Gears of War 2

Today, at 2AM PST, the new title update for Gears of War 2 has dropped. It features a huge laundry list of glitch/bug fixes, and some much needed ones at that. I'd list all the fixes, but there's quite a few of them. Check Rod Fergusson's post on the Epic forums for the full list of fixes. It definitely addresses some bugs I hated in Gears of War 2 Multiplayer.

However, this is not the only thing Rod posted about, or updated Gears 2 with. Read on.

In case you missed it, the official site for Epic Games' recent release, Gears of War 2, has some exciting news. For one, the soundtrack is now for sale via the guys at Sumthing Else, or in normal CD format on shelves everywhere. I'm not quite sure whether or not to get it, but knowing my weakness for game music I'll probably cave pretty soon. The music of Gears of War 2 was composed by Steve Jablonsky, an excellent composer with mostly a career in film music.

The merchandise section is brimming with plenty of, well, merchandise for any of you who wish to fully express your love of GoW, though I think a Gears shoe is taking it a bit far.

If you've neglected to browse the photos section of the Gears 2 official website, you may have been missing out. It certainly has some nice features to be sure. You can browse everyones pictures, or just your own. There is also a nice handy dandy tab for just viewing the cool pictures you and your friends have uploaded- quite nice.

The MLG Gears of War 2 Film Festival is still on- record and upload your frag videos!

Epic also recently released a matchmaking fix update, something many Gears players like myself are definitely ecstatic about. Rod Fergusson's post I just linked to is a definite must-read if you experience any more problems.

Some interesting stats for your pleasure(not least of which GoW2 is #1 on XBL right now):
* Almost 3 million multiplayer matches (excluding Private) have been played.
* Almost 1 million screenshot photos have been uploaded to gearsofwar.com
* The most popular multiplayer mode is Horde.
* The most popular multiplayer map across all modes is River.

Major League Gaming has kicked off their first Gears of War 2 film festival today. Users are to submit their best plays in a skill video no longer than 90 seconds. There is no limit on your number of entries. As for prizes, 500 bucks and MLG prize packs are up for grabs. The deadline for entries is December 1st. For the rest of the information on the contest, please follow this link- http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/film_festival.php?fid=137

Also, please Digg: http://digg.com/gaming_news/Gears_of_War_2_MLG_Film_Festival

Update: After 28 reviews, the score is now 94 out of 100.

Gears of War 2 is already being reviewed by media outlets and they think it’s a great game. With about 20 reviews in the books, GoW2 out scores its predacesor.

According to MetaCritic.com, GoW2 has a 95 out of 100 rating. Notable scores are 100/100 from 1UP, Gamespy, and GamePro. Team XBOX gives a 98/100; IGN 95/100.

Probably due to social engineering, GoW2 has a pethetic 3.3 out of 10 score from 3455 votes from readers of MetaCritic.com. GoW2 is out on the street if you are in the right lanes. However, I'm having a hardtime believing that nearly 3500 gamers have played the game and gone to MetaCritic just to voice their opinion on the game.

For your reference, the original Gears of War, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4 all had average scores of 94/100 and graded by the major media outlets. With more GoW 2 reviews due out later, it is likely that its current 95/100 rating won’t last and will drop a point or two. As if it matters. GoW 2 will definitely be one of the best games of the year and one the best first person shooters to date on the XBOX 360.

(The original Gears of War title had an average review of 8.0 out of 10 from 877 users on MetaCritic.com. If Epic can't handle the XBOX Live traffic and if there are technical glitches in the game (perhaps due to a rushed production to meet the holiday drop date), then you can expect users to score this game much lower than 8.0 out of 10.)

Below are direct links to highlighted reviews:

1UP - 100/100
GamePro - 100/100
GameSpy - 100/100

In case you all missed these: Epic has been releasing these "developer diaries" for the upcoming release of Gears of War 2. You can download most of these in High Definition WMV format at the official GoW 2 website: http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Media/videos.htm

All videos are chronologically ordered, from newest to oldest.

Never Fight Alone:
The crew at Epic dishes on multiplayer, new modes, and psychological warfare in Gears 2.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/mcWKEmj2Gb4.html

Enter the Horde:
Take a closer look at the brutal new foes in Gears 2.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/Cic8ngjs9W0.html

Delta Blues:
The Gears 2 team talks about what makes their characters tick.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/EVsulpbQwEdD3M.html

Every Gun Has A Story:
The Gears 2 team explains how to reach out and touch someone… with a flamethrower.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/d8fhsalslNPfA84w.html

Touch The Sound:
Learn all about the "meatier," "crunchier," Gears 2 sound design.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/NTm4Zx0X9As.html

Gears 2: Multiplayer Footage:
Part 1:

Part 2: