Remember the Gears of War action figures that are due in stores in late spring? You get to see them again in all their plastic glory, from Comic-Con no doubt. The detail in these toys is amazing. Like I complained earlier, just don’t expect them to survive a good ass-whooping.

I like the detail in my toys like the next guy, but perhaps the main reason I stopped playing action figures and putting in more time playing video games is that the newer plastic toys aren’t as durable as they used to. Yes, I used to launch my G.I. Joes into orbit. That’s probably why I keep doing the same thing to Niko Bellic when playing Grand Theft Auto IV.

But the detailed-yet-frail action figures? No thanks. I’d rather play my toys than use them as paperweight.

Post from: EveryJoe

See Gears of War action figures in all their plastic glory

If you’re as cheap as I am, then you’re probably holding off on that PC upgrade for years. A couple of months ago, I probably would’ve said that despite the age of my current rig, it has yet to disappoint. While it can still manage to run Mass Effect, I noticed that I can only install a couple of games on my hard drive because of space restrictions.

Are the size of current games really growing? I decided to do a little more digging.

I looked at the games installed on my hard drive. What do Gears of War, Bioshock, and Mass Effect have in common? Yes, they’re “shooters,” but not in the strictest sense. Notice anything else?

The three games are all powered by Unreal Engine 3. Interestingly, each game consumes almost 10GB of hard disk space. Gears of War gets 9.96GB, Mass Effect eats up 9.87GB, and Bioshock in the neighborhood of 8GB.

In comparison, Clive Barker’s Jericho, another current shooter, requires a mere 2GB of space. Jericho and Gears both came out in November 2007.

What is up with Unreal Engine 3, Epic? Why can’t you be like other developers and design a game that can look as purdy and manage to stay smaller than 5GB? Are you turning into Microsoft? Can’t you trim your humongous engine? Who knows, maybe your games would run much smoother in older systems, translating to even better sales.

To be fair, Mass Effect is running quite well in my aging PC, which doesn’t meet the RPG/shooter’s minimum system requirements. However, my PC can also run Gears of War handily at medium detail settings. Strangely, my rig is having a more difficult time running Mass Effect even if both games use the same engine.

Bottom line: Cliffy B. and company should try a bit harder to optimize their game engine. Yes, it’s already running relatively well, but I believe it could get even better. Games may have to be delayed a bit, but trimming Unreal Engine 3 to around half its original size would do wonders to performance and even sales.

Image of Mass Effect for the PC is courtesy of EA.

Post from: EveryJoe

Rant: Unreal Engine 3 games eat up too much space

Cosplayers on ‘roids rejoice! TriForce Sales, a creator of licensed 1:1 scale replica from video games, films, TV, and comics, is going to produce the weapons and armor from the Gears of War universe. TriForce has partnered with sculptor Sid Garrand of Nightmare Armor Studios to recreate the gear worn by Marcus Fenix’s Delta Squad.

So what’s in the lineup of replicas? You can order the COG armor, helmet and the Lancer assault rifle. Advance orders can be placed online beginning July 8 at www.projecttriforce.com.

“I have been a huge fan of Gears of War since its release in November of 2006,” said Garrand. “In my spare time I sculpted a full set of armor for myself, which I enjoyed showing off at conventions. When the fans saw it they all asked me how they could get it. I was thrilled when the team from Epic saw it, and liked it, which allowed us to move to the point to where we are today. It all truly began as a labor of love.”

I think there’s a problem or two though. When Garrand and his squad showed off the replicas to Gears developer Epic Games, they weren’t exactly the most physically-fit cosplayers. In fact, Garrand’s arms are glaringly skinny compared to Fenix’s tree trunk limbs.

Additionally, the fictional Marcus Fenix is 6’1” tall and weighs 231lbs. If Garrand was anywhere near that weight or build, then the replicas should be even larger. Call me anal, but if you start hyping these products as 1:1 scale replicas, you’ve gotta back it up.

Gears of War image courtesy of Microsoft and Epic Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gears of War replica weapons and armor to be produced

My main reason for reluctance is the view itself. The third-person camera gives the player wider peripheral vision that FPSes could never provide. As a result, hiding in cover becomes feasible because you, the player, would be able to see if your character is hidden well or if a body part is sticking out for your enemies to shoot.

Killzone 2’s “lean and peek” gameplay thrills me because I’ve never seen an FPS utilize cover mechanics. However, since the game is still under development and won’t be released until next year, we can only speculate if “lean and peek” works or not. Would the Killzone 2 gameplay be affected greatly by this mechanic, or is this just a gimmick?

For Sony’s sake, I hope it does work since Killzone 2 is a PS3-exclusive game. If it doesn’t, then Killzone is just overhyped freebie material that’s destined to be placed in a bargain shelf next to Haze.

Post from: EveryJoe

Killzone 2 video shows cover mechanics

Notice anything odd about the clip? I did. Cliffy B. is looking buff and decides to show it off. So he finally got rid of the geek look. Yes, it took him years to do so even if he was making truckloads of money for the longest time.

The guys over at Game Videos decided to make an analysis video to go with the gameplay footage. It’s really helpful if you’ve never played Gears of War before, or are utterly indifferent clueless when it comes to the names of each vehicle, weapon, or alien in the game.

This video was obviously taken from an Xbox 360 (see the context-sensitive button controls?). The clip also gave us more proof that the dual analog sticks control scheme are terrible for shooters. See how the player couldn’t get a bead on the flying thingies (the Game Video guys said they’re called “Reavers”) that flew around?

Source: Joystiq

Post from: EveryJoe

Watch first Gears of War 2 gameplay video

Post from: EveryJoe

Gears Cheers #1: Bosses rule for a reason

Among my favorite new features included in the tech demo are the advanced character lighting, high-density crowds, better-looking water, and soft-body physics. Part one was quite dark no matter how high I turned up the gamma, so better lighting means I can see Fenix and company better.

This time, we get a “horde” treatment when it comes to the Locust because Gears 2 is said to be capable of showing a hundred aliens onscreen at the same time. Pathfinding seems a bit shoddy however. Notice how the Locust bottlenecked when trying to get past an upturned car that was in the way?

At last, we get meat chunks and T-1000 blobs for enemies, thanks to the soft-body physics. I wonder how this would affect gameplay. Perhaps a blob soccer mod with some sort of gravity gun in the future?

Any of you looking forward to Gears of War 2? That’s a stupid question. Of course you are. I wonder what kind of rig it would take to run this game on the PC. Who knows? Perhaps the world would be rid of RRoD by then.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gears of War 2 looks even better than the original

So my PC isn’t exactly cutting edge. I can accept that. It’s why I love tweaking so much. But when tweaking my settings doesn’t bear fruit no matter what combination I do, then I know I’m screwed.

This is one of my new problems in the “improved” Gears of War for the PC. Whether I tune down or crank up the visual settings, I get the same result: choppy visuals, especially when the action heats up.

How tricky does it get? For one, aiming can be a pain. If you factor in recoil, it’s tougher to get a bead on the Locust. Active reloading is also crazy because pressing “R” has to be timed exactly. If not, the gun jams. Now imagine going through all that while a nasty alien is pumping your big-ass COG hide full of hot lead.

Gears of War image courtesy of Microsoft and Epic Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gears of War annoyances #5: Armed conflict is hell, but so are choppy visuals

So I finally installed Gears of War on my PC (for the umpteenth time). Now why would I want to do a thing like that when the game keeps crashing? Because there was an update released, and who knows? It just might get me past the point where the game always fails.

FYI, I’ve never managed to cross the river with Dom before. After I installed the update, I’ve finally gotten past the river and met the Kryll, those bat-like creatures that kill in the dark. See the screenshot I took?

Looks like a review is in order.

Post from: EveryJoe

New Gears of War update fixes crashing problem

Yes, GTA is finally going to have decent firefights.

According to CVG’s substantial preview, GTA IV is “more Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 [GRAW2] than Gears of War” when it comes to cover. While I find Gears’ cover shooting to be generally better than that of GRAW2’s, this is way better than the old mechanics used in GTA’s last-gen titles.

Part IV also changes the drive-by shooting from the straight left or right aiming to aiming weapons using the right stick. When one speaks of aiming, there’s naturally a cursor included.

While we may have grown tired of the same old elements that GTA had to offer in the last generation, part IV seems to offer something entirely different. All this talk about more sophisticated shooting is certainly encouraging.

Your thoughts?

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Post from: EveryJoe

CVG: GTA IV shooting is more GRAW2 than Gears