With Gears of War 2 just around the corner (read tomorrow), we’ve all gone the extra mile to walk around in Marcus’ footsteps - watched marathon sessions of Futurama, bought all the Gears action figures, drooled over the metal Lancer paraded around by CliffyB and Major Nelson and heck, even pumped steroids into our veins and larynges just to be that much closer to Marcus “Candy Bar” Fenix. (You know, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside…)

Or, if you don’t want to go through this much trouble, and spend the better part of daylight huddled in a dark room posting on Facebook, there’s a handy little Facebook app that we got hit up with some time back. We’re still kinda unclear on who designed this, but it’d sure be nice if they could actually, add, like, umm, you know, Gears of War 2 stuff - newer enemies, newer locations, newer weapons, newer contests, newer goodies - instead of all the stuff we’ve been seeing every other minute since we got our Xbox 360s. Hopefully, someone in PR would soon be tasked with the unenviable (oh?) job of getting to work on all this, but until then, if, for some reason, you’ve made the unpardonable sin of forgetting your Gears lore, head on over to the Facebook app page here to jog your memory and add the app to your profile. Quite obviously, you need a Facebook account.

And don’t forget to pick up your copy of Gears of War 2 in stores tomorrow, with the standard edition going for INR 2195 and the Collector’s Edition with your very own photo of Maria for a scant INR 2510.

Lucky buggers in Mumbai, get ready to have your first glimpse of Marcus Fenix and his band of brothers as Microsoft-India prepares to show-off the eagerly anticipated Gears of War 2. Head over to Blue Frog on November 3rd to keep your date with the game. Cocktail and snacks are on the house.

Click on the image on the left to see a bigger, better, more badass version.

In other news, a similar event was scheduled for Bangalore as well with Consoul playing host to Microsoft. Gamers from the city would have been invited over to Consoul, Bangalore’s premiere console-only gaming parlor, to try out the game all by themselves. However, it seems like as of now, the event has been put on the backburner. We will update you as soon as we have some news regarding this.

Edit: More news on the Bangalore event after the jump.

(more…)

Yee-ouch, what a huge difference a single week can make, that too right just before a major game release like Fallout 3. It was an admirable attempt for Microsoft India to step-up to the plate and try to bring over the Xbox 360 version, so that everyone can hold hands together and play prosperously in our precious nuclear holocaust simulator. But now, not so much. Microsoft India has gone on record saying that due to some “cultural sensitivities” - Fallout 3 will simply not come to retailers (officially, that is).

This shocking news has certainly come in a strange light of instances where several big-name titles (Fallout 3 especially after the whole rating dilemma with Australia) have been getting the launch shaft due to similar reasons. One recent occurrence reported by EDGE was that Gears of War 2 was not to be made available in the countries of Japan (as well as Germany). Would India be denied of some much needed Locust-slaughtering after today’s fateful news with the PIP-Boy 3000? MS India’s Sanjoy John assures us that this is not the case at all, and that India can expect Gears 2 in time for release just like the rest of the world. With that said, at least some of us will be able to sleep easy tonight.

Fable II: October 22nd 2008
Fallout 3: October 28th 2008
Gears of War 2 (Both Standard and Collectors Edition): November 7th 2008

Unfortunately, we still don’t have any clues as to when the PC and PS3 versions of Fallout 3 will arrive here (if at all), understandably because Microsoft India’s only concerned about their own console version and that seeing them bring the PS3 version would seem both awkward and hilarious (hilarious mostly for us). For now, it’s all up to local distributor e-Xpress Interactive.

Thanks to KeyFox KeyEffects Keyofx for the info. Who’s my bestest fwiend? Dat’s wight, you aaare.

Nothing makes us happier than killing hapless creatures in the goriest, most horribly twisted way possible, which is exactly what Gears of War allowed us to do, and the sequel is all set to deliver come November 7, 2008. Apart from the standard 2-player co-op and the usual (and some new) multiplayer offerings, Gears of War 2 will include a brand new co-op-kinda mode called Horde, which, in a Last Man Standing gametype, will pit players against never-ending Locust hordes in an all-out battle for survival.

In the meantime, check out the new box art and all the sick, new creatures in the game including the Shield and Gun Boomers, the Butcher, the Grinder, the Mauler and the Tickers.

MEDIA GALLERY

Ask any Xbox 360 fanboy what he wants for Christmas and you’ll get just one answer - whether they’re over 18 or not - Gears of War 2. As if all the dirt, the satisfyingly sickening gore and all the endless multiplayer whoring and grenade tagging wasn’t enough, we’re now just months away from becoming “I-eat-nails-and-horse-steroids-for-breakfast” macho men who seem to be stuck at that age where boys discover the F-word and a propensity for random violence.

Even as Gears of War 2, Killzone 2, Resistance 2 and a hundred other shooters jostle for attention come E3 2008, Microsoft has released a whole truckload of painfully-blinding HDR-overload screenshots for fans of the game to drool over and get their testosterone levels high enough to dry hump the Xbox 360 until it RRoDs. And since we’re huge fans of the game ourselves (no matter how funny we find the characters and the story) we feel obliged to share our high-res screenshot and concept art booty with all you folks.

And for all you multiplayer fans who blew me into little chunks every time I signed on, have fun with the all new MP screenshots, as well as the Before / After screens of Gridlock. Me, I’ll just go pin up that luscious Maria Santiago screenshot above my bed. ROWR!

CAMPAIGN / CONCEPT ART SCREENSHOTS

MULTIPLAYER / GEARS 1 vs. 2 COMPARISONS