Do you despise the Gears of War 2 ranking system? Well, you are not in the minority apparently. Epic’s Rod Fergusson posted in the Gears of War 2 forums about a possible rank system change and just from a quick glance at the comments, it seems most players are absolutely for it.
The change would add player experience levels. Each player would be rated on their individual performance in public multiplayer matches. The higher your score is at the end of each match, the more experience points you will acquire. Rod Fergusson addressed the most obvious question stating:
“Of course the experience gained across the different match types would be balanced so you couldn’t just grind on the respawning game types to try and level faster.”
The amount of experience points needed to level up would grow with each level attained, just like an RPG. The levels would be capped as well, 99 being the highest level attainable. At the end of every match players will be able to check their stats and see how many more points are required to level up. Sounds dandy.
Players who quit would be penalized by being demoted a level. Maybe this would finally stop people from dropping out in the middle of a game that is out of reach.
The only problem that wasn’t addressed is other players stealing kills. When an opponent has been downed, you may be seeing a lot more players scrambling to steal another players kill to level up even quicker. I guess there is no way to address this other than screaming at your teammates. I will stop complaining because this would be a welcomed update even with this added challenge.
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.
[Via Gears Forums]
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As some of you may already know, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords was released for the iPhone well over two weeks ago to much fanfare. Fans of the much beloved series couldn’t wait to take on orcs and the undead in this hit puzzle game. The problem was the port to the iPhone seemed to be rushed and many graphical issues soon became apparent to the dismay of most gamers.
TransGaming Inc. was able to quickly gather the troops and fix most of these graphical issues in an update that has just been released to the App Store today. The 1.1 update brings many improvements to the game including performance enhancements, text readability improvements, texture clarity improvements and it fixes the infamous “lost hero” saved game bug. Due to all of the backlash of the first release we will just call this the “official” release and try to put all of that ugliness behind us. The official press release is located after the jump and stay tuned because we will have a full review of Puzzle Quest version 1.1 in the near future.
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First update of the new year, and it’s a pretty small one. Some new add-on content and two new downloadable games go along with this month’s episode of Qore. Check it out.
- Qore Episode 08: January, 2009 ($2.99)
- Price Updates
- Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – Blow It Up Again DLC Pack ($1.99)
- Rock Band tracks: “Are You Dead Yet,” “Hay Poco Rock n Roll,” “Ready, Set, Go!”, “The Real World,” “Tempted,” “Tutto E Possible” ($1.99)
- Cuboid ($9.99)
- Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom ($9.99)
- NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM Pack 6 (free)
- Tom Clancy’s EndWar Faction Elite Pack ($3.75)
- WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 Roster Update ($4.99)
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- “Por La Boca Vive El Pez” by Fito & Fitipaldis ($1.99)
- “Johnny” by Di-Rect ($1.99)
- “Degenerated” by Backyard Babies ($1.99)
- European Track Pack 02 ($5.49)
- Rock Band
- “Hymn 43″ – Jethro Tull ($1.99)
- “Space Truckin’” – Deep Purple ($1.99)
- “Funk #49″ – James Gang ($1.99)
- “Take Back the City” – Snow Patrol ($1.99)
- Rock Revolution
- “Cemetery Gates” ($1.50)
- “Mouth For War” ($1.50)
- “This Love” ($1.50)
- “5 Minutes Alone” ($1.50)
- “I’m Broken″ ($1.50)
- Pantera Pack Track Pack ($5.50)
Um. Wow. Thanks guys. This is what we get a week before Christmas?! Really?! Know what? Click on the link to see the debacle. Do it.
At least there’s free game available.
Damn.
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Not only is this a decent week for the PlayStation Store, but everyone gets Home. Jump for joy, then realize you won’t be touching this too often. Anyway, here’s all the goods you can get for your PlayStations.
- Resistance: Fall of Man Map Packs (free)
- PowerUp Forever ($9.99)
- LittleBigPlanet Santa Coat and Trousers (free)
- LittleBigPlanet – Zangief of Street Fighter II costume ($1.99)
- LittleBigPlanet – Guile of Street Fighter II costume ($1.99)
- LittleBigPlanet – Chun-Li of Street Fighter II costume ($1.99)
- LittleBigPlanet – Ryu of Street Fighter II costume ($1.99)
- LittleBigPlanet Street Fighter II costume kit ($5.99)
- High Velocity Bowling – Tiff’s Big Zero Trick Shot Pack (free)
- High Velocity Bowling – Gearhead Ball Pack ($0.99)
- Tom Clancy’s EndWar Escalation Expansion Pack ($9.99)
- SW:TFU Apprentice Mission Pack ($9.99)
- Star War: The Force Unleashed Character Pack 2 ($4.99)
- Age of Booty Map Pack 4 (free)
- Age of Booty Map Pack 5 (free)
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- “You Know You’re Right” by Nirvana ($1.99)
- “Sliver” by Nirvana ($1.99)
- “Negative Creep” by Nirvana ($1.99)
- Nirvana Track Pack ($5.49)
- “Mama Mae” by Negrita ($1.99)
- “Dis-Moi” by BB Brunes ($1.99)
- “’54, ’74, ’90, 2010″ by Sportfreunde Stiller ($1.99)
- European Track Pack 01 ($5.49)
- Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
- Over The Rainbow ($1.49)
- How To Save A Life ($1.49)
- Waiting For Tonight ($1.49)
- Heart of Glass ($1.49)
- Rock Band
- “Bathwater” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Don’t Speak” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Excuse Me Mr.” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Ex-Girlfriend” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Hella Good” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Hey Baby” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “It’s My Life” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Just a Girl” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Running” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Simple Kind of Life” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Spiderwebs” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Underneath it All” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “Sunday Morning” – No Doubt ($1.99)
- “The Singles 1992–2003″ (Album) – No Doubt ($19.99)
- Mercenaries 2 Blow It Up Again Content Pack (free)
- Resistance 2 Accolades Trailer
- Xam’d: Lost Memories Release Announcement Video
- Xam’d: Lost Memories Exclusive Interviews
- LOTR: Conquest Good to be Bad Trailer
- Batman Tech Video
- Not Easily Broken Trailer
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop Trailer
- Step Brothers Blu-ray Trailer
- The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc Blu-ray Trailer
- Resistance 2 Americana Theme (free)
- Resistance 2 Man vs. Chimera Theme (free)
- Resistance 2 SRPA Team Theme (free)
- Xam’d Lost Memories Theme (free)
- Mountain Dew Wallpaper
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Big update this week on the PlayStation Store. Qore is free plus there are a ton of downloadable content. Plan some download time. You’re going to need it.
- Qore Annual Subscription ($24.99)
- Qore Episode 07: December, 2008 (free)
- Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer ($9.99)
- LittleBigPlanet Kabuki Actor (free)
- Age of Booty Map Pack 1 (free)
- Age of Booty Map Pack 2 (free)
- Age of Booty Map Pack 3 (free)
- Far Cry 2 Fortunes Pack ($9.99)
- GRID 8-Ball Additional Content ($9.99)
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- “1979″ by The Smashing Pumpkins ($1.99)
- “G.L.O.W.” by The Smashing Pumpkins ($1.99)
- “The Everlasting Gaze” by The Smashing Pumpkins ($1.99)
- The Smashing Pumpkins Track Pack ($5.49)
- Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
- Don’t You (Forget About Me) ($1.49)
- For You I Will ($1.49)
- Friends in Low Places ($1.49)
- Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door ($1.49)
- Midnight Train To Georgia ($1.49)
- Unwritten ($1.49)
- NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM Pack 4 (free)
- Rock Band
- “Real World” – All – American Rejects ($0.99)
- “Ready, Set, Go!”- Tokio Hotel ($0.99)
- “I Don’t Want to Go to School” – Naked Brothers ($0.99)
- “Headphones On” – Miranda Cosgrove (free)
- “Hay Poco Rock N Roll” by Platero y Tu ($0.99)
- “Body I Occupy” – Naked Brothers ($0.99)
- “Are You Dead Yet?” – Children of Bodom ($0.99)
- “Tutto E Possibile” – Finley ($0.99)
- “Tempted” – Squeeze ($0.99)
- SOULCALIBUR IV Customization Equipment 3 ($1.99)
- Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer Trailer
- Prince of Persia Dev Diary 2
- Prince of Persia Dev Diary 3
- Mercenaries 2 Blow It Up Again Trailer
- Facebreaker Audition Video #4
- Facebreaker Audition Video #5
- BAJA: Edge of Control – Launch Trailer
- Savage Moon Trailer
- Resistance 2 – Last Hours
- Life in LittleBigPlanet: Ep 4
- LittleBigPlanet WELCOME TO MY WORLD Video
- Lingerie Girls Theme ($1.49)
- University of Florida Theme ($1.99)
- European Highlands Theme ($1.49)
- Bloodwork Theme ($1.49)
- Atomic Acid Theme ($1.49)
- Metal Battalion Maidens Theme ($0.99)
- Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer Wallpaper 1
- Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer Wallpaper 2
- SOULCALIBUR IV Holiday Hilde Wallpaper
- SOULCALIBUR IV Holiday Ivy Wallpaper
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Ahh, there is nothing like a good old N64 classic. This is the lone new addition this week aside from add-ons but for many it is more than welcome.
Heck yeah! Check it out!
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Gears 2 is an awesome game, no one can deny this. But, you also cannot deny that it has its flaws, which are glaring in the matchmaking. As of early this morning, Epic released a patch that promises to fix the issues that were driving gamers nuts. Here is what they fixed:
- Adjustments to make Public matchmaking faster, especially in the single player party and the four player party case. Some of these adjustments should be felt immediately and some will play out over several days as our update enables us to reduce player segmentation by reducing the number of servers required to do matchmaking. This will increase the number of possible matches available for you to join.
- A tweak that should prevent us from losing some of our additional detailed stats data that we gather for gearsofwar.com. Due to the large number of concurrent matches, our stats gathering servers were not able to collect data for every single match played. The Xbox LIVE leaderboards are 100% accurate but our existing stats web pages may have some missing data prior to the update.
- A fix to address the issue where some players were unable to start the story-based campaign if Xbox LIVE was down or unavailable.
I have not had a chance to play the game since the update due to traveling, but if any of you have, let us know if the updates did anything.
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