Gears 2's reign short lived, Halo 3 tops Xbox Live list

by Dustin Burg { Dec 2nd 2008 at 5:15PM }

Well, that didn't take long. After a short stint, Gears of War 2 is no longer the king of Xbox Live (there goes our three month guess'timate), being taken over by none other than teh Haloz.

According to the oh so informative Major Nelson, Halo 3 topped Gears of War 2 as the most played Xbox Live game last week which was also a Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Gears 2 did hold the number two position with CoD:WaW, CoD4 and GTAIV rounding out the top five. We find it surprising that Gears 2 lost its Live multiplayer dominance so quickly post-release even with the release of last week's matchmaking fixing patch. Somewhere there's a Cliff Bleszinski hunched in a dark corner shedding a tear and cursing at a Master Chief action figure. Guaranteed.

Tags: bungie, bungie-studios, epic, epic-games, gears-of-war-2, gow2, halo-3, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

kavendano14 @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:19PM

I have only played 3 ranked games so far, waiting it's fucking bullshit. If it ai'nt broken, don't fix it

mark @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:25PM

they fixed it. Try it now

MrMuggs @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:45PM

I've had mixed results since the patch. For example, last night I had a group of 5 and we started right away but after about an hour of playing the wait times went into 10-15min. At that point I turned my XBox off and called it a day. I had enough of the waiting.

offday @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:13PM

I'm still waiting for games. The patch did nothing.

Henry @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:58PM

It still takes a long time to get matches. I feel like I spend as much time waiting I do actually playing.

AxFactor @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:21PM

Oh well I've never really gotten into Gears as I can't get over the obvious steroid usage.

dabilee01 @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:42PM

yes, because that's what gears is all about. all they do is juice up and pump weights.

ignorance is bliss, i suppose.

bryan @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:47PM

sorry that all characters cant be sissy fem guys with long hair and angel wings like some final fantasy game

Glenn @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:25PM

Even after the patch still waiting for hours to get into a match (though where it was over 10 minutes, it's now only 7...)

So I got back at playing CoD:MW

ryan @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:49PM

I never had to wait so long in CoD4. This and Halo 3 tho, the waits can be pretty long.

Glenn @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:50PM

I never said I had to wait in CoD4:MW, just that even after the patch, the waiting for GoW2 is still horiibly long!

ryan @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:06PM

Yeah, that's what I meant, heh. I never had to wait as long as Halo 3 or Gears 2. I just went back to CoD4 as well mate. :D

Glenn @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:10PM

Sorry man, apparently my English is pretty crappy... :P

ScottishPrik @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:28PM

No surprises. Everone's fed up of the crappy matchmaking laggy ass shit everyone has to put up with in every single game. Myself included.

willie @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:36PM

Make epic use dedicated servers.
And do something about the broken chainsaw system.
Then watch Gears 2 surge to the top yet again.

Nick @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:06PM

Remember - "server based" does NOT equal better. Don't work that way.

Gears is a HEAVILY detailed envorinment with lots of little pieces doing lots of little crazy stuff all over the place.

Server based would create lag that would make the baby Jesus cry.

Cal @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:39AM

If they'd just made the MP as good as or better than Gears 1 and they'd be back on top, instead of the shit that's currently there..

sam @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:42PM

Gears 2 has the worst netcode I have ever seen. What happened, Epic? Too much Jack Daniels at work or something?

Disco Ball @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:45PM

I think they stole the netcode from Behemoth's Castle Crashers.

Trekster_Gamer @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:48PM

GOW2 rocked, I loved it but being as mature in nature as it is there is a much more broad audience playing Halo3 IMO....

Jared @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:52PM

maybe if the core game mechanics of this pile weren't so broken more people would play it.

Michael @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:04PM

The GoW fanboys making excuses, makes me laugh. Halo 3 is a better game, whether you like it or not. H3 ftw.

offday @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:16PM

People like you are the reason I quit playing Halo. I can only handle so many idiots in my games, and Halo is above and beyond my limit.

Michael @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:05PM

How exactly am I an idiot? Because I voice my opinion I'm an idiot? Yea that makes sense.

douche

ice~ @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:31PM

Hey man, don't hate on gears, we're all 360 fanboys here. and bashing gears and talking about "gears fanboys" will create a schism in the fanboy community....let's not do that now! Gears and Halo are both great games in their own right...end of story

philmcphail @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:34PM

Woah, woah, woah,...I am going to counter your statement with "COD4"

Bugz @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:54PM

The Halo fanboys making excuses, makes me laugh. gears of war 2 is a better game, whether you like it or not. GOW ftw.

Nick @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:07PM

I TOTALLY agree!

Having a huge titan of a character that can break down walls with nary a sneeze carry around a gun that LITERALLY goes "pew pew" is pure gaming genius.

GO back to Halo, fanboy. Go back to Halo.

brian @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:14PM

apparently everyone else is, anyway

offday @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:18PM

Honestly, I think it's a good thing that Gears isn't number one anymore. The most popular game on Live is just another way of saying, "hey all the douchebags on Xbox Live play this game." So I'd rather not have my favorite game be number one.

erivera3 @ Dec 3rd 2008 12:37PM

I love how just because Halo has always been popular and the center of attention it gets blamed for everything wrong with people's lives apparently. It's a great game, that's why it is number 1 after all this time, and people will return to it when other games lose their flavor.

Quit bashing on a popular game just because it is popular. If you don't like it, fine, no one is forcing you to play it, but just understand that there are still millions that do like it.

Nick @ Dec 3rd 2008 12:44PM

Uh, I can whine about Halo all I want on a GEARS OF WAR THREAD.

I don't go to halo threads and whine about Halo, if I do I expect to get balked at by Halo people, so when people do so on a gears thread, they should expect no less.

As for Halo being on top, many regard Dane Cook as the best comic, it was mentioned before that American Idol is one of the top rated shows, people put Beverly Hills Chihuahua as the top movie how many weeks in a row? How many Dr. Phil books top the New York Times bestseller list?

Just because something is #1 doesn't mean it's good. I'm not saying that Halo is along the same lines as Dr. Phil, gads - I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy, but #1 does NOT equal blessed by the gods.

Mkay?

If you want to go rave about Halo, do it elsewhere.

erivera3 @ Dec 3rd 2008 2:02PM

Perhaps I am missing something, but since when is an article about the most played xbox live game of the week a "Gears of War thread". You are making it into a Gears of War thread.

Also, defending a game from childish bashing is in no way "praising".

SadisticHam @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:11PM

Good. I hope it crashes and burns. Gears 1 might not of been perfect but you know what Epic?

All you needed to do with the multiplayer was fix the shotgun and sort out the host.

You didn't fix the shotgun you just changed the problem and the host? Worse than ever except now Captain ignorant gets to host it up all day thinking hes god, getting a massive Ego and not realizing hes just got a massive advantage on everyone.

Moral of the story: Do not fix what aint broken. You ruined the multiplayer Epic, there was a reason the first one stayed in the top 5 for 2 years. It wasn't everyones cup of tea but hundreds of thousands enjoyed it how it was and now you've alienated everyone.

eminemd12obie @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:31AM

i agree with u, except also the other fixes should have been: Host, Chainsaw, Inconsistent Shotgun, Weapon Sliding & Crab Walking... instead we get Same Host Problems, Overpowered Chainsaws, Revamped Terrible shotgun, Still Weapon Sliding, and the only thing done right, no crab walking

Brandon @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:26PM

Thats amazing that Halo 3 has been out for more than a year, and it is beating GoW2. All I have to say is, GoW is for fags.

Cogent @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:41PM

Halo 3 is so overrated!
All you have is players that have mastered the B button Melee to kill and then talk trash all day about how tactile they are. At least GoW2 tries to blend in a bit more strategy to the gameplay rather than a damn cheap shot of a kill.
GoW ain't perfect but its a step in the right direction.
Someone needs to pay more attention to the details and Epic is trying very hard at that, whereas Bungie hasn't changed any visual detail since Halo1 on the orig Xbox, and thats just plain lazy/cockiness on their part.

Michael @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:07PM

thats why it must be in the number 1 spot.

:)

xzlegionskullxz @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:42PM

oh wow surprise surprise,broken matchmaking=lets just play halo 3 again i love horde but after waiting for 20 just to watch your team(or the other quit) its just stupid want to be on top cliffy? fix it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

horngreen @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:44PM

Gee i don't know maybe patching it faster or GOD FORBID releasing a game that didn't need a paych right off the bat might have helped. Hell I haven't even bought the game yet and was in no hurry after I heard all the mess online was/is.

PJH @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:48PM

The issue for me has simply been how inaccessible it has been to people like me who are just average players. In addition to having trouble finding a match, when I DO get into a game I am owned so quickly I spend most of my time watching. The teams are almost never balanced. I am probably slightly above average in just about everything I play online (primarily H3, COD4, and GOW), but with GOW2 I find it hard to have fun, and if it isn't fun, I don't play. Private horde mode, tho - good times.

Boomh4u3r @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:47PM

P1zz4 K1ng

Add me

dylan @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:50PM

Go Halo 3!

Delirium @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:56PM

I hate Gears 2. There was faults with it, but overhauling all that shit killed it for me.

Halo 3 community sucks ass too, just to make it equal.

Marrvia @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:06PM

I loved Gears of War 1 because it had a very fast system for getting into games, you could stay on with the same people with virtually no wait at all. I only bought GOW2 because I thought it would be the same, but with some new game modes and improvement. The game modes are there and there are many improvement, but they also made many things that were perfect in GOW1, horrible.

Obviously, the worst problem is the awful, slow matchmaking system. I can't stomach waiting more than 30 seconds to connect to a match, let alone 10 minutes, plus after I wait for so long, the game automatically picks the host, and half the time, they have a shitty connection, so there is insane lag, and half the people leave the game, and the teams get lopsided so if you want to stay in the game, you lose and your ranking takes a hit, and if you quit the game your ranking takes a hit.

I've had GOW1 since it was released, and 2 years later, I could still play for hours at a time and love every minute, but with GOW2, I have a hard time playing for more than a half hour at a time because of the problems. I'm not a big fan of Halo 3's online, but I do understand why people are going back to it. Because GOW2 is broken.

Fred @ Dec 3rd 2008 2:27AM

Don't forget the "vaccum chainsaw" if all else fails, players turn on their chainsaws and suck in the opponent from like five feet away.

D dogg @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:09PM

First off, the matchmaking system isn't even remotely close to matching up people of equal skill. My favorite part is how EVERY public game is ranked and yet you might play a team of 5 people who are so damn good playing with each other they run over make-shift teams all day long.

Also, lets not forget about the cheats. Already I've encountered people more than once who hide behind invisible shields and can wield a shotgun, lancer or even torquebow.

And as for the host, the advantage STILL exists for the host. Epic may have lessened the advantage but for competitive players, we want EVERYONE at equal power. If player A is equally as good as player B, the one who gets the slightest advantage (being the host) will probably win all day long and guess what happens to the other player... they get frustrated and go play another competitive game where no such "host advantage" exists.

The Gears of War games are amazing games BUT they are, as people on the internet call it, "broken".

And lets not forget that Epic took out the ability for someone to host a public game and actually pick the maps and game modes. It's all about either pick one of these two choices or you get something else randomly... if you want to play only Gridlock and Fuel Depot, then you should be able to play only those two maps and have it open to the public!

And don't get me started on the fact that FUEL DEPOT was NOT included in the remakes and Clifford B's, Tyro Station (which is no where near as popular as Fuel Depot) got remade.

For the fans my ass... this game was made tailored to what Clifford B wanted to play. Stay in your bubble boy, stay in your bubble.

And for the record, I've not met one person face-to-face or over live that prefers the second games storymode to the first games. Seriously, did they think it was fun to run around inside a meaty looking level and just chainsaw once in a while!? The game is based on find cover and shoot... not hit 'B' button once every 32 seconds...