6, 2007′. I had signed up and planned to play with Pat2k9 but for some reason we could not get a session to connect over the couple days that we tried. I blame my connection, but strangely enough I played online with other people in that Game as well as others at the same time we were not able to connect….

Well I didnt get an email for the Shooter contest, and since I wasn’t able to actually get a game connected for the Blades contest its clear that I turned up a loss on both contests

Play and Win Shooter / Gears of War

Well I finally got an achievement last night during my Gears of War session last night. It was one of the pretty simple achievements - Mix it Up - where you just need to be on the winning team of the 3 different game types. It was also brought to my attention that even though I thought I was going to get a 100 kills with a [insert weapon here] achievement, that there is not one for shotgun kills - which was what most all my achievements were based on, and the one I assumed was going to rack me another achievement, so that wasn’t very wise of me I would say. Thanks to Antediluvia for bringing this to light. This concludes the dates that you can recieve an entry in the Play & Win Shooter Contest, and I believe I should get an entry for each of the 3 days . . . winning is a long shot - but it doesn’t hurt to try (and those prizes are pretty smooth).

Shadowrun Beta

I recently recieved my beta invitation to Shadowrun, but haven’t dedicated a ton of time to it as of yet. Of course in the invitation the NDA was restated that not much else can be said except “Yes, I am playing the beta”. So until the NDA is lifted dont expect to hear a ton more about that. You can keep track of my play time on the game in my Live Eye Profile as you can see at the moment I have only played about an hour or so. Over at 360friendspot we have about 62 current live eye members in the beta and being tracked by our tool, you can see an overview of those users at the Shadow Run Beta Profile Page

360Friendspot / LiveEye

Speaking of 360friendspot and The Live Eye, last night I spent a good amount of time updating some queries after seeing a bunch of sleeping records in the SQL Activity Monitor. This was a hope that what might be causing the slowness or hanging of the site was related to SQL table locks - since I was definately getting time out errors and transactions were hanging out here sleeping. If that resolves, or at least partially resolves the performance issues - I am going to be extremely pleased, but also upset that I didnt find it sooner. I am sure there are more things to optimize - but maybe I am at least going in the right direction at this point.

Crackdown All Nighter, and Rumors

Finally - Happy St Patricks day, and look for an update from my all nighter activities at a later date. Achievements and random video goodness will most likely come of it. There is A rumor posted in my comments about this all nighter being a time that they release some new content or the final 100 points - no clue what that user based it on - but I am all for it!