A couple weeks back, Mark Rein dropped a tip on the Gears forums stating we would be seeing a much needed title update to Gears of War 2 sometime in January and that this update would remedy even more problems than he could list. That day in January has finally arrived, just as promised.
The Title Update 2 fixes an innumerable list of problems. There were so many problems with the Gears of War 2 online multiplayer that the list had to be included after the jump and you may just get a cramped middle finger from scrolling down to view the last item on the list, just don’t say we didn’t warn you. Some of the problems are well documented while others were less apparent. My personal favorite has to be the all of the grenade changes. Any specific changes/fixes that you folks appreciate the most?
Don’t forget, the achievements that were detailed yesterday are now attainable after you apply the update. The Title Update 2 is available immediately for download.
In preparation for the announced title update for Gears of War 2, seven brand new achievements have been detailed on xbox.com. Don’t fire up Gears of War 2 yet, you achievement whores, the new achievements won’t be attainable until the title update is released.
As for the achievements themselves, three require the Flashback Map Pack, another three require the Combustible Map Pack and the last one requires both. If you don’t already own the Flashback Map Pack because you are cheap and purchased the game used, you can always download it for 400 Microsoft Points.
Gears of War 2 will now have 1175 possible gamerscore points, leaving room for more DLC in the future.
Skeletons in your Closet (20G) – Complete waves 1 through 10 on all Flashback Map Pack maps in Horde (any difficulty)
More Mystery, Less History (15G) – Win a multiplayer match on each of the 5 Flashback Map Pack maps (any mode except Wingman)
Bound by a Shared Past (15G) – Win a Wingman match on each of the 5 Flashback Map Pack maps
Trial by, and on, Fire (20G) – Survive first 10 Horde waves on Combustible Map Pack maps as a team
The Roof! The Roof! The Roof… (15G) – Win a multiplayer match on each of the 3 Combustible Map Pack maps (any mode except Wingman)
Forged in the Fire (15G) – Win a Wingman match on each of the 3 Combustible Map Pack maps
Annex: Now With Execution Rules (75G) – Win an Annex match on each Flashback and Combustible Map Pack map (public matches only)
I know it’s more than a month away, but we just got final confirmation and I wanted to share the good news. On Sunday, February 22nd, we’ll be hosting a Community Playdate with Microsoft! We’ll all be playing Gears of War 2 pretty much all day.
Mark it on your calendars now, folks. We want to thank Microsoft for giving us this opportunity!
Stay tuned for more details on exact times as we get closer to the event. We’re all pretty damn excited
We have had our first Mark Rein spotting of the new year and it seems to be just in the nick of time. Fans of the popular series, including myself, have been growing tired of the inconsistent online play and all of the exploits that have marred the game since it’s release. It goes without saying that a patch has been a long time coming and Epic needs to work on it’s communication skills.
Gears of War 2 will be receiving the much needed patch sometime in January. The patch will address oodles of issues that have been exploited by gamers along with new achievements tied to the DLC. The list below includes all of the major fixes listed in the forum post but there are more to come. Mark Rein has promised to do a better job of keeping the community updated on future fixes. We will hold you to that Mark.
Just a few of the patch details:
Fixed invisible shield exploit.
Fixed melee through walls exploit.
Fixed infinite Lancer ammo exploit.
Fixed shield with two-handed weapon exploit.
Fixed bug where shotgun and boomshot shot into the ground when shooting from the hip.
Increased penalties for quitting matches early.
Additional spawn protection from grenades and chainsaw attacks.
View Submission flag carrier destination using Tac/Com.
Achievement progress numbers added to War Journal.
Client side shotgun hit detection improved resulting in more reliable data in high latency games.
Increased frequency of in-game Achievement tracker notifications.
New DLC based achievements.
The one fix that I don’t see on the list and probably the one that bothers me the most is the ridiculous amount of grenades in a single match. I personally think the grenade respawn time needs to be throttled back at least a minute or two. I hope it is just one of the items he has left off the list.
It is not everyday that you design a juggernaut of a gaming franchise and it is certainly not everyday when the most prolific business magazine in the country asks you to sit down with them. Cliffy B, some say the most recognizable face in gaming today, was recently interviewed by Forbes magazine to discuss the current state of gaming, where it is going, what he would change, etc. It is a great read and a huge step for gaming itself. Forbes usually chats with CEO’s, not gaming folk. Here is an excerpt:
How long a shelf-life do you expect “Gear 2″ to have and how will downloadable content impact that?
We hope that “Gears 2″ will continue to sell for months to come. We’ve tweaked our matchmaking systems so that they’re much faster than before, and we just announced that the “Combustible” map pack is available on Xbox Live. It’s one thing to have a great opening week for a game, but it’s essential for a game to have legs and to continue to remain in the hands of gamers. More and more developers are considering downloadable content, and it’s a great way to offer a value online that otherwise might not be available at retail.
Agree with him or not, when he talks, people do listen. Gaming needs some outspoken people and I would love to see some serious feuds develop. Who doesn’t love some baby mama drama every now and again.
What happens when walls don’t act like walls in a game? Well, how about being able to beat the shit out of someone through cover. Yeah, this is a problem. Epic needs to work on this one pretty quick or there will be some even more pissed off gamers. As if the multiplayer portion hasn’t had enough troubles.
The super huge big news about Gears of War 2 that came out during last night’s VGA’s on Spike was the release of the Combustible Map Pack. The maps hit Xbox Live at midnight PT (3am ET) last night.
Flood is a very tight map that’s made extra snug when the environmental hazard of Imulsion begins creeping up around the edges. As the playing field closes in, the firefight will intensify as combat is forced to the center of the map. Teams skilled at flanking their opponents will have a powerful edge.
Gold Rush takes place in an old Imulsion refinery that now serves as a hotly contested battleground. Players must survive heavy crossfire as they infiltrate the factory and navigate multiple tiers. Breakable glass allows for a clean shot at those who make a dash for the Longshot rifle while bolder players make their run for the heavy weapon. In the right hands, the Mortar can be devastating on this map, so keep those smoke grenades armed as the concussive effect comes in very handy.
Fuel Station is situated in a desolate area marked by an abandoned fossil fuel station. The team that secures and controls the station is likely to be the side that wins the match. An especially strategic location on this map is the rooftop, as there are only two points of entry – the main elevator and a staircase on the back side of the building. Heavy weaponry is situated right in front, which presents a high risk to reward ratio in this level. Lugging the Mulcher around, deploying it and revving it up can keep an entire team at bay, and unleashing hell from the rooftops is always an excellent tactic.
The three maps will set you back 800 MS Points ($10 real world money). That’s pretty damn steep for 3 maps. Even though I’m addicted to Gears of War 2 multiplayer right now, especially Horde, I’m going to pass until these things come down in price. Ten bucks for 3 maps is just too pricey, especially in this economy.
Since selling 2 million units on it’s opening weekend Gears of War 2 has been working it’s way to it’s next milestone. Edge Online has confirmed that in an email from Mark Rein, VP of Epic Games, Gears of War 2 has now surpassed 3 million units sold.
This ginormous number has been achieved in about 4 weeks, the original Gears of War took about ten weeks to accomplish the same feat. The original went on to sell around 5 million units so the sky is the limit for Epic Games massive hit. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to where Gears of War 2 will end up in total sales? I will personally hold you to it.
Video games are quite expensive these days so it is of utter importance to try to keep the game disk in immaculate condition. I have been doing a fine job of this, that is until a few days ago. This is a story of how my pesky feline friend almost ruined my Gears of War 2 disk and how the New Xbox Experience was there to save the day.
I was minding my own business, playing Gears of War 2 multiplayer online like any other weekday evening. The game was about to end, it was down to a sudden death standoff between me and some random player. My 2 year old cat Powder decided to jump up on my gaming desk like he has done in the past. He started rubbing his furry face all over my upright standing Xbox 360. I yelled at him but was unable to remove him from the desk, I was in the middle of a standoff after all. He proceeded to rub his stupid face all over the Xbox and inevitably ended up tipping the machine over while the game disk was still spinning. The machine slammed down against the desk but to my amazement the game continued to play on. The match ended with my victory and everything seemed to be fine.
Sorry for the late notice. We’ve had a lot going on here the past couple days at Loot Ninja HQ. You’ll find out shortly, but it’s some good things
Anyway, tonight we’re going to have Game With Loot Ninja night. What else but Gears of War 2? A bunch of us will be online tonight, so look for any of our gamertags, send a friend request, and try to curb stomb us.
Looking forward to taking a few of you as meat shields. Bring it.
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