Videogame News

Gears of War: Judgement is Revealed! Character Classes in Multiplayer!

Epic Games and People Can Fly officially unveiled Gears of War: Judgment during E3 2012, and with the announcement came the first opportunity to not only see the game in action but also take the game’s 5-on-5 competitive multiplayer mode Overrun for a hands-on test drive.

Overrun is essentially Gears of War 3’s Beast Mode and horde mode smashed together with a sprinkling of class-based characters. For one round, we played as humans defending a power generator, and for the second, we played as various Locust variants trying to destroy the generator. Pretty straightforward stuff.

The classes add a nice strategic touch to the frenetic and oft gruesome gameplay, especially with the addition of class-specific secondary abilities. For instance, Baird is an engineer capable of dropping sentry turrets (pro tip: if you enter cover and then drop the turret, you can actually put it on top of whatever piece of cover you’re pinned to, giving the turret some added height and widening its viewing angle) and repairing damaged fortifications like barbwire fences. Cole is a soldier, and can drop ammo boxes. Sofia is the medic who drops a health-dealing gas cloud. Paduk, the scout, drops a beacon that reveals enemy positions on the map.

On the Locust side, you have a variety of gnarly beasts at your disposal, assuming you have earned enough cash to unlock them throughout the match that is. A lot of the characters appeared in GOW3, like the wretch, ticker, and kantus (no berserker though), and each one offers an entirely unique play style and ability. Seeing the chaos that ensues when the two teams collide is just ridiculous, especially when the fortifications fall and everyone just swarms into the central battle zone. Pure, bloody madness.

The gameplay is classic Gears, and the texture and sound work are about as pleasing as you could hope.

This article comes straight from G4 who is at E3 now.

Gears of War Prequel Trilogy!

First, I want to make it clear that I encourage everyone to visit the following website where I wrote the article below. A lot of people are visiting this excellent new forum to talk about gaming: http://www.theaskeweffect.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17

For quite a while I had some inside information about the new Gears of War trilogy. But then my source started to remain silent and I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Also, from that point on when I talked to my source online, it became clear that he was not answering my questions and sharing information clearly the way he previously did. I noticed that my source started communicating with me by answering my questions with riddling questions of his own -- but were still potentially valid answers and volunteered thoughts.

Here is what I personally believe Microsoft and Epic have planned for the next trilogy of Gears of War:

* Gears of War is definitely going to remain the primary Title of the game. Believe it or not, this was originally not the plan that everyone agreed on. In the same way that Activision wanted to start a new series titled "Modern Warfare," the strong sales of Call of Duty forced Activision to market the game as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This is what we will see with the next Gears of War trilogy.

* The Pendulum Wars was (and possibly still is) definitely the name Epic staff members used when talking about the three games in this trilogy.

* At this point in time, the first game in the new Gears of War trilogy is apparently going to be titled Gears of War with a subtitle making a reference to the word "Pendulum." I would not be surprised if the game was actually called "Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars"

* The star of the next Gears of War trilogy is going to be Adam Fenix -- the father of Marcus Fenix

* There definitely will be a Campaign Mode in the next Gears of War game. It will be all about how Adam Fenix discovers what is going on, first contact is made, and his science is used to develop strategies to fight The Horde

* Microsoft and Epic did consider releasing the first game in the new Gears of War trilogy for the Xbox Infinty (which still has a chance of being called Xbox 365). Microsoft and Epic both realize that Gears of War is the game that is associated with raising the standard in graphics this console generation.

* Microsoft and Epic now realize and 100% agree that Gears of War is a game series that has just as much of a loyal following as the incredibly successful Halo game series. This is the reason why Microsoft and Epic are going to follow the success they enjoyed with the Halo series when Microsoft and Bungie released the first two Halo games for the original Xbox, and then released the final sequel for the Xbox 360. Halo 2 had one of the all-time best "Cliffhanger" endings in the history of the videogame industry, which is actually one of the reasons why Halo 3 became the most successful game ever released when is launched in 2007.

* Microsoft and Epic plan on releasing the first game in the new Halo series and the first game in the new Gears of War series for Xbox 360, and then releasing the sequels for the next Xbox console. The reason this strategy will be used is because the Xbox 360 will have over 70 million owners by the time those games are released. This will give the new Gears of War series and the new Halo series plenty of time to be played by an incredibly large audience of gamers. This will also help the games sell incredibly well, make a very large net profit, and take advantage of the opportunity to actually help the next console by ensuring that all of those gamers remain loyal to the new series.

Gears of War 3 - DOUBLE XP Points This Weekend!

DOUBLE EXPERIENCE POINTS this weekend for Gears of War 3! That's right, when you play Gears of War 3 online this weekend, you will receive TWICE the amount of experience points that you normally would!! This is a great time to build up your levels!

Xbox Infinity to Launch in Late 2012

Xbox Infinity is the name of Microsoft’s next Xbox console. This has been confirmed to me, Michael Zoran (the one who is officially breaking this story), by several of my inside sources in the videogame industry. Last week I promised I would reveal the name of Microsoft’s next console on Thanksgiving – November, 24, 2011. I am pleased to report I have lived up to that promise and I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on the subject.

Last week I left my loyal readers with fact-based clues that would help reveal the name of the next Xbox. I will describe the clues I left and how they relate to the Xbox Infinity one at a time.

* Xbox Loop is the name of the “target” development kits that Microsoft has sent to third-party companies such as EA, Ubisoft, and Activision. These development kits are only alpha-stage development kits. In other words, they are not based on actual hardware; however, they are based on the target specifications Microsoft expects the next Xbox to be based on.

* The reason the word “Loop” is an important clue is because the “Loop” represents the sign of “Infinity.” Just take a look at the two “o” characters between the “L” and the “p.” You end up with “oo” – the sign of Infinity.

* Microsoft has entered into contracts to make it so Comcast technology will play a larger role on Xbox Live. Take a look at what Comcast is in the process of marketing right now and what their long-term marketing plan talks about more than anything else. Comcast is focused on “Xfinity.” This focus on the letter “X” isn’t a coincidence! Microsoft, Kinect, Xbox Live, and the Xbox Infinity will all be working together in special ways with Comcast technology.

Like I said in the article I wrote last week, I have met several reliable people in the videogame industry over the last six years. Using screen names of mike_mgoblue, Kim_Naroz (Mike Zoran spelled backwards), Salarian_Scientist, Salarian_Chemist, John_Gamer, Thomas_Brooks, femaletuffy, PatTuffy, Krogan Battle Master Urdnot Wrex, Unbiased Technology Professor, and several others, I have actually acquired a very loyal fan base!

I literally have heard people on Xbox Live say things like “Hey, are you Kim Naroz” and “Are you PatTuffy.” And then we talk about how awesome it was that the stupid editors of a certain website didn’t realize it was me, Mike Zoran, the whole time (posting right under their noses), even though I posted using the name of Kim Naroz!

The reason why I’m telling you this is because I recently spoke to an Xbox 360 developer online. He asked me what I thought of the name Xbox Infinity. I told him it was awesome. I said the only thing I could think of that might work out with the same type of effectiveness would be the name “Xbox 365.” The name Xbox 365 would still “1up” the PS4, since it keeps the Xbox 360 brand going and ends with the number five. Also, the name Xbox 365 would be in agreement with the Office 365 software programs Microsoft is using online.

Let me know what you think by writing a comment below. Xbox Infinity is scheduled to be released in late 2012 in North America. The European launch is not scheduled until the spring of 2013.

I’d like to know what you think. Do you like the name Xbox Infinity? It’s a nice holiday weekend to share your thoughts. Don’t forget to make sure and watch the online preview of the new Mission Impossible movie on Xbox Live. If you watch that preview, it gives you the ability to unlock special features in Gears of War 3 if you beat the Campaign mode on Insane difficulty by Christmas. Today is an excellent day to celebrate valuable names and the quality of the code – some of which may be right under your nose without you knowing it!

Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day Deals

Black Friday is an excellent time to find deals on videogames. I've actually noticed that Thanksgiving Day is also an excellent day to find deals on videogames. In my opinion, there are two deals in particular that stood out as excellent:

* Target allows you to purchase a 4GB Xbox 360 for only $139 on Black Friday!

* K-Mart has a multitude of videogame deals where you can save up to $30 on all sorts of games for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. In particular, I noticed some AAA games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 which are on sale for only $39.99 on Thanksgiving Day. K-Mart also allows you to purchase a Kinect for only $99 on Thanksgiving Day.

If anyone else out there knows of any other deals on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, please mention them here by writing a Comment for others to see.

I Know the Name of the Next Xbox!

Over the last six years, I have become friends with quite a few people in the videogame industry. The people I know have sometimes been right and they've sometimes been wrong. But, when these people stick their neck out, they usually are right. This is particularly true with the people who provide me with information regarding the Xbox 360 console.

I believe this annoys some of the editors and administrators of other websites. Heck, my sources of information are so good that I've had editors of other major websites write articles about me accusing me of working for Microsoft! One article written by a senior editor of a major videogame website several years ago even said that his entire staff would wait to see what I wrote about each day! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised, offended, and proud all at the same time.

Recently I heard several pieces of information from several different sources. Each person was discussing the third Xbox console, which will apparently be released in late 2012 in North America and possibly Europe. There were several pieces of information that partially lined up in each scenario. With that in mind, I can tell you I know what the next Xbox console will be called!

So the question is, "If you know what the next Xbox console is going to be called, why don't you just tell us now?"

The answer is simple: "Because I want you to feel some form of anticipation and excitement for when I make the announcement on Thanksgiving!" For those of you who do not live in America, Thanksgiving is an American holiday which will be celebrated on Thursday, November 24.

Here's one thing I will tell you in order to give you a hint and see if you can come up with the answer. According to developers, the development kits for the next Xbox are referred to as the "Xbox Loop." Believe it or not, this is actually a powerful clue to what the final name of the product is. Further proof of this has to do with the way Microsoft is working with Comcast to take advantage of Kinect.

Another thing I should mention is that Microsoft's new console stays in line with other Xbox products the way it seems to focus on one-upping the competition. The next Xbox will one-up the PS4, but on a larger scale. Remember how people used to say Sony was always going to have the advantage because the PS3 would compete against the Xbox 2 (always giving the Playstation brand an advantage of one). In the end, the PS3 ended up competing against the Xbox 360. Advantage: Xbox by 60 or 357 (depending on how you look at it).

Either way, I will let you know what the name of the next Xbox console is on Thanksgiving!

Xbox Celebrates 10th Anniversary!

November 15, 2001, Microsoft entered the videogame console market with a console known as the Xbox. Since that time, the Xbox platform has gone on to become a tremendous success. The same can be said for the Xbox Live online service. Videogame Daily News would like to send out a "Happy Anniversary" to the Xbox platform!

The original Xbox provided the momentum needed for the Xbox 360 to become the dominant console platform in the world of high-definition gaming. Xbox Live has gone on to become the most successful online service ever seen in the world of videogames -- one full generation ahead of anything else offered by any other manufacturer. And the Kinect accessory is even in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronic product in history -- selling over eight-million units within 60 days!

FREE: Gears of War 3 DLC Pack!

Thanksgiving Day -- November 24, 2011 -- Xbox 360 gamers will be getting a special treat. Epic will be releasing a brand new downloadable content (DLC) package for FREE! This package is officially called the Versus Booster Map Pack. The map pack will including five free maps: Azura, Rust Lung, and Blood Drive -- the same three new maps that were released in the new Horde Command Pack that launched today. In addition to these three new maps, there will be two classic maps: Swamp is one of these all-time favorites and Clocktower is the other.

On behalf of all Xbox 360 gamers and all Gears of War 3 fans, I would like to salute Epic and say "Thank you."

Unlock Griffin - FREE in Gears of War 3!

Aaron Griffin is a cool new character you can unlock for free in Gears of War 3. But, as we all know, nothing is for “free.” There is a bit of a catch. You need to have a facebook account and click on “Like” in order to be given a code to redeem for your Xbox 360. This takes less than five minutes to do, and it is very easy.

I will now take you through the process of what you need to do. First, make sure you have an account on facebook. Second, visit www.facebook.com/gearsofwar. Third, click on “Like” at the top of the page. This will bring up a hyperlink in the box below, which is focused on “getgriffin.”

Fourth, you will be taken to a page asking for your permission to see your list of friends on Xbox Live. After you say yes, a code will appear on the screen. Copy this code, because you will need it in step six. Fifth, visit www.xboxlive.com and log in. Sixth, place your mouse over “My Xbox” and then click “Redeem.” Finally, paste the code that you copied and you will receive confirmation that you have unlocked Aaron Griffin as a playable character is Gears of War 3!

Gears of War 3 really is an awesome game! Take a look at this new trailer of the Horde 2.0 mode. This one is referred to as “Five against all.” This trailer confirms we will once again be playing against one of the most famous bosses in videogame history – The Berserker!

Halo: CE Anniversary Adds Kinect Features!

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition was unveiled by Microsoft at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Halo: CE will be released November 15, 2011, exclusively for the Xbox 360, in order to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Halo series. Up to this point, Microsoft has revealed Halo: CE would be developed by 343 Industries and Saber Interactive using an in-house graphics engine. We also were told Halo: CE would give us the option of switching between remixed high-definition graphics and original graphics.

As far as game play goes, we were told Halo: CE Anniversary Edition would include Achievements in the same way other Xbox 360 games do. Halo: CE will also include a co-op campaign mode and multiplayer mode with seven maps. The story of Halo: CE will also feature several additions and other enhancements in order to make the game fall perfectly in line with Halo: Reach and the sequels to Halo: CE.

Microsoft Studios has now confirmed Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition will be fully equipped with features supporting Kinect! The new motion-sensing control device is now in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling electronics item in history! This certainly is an impressive quality to place on a resume. Over ten-million people own Kinect and will be looking forward to the features Microsoft has added to Halo: Combat Evolved. If you don’t own a Kinect, don’t worry about it; Kinect is not a requirement -- it is an optional enhancement.

Winner of 2011 E3: Microsoft - Software Overpowers Hardware!

The E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is traditionally an event where people get excited about futuristic products that will be released at later points in time. Generally speaking, a new hardware device tends to carry more weight than a new game. When games are announced that focus on the future, it usually generates more excitement than games being released that year. However, the E3 show is an opportunity to place publicity on current products that will be sold later that same year.

Sony tends to have a reputation for focusing on games being released years down the road. Some critics have pointed out the reason for this is because Sony has nothing to show “that particular year.” This year, Sony unveiled a new portable console called the PSVita, while still showing a lot of games for the PS3 being released later this year. The games Sony displayed for the PS3 were the ones expected (and the ones rumored), but Sony actually did not show off several PS3 games that were available to be shown. This may suggest the games will be delayed.

I believe the PSVita disappointed a lot of people in several different ways. The name of “PSVita” is considered relatively stupid. The price of the PSVita is between $249 to $299, but this is too expensive for Sony to expect a large market anytime soon. There is no doubt Nintendo will remain champion of the handheld game market for many years to come.

The PS3 has a relatively strong lineup of games scheduled for release this year, but none of these games are “best-sellers.” Games like Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3 are considered good games born in the PS3 era, but both of these series are known for experiencing disappointing sales that were lower than expected. I believe Sony did the right thing trying to focus on this year’s games rather than Gran Turismo 6, which won’t be released for a very long time. But it was a mistake for Sony to try and shine all the light on just a couple of this year’s games rather than evenly distribute the light on others in niche markets.

Sony: B
The PSVita announcement was handled nicely, but the name actually left people disappointed. Sony has a nice lineup of PS3 games for 2011, but several of the games Sony announced were rather disappointing. Sony’s lack of desire to show several games also suggests some of the games on the show floor may be delayed.

Nintendo is the company I really thought had the best chance of winning this year’s E3. Nintendo was said to be unveiling a new “next-generation console.” But here at Controversy, we knew the console would not be a “next-gen” console with “next-gen” graphics due to the fact that the hardware specifications would not allow it – as we discussed here. Nevertheless, I really thought any form of new console from Nintendo would carry so much excitement along with it that Nintendo would easily be crowned the winner of the 2011 E3.

Unfortunately, Nintendo’s presentation of the Wii U left a lot of people disappointed and confused. Nintendo has made it clear the Wii U is not a portable gaming device. But the Wii U does seem to be both a console and a controller in one. And the evidence suggests that as long as the Wii U is kept within a certain distance of your TV set, it can be used as a portable gaming device.

Nintendo did not officially unveil hardware specifications or pricing for the Wii U. But our industry insider sources at Controversy have already provided us with information relating to Wii U specifications. As expected, the Wii U has graphics similar to the Xbox 360 and PS3. In fact, it actually appears the graphics of the Wii U are less impressive than the Xbox 360 and PS3. For example, there is no doubt the Tekken games on Xbox 360 and PS3 look better than Tekken on the Wii U.

This is a bit surprising because according to the reported specifications, the GPU and CPU of the Wii U are very impressive. The Wii U has a GPU nearly identical to the Xbox 360 GPU, and the same can be said about the CPU. Similarly, the Wii U has the same 512MB amount of RAM as the Xbox 360 and PS3. I think the reason why the Wii U probably has graphics less impressive than the Xbox 360 and PS3 is because so much processing power is devoted to other functions that Xbox 360 and PS3 don’t need to deal with.

Nintendo: B-
Nintendo focused on the Wii and 3DS consoles very nicely. But the Wii U ended up being a confusing disappointment. Whenever an audience is confused, you can say something was handled incorrectly.

Microsoft is a company known for using trade shows such as E3 to focus the spotlight on products being released relatively soon. From a business point of view, this is a very smart decision. High-profile games receive all the attention they deserve, which can help boost preorders. And if enough spotlight focus is placed on a low-profile game, market status can be raised to new heights.

I really thought Microsoft would be given the lowest rating this year at E3, simply because both Nintendo and Sony would be announcing new forms of hardware. I knew Microsoft had the strongest lineup of popular software this year, with amazing games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 – both considered the best game ever released in their particular genre. I also knew Microsoft may be announcing a couple rumored games, such as some form of Halo Anniversary Edition. Thankfully, Microsoft lived up to all these promises.

What really won the 2011 E3 show for Microsoft was the announcement of a new Halo “trilogy” starting with Halo 4! Microsoft is known for their tradition of saving exciting announcements until the end of their E3 presentation. Some people thought Halo 4 might be announced, due to the fact that hours earlier the xbox.com page apparently listed Halo 4 as an upcoming game as an accident (since Halo 4 was deleted from the list shortly after being posted). But nobody thought an entirely new “trilogy” of Halo games involving Master Chief John 117 would be announced for Xbox 360!

Halo: Reach is an amazing game, which is why it is so awesome to watch Master Chief use that form of jetpack in Halo 4! The anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved is completely updated to high-definition. The game also adds a variety of new game play elements not included in the original Halo: CE game. This additional game play will link the anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 4, Halo: Reach, the Forerunners, and other elements of the Halo plot.

Microsoft also focused on some amazing games and features associated with Kinect. The theme of making games better with Kinect is very important to Microsoft. It’s very cool the way games such as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will actually have custom modes only available if you are using Kinect!

The anniversary edition of Halo: Combat Evolved will be released on 11/11/11. We were told Halo 4 will be launched during the Holiday shopping season of 2012. Gears of War 3 will be released in September and Forza Motorsport 4 will be released on 10/11/11.

This lineup of games is amazing! Halo has been called the greatest First-Person Shooter ever made. Gears of War is considered the greatest Third-Person Shooter ever made. Forza Motorsport 3 is now considered the greatest racing game ever made, and Forza Motorsport 4 races further ahead than ever. The announcement of the Halo 4 “trilogy” pushed this over the top for the Xbox 360!

Microsoft: A
The Xbox 360 holiday lineup of games for 2011 is literally the strongest lineup of games in the history of the videogame industry! The only other year to come close was 2007 for the Xbox 360. But getting Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and all of the other third-party exclusives, Xbox Live Arcade games, Xbox Live Indie games, and the surprise announcement of a new Halo trilogy makes it so Xbox 360 and Microsoft easily win this year’s E3.

E3 Champion of 2011: Microsoft
The Xbox 360 software overpowered the relatively disappointing hardware announcements from Nintendo and Sony. The Xbox 360 has the best software lineup this holiday season. Microsoft easily wins the 2011 E3.

Gears of War 3 is the Best Third-Person Shooter Ever!

Gears of War 3 was officially demonstrated by Epic at the Microsoft press conference of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. During this amazing demo, it became very clear that Gears of War 3 does in fact live up to all of the hype surrounding this Xbox 360 game! Gears of War 3 is the best third-person shooter ever released – terms of both graphics and game play!

We’ve known for some time that Epic planned on releasing Gears of War 3 with a 4-player Online Campaign Co-Op mode, similar to the Halo games! This form of co-op adds an unlimited amount of replay value and fun to the game. And we’ve known for several weeks that the multiplayer of the Gears of War 3 beta has some absolutely stunning graphics. But yesterday we finally got to see what the Campaign mode of Gears of War 3 is like.

We can now confidently say Gears of War 3 has the most impressive graphics ever seen in a third-person shooter. In a previous article, I wrote about how Gears of War 3 probably would be crowned “King of Console Graphics” when it is released later this year. After seeing the amazing graphics in the Campaign mode of Gears of War 3, I can confidently say there is no doubt about this! No game shown so far at E3 has graphics as amazing as Gears of War 3!

Check out this huge boss as large as the entire screen in the video below. And what’s even more amazing is the way Gears of War 3 allows your characters to enter mechanical suits to help kick the butts of these Locust enemies! Gears of War 3 is truly an awesome game in every aspect – Graphics, Online Co-Op Campaign, Multiplayer, and Horde Mode! There are even new modes of Gears of War 3 we still haven’t seen yet!

More Gears of War 3 Videos

Here is an awesome-looking video of the new Horde 2.0 mode!

More Gears of War 3 Videos

Xbox Live Cloud Storage and Fall Update

LOS ANGELES--The technology industry has its head in the clouds lately, and Microsoft is no different. Today, the Xbox 360 maker announced that it will be introducing cloud storage for its console later this year.

In a post on his blog, Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb explained that the cloud storage service will allow gamers to store their game saves and Xbox Live profiles remotely so they can access them easily from any Xbox 360 console. Users will be able to access their profiles, achievements, friend lists, and even Microsoft points through the cloud storage service.

Additionally, Microsoft is introducing Beacons to Xbox Live. When players set a beacon, their Xbox Live and Facebook friends are notified that those players are looking to get a game started, regardless of whatever else they might be doing on the system at the time. Like cloud-based storage, beacons are set to be introduced to Xbox Live later this year.

Additionally, this morning at Microsoft's media briefing, Microsoft announced that a new Xbox Live will launch this fall. The online overhaul will include compatibility for services like YouTube, Bing voice search, and a TV service.

Halo 4 is OFFICIALLY Confirmed by Microsoft as Part of a New Halo Trilogy! - Secrets of Halo 4 Trailer Explained!

Microsoft has just announced Halo 4 is in development for Xbox 360! Halo 4 represents the first release in a new Halo trilogy involving the legendary Spartan super-solder -- Master Chief John 117. This is an incredible announcement which nobody expected! A new Halo Trilogy represents years of fun for gamers all over the world!

Halo 4 is the first major release from 343 Studios -- the internal development team focusing exclusively on Halo games at Microsoft Game Studios. Halo 4 will be released during the Holiday shopping season of 2012. Here is an exciting video of what was shown at Microsoft's press conference:

More Halo 4 Videos

I'd like to thank the staff of IGN for the video below which gives detailed explanations of what this trailer means. The video below tells you where the Halo 3 plot came to an end and how it relates to Halo 4. There are also references to some of the Halo books, including the Forerunners. I particularly love how Master Chief will be using the jetpacks from Halo: Reach in Halo 4!

More Halo 4 Videos

Metal Gear Solid Collection HD - Available for Digital Download

Konami has confirmed Metal Gear Solid Collection will be available via Xbox Live in the form of a digital download!