If you think Unreal Engine 3 games feature too much gray and brown, laden with "pillars and girders," all being stomped around on by bald space marines, Cliff "Young Clifford" Bleszinski wants you to blame the tech. Speaking with Develop recently, the man that birthed Marcus Fenix said, "The technology of this generation just happens to be very good at rendering metals and stones and dramatic lighting." He argues that "translucent effects" are much harder to pull of with the technology given and as such, "the tech is good at showing off armor and it's not that good at doing hair ... that's why we have bald space marines."

Though we'd argue that there are lots of bald men in our lives who happen to not be space marines -- CheapyD and Dr. Manhattan prime among them -- we can appreciate how Marcus Fenix may be more equipped to take down the Locust than an omnipotent blue man. Wait a minute! Interestingly, Bleszinski also notes during the interview that he's got "like five projects going on right now" -- we're counting Shadow Complex and another (still unannounced) Gears of War, which leaves three unannounced projects? Something is afoot at Epic Games. And it almost certainly involves bald space marines.

If you're wondering what to do on a cold night, while snuggling next to a warm fire ... may we suggest, reading? Of course, in this scenario, all electricity is out and video games are no option for you. So, if that's what it takes for you to pick up a book (we kid!), you might be interested in something with a little video game flavor.

Coming to bookstores on July 28 is Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant -- from best-selling sci-fi author Karen Traviss (of Star Wars novel fame!).

Jacinto's Remnant begins moments following the end of Gears of War 2. It's really hard to tell you what the novel is about without spoiling the ending of 2008's Epic Xbox 360-exclusive, but from what we've seen so far, the book looks to paint a picture of humanity's struggle for survival against a new kind of enemy -- itself. Sounds interesting, so far. Excited?

Wedbush Morgan Securities' 2009 industry report includes a list of the top thirty brands of 2008. The report notes that of the companies whose brands appear on the list, Nintendo, EA, and Activision were the only three with more than one brand to generate over $100 million at retail in the US last year.

And boy, did they. The top brand of the year, Guitar Hero -- perhaps you've heard of it -- was responsible for $992 million in US sales in 2008. The next two brands, Mario Bros. and Rock Band, generated $761 million and $662 million, respectively.

One company is notably absent from the top brands list: "Most strikingly," the report reads, "Sony had no top 30 brands for the third year in a row." Microsoft had two brands on the list (Gears of War and Fable) and Nintendo had four (Mario Bros., Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Pokémon). See the list of brands after the break.

Select individuals have been seen sporting Halo-themed Avatar clothing recently, with fine young gentleman Randy No Arms being the latest spotted. It makes sense, considering the guy works for Microsoft, but are these new duds a part of the Avatar rewards beta, or is this the Avatar marketplace at work? Regardless, we're totally jealous he's sporting a slew of Halo-branded clothes, including a hat emblazoned with the UNSC symbol, a shirt with a pair of crossed energy swords, and a nice pair of khaki shorts with the Spartan helmet on the left leg.

Be sure to hit up our gallery below for some shots of the Avatar marketplace from E3, complete with Gears of War 2 and Halo storefronts.

Epic is waiting on certification for Title Update 4, the latest major update to Gears of War 2, but that didn't stop Rod Fergusson from hitting the forums and dropping some info. First of all, Public Horde matches will now have the ability to restart on a failed wave, instead of having to go all the way back to square one. Then there's the addition of experience to Horde mode (which we knew about), which Rod says will break down as follows:

• 50 points per completed Casual wave.
• 75 points per completed Normal wave.
• 100 points per completed Hardcore wave.
• 125 points per completed Insane wave.

Epic is also adding Achievements for the new Dark Corners DLC and updating the game with 325 more points of delicious Gamerscore. Head past the break for the full list.

We've heard a number of rumors claiming Mr. Clifford B. was preparing to eschew his chainsawgun-heavy namesake in favor of one more spooky. However, these rumors were recently crushed between Bleszinski's manly, well-maintained jaws during an interview with OXM, in which he explains he's "not making a horror game next," because, well, "Gears is very much near and dear" to him.

While news that Bleszinski's next project won't contain ammo conservation or purposefully poor lighting may seem like the biggest news to come out of the interview, the real sizzler arises three questions later, when Bleszinski proudly admits, "I'm a giant douchebag." (No, we're not making that up. Promise!)

There are some rumors circulating around the internets that Gears of War 2 could make a belated arrival on the PC platform, just like the first title. IGN points to Beantown Games, the originator of this vicious little rumor, which posted details from a supposed unreleased press release for the game, along with supposed box art shots featuring the Games for Windows logo.

IGN then gave Kotaku the nod, who went to work checking into some of the stuff Beantown Games posted. The blog found inconsistencies in the Beantown post, with the supposed leaked press release being a near carbon copy of the original press release for Gears of War 2 on Xbox 360. Then, there's the UPC codes, which apparently all point to The Golden Compass. It's odd, to say the least.

As much as all of this seems like malarkey, one shouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of Gears of War 2 on the PC. The first game released on PC in November of 2007, a full year after the release of the original Xbox 360 game. Since the sequel released on Xbox 360 in November of last year, we wouldn't put it past Epic and Microsoft to crank the game out on PC some time in 2009. Though, when we contacted Microsoft, a spokesperson said "We have no plans for Gears of War 2 on the PC," so take it as you will.

Source - Beantown Games [Via IGN]
Source - Kotaku

We first heard about some changes coming to Unreal Engine 3's backend way back at GDC, where the tech was first demonstrated for developers. At last week's E3, Epic was kind enough to give us a demonstration of some of the changes coming to its famous engine, and we have to say they're pretty spiffy. Nothing is jaw-dropping, but with some tweaks under the hood, the development process and post-release analysis can help developers utilizing Unreal Engine 3 in many surprising ways.

This should actually be called "Hands-on: Gears of War 2 Dark Corners DLC -- One Map Only," because Epic wasn't showing off any of the single player campaign when we stopped by, and it only had two kiosks on the side of the Microsoft booth playing the Nowhere map. Even though the other maps appeared in the menu screen, they wouldn't let us select them. What are you hiding from us, Epic?

So here's a tiny review of Nowhere, and a big new video featuring the "Road to Ruin" deleted chapter of the DLC, along with a peek at the seven new maps just beyond the jump.

Microsoft is sending a special Gears of War Xbox 360 bundle (depicted above) to our friends in Australia. Included in the bundle are copies of the original Gears of War and Gears of War 2. Sadly, the console itself isn't as special as the box it comes in, for it's of the plain white Pro variety.

The new bundle will hit Aussie store shelves on June 4 and retail for $449 AU.

[Thanks, Josh]

Well, as old school as 2006, anyway, as Epic has announced another Gears of War 2 weekend event. This weekend, the sequel will get a touch of the original Gears of War experience, as Epic will be turning off the concussion from smoke grenades (thank you!), and limiting team size to four in public matches in the Execution - Warzone, Annex - KOTH, and Guardian - Submission playlists. The madness has started as of 9 AM EST this morning and will continue through Tuesday, May 26, at 9 AM EST. You can thank Memorial Day for that extra day of fun, folks!

[Thanks, Joe!]

Chris Morgan recently wrapped up his script for the Gears of War movie, and it's right around now that the folks behind the production of the film need to start thinking about a cast, with Marcus Fenix obviously being the most important character. While you may think thespians such as Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis would do well in the role, Morgan actually likes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, he told MTV.

Morgan applauds The Rock's depth, saying he can "play the tough guy, but he can also play the nuanced, sensitive funny sad moments as well." He would need that depth, too, because if there's anything that must make it into the film, it's the game's deep, emotional storyline and characters.

[Via DigitalBattle]

Why miss, you look awfully proud of yourself. Is it because you had the gumption to down a brumak or did you look down and realize that you were drawn by comic book icon Jim Lee? Just go on sitting inappropriately atop that beastie's noggin while you mull it over.

Calling Gears of War "visceral yet elegant," Lee will illustrate the cover for the #9 issue of DC's comic book adaptation, which launched in late 2008 under the company's Wildstorm imprint. The issue is said to introduce a new character to the story, who we'd guess is miss sassy pants up there. According to the publisher, the series has enjoyed success so far among comic book enthusiasts, with the first two issues completely selling through their initial printing. The Jim Lee-covered issue is expected to fill collectors' pull lists in July, while a second alternate cover by Epic's art director Chris Perna is promised as well. Now, climb down off that thing, you're making us nervous.

Though we've yet to run into one ourselves, word on the internet street is Microsoft has quietly released new packaging for its bad economy-friendly "Platinum Hits" collection -- specifically, Gears of War. Moving decidedly away from the green and white that we've all come to know over the years, the new packaging adopts a darker tone (which may be why we've only seen it on the M-rated Gears franchise, eh?). What'll become of Viva Piñata's adorable box?!

Microsoft apparently doesn't want people to know what it's done just yet, as a representative told us, "We have nothing to announce at this time," though we did spot the banner above on Xbox.com, together with "Greatness is Earned," the new motto found on the Gears of War box.

To be clear: Microsoft may have changed the dress on the "Platinum Hits" version of one its key franchises but won't admit to it or explain why -- or even send us a picture. That being said, if you fine folks spot one at your local brick-and-mortar, snap a pic and send us a tip! We give great hugs as rewards!

Epic Games, developer of the Gears of War series and everyone's favorite jackrabbit franchise, has apparently signed a deal with Metaboli, the European "partner" to digital download services GameTap and Games Planet, reports Develop. The contract solidifies a three-year partnership between Metaboli and Epic, with Epic bringing its entire Unreal series to the table.

It remains unclear whether or not Epic will bring other franchises from its stable to the services but if the ailing economy dictates anything, it's the likelihood of folks selling what they can wherever they can. We contacted Mark Rein, VP of Epic Games, for comment and he told us it's, "Too early to know." It's a certainty we won't see the aforementioned Gears of War franchise though as it's handled by Microsoft. Rein told us, "Microsoft handles Gears of War PC distribution so that would be their deal." Sorry folks!