Listen up and and stay focused fellow friends, because today is the day we’ve been waiting for ever since Gears of War 2’s video debut on May 10th. Today, we’re told that Microsoft has promised to release brand new Gears 2 screenshots and concept art depicting both campaign and multiplayer goodies. Not only that, but EGM’s long promised GoW2 multiplayer footage is set to make its debut today as well, showcasing new multiplayer modes, new weapons and enough blood and guts to fill two five gallon pails. Microsoft should be releasing the Gears 2 screenshots today at 12:00PM noon eastern (9:00AM pacific) when we also expect EGM to release their exclusive video (media embargoes FTW!).

Now, get excited kids, because we’re in for a bloody Wednesday full of enough GoW2 chainsawdomy imagery to keep you satisfied until November. Oh yeah, we totally went there.

[Thanks, Randall Washington (B1gg Randall)]

Source - GoW2 multiplayer footage
Source - GoW2 screenshots and concept art

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The video game industry certainly sees its share of rumors and, in this week’s edition of Ask X3F, we tackle one of the biggest. That is, of course, whether or not Metal Gear Solid 4 will ever hit our beloved white console. We also discuss Street Fighter II HD, Halo toys and Spore. Find a bounty of delicious text after the break.

Got a question for Ask X3F? Maybe you have a story or some information you’d like to share? Send it all to ask [at] xbox360fanboy [dawt] com.

Continue reading Ask X3F: Solid rumors edition

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Yeah we know the post title is a bit needlesssly grim. Let’s face it, we’re going to still be getting some information about releases from the ESRB. And hopefully some publishers simply won’t much care about putting their games up there early. Others like Playful Entertainment, publishers of Ticket to Ride, seem to still want their ratings to go up at the last minute (TtR releases this week).

However, if we’re to believe that the publishers of the other two XBLA games on the list (Rocket Riot and Cribbage) also want their games to pop up at the last minute, we could be looking at the first hint of next week’s releases. Or we could just be paranoid about this whole ESRB thing.

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[Via NeoGAF]

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Microsoft today announced that replacing Jeff Bell as vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business will be Michael Delman. Bell recently announced he was leaving the company, though not our hearts. Delman is currently the corporate vice president of the Global Marketing Communications Group at Microsoft and will be assuming his new role (and presumably donning his new Xbox branded boxer shorts) in August. Conversely, we’re guessing that Jeff Bell will officially call it quits in August. We’re eager (very eager) to see if Delman will be able to fill Jeff Bell’s loud, well-spoken shoes.

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As if they didn’t already have enough of their plate with Mirror’s Edge, Battlefield: Bad Company and Battlefield: Heroes, Swedish developer DICE confirmed with GamesIndustry.biz that they’re hard at work on an additional three Battlefield games. That’s a total of five Battlefield games being developed at once … ZOMG!

According to Ben Cousins, executive producer at DICE, one of the upcoming (and yet to be revealed) Battlefield games will be a targeted towards the console market and another being developed in collaboration with Neowiz for the Korean gaming market. So, uhh … you heard it hear first … Bad Company 2 CONFIRMED!

[Via Big Download]

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With the release of the new (and free) multiplayer map “Boneyard”, THQ flipped the magical Frontlines: Fuel of War multiplayer switch and enabled 50 player online multiplayer on all of the game’s maps. A huge step up since launch, when only the map “Village” had 50 player versus enabled. Not only has multiplayer been opened up, but a patch has been released adding a “new spawn protection system, as well as expanded voice-over-IP communications, which includes squad to squad chat, proximity, and inter-vehicle communication.” Enjoy your chaotic Frontlines gaming fun.

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It’s been a long time coming, but the sixth episode of the Lionhead’s Fable 2 video diary is finally available. This installment deals with the art of Fable 2 and how it is integrated with the final product. We look at everything from concept art to texture mapping and also learn a few more details about how the game actually works. One note of interest is that not only are all the character morphs (strong or weak, fat or thin, good or evil, etc) making a return in Fable 2, but they can now also be influenced by a player’s social behavior. We’re not exactly sure how something like gambling influences appearance, but we’re definitely curious.

Also revealed in the video is a new detail about how the game handles death. Of course, we already know about scarring, but the video mentions that once a player is completely surrounded by enemies (when you would traditionally ‘die’), the player will take part in “one last heroic struggle” (complete with swelling music) that will send the baddies flying and give players a second chance.

Two final notes. One, the beginning of the video shows a fairly lengthy moment of Peter Molyneux taking his time circling “October” on a notepad. Make what you will of that. Two, we want our own Hobbe sculpture. Seriously. Find the video after the break.

Continue reading Fable 2 video diary 6 talks art, death and morphs

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“Sent to die,” are the words we just can’t seem to get out of our heads for this one. Why, oh why, would MS want this on XBLA? Unless it costs something in the neighborhood of 200pts, we envision it getting delisted at the first possible opportunity.

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