** Update 12/15/2008 **
This giveaway contest goes to Zeusandhera. Both stranoster & spidey99 did not reply to our email in the allotted timeframe and Zeusandhera did. He should be getting his prize just in time for Xmas.

** Update 12/6/2008 **
spidey99 failed to respond in the allotted time frame and the prize now goes to stranoster. Be sure that you check your emails junk folder and respond in 48 hours.

** Update 12/3/2008 **
This giveaway contest goes to spidey99. Thanks for participating everyone. Be sure to check back soon because we have some World of Warcraft to giveaway as well.

** Update 11/20/2008 **
We are extending the entry time to Wednesday the 3rd of December due to the holidays.

We have a new giveaway and this time it for all the marbles. We are giving away a Limited Edition copy Gears of War 2 along with some Gears swag (thanks to Game Crazy) and a medium VillainTech.com tshirt (medium is all we have in stock). Instructions on how to qualify after the break.

To be entered to win this giveaway, simply visit pcweenies.com, look at a few strips and tell us your favorite one. Seriously, that’s all you have to do to get a chance to score a free copy of this already platinum title. You’ll have until Tuesday the 25th Wednesday the 3rd, then we’ll pick a winner, assuming s/he follows the rules: (And yes, if you posted in the tshirt giveaways win or lose, you may post again in this one and you must post a comment to qualify for this giveaway)

• You may enter other VillainTech contests, however…
• You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you’ll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future VillainTech giveaway contests though!
• You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our giveaways, you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. unless specified otherwise.)
• This contest is open to the US only, sorry!

A mysterious set of Gears of War 2 screenshots recently made their way online and look to be pictures of a never before seen multiplayer map that could release as new downloadable content. Screens after the break.

The nine screenshots (galleried below) show what look to be a multiplayer map that is surrounded by gorgeous yellow imulsion. And from what we can tell, the screens seem legit and one could easily speculate we’ll be receiving some multiplayer map DLC in the near future. Also remember to check out our Gears 2 LE giveaway post.

Today we have randomly selected a winner for all those whom qualified in the giveaway. To determine qualification we checked all the comment ip addresses against each other to ensure users we’re not posting multiple times. Learn who the winner is and more after the jump.

The lucky winner of VillainTech’s Gears of War 2 giveaway is gregsterchag. Gregsterchag’s user name along with all other commentator’s were placed into the Random Thingy Chooser located at James W Frost site in the UK. Once the names were entered in we simply clicked the button to choose for us and gregsterchag’s username was revealed.

You call shenanigan’s eh! Well see the screen shot for yourself by clicking the thumbnail below. On another note, you never know when we will be doing another giveaway so be sure to stop in again sometime.

The VillainTech shirt giveaway is over however you have one more chance to win since this is the grand finale. One lucky winner recieve a copy of Gears of War 2 once it has been released. Previous shirt winners include blueviolet, Teresa690, whitbord, and finally last weeks winner was babakers5.

To be entered to win this weeks swag, just leave us a comment telling us how many hours in the first 2 weeks of Gears of War 2 you intend to play and do you intend to download the downloadable maps expected to arrive soon after? Seriously, that’s all you have to do to get a chance to score a free copy of this already platinum title. You’ll have until next Thursday (the 9th), then we’ll pick the winner at random, assuming s/he follows the rules: (And yes, if you posted in the tshirt giveaways win or lose, you may post again in this one and you must post again to qualify for this giveaway)

• You may enter other VillainTech contests, however…
• You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you’ll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future VillainTech giveaway contests though!
• You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our giveaways, you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. unless specified otherwise.)
• This contest is open to the US only, sorry!
• You will be shipped Gears of War 2 soon after its release so we can throw in bonus crap cough! cough! (I meant swag). Gears of War 2 is set to release November 7th and we will promptly send it your way at that time. Thanks for your patience!

Welcome back to week 4 and our last week of our shirt giveaway. Last weeks shirt winner is blueviolet. Next weeks, giveaway will include a copy of Gears of War 2 once it is released. All previous non-winners are eligible (ie.. can submit again) to enter.

To be entered to win this weeks swag, just leave us a comment telling us what is the most anticipated feature of Gears of War 2 you are looking forward to? Seriously, that’s all you have to do to get a chance to win a shirt until next week when we post another giveaway. You’ll have until next Thursday (the 2nd of October), then we’ll pick the winner at random, assuming s/he follows the rules: (And yes, if you posted in last weeks giveaway, and have not won you may post again in this one)

• You may enter other VillainTech contests, however…
• You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you’ll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future VillainTech giveaway contests though!
• You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our giveaways, you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc.)
• This contest is open to the US only, sorry!
• You will be shipped your shirt in a few weeks when all our contests are over. Thanks for your patience!

Welcome back to week three of our shirt giveaway and your third chance to win. Unfortunately no one is interested in a free shirt so last weeks winner is Teresa690 and was defaulted to by participating in Week 1. All previous non-winners are eligible (ie.. can submit again) to enter. Since know one gave any input on which game they want for the grand prize, we made up everyones mind and decided to give away Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360 upon its release.

To be entered to win this weeks swag, just leave us a comment telling us what is the most anticipated feature of Gears of War 2 you are looking forward to? Seriously, that’s all you have to do to get a chance to win a shirt until next week when we post another giveaway. You’ll have until next Thursday (the 25th), then we’ll pick the winner at random, assuming s/he follows the rules: (And yes, if you posted in last weeks giveaway, and have not won you may post again in this one)

• You may enter other VillainTech contests, however…
• You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you’ll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future VillainTech giveaway contests though!
• You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our giveaways, you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc.)
• This contest is open to the US only, sorry!
• You will be shipped your shirt in a few weeks when all our contests are over. Thanks for your patience!

This is truly a game without a soul. It has everything else, top notch graphics, awesome gameplay, leveled action from novice to impossible, lots of game modes and maps; but no underlying purpose or point tying it all together. There is nothing to give the game meaning beyond the immediate gratification of the kill. Now, for shooter fans, this might sound sufficient, but it really is not. Especially after just coming from games like Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Call of Duty 4, and Halo 3. Where is the ranking? Where is my character? Why can’t I build up any attributes, styles, unlock weapons, etc?

This game really feels like any other unreal tournament out there, in fact, it makes me long for the original unreal tournament on the old Xbox, which they, for some stupid reason, never made compatible with the 360. There is something on there called the deathmatch ladder. At least that gives you something to strive for. This games ‘campaign’ mode is the lamest, sorry excuse for a game I’ve ever seen. Trying to sew a story together from three basic gameplay modes: warfare, capture the flag, and deathmatch, is pathetic, lazy, and totally annoying. The only thing motivating me to complete the campaign is the last two achievements, chapter 4 and the final achievement for finishing the game. I must say, it’s not much motivation.

I highly suggest that Epic games make a patch for this game ASAP. I doubt they would do anything intelligent to the game at this point, but if they do, here are some pointers:

• Most of all, a match making lobby needs to be added. No multiplayer game is complete without one.
• Put the ladders back in from the original game for each mode and add achievements for each one.
• Take that retarded post match lag out of the stats screen!
• Give the characters a SOUL, some attributes, a ranking system, SOMETHING!!!
• Put in some more realistic achievements, not ‘complete 10 matches without dying in god mode’ sort of thing.

From the studio that made Gears of War, this game is a travesty. Maybe all they wanted was simplicity, and a straight up shooter, but why did they waste time trying to make a campaign for the 360, and why didn’t they at least try to give the characters some attributes, ranking, customization, etc.

In conclusion, this game is a half built multiplayer in which the Epic games didn’t take the demographic to mind nor the system they were building it for. As of right now, this game falls in our top 10 of the worst multiplayer games for the Xbox 360. It almost feels as if Epic was simply using their name to make a few bucks and finance the Gears 2 project with this piece of crap.

Len Wiseman, the director behind Underworld and Die Hard 4, is preparing to direct a movie based on Gears of War. The director will be teaming up with writer Chris Morgan to develop the story and rewrite a new screenplay, according to Variety.

A previous script by Stuart Beattie, the original writer of the first Pirates of the Caribbean, will be discarded. This in our opinion is a good thing because somehow Beattie would have likely written some parts for the actors of Pirates of the Caribean. Could you image Marcus as a drunkard pirate? LOL

Fortunately, Epic will have some involvement. In fact, Cliff Bleszinski himself is the executive producer of the movie and will consult on its development for the company.

Distributor New Line had originally aimed to get the picture out in cinema’s for summer 2009, but these recent developments mean a further delay is likely.

It’s like with our games, you can have it right or have it right now, We want to get it right. There’s no timetable for us.

We just want to make as good a movie as we can, and we think (Wiseman’s) the guy who will do it.

said Epic Games head Mark Rein.

References: CVG, Variety

Some new information regarding Gears 2 has come out of an interview with Cliff Bleszinski over at GameDaily and CVG. Personally, I am amazed to find out the meat shield will be available in multiplayer mode.

Campaign

In Gears 2, we’ve got dozens of surprises in every level that will keep people talking for months to come.

Most importantly, we’re finally able to answer some of the nagging questions that gamers have had since the first game.

Regarding the characters and their humanity, yes, we’re definitely exploring it more in the sequel. Dom’s growing increasingly desperate in his search for his wife Maria, and he demands answers. In the first game, humanity’s back was up against the wall, and now they’re about to be tossed over that wall as their one last safe city is now threatened. Tensions flare and the stakes are higher than ever, and the game really ventures down into some really dark places. Story-wise we take some risks that I’ve never seen in a videogame before. I think people will be a little surprised.

Multiplayer

I can’t reveal too much at this point, unfortunately. One can deduce that with the gameplay and technology improvements featured in Gears 2 that there are going to be many, many more palm sweat-inducing moments in multiplayer. Let’s just say that when a torquebow shot hits right next to you and misses, and the wall busts into chunks, you’ll be glad your foe had poor aim. Players will really feel like they’re in a sci-fi multiplayer version of Black Hawk Down.

We have many, many optimizations planned for Gears 2 that will *drastically* reduce these issues as well as another few tricks up our sleeves that I’m not able to reveal quite yet. Trust me that it’s really high on our list of things to make right.

Oh, and that cheesy online technique of shotgun rolling to gib people is suddenly going to be less effective as bullets taken from the front will slow you down.

Meat Shield

Basically when you knock over an enemy, either by shooting them in the knees or in multiplayer knocking them down, you can walk up to them and press A – then you grab them and you have a human shield. If the enemies keep shooting at you eventually the body will decay, but you can break the neck of the guy, throw him off to the side – do whatever you want with him.

How does that work in multiplayer?

Cliffy B: It’s the same exact view that you saw. Basically once the guy is grabbed he goes back into the spawn queue, so he’s effectively dead. But you’re still carrying his body around. That’s the way that will work.

Players eager for a look at the highly anticipated Xbox 360™ exclusive “Gears of War® 2” can soon experience the heart-pounding action when the video becomes available for download on Xbox LIVE Video Store tonight at 11 p.m. PDT.

With a personal introduction by Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski, the trailer captures the essence of the bigger, better and more badass gameplay in “Gears of War 2.” Featuring the first in-game look at chainsaw duels, large scale firefights with Locust Horde and stunning new visuals, the action-packed video is sure to please fans around the world.

“Gears of War 2” is the highly anticipated follow up to the best-selling Xbox 360 exclusive “Gears of War,” and will be available this November from acclaimed developer Epic Games.

As we all know, Epic Games is one of the most tight lipped game developers out there. This is caused probably because of past false release date promises and the understanding that any partnership with Microsoft ends in product delays…cough couch Vista.

Mark Rein of Epic makes announcements in their forums from time to time keeping the interest up. His latest couple statements had signified the game being pretty much done minus some Xbox Live service functionality and quality assurance engineering. At least that is what we are hoping for.

While reviewing my GameFly queue, I recently noticed there is now a release date attached to UT3. This leads me to believe that some retailers such as gamestop, gamefly, and anyone else in the good graces of gaming retail probably already have a tentative release date for June. Who knows, it could happen and I’d simply be happy seeing UT3 seeing the light of day and me being an executioner to the masses.