Source: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/884/884154p1.html

Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Hands-On

Like a Fenix from the flames, Marcus raises the meatflag as we blow the lid off GOW2's multiplayer.

by Andrew Stanton, IGN UK

UK, June 25, 2008 - "This is where the magic happens." For some reason this truism rattled unshakably around my head like beans in a tin can over the entire day spent at Epic Games. We'd been flown to the US to be the first journalists in the world to get hands on with Gears of War 2 multiplayer. My strange mantra was often a reminding prompt – there's absolutely nothing cool whatsoever about Epic's HQ.

Based in the beautiful, but nothingy backwoods of Cary, North Carolina (Wiki it: there's lashings of green, wide roads and naff all else), it's a bland, beige building nestling amongst similarly uninspiring science park real estate. But the mantra also came back as a whooping endorsement when we finally picked up a controller and the fragging began.

Some flavour: Epic truly is indistinguishable from just about every other developer we've visited. Two storey, science park monochrome blahchitecture. A reception bristling with heavy, crystal blob game of the year awards and life-size character figure detritus. The desks of the developer staff are strewn with comic book, anime and geek movie vinyl figures. There's a kitchen creaking at the seams with free sugar and caffeine-rich snacks – the ADHD-inspiring engine room. A rank of arcade machines line up next to the most pristine gym I've ever seen in my life (make of that what you will) and positively cathedral-like, gargantuan loos, with magazine racks of game mag serving as "inspirational" reading. It's tidier than most, but that's no great endorsement. And they knew we were coming, so nagging had probably ensued.

Gears 2 promises to be "bigger, better and more badass", plus now it also includes flamethrowers.

Gears associate producer Tanya Jessen told Shacknews.com that there are no plans for a GoW2 demo. She says that such a fast release of a sequel that this caliber means that they won't have time for the demo.

Will this end up hurting GoW2 sales?

Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 both had successful demos or beta tests before the launch of those games. Both of those games sold millions of copies on launch and today are the most played games on XBOX Live.

Of course, Gears of War 1 didn't have a demo and it is the #5 most played game on XBOX Live; two years after release.

Will GoW adopters give up that game for the sequel without a demo?

Today it was announced that Gears of War 2 is coming out in November. The original Gears of War was a fun game, but had it's problems. What do you expect to be added, changed, or removed from Gears of War 2?

Open thread.

The XBOX press conference at the Game Developer's Conference just ended. Microsoft already has a press release ready. The highlights:

• Gears of War 2!! Coming this November. Continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Developed by Epic Games exclusively for the XBOX 360.
• Fable 2: In addition to the dynamic co-op mode unveiled onstage, Peter Molyneux also announced that Carbonated Games is bringing the “Fable 2” experience to Xbox LIVE Arcade. Before the game’s launch, gamers will be able to get an early taste of the “Fable 2” experience and gain a head start on earning currency for use in “Fable 2” by playing “Fable 2”-themed pub games that will be downloadable via Xbox LIVE Arcade. The currency earned in these Xbox LIVE Arcade titles will enable players to purchase items in “Fable 2” when the game launches later this year.
• XNA games playable on the Zune.
• Ninja Gaiden II: Coming early June, with Ninja Cinema on Xbox LIVE. Tomonobu Itagaki debuted several tantalizing new Xbox LIVE features of “Ninja Gaiden II,” including the ability to capture and share videos of a player’s glorious battles via the Ninja Cinema feature and upload them to Xbox LIVE. “Ninja Gaiden II” launches worldwide this June.
• Xbox LIVE: 1 billion achievements earned!
• Xbox LIVE Arcade: New games coming include Braid, Castle Crashers, Defense Grid: The Awakening, Go! Go! Break Steady, and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.
• XNA Community-developed games: By the end of 2008, Xbox 360 owners will have access to more than 1,000 community-created games. The first seven are available to download now from Xbox LIVE Marketplace: JellyCar, Little Gamers, Dishwasher, TriLinea, RocketBall, ProximityHD, and Culture.