Age of Conan

Age of Conan
(commonly abbreviated as AoC) is an upcoming fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) developed by Funcom for PC and the Xbox 360. Funcom has stated the release date is to be May 20, 2008, for the PC version
with the Xbox 360 version to follow later in 2009. Age of Conan began internal beta testing in Summer 2006, and opened the beta registration process on April 3, 2007.

Hyborian Adventures is the first installment in the planned Age of Conan series that will include expansion packs hinted at on the official forums. The Age of Conan series is set in the Hyborian Age, a fantasy setting created by Robert E. Howard in 1932. Age of Conan itself takes place within the continent of the Hyborian kingdoms, a year after the events depicted in Howard's sole Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon. Hyborian Adventures' release will celebrate the 76th anniversary of the Conan franchise.

Like other MMO games, there will be a subscription fee. The official site states that you can play all the way up to level 20 out of a possible 80 level cap (levels 1-20 being the single player portion of the game) completely free of charge. Each player gets 30 days free when they start out, and that free-trial period does not start until the player chooses to enter the MMO portion of the games. The price of an 'Age of Conan Playtime Card' is $29.99 for two months (or $14.99 a month) proving that the speculation that the fee is the 'MMO standard' was correct. There is no life-time subscription availible, except to the 1st place winner of a recent contest that includes a prize package including a autographed Collector's Edition copy of the game and a life-time subscription fee to the game. Everyone else will need to pay the standard $15 a month in order to play online.

There is also a slated Age of Conan Fantasy Battle gmaes in development by Mongoose Publishing and an Age of Conan Strategy Board games published by Nexus Editrice.

games Overview
In development since 2003, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is an upcoming online action role-playing games based on the Conan the Cimmerian stories written by Robert E. Howard in the early 1930s. The game is being developed for the PC and the Xbox 360 by Funcom, the creators of the science fiction MMORPG Anarchy Online and the adventure gmaes The Longest Journey. While the games appears to be a semi-traditional (Only semi because some of the ways the gmaes actually work, for example it does not have the traditional "click and hotkey" combat system or general exploration system) MMORPG, Funcom prefers using the term "online action RPG" instead.

When first entering the world of Hyboria, the games is divided into two sections: In the first section you can choose if you want to play alone or with other players. At night, the gmaes is a single-player-experience, while at day it is a multiplayer-experience. Switching between the two is done by sleeping in an inn. This whole first part is done on an island called Tortage. When you reach level 20, you are allowed to leave the island and thus the second section takes the character created during the first portion to a whole new environment. The online world promises to be dynamic, as players may form guilds (player organizations), conquer territories and erect cities which are vulnerable to attacks by humanoid NPCs.

Originally the Tortage-part was going to be a full single-player-experience, but that has now been changed.
One of the primary attractions of Age of Conan is the "Real Combat" system, which promises greater player interaction during combat than previously seen in online role-playing games . The player is able to direct the swings of their character's weapon during combat to attack six separate target zones. Funcom has stated that this system will be easy to learn even for veteran MMORPG players who are used to "click and wait" combat; however, the specific details of this system have yet to be unveiled. In order to utilize the combat mechanics, the player will use 5 keys; 1, 2, 3, Q, and E. Other features will include battle formations, which impart bonuses to the group using them, and mounted combat, which will also use the "Real Combat" engine.

Funcom is focusing on developing content for the "end games," the time at which characters have reached maximum advancement, rather than the "grind" and promises a fast levelling process. Funcom has also promised the graphic nature of Robert E. Howard's short stories will not be toned down for the game.

Age of Conan has also recently been given a Mature 17+ rating. This can be seen on their latest video of a new region in games.

gamaes Characters
Characters in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures are created via a user account on an online server. Characters created on one server are not usable on another; however, Funcom is planning to have a server transfer process for characters after the game is launched. Players create characters which function as their virtual avatars in the online world of Hyboria. When creating a character in Age of Conan, the player may choose from three playable races. The character is one of four archetypes (in bold) and one of three class selections for each archetype. There have been hints of more playable races with expansions.

A screenshot of the character creation and extensive customization featured in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.Aquilonian Cimmerian Stygian
Rogue
Assassin
Ranger
Barbarian
Rogue
Ranger
Barbarian
Rogue
Assassin
Ranger

Priest
Priest of Mitra
Priest
Bear Shaman
Priest
Tempest of Set

Soldier
Guardian
Dark Templar
Conqueror
Soldier
Guardian
Dark Templar
Conqueror
Mage
Necromancer
Herald of Xotli
Demonologist


On January 18th, 2008, Ten Ton Hammer announced that the Lich and Scion of Set classes would be merged into other existing classes. While specific details are not yet available, the general announcement can be found here.

games Combat

A helmeted warrior attired in Aquilonian armor, with Picts riding mammoths in the background.From an IGN interview with game director Gaute Godager of Funcom:

“ We call the engine Real Combat, and it is based on six directions, or ways, of attacking an opponent with a sword. First, you can hack down against the head. Second, you can slash diagonally down from the right, while the third is slashing the same way from the left. Fourth, you can thrust against the torso. Fifth, you can slash diagonally up from the left, and sixth, you can slash diagonally up from the right. The point here is that these directions lend themselves naturally to being strung together in combinations. These combos unlock additional damage and faster combat, if done well.”

More than any other feature, combat is the prime attraction of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Funcom is determined to make the traditional Dungeons & Dragons-inspired "round-based" system of combat that is the current standard in RPGs obsolete. Instead Age of Conan will feature what Funcom has termed the "Real Combat" system. This system is a first-person melee approach in which every enemy starts with three different areas that players can swing at, with eventually five areas at the later levels. Players choose where they wish to swing along with which weapons. Spells, or techniques they wish to use are started by activating the combo via a button and then you must string together certain directions of successful attacks and then watch as their avatar completes the action. As players become better at using the system, they will find combinations of abilities, swing styles and target points that string together to make more devastating attack combos. While player stats and items bonuses will play a role in this system, the idea of "Real Combat" is to bring more player skill into MMO fighting.

Players will also have more fighting options than they may be used to in older MMOs. While the "Real Combat" system is the basis for one-on-one weapon battle, players will also use the system for spell-casting, ranged combat and even battling on horseback, mammoth-back, rhino-back, and camel-back (mounted combat). In some situations, however, players will choose to band together and unite their skills to face other bands of players or AI controlled armies or uber-mobs; in essence, "formations." While formations as originally intended are no longer in play, (no-one likes to lose control over their characters), it is now more location based effects for some classes (Stand in line with a Conqueror when he is running his formation, and you will have a great deal of resistance vs knockbacks for instance...)

Players will also take part in massive siege operations(confirmed). Adventurers can cooperate with one another to build massive cities with walls, towers and catapults that can protect player-owned taverns and merchant facilities. The world will respond appropriately to the rise of player cities, though, even AI controlled enemies will build their own cities, ensuring a constant stream of brutal city-vs.-city combat as players try to knock down enemy walls or defend their homes.

games Community
Player mounts in Age of Conan include horses, mammoths and rhinos.Due to the game being in rumored development since 2003, an online virtual community had steadily clustered around various fan websites regarding Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. By February 2005, this informal community was still going strong despite no true public announcement concerning the rumored game. Finally, Funcom and Conan Properties LLC jointly confirmed the in-development status of Age of Conan in an official press release on April 20, 2005. Shortly thereafter, a primitive game website debuted and thousands of Conan enthusiasts migrated from their fan sites to the new official forums hosted by Funcom. Many Anarchy Online fans also followed the development of the product due to the involvement of Funcom, who created the Anarchy Online PC series.

Between March 2005 and January 2006, Funcom periodically revealed concept art and screenshots from Age of Conan. The Art Director for the Conan project is Didrik Tollefsen, known for such classics as The Longest Journey and Anarchy Online - Shadowlands, which won the Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction award at RPG Vault in 2003.

On January 24, 2006, Funcom unveiled the community portal for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. By this time, much of the pre-launch community had gathered around the forums and IRC chat of the official Age of Conan website. There were informal events such as IRC chats with the developers and, in summer 2006, community contests.

In April 2006, Funcom created a Guild Hall for its pre-launch community and, within hours, forum members began organizing their "player guilds." These guilds consist of individuals who typically share the same playing styles and gmaes play opinions. In January 2007, several important updates were announced regarding class merges and the expected launch window for the games. On January 12th, Funcom announced the original twenty-three classes had been merged down to fourteen classes due to beta feedback.

On April 3, 2007, Funcom began its Beta Sign-Up program which attracted more than 100,000 gamers over the Easter holiday. Shortly thereafter, the "technical beta" phase began on April 27, 2007, and several hundred individuals from the Age of Conan online community began formal testing.

On January 14, 2008, despite earlier comments to the contrary, Pharamond posted on the official forums that there will be an Open Beta, with more details to be announced closer to release date.

On February 7, 2008, Funcom and Eidos announced that over 500,000 people had signed up for the Beta Testing of Age of Conan.

games Setting

An Aquilonian character in Age of Conan gazing at the snowy mountains of northern Cimmeria.From an OGaming interview with game director Gaute Godager of Funcom:

“ The [Hyborian Age] is like a dark, decadent, twisted and corrupt version of Euro-Asian history. Mix a bit of the Roman Empire, Mongolian culture and Babylonian mysticism with '30s-era myths of undiscovered Africa... ”

Age of Conan is set in a low fantasy, pseudo-historical ancient world called the Hyborian Age created by Robert E. Howard. In this world filled with cruel gods, mythical creatures, lost civilizations and a struggling human race, the mighty warlord Conan has finally seized the throne as king of Aquilonia. Yet King Conan's grip on the Aquilonian throne has become tenuous, with ancient evils threatening to throw the realm into chaos. In this twisted fantasy world, dark magic and brutal combat lurks around every corner, and each man and woman must carve their own unique destiny under Conan's reign. In the true vision of Robert E. Howard's dark universe, the time is ripe for those with the strength and will to carve out their own destinies.

The primitive brutality and decadent bacchanalia of the Hyborian Age is one of the unique attractions of Age of Conan due to its stark contrast to the high fantasy settings that typify the majority of contemporary MMOs such as EverQuest II, The Lord of the Rings Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. In Age of Conan, there are few of the elements that are common in high fantasy, such as elves, halflings, or Arthurian courtliness. Though one can have a fantasy setting with elves and the like and still be "Low Fantasy" as the defining factor is lack of moral dichotomy of altruistic good, and pure unredeemable evil, this is rarely, if ever, the case.

Instead, Hyboria is a land of neither good nor evil, but "moral shades of gray" in which Conan, himself, is a barbaric anti-hero and his enemies are, upon occasion, rightful princes or altruistic minstrels revolting against his militaristic autocracy. As such, this moral ambiguity and bloodthirsty atavism of R.E. Howard's Hyborian Age sometimes disconcerts newcomers to the lore who are accustomed to the classicist fantasy of authors like C.S. Lewis.

games Music
There are three principal individuals overseeing the music and audio for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The Audio Director is Morten Sørlie, who created the widely hailed soundtrack for Anarchy Online - Shadowlands. Sørlie is accompanied by sound designer Tord D. Nikolaisen, and composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen who is writing the musical score for the game. To create a fitting musical score for the Hyborian universe, composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen turned to many different sources. For the music of the different ethnic groups, Haugen studied traditional music from relevant parts of the world. For the overall theme of the Hyborian Age, Haugen researched its musical history, primarily Basil Poledouris' orchestral soundtrack to the Conan the Barbarian (1982) film, while avoiding conventions that connect too closely to specific historical periods.

gameplay | discounted games
It is considered a discountedgame since the price has dropped from $49.99 to $45.90. Click discountedgame astore for details.

Technology
Funcom

Tortage City, the backwater capital of the Barrachan Isles, as seen in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. DreamWorld Engine
The DreamWorld graphics engine was developed by Funcom circa 2000. Other computer gmaes powered by DreamWorld technology include Anarchy Online and its various expansion packs. When Funcom began developing Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, the company reviewed its existing technology base and decided to focus on the further evolution of their proprietary DreamWorld engine as opposed to licensing a third-party engine like many online RPG companies do. As such, Funcom began to retool their engine with the overall design, pipeline and implementation process was taken into account. In light of these changes, the DreamWorld engine has been rebuilt for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures with new features, special effects and optimizations.


"Real Combat"
"Real Combat" is being touted by Funcom as a revolutionary approach to combat in online RPGs where the player is in direct control of the character's weapon strikes in real time. This multi-point melee and ranged combat system is purportedly easy-to-learn and is one of the prime attractions of the title. Allegedly, the "Real Combat" system will take the ritualized combat experience previously found in online RPGs in a new direction. For this system, Funcom has also added aspects such as formation combat, mounted combat, siege combat and hive combat.


games Cheetah
Cheetah is a shader-oriented proprietary render engine re-written from scratch by Funcom featuring a phong per pixel lighting system. This engine allows for improved graphics and ambience. This is coupled with a trapezoidal shadow system, an in-house system developed by Funcom that allows all objects to cast shadows onto everything.


Perlin noise-based cloud generating system
Perlin noise-based cloud generating system is a five-layered procedural system that enables multiple layers of dynamic clouds; thus, visually-realistic cloud behavior.

SpeedTree
SpeedTree is a programming package produced by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) that aims to produce high-quality virtual foliage in real time, suitable especially for video games but also aimed to a lesser extent at some other kinds of simulations. It has so far been licensed to a substantial number of video games developers, including developers of the Unreal engine series. SpeedTree is currently being used in several games, one of which is a MMO action gmaes World War II Online, and the renowned RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.


games DirectX 10
"Funcom is proud to be one of the few developers who is tapping into this technology, and we look forward to showing you even more of DirectX 10. Some of the improvements visible in the videos and the screenshots are improved parallax mapping, better lighting and more advanced shadows technology. DirectX 10 will also make it possible to have sharper textures, more details in every scene, longer view distances and much more."

Gears Of Wars favourite of gameplay | discountedgame

Our Discounted Game blog's favourite-- Gears Of War


Genre(s) Third-person shooter, Tactical shooter
Mode(s) Single player, System Link, multiplayer, cooperative modes
Rating(s) ESRB: M17+
BBFC: 18
PEGI: 18+
CERO: Z
OLFC: MA15+
USK:Refused to give rating
Media DVD-DL
Input methods Xbox 360 Controller, keyboard, mouse, gamepad
Gears of War is a tactical third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released an as exclusive title for the Xbox 360 on November 12, 2006 in North America, and on November 17, 2006 in Europe outside of Germany, where Microsoft Game Studios did not publish the game after it was denied a rating. A Limited Collector's Edition was also released, which included a disc of bonus content and an art book titled Destroyed Beauty that detailed much of the game's back-story. A Microsoft Windows version of the game was created with additional content and released in North America on November 6, 2007,with a Mac OS X version also confirmed.

The game centers on the soldiers of Delta Squad as they fight to save the human inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera from a relentless subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier. The game is based on the use of cover and strategic fire for the player to advance through the scenarios; a second player can play co-operatively through the main campaign to assist. The game also features several online game modes for up to eight players.

Gears of War has been highly successful since its release; it sold over three million copies in just ten weeks and was the fastest-selling video game of 2006,and was the second-most played game over Xbox Live during 2007 A film adaptation is currently in the works, and the game is slated to be the first of a trilogy. The first sequel, Gears of War 2 is slated to be published in November, 2008.

Story

Setting
Gears of War takes place on Sera, a planet inhabited by humans, who have warred over a phosphorescent, low-viscosity fluid known as "Imulsion" highly valued as a source of energy. Over several decades, the Pendulum Wars took place between various human countries, and ended with the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) taking control of the planet. The war quickly came to an end on "Emergence Day", when a ravenous force known as the Locust Horde bursts from underneath major human cities using a network of underground tunnels.


The Locust Horde overruns Sera's population on Emergence Day.The Coalition, unable to defend against the sudden attack, is routed, and the Locust Horde takes control of the majority of Sera's urban, military, and manufacturing centers within 24 hours. The COG orders any survivors to Jacinto Plateau, a safe haven from Locust underground attacks due to the composition of the rock it is made of, and then uses orbital laser weapons in a scorched earth strategy to deny the Locust Horde its gains. The human survivors that could not make it become known as the "Stranded" and have to survive on their own. In the 14 years since "Emergence Day", the Locust continue to attack the fortified Jacinto Plateau and force the COG to turn to the infirm, the young, and the condemned to replace their dwindling numbers.


Characters


Main characters: Baird, Cole, Marcus, and DomGears of War focuses primarily on Marcus Fenix, the main character, and Delta Squad's (consisting of Marcus, Dominic, Augustus "Cole Train" Cole, and Damon Baird) encounters with the Locust Horde. Players take control of Marcus Fenix, freshly rescued by Dominic Santiago from the Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary. When in co-op two player, the second player assumes control of Santiago. All four of the squad members are available for play during multiplayer games, along with Victor Hoffman.

Some of the characters received voice-overs from popular culture icons. Marcus Fenix is voiced by John DiMaggio, best known as the voice of Bender in Futurama, and Augustus "Cole Train" Cole is voiced by Lester "The Mighty Rasta" Speight, who plays "Terrible" Terry Tate, the "Pain Train", in the Office Linebacker commercials made for Reebok.


Plot
The game’s actual plot begins fourteen years after Emergence Day. Marcus Fenix, a former COG soldier, is reinstated into the military after spending four years in prison. Dominic Santiago successfully extracts him from the prison, and takes him to meet Delta Squad. The group seeks to obtain the "resonator", a device that will map the Locust Tunnel, and later deploy the "Lightmass Bomb", which will destroy the heart of the Locust forces. Fenix and his allies recover the device, but suffer multiple casualties in the process. Amidst the chaos, Fenix leads the remaining soldiers through the ruins of Sera, to a mining facility, and finally into the planet’s depths.

Delta Squad succeeds in detonating the resonator, but only to shortly discover that the device failed to map the entire tunnel network. Fortunately, they discover a near complete map of the network that originates from Fenix’s old home, specifically his father’s laboratory. The group ventures to the Fenix estate at East Barricade Academy, encountering heavy Locust resistance. The data is collected, the group fights their way past Locust and defeat a Brumak, eventually the group then boards a train carrying the Lightmass Bomb. Fenix and Santiago battle their way through the train, and defeat General RAAM, before finally uploading the data. Fenix activates the bomb while Santiago escapes onto a helicopter and then, with the help of Colonel Hoffman, pulls Fenix onboard after the Bomb is activated. Fully activated, the Lightmass Bomb launches into Sera's underground, and eradicates the Locust tunnel networks. In the game's final sequence, Hoffman delivers a victory speech as the tunnels collapse and explode, whereupon the voice of the Locust Queen promises that the Locust will keep on fighting.


Gameplay
Gears of War is a third person "over-the-shoulder" shooter. The game places emphasis on the importance of cover, and on the harder difficulty levels being exposed to enemy fire for only a few seconds can result in death, making cover essential. While behind cover, players can choose to aim carefully with their weapons or use blind-fire to avoid subsequent damage from showing their heads from behind cover. Players have a wide assortment of rolling and cover maneuvers at their disposal with the press of a single button. The player can perform a roadie run, or a sprint, where the camera will lower towards the ground and bob considerably, as if the camera were being held by another person running behind the player.


The game uses an over-the-shoulder camera angle when using the left trigger to display the targeting reticule.Gears of War features a relatively small variety of weapons compared to other shooters, following other third-person shooter weapons sets with assault rifles, shotguns, pistols and sniper rifles with additional melee capabilities. Notably, the "Lancer" assault rifle is equipped with a chainsaw bayonet that instantly kills a foe, while each of the other weapons can be used to bash an opponent at close range, with a heavier weapon doing more damage. There is also a more tactical, immensely powerful weapon named the Hammer of Dawn which targets areas for an orbital satellite-mounted laser to destroy. The weapon, while very powerful, can easily kill the player as well as the teammates and opponents if used carelessly and can only be used in large, open outside spaces. Both smoke and fragmentation grenades are available to be thrown or used in melee. Single-player missions usually carry over weapons from previous missions, while multi player matches provide players with a smoke grenade, Lancer assault rifle, Snub pistol, and Gnasher shotgun, with more powerful weapons being scattered at strategic locations on the map, though the host can select to randomize weapon locations (in unranked player matches). Discarded and dropped weapons and ammo can be collected by the player, but the player may only carry one type of grenade, one type of side arm, and two types of the remaining weapon classes at any time.

A gameplay component unique to Gears of War, the Active Reload, entails hitting the right bumper at the correct time to speed up your reload. There are three possibilities for the result of the second tap of the reload button: perfect, good, and fail. If timed perfectly, the reload takes less than a second and any rounds refilled will momentarily have an 8% increase in damage. If timed well, the reload will simply take less time. If timed poorly, the gun will jam momentarily and the ammo screen turns red, and the reloading process will take longer than if an Active Reload was not attempted. When a gun jams, players cannot change weapons or melee, exposing themselves to several seconds of extreme vulnerability, especially when involved in close-range combat.

Instead of the health bar found in many third and first-person shooters, Gears of War uses the Crimson Omen, a cog shaped icon that grows brighter to indicate increased damage. If there is a faint appearance of the Omen on the screen, it indicates that the player has sustained minor wounds. When the Omen becomes more defined, it shows that the player has sustained severe wounds and should seek cover. When there is a skull inside of the symbol, the character is incapacitated; in the single-player mode, this represents player death and the player must restart from the last checkpoint, while in multiplayer (both co-op and competition modes), another team member may attempt to revive the player. A downed player in the competition mode Execution may also try to restore himself from incapacitation by rapidly pressing the button for several seconds, though during this time the enemy can brutally end the player's life by using the chainsaw bayonet, smashing the player's head with the butt of a weapon, performing a "curb stomp", or taking a headshot. If the player has taken damage but is not incapacitated the damage can be healed by staying out of the line of fire for a short time, which causes the Omen to slowly fade away.

The game features three difficulty modes (Casual, Hardcore, and Insane) across the five-act single player maps. There are 49 Achievements that shipped with the game. These achievements may be unlocked through playing single player, two-player co-op as Dominic Santiago, and ranked match games in Warzone, Execution, Assassination, and Annex on Xbox Live. Eight new Achievements that can be earned in either Ranked or Player matches for Annex mode and the Hidden Front maps were introduced in the fourth update, bringing the total number of achievements to 57. Achievements include performing multiple consecutive Active Reloads (referred to as "Zen and the Art of Reloading"), finding numerous "COG tags" left by fallen soldiers in the single-player campaign, and healing a set number of incapacitated teammates in multiplayer matches.


Cooperative
Cooperative gameplay in Gears of War allows two players to play through the game from start to finish. The game offers the ability to invite players on the user's friends list and have them instantly pop in (known as "Drop in, Drop out" gameplay) the player’s game to help them out. The game chooses each player's character depending on certain factors. The first player or multiplayer game host plays as Marcus Fenix (the main character) while the second player as Dominic Santiago, Marcus' best friend.

Cooperative play differs from the single-player game in some ways. On the sections of levels that offer multiple paths, the first player chooses their own path and effectively sends the other player onto the other. Both players are separated and each tackle separate parts of the level while the players can give each other support as the paths are parallel. If either player is incapacitated while on these split paths, both characters will begin from the previous checkpoint. While outside these paths the players may revive each other and use unique flanking maneuvers impossible with the AI.


Multiplayer
The competitive multiplayer mode is team-based, supporting up to eight players (four COGs vs. four Locust) engaging in battles over Xbox Live or through System Link. While the single player and co-op limited the player to playing as Marcus or Dom, the versus mode allows play with every COG in the game, and every locust as well. In versus mode, matches consist of several rounds between one and nineteen. Each player starts each round with the same standard set of weapons, but more powerful weaponry can be found across each map to be contested by the opposing teams. The team who has won the most rounds at the end of a match wins. There are two types of versus modes, player matches and ranked matches.

Player matches have no effect on the Gears of War leaderboard ranks, allows users to invite friends or use split-screen mode (either two Gamertags or a Gamertag and a guest) and allows the host to swap the map's default weapons for those of their choice. By weapon swapping, what once might have been a sniper rifle could be a pair of grenades, thereby drastically changing the gameplay of the match and also allowing the option to turn on friendly fire. As of June 14, 2007, an update containing new achievements allows the newly released achievements to be obtained in player matches.
Ranked matches keep track of player statistics, give players a 'rank' on the Gears of War leaderboard, forbid invitations, cannot be played in split-screen mode, and can be played to get achievements.
Three versus modes were available with the original game: Warzone, Assassination, and Execution. A fourth mode, Annex, was made available as the second patch of the game. Epic has announced that a new mode King of the Hill will be available exclusively for the PC and Macintosh versions of Gears of War.

Warzone mostly follows the standard Team Deathmatch archetype, with each team trying to eliminate the other. The length of time during which a downed player can be revived before they die of blood-loss, also called the bleed-out time, can be set from 5 seconds up to 60 seconds. A post-release patch changed the maximum number of per-player revives from unlimited to two. On the third down, the player will automatically die. Dead players do not respawn until the next round.
Execution is very similar to Warzone, except that when an opponent is down, the opposing team must terminate the downed player up close. Should the opposing team fail to destroy the downed player during the allowed time, the player will be revived and will once again become a threat. A post-release patch changed the maximum number of per-player revives from unlimited to two. On the third down, the player will automatically die. The bleed-out time is applied here by altering the amount of time before a downed person rises again without any input from the player. Dead players do not respawn until the next round.
Assassination requires that teams focus on killing the other team's designated leader while protecting their own. If a team's leader dies, that team loses the round. As of the most present patch, players die by rules of "Warzone", while leaders die by "Execution" rules. Prior versions before the third patch had both players and leaders dying by Warzone rules, and also required the leader to pick up a weapon before a fellow teammate could use it. Dead players do not respawn until the next round.
Annex is essentially a version of King of the Hill, teams win by keeping control over key map locations, or objectives, long enough to collect a winning number of points. Every map has two to five identified objectives available for capture, with one objective active at a time. Objectives are based on map weapon-spawn locations and have a potential value of 60 points toward either team’s score. Teams collect those points by maintaining ownership of an objective until all its 60 points have been distributed; players do not have to stay at the point to retain ownership but only prevent the enemy from approaching the point. Every second that a team controls an objective, the team gets one point. When an objective falls to zero points, the next objective is selected at random. Players can be downed following "Warzone" bleed out rules, but unlike the other game play modes, any dead players will respawn simultaneously at the next respawning interval, which occurs every 15 seconds beginning at the start of the round. On June 14, 2007, 8 new achievements were added to the game; 3 of which specifically concern the Annex game type.
King of the Hill is based a team on holding a single objective point per round. Though similar to Annex, teams must completely control and stay within the objective target circle to score points. Enemies are downed through Execution rules, so that a team has to "finish everyone up close" to retain control of the objective.

Development
In an interview with Cliff Bleszinski, lead developer for Epic Games, he cites three games that were the primary influences in the game's design including the third person perspective from Resident Evil 4 and the tactical-cover system from kill.switch; Bleszinski also cited Bionic Commando's influence on the cover system, equating the actions of moving from cover to cover as similar to the action of swinging from platform to platform in the latter game. These design choices reflect themselves in the gameplay, as Gears of War focuses mainly on sound team-based and cover-dependent tactics with limited weapons rather than brute force.

The total cost of development was $10 million, according to Epic's Mark Rein, and only 20 to 30 people were involved with the development at any time. However, work on the customized Unreal engine was outsourced to China, and those figures are not included in these values.

Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski said he hoped for the game to expand into graphic novels and eventually film. On November 21, 2006, Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing and Interactive Entertainment Business Jeff Bell stated Gears of War is the first in a trilogy, through sequences on E-Day and the battle of Jacinto Plateau, as well as information on Adam Fenix and his research (which the character finds in Gears). Epic Games Vice President Mark Rein posted a message on the official Gears of War Internet forums, stating "It's not over until it is not fun anymore", and, in his view, Gears of War may become the next Halo series in terms of popularity.

The ending to Gears of War heavily suggested a sequel is in the works, and at the 2007 Game Developers Conference, Bleszinkski confirmed that Epic Games does "intend to do a sequel" to Gears of War. The game's sequel, Gears of War 2 was officially confirmed on February 20, 2008. It is tentatively slated to be released in November 2008.


Collector's edition
At the game's release, Epic Games released a Limited Collectors Edition. Some of the notable differences are a steel case instead of the normal-style case and an extra disc which contains artworks of environments and stages including Locusts that never made it to the game. The disc also contains a time-lapse on the creation of the "Emergence" mural. The game's disc and case has a different cover and instead features the Omen background. Another of the Collector's Edition extras is a book titled Destroyed Beauty which illustrates the games back-story and includes concepts, sketches, and descriptions of the game's characters. The Collector's Edition also includes the same instruction manual and 48-hour Xbox Live Gold trial as the regular game does.


Epic Games has been working on new content for Gears of War since as early as August 2006. These updates will remain free according to Epic Games president Mike Capps. The first of these updates was released over Xbox Live on January 9, 2007,[25] with two new maps released the following day on January 10, 2007. The two maps reflected background scenes from the game's storyline, known as Raven Down and Old Bones, which depict Gears fighting Locust amidst the crash site of a King Raven chopper and a museum, respectively. Another update was released for Gears of War on January 22, 2007, which, according to Epic Games' Marc Rein, is said to fix some compatibility issues with the release of Gears of War in Japan, and that no game play or functionality features were changed.

On April 9, 2007, Epic Games released the third update, containing a new game mode titled Annex, which requires teams to capture and hold certain areas of each map, as well as additional gameplay tweaks and fixing up some Glitches. The update was free of charge.

Epic Games initially said that four new maps would be released in conjunction with the third patch. However, due to disagreements between Microsoft and Epic Games, Epic decided instead to "put these maps on sale at a reasonable price then make them free a few months later," according to Mark Rein of Epic Games. The map pack, titled "Hidden Fronts", was released on Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points on May 3, 2007, and included the maps Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process, and Subway. Free downloads of these maps were made available on September 3, 2007, four months after their initial release.

A fourth update on June 14, 2007 added 250 additional Achievement points (bringing the total possible achievement points to 1250), in eight Achievements related to Annex mode and the maps from Hidden Fronts. Additionally, the update includes improvement of roadie run to keep the player from sticking to cover areas, and a patch to prevent the Annex clock from counting during connection errors. Other "housekeeping" issues were also addressed.


Film
On March 20, 2007, it was announced that New Line Cinema had purchased the rights to make a Gears of War film, with Stuart Beattie writing the script along with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, who will be producing it. The film is scheduled to be released in 2009. Producer Wyck Godfrey said of the film adaptation, "I'm not a gamer, but what blew me away about Gears was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are." It has been announced in the May 2007 issue of Game Informer that Cliff Bleszinski (lead designer of the game) will be the executive producer of the film.[citation needed] On August 3, 2007, AICN.com reported that Len Wiseman was to direct the movie adaptation of Gears of War., though on March 30, 2007, Godfrey stated that they have "a director we're about to attach" in order to film the movie during 2009 and release in 2010.


Comic
Epic Games and DC Comics announced on April 18, 2008, that a comic book based on Gears of War will be published. The comic will be published under DC's Wildstorm imprint.


Reviews
Upon its release, Gears of War received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, maintaining an average score of 94% at Game Rankings (ranked fourth game of 2006 and fifth overall Xbox 360 game to date).

While the game received high praise, reviewers did point out that Gears of War did not offer anything significantly new in its core gameplay. Eurogamer's review of the game states that "let's not pretend that we're wallowing in the future of entertainment. What we have here is an extremely competent action game that's as polished and refined as it could be, and is therefore very enjoyable. But if Epic had applied the same wide screen scope and ambition to the gameplay as it did to the engine we'd be much more excited than we are." The game's story was noted for not being very deep, as Gamespot's review states "The lack of exposition feels like a missed opportunity to make the characters and the setting even more compelling".

The PC release of the game received similar praise as the 360 version, with reviewers noting various differences between the two versions. IGN commented that "The mouse and keyboard allow for more precise control, and the graphics have been improved as well." However, 1UP stated that "the control scheme's a very central obstacle" to the game. Gamespot noted that the addition chapter felt out of place as "it changes things up a bit in ways that betray the difficulty progression of the game."


Awards
Leading up to the game's release, Gears of War was one of the most anticipated Xbox 360 games of 2006. The game premiered during the 2005 E3 show, and won, among others, several "Best 360 Game" awards, including from IGN, 1UP, and Gamespy. The game continued to win several awards at following 2006 E3 show prior to the game's release. These included the Game Critics Awards for "Best Console Game" and "Best Action Game", IGN's "Best 360 Action Game", "Best 360 Multiplayer Game", and "Best Overall Multiplayer Experience" and Gamespy's "Best Console Multiplayer", "Best Action Game", and "Xbox 360 Game of Show".

Upon release, Gears of War received numerous awards from many publications. IGN named Gears of War as the "Xbox 360 Game of the Year" among other awards. Gamespot named the game its "Game of the Year" as well as "Best Xbox 360 Game", among other allocates. Official Xbox Magazine named their game as their "Xbox 360 Game of the Year".[citation needed] G4 TV during the 2007 G-Phoria awards, named Gears of War its "Game of the Year" in addition to other awards.

Gears of War won several awards at the 2007 Interactive Achievement Awards at the D.I.C.E. Summit, including "Overall Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", and "Action/Adventure Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Achievements" in Animation, Art Direction, Visual Engineering, and Online Gameplay. The game received the awards of "Ultimate Game of the Year" and "Xbox Game of the Year" at the 2007 Golden Joystick Awards.

In addition, the characters within the game received additional awards. Gamespot gave their 2006 "Best New Character(s)" award to the Delta Squad of Gears of War. G4 TV named Marcus Fenix the "Best New Character" and gave The Mighty Rasta's performance for "Augustus ‘Cole Train’ Cole" the award for "Best Voiceover". The game was given the Interactive Achievement Award for "Outstanding Character Performance - Male" for its voicework. The Berserkers were named as Official Xbox Magazine's "Enemy of the Year".


Sales
According to Microsoft Game Studios Vice President Shane Kim, Gears of War preorder sales were second only to Halo 2 in the studio's history. Gears of War was also the first Xbox or Xbox 360 game to sell out and reach the top ten charts in Japan

Gears of War has achieved major success since its release. On November 7, 2006—the day that it was released—it became the most popular game on the Xbox Live service, overtaking Halo 2, which had held the spot since its launch in November 2004. By January 19, 2007, just ten weeks after its debut, over three million units of the game had been sold.


Soundtrack
Main article: Gears of War - The Soundtrack
Gears of War - The Soundtrack is the soundtrack of video game music from the game Gears of War. It was released on July 31, 2007 by Sumthing Else Music Works. The music was composed by Kevin Riepl who has previously worked with Epic Games on soundtracks for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Championship.