Gears of War gone gold

[Lee3dee]

Congrats to Ror and Moose and the rest of the Epic Games crew on going gold! /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Newest Gears of War trailer (cinematic is beautiful)
http://www.xboxyde.com/news_3737_en.html

Any local events going on in the raleigh area? Give me an excuse to fly home /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Neo_God]

Very beautiful looking. Even if I do dislike that tears for fears cover.

[wille]

anyone who uses "mad world" is a pretentious freak ^_^

I think the cinematic was quite poorly directed and didnt at all benefit from the arty no-sounds-just-music style. but the assets looks ace ofcourse and it looks to be quite the treat to play.

[doc rob]

Yeah congrats, Epic folks. I've got my collectors edition on pre-order /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[cholden]

you know you saw it
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sZQ5C5UU_lg

[vahl]

congrats guys, it's really looking awesome, and honestly it may make me buy a 360

[MoP]

Yeah, congrats! I think the game is looking great from what I've seen (especially like the player armour style)... if the game turns out to have good gameplay to go with the visuals, I'll probably end up buying it (when it comes out on PC?)

[Joseph Silverman]

Congrats guys. Probably the only 360 game I'm buying this season.

[AstroZombie]

Holy fuck. I need to go buy a 360 ASAP.

[Striff]

Congrats, looks like a blast.

Can't wait for my friend to buy it so I can play it!

[TomDunne]

Bad ass. Congrats guys, that looks amazing. Tears For Fears, I feel like a kid again /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Mark Dygert]

amazing looking game, I can't wait to play it, congrats on another AAA+ title under your belt Ror!

[ebagg]

I'm gonig to wait for reviews but this game definitely looks like a hole in one! Congrats to the folks that made it!

[dfacto]

I am somehow reminded of Kevin Smith talking about his work on Superman with Jon Peters.

Bam! Giant fucking spider...

Pretty graphics though, and I do like the choice of music.

[FunkaDelicDass]

That trailer is stunning.

Everything I've seen of Gears before that trailer was a gritty, gory, testosterone-laden dudefest (not that don't want to play it). I was wondering how Microsoft would market this to the masses, now I know.

[adam]

Is that song the actual music they chose for this trailer or someones dub? Either way, I f'n loved it.

[Ruz]

looks ace. mmm must get a nex box 360

[dfacto]

That song is a cover of Mad World by Tears for Fears. It's by Michael Andrews. And considering it's the official trailer I think it's a safe bet that they actually chose it themselves.

[Kevin Johnstone]

its Gary Jules remake of the 70's tears for fears original from Donnie Darko.

Glad you're liking it!

r.

[killingpeople]

awesome, i'll get my copy once i get an xbox360, once i get the money for one /images/graemlins/wink.gif (soonish)

[acc]

I loved how on the 1up show, two of the guys are discussing seeing Halo 3 for the first time, and the only thing they can say about it is how they wished it looked as good as Gears of War.

Owned.

That being said, personally Gears isn't doing much for me. But I'll leave the negativity out of this thread. It's certainly a big accomplishment to ship something like this.

[EarthQuake]

Game looks fantastic ror, and everyone else involved. Without a doubt the best looking game ever made, period. I may just have to buy a 360 for this.

[James Edwards]

I'll definitely be buying a 360 for this. Congrats to the Epic team!

[Gmanx]

I thought the music put an interesting spin on the 'silent' action, better than the generic death-metal track you might have expected. I'm strongly compelled to buy a damn 360, just for this (as others seem to be).

[flaagan]

Freakin' awesome vid, quite a nice deviation from the normal presentation of such a game. Speaking of the game, already got my 'collectors edition' on order from gamestop! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[MoP]

I thought the "worn-out faces" cut was a little heavy handed myself /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[pior]

Blingbling!

[hawken]

nice

[Spark]

Congrats guys! Maybe we might see some of that awesome art pimped here pretty soon from you both??? Hopefully, if not I will be hitting the pause button alot to enjoy the visual love.

Spark

[Frank]

[ QUOTE ]
I loved how on the 1up show, two of the guys are discussing seeing Halo 3 for the first time, and the only thing they can say about it is how they wished it looked as good as Gears of War.

Owned.

[/ QUOTE ]
Ahahahaha, got a link? /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Frank the Avenger

[Jeff Parrott]

Congrats guys, been looking forward to this one for a while.

[Joao Sapiro]

i saw it playing in fnac here at spain ( it was a video thou ) i was very impressed ! will it come out for PC ?

[Neo_God]

I heard there was a PC release planned. But not until next year. This may have been a rumor though.

[Ruz]

funny though , wathcing the vid I thought the story was suggesting that he could n't find anyone to kill, so he was wandering the streets with a sad litle face and a tear in his eye.

[Kevin Johnstone]

I'm not sure anyone knows what marcus was up to in that vid , but that's what I like about it, the ambiguity!

r.

[Marine]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure anyone knows what marcus was up to in that vid , but that's what I like about it, the ambiguity!

r.

[/ QUOTE ]

seeing as it's getting close to christmas, i'm betting he was out looking for the latest must-have toy for his kids. unfortunately the giant spider has the last one and now they must fight to the death for it.

[Kevin Johnstone]

it all makes sense now.

r.

[Slainean]

Gorgeous game - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a PC version.

I also like Donnie Darko and the OST, but I think the music choice for the trailer was misguided. The content of the video and the tone of the song are incongruent, imo. Anyway, I'm probably more critical than the average gamer.

Congrats to Ror and everyone else involved with this one. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Joao Sapiro]

the fact marcus is voiced by steven blum makes it even more interesting !

[Neo_God]

Actually it's John Di Maggio.

I thought it was Ron Perlman when I first heard his voice, so I checked at IMDB.

[Motz]

Meh. It's kinda of horribly cliche. The voice acting seems badly timed and the voices don't fit the characters, and Mad World was a strange choice.. not exactly something I fancy playing when there is some muscle bound freak with a machine gun blasting baddies. Just opinion, though knowing PC attitude ill be flamed for it.

The art is wonderful though. And I'm sure I'll pick up a copy when the price goes down.

[Thegodzero]

[ QUOTE ]
And I'm sure I'll pick up a copy when the price goes down.

[/ QUOTE ]

The price of the game, or the 360?

This is on my want list this year with the 360. Great job on the art, its got a great lived in feeling.

[TomDunne]

[ QUOTE ]
Meh. It's kinda of horribly cliche. The voice acting seems badly timed and the voices don't fit the characters, and Mad World was a strange choice.. not exactly something I fancy playing when there is some muscle bound freak with a machine gun blasting baddies. Just opinion, though knowing PC attitude ill be flamed for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, at least you're gonna get the last part right. How is it that you can complain that the voices aren't appropriate and that the music is strange, and then call it cliche? Seriously, you just said that a Tears For Fears song dubbed over a First Person Shooter is "horribly cliche." Was there a DOOM trailer set to 'Shout' and I just missed it?

The biggest cliche in that video is the one thing you lauded, the artwork. We've been seeing bombed-out gothic cityscapes and ridiculously armed space marines for more than a decade. That's actually my one gripe about Epic's franchises; the execution is top-notch, but everything they do looks like a bizzaro world Starship Troopers.

The trailer is awesome, makes me wanna buy a 360.

[Daz]

I felt that the trailer was far from cliched too, and the soundtrack made for a really interesting juxtaposition.

Congrats guys, must be a huge relief after all those years of hard graft. It looks mightily impressive. I dont own a 360, but I cant wait to check it out in the office.

[Mark Dygert]

I love it. The music is perfect, it helps bring to the surface the loss you should feel for the civilization that once was there. It is a nice contrast too, reminds me of firefly for some reason... I find it interesting that the underground baddie stops at the cobble stones, I wonder how or if that will play into game tactics? I have to say I am most excited for Gears of war for two reasons.

1) The art and the engine. Rarely do we see jumps in this kind of quality and get to play with it, yummy. It doesn't hurt that its all familiar toys, but with upgrades =) I sure as hell hope they put a walk-thru camera in the damn editor and if they didn't, I hope someone hacks one in like past versions.

2) Playing with friends not against them. Squad tactics that aren't rainbow "slug crawl" 6 speed.

Edit: Must fight urge to flame motz...

[Marcus Dublin]

I hated the trailer pretty much, I expected much more in terms of the direction like quick video music cuts showing more of the cast and the locust. The music just didn't do it for me at all It would have been cool to have had a dark post apocalyptic techno, heavy metal feel to it. I wonder if Epic or Microsoft came up with the musical direction for this trailer or if they thought by having soft music it would make the game appeal a wider audience. If that’s the case then they’ve been drinking the marketing departments Cool-aid because the only people who are going to by Gears of War are the same people who bought Unreal, Halo, Black, Kill zone, etc. All in all I’m glad the game is done and I hope it lives up to it’s lofty expectations, I plan on getting a copy on day one and having one hell of a time. Congrats to all of the “team” members who worked on Gears and I look forward to Gears 2!

Later,
Marcus Dublin

Artist – Kaos Studios

PS: Unreal make my game art look so purty!

[TomDunne]

I'm not slamming you on this, Marcus, but why would you want to see that trailer with a heavy metal soundtrack? If you don't dig 'Mad World', I understand, but what you're describing has been done a hundred times now. I remember Quake2 opening up with the Sonic Mayhem tracks and being impressed, but that was almost 9 years ago. I don't want an FPS trailer set to Swan Lake, but the hardass metal soundtrack just bores me to tears these days.

I just realized that my favorite moment in the Prey demo was the alien abduction being set to Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." Unexpected but topically appropriate musical selections make me much happier than generic metal tracks.

[Toomas]

Trailers music/mood choise very similar to GitS Innocense, no?

[Penzer]

Gonna get GoW for me, and Viva Pinata for the gf, expensive week /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Kevin Johnstone]

David Fincher is responsible for this trailer's direction along with Digital Domain. Along with Spielberg, he's been the most interested in UE3's ramifications to the movie industry.

I'm personally more proud of my (limited) involvement with this trailer than I am of anything else I have done in my career because it has depth, because it is attempting to go further than the cliched adolescant male testosterone wank fantasy variations than dominate the games industry.

I'm incredibly excited by the potential effect it will have on games, their marketting and their underlying ethos in the future because I do beleive it is going to have an affect.

We routinely hear the comment that we are a young industry and another way of saying that is that we are immature. I agree, we are, all of us as a whole and the need to grow up is not going to become any less pressing.

The movie industry can only help us so much because its such a passive form of entertainment that requires nothing from us except that we stay stationary, pay attention and if we have read a book or 2, well we're going to understand more of the dialogue.

The heights and the depths that movies can evoke from the viewer is something the games industry envy's with good reason so any fusion between the 2 industries that works is an incredibly positive thing.

You need only look at how much this trailer has seperated people's opinions to realise how affective it is an opening up a fresh dialogue.

Is it arty farty pretentious misdirected nonsense or a brave inteligent attempt to demonstrate that even the most 2 dimensional backstory can have new life breathed into it if it is simply approached from a different perspective?

The need for a decision about what it is creates an arena in which people expose what they think games were before and what they should/could or will be after and I'm excited by that.

My agenda is to see content mature to the point where I care about it, where I feel involved. I want to see game designers the world over realize that being a good designer is a VERY different thing from being a good writer so that it effects a huge change in the industry over the next decade or so where we start seeing companies advertising for writers, fulltime, inhouse in the same way we see artists being recruited.

Whatever your opinions, I think this trailer proves how radically having a different set of skills and approach can alter a game, even if only for a minute.

Thats enough for me , certainly for the moment.

r.

[Daz]

Yes yes mate, that's all well and good. But the point is that when those piano notes kick in and his face is lit up by machine gun fire, it totally gives me goose bumps /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Kevin Johnstone]

Goosebumps? Fuck me thats callous m8, I went and phoned my mum and told her that I really dont tell her I love her as often as I ought to after marcus's eyes widened!


There we go, typicaly scots sarcasm layered with snide one-up-man-ship, wouldn't do to give people the wrong impression about me would it.

r.

[Mark Dygert]

Well said Ror, and I think you might have touched on why games on the a whole have a tendency to turn off or fail to draw-in "the masses" and don't make them feel plugged into the game and feel emotion toward the characters and their surroundings, because the industry is immature in its story telling ability. I don't think the industry has failed so far, but more focused a little too heavy on one thing improving realism over interaction, game play and story telling. With a leap this big in realism and with tech that is this user friendly and widely used it will have a deep impact on many games you're right Ror. I think this leap will satisfy the need to push realism over the things mentioned above. With the tech side satisfied I think we can get down to rounding out the other half of games. If this is what is coming then we have a very very exciting future ahead of us all, developers and gamers alike and I can't wait to see where it goes.

I have tried to keep myself in the dark about this game and that isn't easy. Some things I hope GoW is:
- I hope I am put into a squad and end up caring and hating some or most of the members.
- I hope I get to explore the world around me during some slow points and I get rewarded not with "tokens, achievements, health or ammo" but with a better understanding of the grand story driving the game. Even if its small stuff like posters or trash in alley ways that help give clues to what life was like before the bugs came. Or something bigger like a hermits hovel that explains something. I guess that comes from the big part of me that always wanted to be a historian or archaeologist. Or maybe its that I'm working on mystery games, who knows. I know I want more than jumping, shooting and collecting 1000 gold coins.
- I hope that I come to understand the bugs and why they do what they are doing more than, its an ugly bug I must kill ugly bug things.
- I hope that at some point I am racing to get to a safe check point or base (some place I have already been to) where I know I can stock up, maybe pull some more troops and drive off whatever is chasing me. Only to find the base ransacked with only a few supplies, with this I have to hold the base till help comes. I hope that it isn't just me fighting the onslaught but I have to relay on teammates be it NPC or Human. I always loved those kinds of missions and I hope I get to play one with this game. Even if I don't its OK, because I'll just make it myself =) And that is why I am excited.

[Mongrelman]

Sarcastic scotsman? Bollocks. You are more likely to find a chimpanzee in the presidency.

Personally, I thought going with that music was a great move, it was a good contrast to the big lads in chunky gear waving big guns aboot. Helped show there is more to it than knocking back a crate of red bull and screaming "BOOM HEADSHOT!" every few seconds.

Sadly a 360 is out of my financial reach for quite some time (hopefully I'll get a job in the near future and shorten that time). In the mean time, I'll continue sacrificing chavs to whatever omniscient being may be paying attention.

[adam]

Uhm - in my opinion it was pretty much bread & butter except for the song choice.

Yes, it gives off an interesting vibe but I don't feel it'll make monumental waves in the industry and change how designers design or how trailers are made from here on out.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it and have watched it a few times, but c'mon.. it's JUST a song.

Good move on Epic's part.

[spacemonkey]

the trailer did a good job of getting everyone talking didnt it? /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I enjoyed it, the games art direction premise was destroyed beauty right.. so I think it works just fine! The music is very recognizable by several generations of people.. the donnie darkos fans and Tears for fears gen. The track was also number 1 in the uk a few christmas ago right? Perhaps so in other countries? I think it will certainly make people sit up and watch when it appears on tv!

WIN ! I'm spoilt for choice of work mates to play this in co-op mode with /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Kevin Johnstone]

adam: When Sam Raimi did Spiderman, Peter Jackson did Lord of the rings they demonstrated how differently these genres could be approached and it brought forth more from others.

When Warren Ellis turned his hard to Iron Man, Grant Morrison to Xmen, Neil Gaiman to the Marvel character (1602 graphic) they demonstrated what could be done if things were approached from a different angle.

It's not just a song, I'm not saying its the song, or that the trailer as a whole will instantly change the world.

Look at it again though, watch the Team fortress 2 trailer also, both approach from different angles and comment on the experience instead of documenting gameplay in a series of clips with banging tunes.

Change is easier to push when there are examples, noone understands explanations on their own, they need to be demonstrated and once they are, they become ammunition for others seeking to push in other directions.

r.

[Entity]

good trailer, although not as good as the mgs2 trailers (remember that? The musical score timed perfectly with snake jumping off was amazing)

[gauss]

Bravo, Ror. Happy are we that you deigned to descend, however briefly, from Sarcastic Scot Mountain down among us mortals for a 'wee chat'. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Seriously though, I was surprised and more than a little impressed by the trailer. Soundless scene scored by contrasting piano-type music may not be a new thing at all for movie trailers, but a simple transplant to the world of videogames makes all the difference. Like you say, taking the same old thing and making it new again, if only by significant degrees.
Many decry Epic still working on the same basic formula (scifi marines take on), but I think it's clear that if Epic did decide to take off into completely foreign territory would likely court disaster.
Does anyone criticize Martin Scorsese for making "yet another crime movie" when the results are the likes of Goodfellas and now The Departed?
Not that I'm directly comparing Epic to the Scorsese of the games industry--and if it is, it's at the "Boxcar Bertha" stage of his filmography... here's hoping either GoW or the next one after is the equivalent of "Taxi Driver" /images/graemlins/smile.gif
I think you have good reason to be proud of your involvement, Ror, since Epic (individually and collectively) has clearly stepped things up, refining and honing. Hawkprey's (and others') concepts are extremely consistent in execution and form language, the production artists are clearly on the top of their game; everything from the storytelling to the UI to the camera control etc. is several steps beyond what Epic's done in the past.

There may well be the same old genre tropes that we've all come to expect from the industry, but there's real potential in investing those same tropes in something approaching meaning, symbolism, possibly even (gasp) emotion. I'm very keen on seeing just to what degree GoW is able to advance on those grounds... oh, and I'd still like to shoot monsters, too.

In the words of Jean-Luc Godard, "All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun." Games are just a little more complicated than that, but I think there's just as much room for expression and meaning in a game about space marines and bugs as there is in movies with girls and guns.

Here's to growing up.

(Oh yeah, and DAVID FINCHER is keen on UE3?? Coming from a man with such a sharp eye for visual direction, that's quite a compliment.)

[Slainean]

[ QUOTE ]
...here's hoping either GoW or the next one after is the equivalent of "Taxi Driver" /images/graemlins/smile.gif

...I think there's just as much room for expression and meaning in a game about space marines and bugs as there is in movies with girls and guns.

Here's to growing up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Taxi Driver is one of my favorite movies, so I cringe a bit when you draw a comparison between it and Gears of War. I know you mean gaming equivalent, but I feel the gaming equivalent could be closer in terms of thematic content to the actual Taxi Driver (although I heard an actual Taxi Driver game is in the works, which disappoints me because it may only cheapen a classic film).

It's hard to feel that this music choice is any sort of indication that games are going to "grow up" when GoW looks like the paintings of Simon Bisley come to life. That is by no means a bad thing, but when you have power armor marines with bodybuilder physiques blazing machineguns with chainsaw attachments, you tend to turn your brain off in order to maximize enjoyment. "Meaning" doesn't really extend beyond questions like "Why are those monsters so ugly?", and "What does this gun do?". I'm not arguing that there isn't any room for meaningful expression, it's just that one would expect the game's story to be an adolescent power fantasy to match the visual style.

I think Epic was smart to sidestep the by-the-numbers heavy metal track for the trailer. The editing and camera angles were handled well. The aerial shot as the "gear" jogs down an alleyway with water gushing from a rain gutter is especially good, but I still think the audio/visual matchup was off. The juxtaposition created by video of a burly, scarred marine firing at a gigantic mutant arachnid and a soft piano track about a depressed, rejected teenager is more comical than emotionally stirring. That version of Mad World was recorded for the Donnie Darko OST, so I suspect they intended for the emotion of that movie to rub off here.

When I heard Mad World in the final sequence of Donnie Darko, I got chills. When I heard Mad World in the trailer for Gears of War, I laughed. I don't want to piss off the devs by saying that, but I might.

Anyway, I still want to play the game.

[gauss]

[ QUOTE ]
Taxi Driver is one of my favorite movies, so I cringe a bit when you draw a comparison between it and Gears of War.


[/ QUOTE ]

Haha... sorry, my comparison was poorly drawn, that's not what I meant. /images/graemlins/smile.gif
The analogy was intended to liken Scorsese' personal growth as a director between his early films and Taxi Driver, to the strides Epic has made as a developer from their earliest until the present. That on their own terms, GoW may represent a similar breakthrough as Taxi Driver did for Scorsese as a director; not to say that GoW is the Taxi Driver of gaming.
It's a rather facile analogy even so, and here are two reasons why it fails:
1.) Arguably, Epic has made far greater progress, compared to its very humble beginnings. If we're keeping with the director analogy, it's like a director starting with home movies (Jazz Jackrabbit) working his way up to manning a 200 million dollar Hollywood film (GoW).
2.) Given the industry's relative infancy, if we're comparing to film, it should also be compared to a film/director from film's infancy, like the 20s or 30s. A modern film director has nearly a hundred years of accumulated technique/experience/history to build from, even just starting out... standing on the shoulders of giants and all that.

But there again, games are in a funny position: in some ways, we're having to come up with all the vocabulary and techniques from scratch, because interactive storytelling just hasn't existed before. But in other ways, (ideally) we're building on everything we've learned about telling a story with film and other pre-existing media. But it's like making a movie where you can't control the lead actor, maybe just give him an array of lines, and you also have to build everything for every film, including people... Just some of the reasons why comparing games and film can be helpful in some ways and but ultimately unfruitful in others. They're highly related, but ultimately different beasts.

So yeah. I very much doubt GoW or any other game made soon will be the gaming equivalent of Taxi Driver... personally I think a widely hailed gaming "masterpiece" is coming, but it's still a few years off at least. There have been some great and moving games, but there are always qualifiers.

[ QUOTE ]

but when you have power armor marines with bodybuilder physiques blazing machineguns with chainsaw attachments, you tend to turn your brain off in order to maximize enjoyment.


[/ QUOTE ]

But is that necessarily true--does it have to be, or is that just how it is so far? Think of the development between early pulp science fiction, and then nuanced, literate science fiction that came later, but often still dealt with the same subjects. Like the difference between Flash Gordon and Solaris.
Here comes another haphazard comparison to film. Just because you've got gangsters with guns on screen, do you automatically assume you're going to get a brainless shoot-out of a film? Granted, there have been countless of them made, and countless more to come... but the formula itself does not preclude greatness, it merely requires someone to configure it in such a way as to make something really new and exciting. For gangsters-with-guns, that someone was Quentin Tarantino, the film was Reservoir Dogs. Wouldn't you say that Reservoir Dogs is a film that inhabits much the same conceptual space with the same token elements of a brainless gangster film, but is altogether more than that?

If I may presume a little, I think that's the kind of thing that Ror is hinting at. Yes, someday we'll have mature and very nuanced sorts of games that won't have a single space marine or monster in them... but in the meantime, we're building on what we've got. We can take the same subjects that games have always been obsessed with, the same gameplay principles even, and begin to invest them with the kind of power and yes, meaning that have hitherto now been denied them--but are not intrinsically incapable of!

Not that GoW necessarily does any of that; you'll have to find someone else to play fanboy prophet /images/graemlins/laugh.gif But I think it's a safe bet that, barring major cockups, it's good deal closer to that goal than Epic's previous games, like Unreal.

I mean we've got to be making some progress, right? For as flawed and uneven as it was, it was pretty amazing that John "stories in games are like stories in a porno" Carmack and company actually made a game like Doom 3, that has dialogue, some semblance of pacing, an introduction, and so forth. The game may not have sustained it anywhere near as well as say HL2, but they're moving forward. THERE IS HOPE! At least that's what I tell myself before I go to sleep.

...Well I hope you're happy with what you made me do. I start out with a simple clarification, and write another threadkiller of a monologue. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Mark Dygert]

I'm not really looking to the trailer to revolutionize the way games are made. And I'm not looking to the story or game play to do that either, I hope it happens but I won't hold my breath I just don't know enough about the game yet to say it will, thankfully Ror can. What I do see happening is a large burden removed from the dev cycle, which frees up resources for other things. If the story happens to help push the industry in a new direction then thats just gravy. BUT those resources can just as quickly dry up if the engine costs too much. Its a fine line between being the new widely used industry standard and being a neat game that had some novel features.

I don't know much about how the game plays out if it happens to be all the things I hope it will be then yes it will have a lasting effect on the industry. At the very least I hope the engine is adopted widely and allows games to grow in new directions.

[ QUOTE ]

but when you have power armor marines with bodybuilder physiques blazing machineguns with chainsaw attachments, you tend to turn your brain off in order to maximize enjoyment.

[/ QUOTE ]
Its up to the person telling the story if the marine is ONLY a guy in power armor. I would like to see some character development, I can't wait for the day 3D FPS characters get to be more than 1D =)

[Motz]

Just to clarify my first post. I meant the game is a bit cliche. Big guys with guns on a chopper flown into battle, blasting monster in bulky armor that no one would actually be able to lift. It's a scene in many other games. Also I feel the song was just a mask and not actually the intent. It's very difficult to get emotionally attached to a character that has an 80 IQ and only speaks with 'yes sir' and shooting. Why not spin it around, and make the player character a kid or teenager survivor who has to use the environment/stealth and such to survive. Maybe have that kid picked up by the marine bad asses in a few levels and show he then became that big hulking marine. He could be sifting through the playground he was found at, or where his family died. THAT is attachment, and then the song fits.

The first trailers gave it more of a survival horror feeling in a sci-fi environment, and an interesting story. The newer trailers look more generic shoot-em-up with alien monsters to me. I'll save my judgment until I actually see it. I'm sure there are several versions of the trailers released to gather interest from multiple parties.

[perna]

Ima kill some shit in this game real good.

[Fuse]

I found this particular trailer very effective effective in conveying emotion and hero vulnerability.

Previous trailers reeked of cliche lines and uninspired dialogue/narraration, i could almost predict what the next line will be.

I think at a certain point we need to realize that the audience might not be so naive and subtleties can do more about developing atmosphere and characters.

I think often times people design with an unsophisticated and dumbed down mindset thinking that the younger audience might not understand the subtleties that make an effective presentation for an older crowd. I dont think that is always the case, a young consumer might not have the language and understanding of the elements but it doesnt mean that he cant be impacted in a meaningful way.

It might not be the most sophisticated cinematic full of metaphors and whatnot, but it was a nice fresh departure of what we saw previously ..

Good job Ror /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Kevin Johnstone]

I take no credit for this one Fuse, my limited involvement went no further than the creation of some of the environment assets.

IT's really thanks to Cliff , Jerry , Rod , MS and of course David Fincher's want to push outside of our comfort zone a little more.

r.

[Illusions]

Gears of War:

A guy is fighting to save his homeworld from the Locust Horde after losing his family during emergence day. He wears big bulky armor, and carries big bulky guns to get his job done, and his compatriots are either "Yes sir" meatheads, gung-ho troopers, or nerdy army men.

Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"

A guy is fighting to save his homeworld from the Bug Horde after losing his family. He wears big bulky armor, and carries big bulky guns to get his job done, and his compatriots are either "Yes sir" meatheads, gung-ho troopers, or nerdy army men.

Lets see if it lives up to the book that defined the genre. Otherwise, it looks beautiful, and Mad World in my opinion was perfect for the trailer. If you've been following the game, the trailer is pretty straightfoward as to what is happening, if you haven't then its the perfect "what is going on here?" hook. If it comes out on PC I'll definately be getting it. I might even just go and get the 360 Collectors Edition (even though I don't own, nor will be buying a 360) just for the collectible art book.

[Fuse]

I think it's already been discussed in another thread before in relation to UT2k7 that companies like Epic need to be very careful from diverging from their true and tested genre, because they have such a recognizable artstyle and such a big fanbase.

Not to mention that aside from Halo, GOW is going to be Microsoft's baby that will account for a significant about of xbox sales, directly and indirectly. So when dealing with a console franchise game, there are limit within which you can experiment. Take an example from The legend of zelda, scrape off the 3d presentation and zelda plays pretty much just like any previous zelda game. Ocarine of time, arguiably the best console game of our time, or at least one of the best console adventure games, doesnt stray far from the true and tested formula.

I have made my peace with the fact that Gears of War is practically Unreal 3 with another name, peel off the name you'd be hardpressed to tell if it is in fact a whole new IP /images/graemlins/smile.gif . It certainly isnt a horrible thing, but I kind of looked past all the other cinematic trailers because they really reeked of "seen that, done that".

Surprisingly this trailer was breathed new life into a game that sunk into the gray zone on my radar, not terribly exciting, but surely a great technological achievement. I know that this means nothing to what the game is actually going deliver, but as a promotional piece it was very strong.

[conte]

woah, that's just kick ass movie...

[TomDunne]

[ QUOTE ]
Surprisingly this trailer was breathed new life into a game that sunk into the gray zone on my radar, not terribly exciting, but surely a great technological achievement. I know that this means nothing to what the game is actually going deliver, but as a promotional piece it was very strong.

[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent point, Fusey. I expected GOW to be a good game, but not something that would command my attention beyond the usual next-gen FPS. Nothing I'd have bought an Xbox360 for. Now, I'm thinking different - just seeing a trailer that gets this far outside the box makes me believe that Epic really have created a game I need to play.

[Motz]

Omg... the camera bob made me dizzy as hell. I can't play it for more than 10 minutes at a time without getting motion sickness.

[Mark Dygert]

wheeny, Barbie's fairy pony prince adventure awaits you motz. I hear all that pink has a soothing effect. =_

[Motz]

I dunno what it is man, I had this problem with some dreamcast games as well. It's a shame though, I picked up a 360 for this.

[moose]

/images/graemlins/blush.gif long thread.

thanks guys, see you on Live (moosebot).... suckers!!

[TelekineticFrog]

[ QUOTE ]
:o long thread.

thanks guys, see you on Live (moosebot).... suckers!!

[/ QUOTE ]

No...Thank You and everybody over there at Epic. /images/graemlins/smile.gif I'm gonna go nuts on this game. Those videos of multiplayer on Game Trailers were awesome. I will see you on the battlefield Moose. Ror you better play too. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Kevin Johnstone]

Oh i will be, afterall I've only played the first couple of levels so I'm as excited as your average newb.

r.

[PaK]

I havent seen a game push the capabilities of the x360 like GOW besides fight night round 3...and FN3 doesnt have the gameplay restraints that GOW has.

It's a feat...congrats to Mike Buck, ror and all the other polycounters who worked hard on this game.

-R

[Thegodzero]

Something i noticed after watching the multi player vids at work, the layout of the multi player levels were overly simplistic. Both levels shown were just your standard three choke point maps. I'm hoping that those are the smallest and the most simplistic maps.

Good idea baking all the lighting info into the maps. The player will never know the difference, and it lets you put more detail into the player shadows. I also liked the use of the blood to cover up the replacement of players to gibs. Thats a very nice trick.

[Black_Dog]

[ QUOTE ]
Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"

A guy is fighting to save his homeworld from the Bug Horde after losing his family. He wears big bulky armor, and carries big bulky guns to get his job done, and his compatriots are either "Yes sir" meatheads, gung-ho troopers, or nerdy army men.

Lets see if it lives up to the book that defined the genre.

[/ QUOTE ]

That has to be the least insightful description of Starship Troopers I've ever seen. You missed *everything* that elevates that book above the basic idea of "guys with guns fight bugs" to become a classic.

My guess is, so will Gears Of War. But I don't see that mattering much - video games have rarely so much as touched on the issues that Heinlein wrote about, but they're still worth playing.

[Fuse]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh i will be, afterall I've only played the first couple of levels so I'm as excited as your average newb.

r.

[/ QUOTE ]

hahha they keep your butt in the dark ? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Spark]

Just got to say good job guys on adding another nail to the PS3's coffin. Awesome work all over that game, congrats to all.

Spark

[killingpeople]

hopefully they'll revive it with unreal 2007? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[seantree]

omg, just got to see some of the MP vids and have to say it makes the wait even more painful. Gametrailers pulled them but said they would be back up today. I hope so since I've only seen 3 of them but damn they were sexy. Great job guys!!

[swampbug]

Rock on (maury, hancy <BG power>) ror, bartlet, ferris (former volitionite)!

[doc rob]

Out today! If anybody wants to play some co-op, send me a message on live (gamertag: docrobby). I'll be online Wed night for sure as the wife is out of town /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Joseph Silverman]

Perfect timing. My xbox360 went 3-red lights on me yesterday evening. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[sinistergfx]

I'll be picking it up tomorrow. I get to play it at home while all of you have to work :P. Anyone who wants to be killed or play some co-op: let me know.

Gonna play the shit out of it until the movers pack all my stuff up.

[Joseph Silverman]

9.6 from Gamespot. http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/g...p;click=topslot (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/gearsofwar/review.html?sid=6161188&tag=topslot;action;1&om_ac t=convert&click=topslot)

Congratulations again to everyone who worked on it. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[arshlevon]

oh and did you call in sick today doc rob?
(he saves all his sick days for when games he likes comes out! and now that he is not my boss he can't fire me for saying this! /images/graemlins/laugh.gif /images/graemlins/laugh.gif /images/graemlins/laugh.gif)

and now for the real question, when is the nda up an when can we see some asset pimps??!!!

[Lee3dee]

the EB here is allowing pre-orders to pick up theirs at 5pm today. See you guys on xblive tonight /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Xenobond]

Here's hoping all your dreams come true of a successful combining of Jazz Jackrabbit and Unreal Tounament.

[Joshua Stubbles]

Gamestop here in Reno gets theirs tomorrow /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Fuse]

[ QUOTE ]
oh and did you call in sick today doc rob?
(he saves all his sick days for when games he likes comes out! and now that he is not my boss he can't fire me for saying this! /images/graemlins/laugh.gif /images/graemlins/laugh.gif /images/graemlins/laugh.gif)

and now for the real question, when is the nda up an when can we see some asset pimps??!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

i second that ..

ASSET PIMPS !! ASSET PIMPS !!

[aesir]

if only I could buy a pc version now...

ah well, guess I'll have to wait a while. Hopefully they tune it up well enough so it doesnt feel like a port.

[Entity]

[ QUOTE ]
if only I could buy a pc version now...

ah well, guess I'll have to wait a while. Hopefully they tune it up well enough so it doesnt feel like a port.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't count on it though, not until a few years /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[rawkstar]

got mine here /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[skankerzero]

got ours today.

Pretty cool. The collector's edition strategy guide comes with a really cool art book.

[Joao Sapiro]

see ? i told that the tshirt id guy act would work !

[Joshua Stubbles]

Seems like you guys seriously cut down the texture resolution on everything. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[skankerzero]

The physics are terrible, especially the ragdoll stuff. I guess you can thank PhysX for that. I think Epic would be better off writing their own physics engine.

I can't stand the blood. Such great art in the game and then you have extremely 'cartoony' blood effects.

Epic pulls off the illusion that you're destroying things really good, but in reality, almost nothing is destructable.

Other than that, I think the game is pretty cool. I'm going to enjoy it at least.

[ QUOTE ]
Seems like you guys seriously cut down the texture resolution on everything. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

It's bound to happen. Especially on first gen games for any console. It's so hard to plan for certain specs when they keep changing on you and you don't have final hardware until only a couple months before system release. They seem to have taken out all the SSS stuff too.

[Joshua Stubbles]

True. But it's another one of those situations where you're led to believe one thing, and the final result isn't it.
I've been expecting visuals like this:

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2005/257/reviews/928234_20050915_screen002.jpg

and in the end we got this:

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2006/309/reviews/928234_20061106_screen004.jpg

Not that it's bad! It's the best looking 360 game I've seen. It's an amazing looking game. I'm just saying, it's not close to what we've been shown in screen shots and videos. Would have been nice to have been eased into it a little more /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Mark Dygert]

That would more than likely be due to the fact that they have been showing us the game running on a PC at full res, with settings cranked. Something the 360 might not be fully able to do. I pick up my copy tomorrow.

[McIlroy]

It's really to bad the guys who put in there blood sweat and tears for that game will never be able to show the games full potential . I agree with Vassago that is the kind of marketing hoopla that pisses gamers off ...the same kind of shit SONY pulled with the Killzone video at E3. That is still awesome looking though im having fun with it. I'd kill for a PC version though i'd crank the visuals up to full settings !!

[poopinmymouth]

Not worth it. Post deleted.

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[Xenobond]

I watched a couple doods play it in my cube after lunch. Looks like it'll be as good of a multiplayer co-op game as Secret of Mana. Looks like I'll probably pick up this game on the weekend.

Don't worry, I won't finish it.

[diZzyWalnut]

http://www.beyondunreal.com/content/potd_images/T52006110622512728.jpg

here in Europe we have to wait one week more (17.11.06)

[Joseph Silverman]

Anybody know if there are plans for a marketplace demo, by the way?

[DH_]

I liked it but the SP is really really short. Time to play through again on the hardest difficulty.

[Malekyth]

[ QUOTE ]
While this isn't Epic's fault per se

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd say it isn't Epic's fault at all. If Company Exec is so ignorant of his own industry as to not understand that all screenshots that look too good to be true can be assumed not to be, then his employees are not going to have a very good time working for his incompetent-yet-demanding ass anyway.

[arshlevon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
While this isn't Epic's fault per se

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd say it isn't Epic's fault at all. If Company Exec is so ignorant of his own industry as to not understand that all screenshots that look too good to be true can be assumed not to be, then his employees are not going to have a very good time working for his incompetent-yet-demanding ass anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

you don't know too many company executives do you? i find 99.99% of the time people that make the most important decisions in this industry know nothing about it. its not the 80's anymore. the industry is overrun with suits that make games by market statistics and polls. its big business now and thats who is calling most of the shots. they don't know what a freaking polygon is, but i find they make great mojitos and know how to have a great time at a strip club.

[poopinmymouth]

Not worth it. Post deleted.

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[cochtl]

one thing for sure is that is certainly looks better than most games out on the 360 anyway. if anything, it makes me excited to think of what will come out in a few or so years after dev houses have a much better handling of the hardware.

[ScoobyDoofus]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd say it isn't Epic's fault at all. If Company Exec is so ignorant of his own industry as to not understand that all screenshots that look too good to be true can be assumed not to be, then his employees are not going to have a very good time working for his incompetent-yet-demanding ass anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, I know a thing or two about working for clueless assholes with wildly unrealistic expectations...

That said, I wouldn't blame Nikon for making a great camera that takes AWESOME pictures in the hands of a seasoned pro, just because a braindead executive thinks that all he's gotta do is spend $5k on a camera and $8/hour on am employee and he's got himself an army of Ansel Adams. Thats just beyond retarded. Even my boss knows better than that.

Reach a little harder and you'll touch the moon...

[doc rob]

I disagree - I think the average joe would look at those two screenshots and not be able to tell the difference.

And for those of us who can tell the difference - we should not be surprised that it's different looking. We should all know that you have to make compromises as a game comes together and gets closer to ship. We also know that Epic is in the business of selling engines and if they have a screen shot of something cool their engine can do in real time, they're going to show it. Their engine is capable of all those cool things, just not all at the same time on the 360 for this particular game. Epic may not have known they'd have to compromise until they started optimizing the game.

Plus, the game is really nice looking. How much of that is just awesome art and not awesome tech is up for debate.