Anyway, I just got this month's GamePro in the mail and it has a bunch of exclusive and new info. Here's some stuff:
-Cliffy B says, "There will be no Kryll or Berserkers in the game", claiming that he wants gamers to have a new experience and not just treading on familiar ground. But, he goes on to say that,"they might work there way back in in the future in some new interesting way."
-Brumaks are plentiful in the game and the article says that at some point late in the game, you will actually get to ride and take control of one.
-The butcher, a new locust enemy, is a creepy looking dude. He wields a large cleaver and can take alot of damage. The article doesn't state whether he is in the campaign mode, but he is at least confirmed for Horde.
-Another new enemy is the grinder. They kinda look like a Boomer took a Theron guard's armor and they wield the new Mulcher (more on that later) and yell "Griiiind!" before they strike.
-The Mauler is yet another new enemy that looks really badass. They are giant Melee fighters that wield a flail along with a giant shield. Once again, it is unclear if they are in the campaign, but they are confirmed for Horde.
-The Rockworms were revealed a while back in GameInformer and they are once again described as ,"living cover". I am not sure if they can hurt you in any way as it does not say so.
-The Kantus are the locust that you've probably heard about before. They can revive fallen allies and can somehow communicate with the Rockworms
-Apparently taking General RAAM's place is Skorge, the leader of the Kantus caste. He looks REALLY badass and looks kind of like a Predator. He wields a dual bladed chainsaw staff ()
-This Article reveals two new weapons one of which being the mulcher that I mentioned before. The Mulcher is a huge minigun that will most definitely slow down you movement, but once you pull the trigger your enemies WILL die. This gun can overheat so you have to time some presses of LB to prevent it from doing so.
-The other new weapon is the Mortar Launcher. Like the mulcher, this gun will significantly slow you down. The gun will also be placed in spots around the maps that will be "far away from the battle." You can fire it from the hip, but it will only kill you. The upside of this is, is that you can deploy it on the ground and launch attacks from a very long distance away and it is supposedly capable of killing two or three people at a time!
-You know the gold lancer everyone has been bitching about? Well, it says you can earn them without buying the special edition.
-Those attending midnight releases will also get something special; The Golden Hammerburst. Yes, you can earn this one too.
-Previously, it was thought that Gridlock and Subway would be the only gears 1 maps making a return. Well, Epic is doing something different. There will be release day DLC that will contain those two maps, Canals, Mansion, and Tyro Station. These five maps will be free of charge but the only way to get them is if you receive a voucher, which every NEW copy of the game will have. (Take that used game market?)
-CliffyB and team have only reached level 40 out of the 50 levels that are in the co-op survival horde mode.
-Horde mode can be played on every multiplayer map, even the Gears 1 remakes.
-CliffyB hints that there will be new environmental hazards to take the place of the Kryll. One such hazard is that on a new multiplayer map titled Avalanche, there will be...well an Avalanche that will, "wipe out players and uncover new weapons."
-In regards to the photo editor, it can be used by anyone who is either dead or in spectator mode. Epic claims that there will be monthly contests for best pictures and captions and such. However, the article says that the photo editor's features won't all be present on release day.
-In the campaign mode, you can "collect secret documents, internal memos, and other bits of refuse to piece together a bigger storyline. You'll collect and track all these items using the scrap-book War Journal, which will track your achievements."
-Cole WILL return in the game
-Tai and Dizzy, the two new members of Delta Squad, are separated from Marcus and Dom early in the game and are last seen in a stand off against Skorge.
-Cliffy claims that the game will have a much darker and serious storyline, but will still retain that Summer Blockbuster feeling.
-Underground sections only make up 30% of the campaign.
-The main underground section you will be in is called the Hollows, which is home to the Kantus and Rockworms.
-Previously, it was thought that Gridlock and Subway would be the only gears 1 maps making a return. Well, Epic is doing something different. There will be release day DLC that will contain those two maps, Canals, Mansion, and Tyro Station. These five maps will be free of charge but the only way to get them is if you receive a voucher, which every NEW copy of the game will have. (Take that used game market?)
This is sort of a big deal. Take that used game market indeed.
This is sort of a big deal. Take that used game market indeed.
Take that, 360 owners without internet. Take that 360 owners without harddisks.
Take that, my already full puny 20 gig harddisk.
I see what they are doing, and it is pretty clever, but again it is common users that are going to be inconvenienced by this. I'd rather have the maps on the disc.
Great pick of maps though. All of them among my favorites. Thumbs up x 10.
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-In regards to the photo editor, it can be used by anyone who is either dead or in spectator mode. Epic claims that there will be monthly contests for best pictures and captions and such. However, the article says that the photo editor's features won't all be present on release day.
Et tu, Epic?
__________________ Cheers! Catch you all on the flip side!
Take that, 360 owners without internet. Take that 360 owners without harddisks.
Take that, my already full puny 20 gig harddisk.
I see what they are doing, and it is pretty clever, but again it is common users that are going to be inconvenienced by this. I'd rather have the maps on the disc.
Great pick of maps though. All of them among my favorites. Thumbs up x 10.
I actually prefer this. Reason is, the used games sales are hurting the industry alot and were among the main reasons why they added the ten dollar "premium" to games this generation. As for Hard Drive space, I'm sure you could delete the map packs for the first gears and some videos you don't watch.
Do 360 owners without internet or a HDD really care all that much about multiplayer maps?
Gears 2 is supposed to have bots, and then you have the Horde mode. Seems like you can have a lot of fun with multiplayer maps without an internet connection.
As for used games sales being a main reason for the $10 price hike...I doubt it. The developers blamed increased development costs.
Anyways, today I pay the same or less for a new 360 game as I did for a new PS2 game back in the day. Only in the first year of the console's life span were "next gen" games highly priced over here. In fact, if you shop around you can usually find a store that has a good launch deal on a big name title, something that didn't happen in the PS2 era. For example, I can pre order Gears 2 today and pay a measly $62. It will normally retail for $90-$105 over here.
Besides there has always been used games for sale since the beginning of time, and as long as the publishers keep feeding stores like Gamestop with store exclusive limited editions/pre-order bonuses etc etc, they can shut the fuck up about used game sales or stop feeding the good stuff to their "enemy".
That said: This is a brilliant way of limiting used game sales. It is so simple it is weird no one thought of it earlier. All I am saying is that this is DRM's distant cousin in gift wrap and a ribbon. In addition to annoying used game buyers this is also going to annoy a fair percentage of new game buyers.
__________________ Cheers! Catch you all on the flip side!
I think you guys are making a bigger deal out of the Flashback Map Pack then it really is. Analyze what it'll do for the industry all you want, but I know that I'll be spending hundreds of hours on this game and all of its maps.
I think you guys are making a bigger deal out of the Flashback Map Pack then it really is. Analyze what it'll do for the industry all you want, but I know that I'll be spending hundreds of hours on this game and all of its maps.
Well regardless of the industry implications I will of course still be buying this game when it comes out. Maybe not day one depending on what I am playing but month one for sure. I'll buy new and I had a HDD so no problem with the Flashback Map Pack either.
The original's strongest feature for me with the co-op campaign. Hopefully the sequel continues the tradition.
I can't believe you moaning fucks. Epic give something away for free and all you do is moan. Would it be better if they charged? No of course not, so stop moaning.
And as for these free maps been the distant cousin of DRM, don't be so stupid. Not getting the free maps will not make your game stop working after 3 installs. You as the consumer still make the choice of whether you would rather buy the game new and get the map pack or buy it second hand and save $5-10 in a few months time. I know what I'm doing.
Enough with the negative. I for one am pumped about this game. It really sounds like Epic have pulled out all the stops to give us an incredible experience.
I can't believe you moaning fucks. Epic give something away for free and all you do is moan. Would it be better if they charged? No of course not, so stop moaning.
And as for these free maps been the distant cousin of DRM, don't be so stupid. Not getting the free maps will not make your game stop working after 3 installs. You as the consumer still make the choice of whether you would rather buy the game new and get the map pack or buy it second hand and save $5-10 in a few months time. I know what I'm doing.
Who is moaning? We are pointing out how doing it this way can cause inconvenience for the consumer. These maps are free? I'm pretty sure we are paying for them through buying Gears 2. They are free in the same way the manual is free if I buy the game. This seems like maps they easily could have put on the disc.
And how is this not a distant cousin of DRM?
DRM is used to fight piracy. This is done to fight second hand sales (well, DRM does this too).
DRM hurts a minority of legitimate consumers. So will this.
So instead of petty name calling try to counter the arguments I made in the post above. Am I wrong? Show me.
Gears 1 is one of my favorite games this generation. I'm going to buy Gears 2 LE day one. I never sell my games. I only buy used if I can't find the game new. I don't like Gamestop. And I still think this is a petty move by Epic. Not DRM-petty, but petty.
__________________ Cheers! Catch you all on the flip side!
That said: This is a brilliant way of limiting used game sales. It is so simple it is weird no one thought of it earlier. All I am saying is that this is DRM's distant cousin in gift wrap and a ribbon. In addition to annoying used game buyers this is also going to annoy a fair percentage of new game buyers.
No one thought of it earlier because it doesn't work. Most of the people purchasing a used game are not going to be your die-hard online gaming people. Those are people like us -- buying a new copy the first week after the game is released.
People buying games two or three months after a game is out are more casual gamers who may never play the game online or will not know that they are missing anything even if they do go and try to play the game online.
All you end up doing here is fracturing your online community. You end up with this core of people who have all the maps and a smaller subset of people who are missing those maps.
Why do you think Bungie keeps giving away their multiplayer map packs for free after a couple of months? They know better than to break their community into a bunch of smaller groups -- having everyone have all of the maps keeps people playing.
__________________ Play Gears of War with it - "Marcus, take cover. Yes...over by the couch!"
No one thought of it earlier because it doesn't work. Most of the people purchasing a used game are not going to be your die-hard online gaming people. Those are people like us -- buying a new copy the first week after the game is released.
People buying games two or three months after a game is out are more casual gamers who may never play the game online or will not know that they are missing anything even if they do go and try to play the game online.
Certainly, but I still believe there is a fair amount of people who will be deterred from buying this game used because of this map-pack. Today most players playing online are casual players. People buying a game late in it's life span also go online. Just play random people in CoD4 and look at the amount of low leveled players you meet despite the matchmaking.
There will be used game buyers going WTF about this in the future. Maybe not that many, but there will be some.
edit: Also: I believe that teenagers are the group that buys the most used games. And these fuckers certainly go online.
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All you end up doing here is fracturing your online community. You end up with this core of people who have all the maps and a smaller subset of people who are missing those maps.
Why do you think Bungie keeps giving away their multiplayer map packs for free after a couple of months? They know better than to break their community into a bunch of smaller groups -- having everyone have all of the maps keeps people playing.
Yes, Epic did this as well, as I guess you know. So a map pack that excludes used game buyers seem out of character. Either the code that comes with the game is a generic one that everybody can use (pointless to have it in the first place) or they plan on releasing the maps for money later for the used game buyers (fair enough, then Epic makes some money off them).
__________________ Cheers! Catch you all on the flip side!
Who is moaning? We are pointing out how doing it this way can cause inconvenience for the consumer. These maps are free? I'm pretty sure we are paying for them through buying Gears 2. They are free in the same way the manual is free if I buy the game. This seems like maps they easily could have put on the disc.
And how is this not a distant cousin of DRM?
DRM is used to fight piracy. This is done to fight second hand sales (well, DRM does this too).
DRM hurts a minority of legitimate consumers. So will this.
So instead of petty name calling try to counter the arguments I made in the post above. Am I wrong? Show me.
Gears 1 is one of my favorite games this generation. I'm going to buy Gears 2 LE day one. I never sell my games. I only buy used if I can't find the game new. I don't like Gamestop. And I still think this is a petty move by Epic. Not DRM-petty, but petty.
Epic didn't need to make these maps, they couldv'e just as easily not bothered at all. It all depends on your life biew I suppose on whether these are free or pre paid for with the game.
DRM is designed to stop piracy, admittedly it also hurts a fair amount of legitimate owners. This mappack, sure, it's designed to curb the amount of pre-owned sales but (in my opinion) is nowhere near as draconian as DRM is. For starters the game will work 100% fine for those that don't have the map pack. If you decide to sell on your copy of GoW2 then you'll still be able to, the map pack wont stop you. If you buy GoW2 pre-owned then it will still work, you'll still be able to play it online and to be fair if you buy it a few months down the line then you probably aren't going to miss the map packs. If you are going to miss the maps then maybe it shouldv'e been bought new instead of pre-owned and saving a few dollars.
I recently went to a 360 lan which I'd organised to play GoW with my mates prepping us for GoW2. Half the people there didn't have the free map packs that are availavble for the game. I wouldn't call these guys casual (though they certainly aren't hardcore either).
I suppose I look at these map packs as a bonus for been an early adopter of the game, it makes a change not to be screwed over for once. I applaud Epic (and EA with its Burnout Paradise stuff too).
-Cliffy B says, "There will be no Kryll or Berserkers in the game",
A lack of Berserkers doesn't bother me one bit, to be honest. I thought the first one made for an interesting fight, considering you didn't have jack squat that could hurt it except the HoD, and you have to jump throught a bunch of hoops to get it to a spot where you could actually use it. By the time you had to bring the Hammer down on the 2nd one, though, the novelty had already worn off.
Unless they were to give us a new weapon; ie, something more along the lines of a direct-fire weapon and not another "gotta get out of this covered location first" contrived ordeal, I'd just soon stick with my fond memories of the first Berserker fight and call it good. CliffyB made a good call, IMO.
I agree, in the first the berserker's were chalk full of tension, but now that I have been there, I am looking forward to new moments that I don't expect.
No need to for a come back, they did their job.
