Gears of War 2

Just wanted to throw down a quick update here, since it's been quite a while, and I'm sure many people out there are sitting on the edge of their seats, wondering if I'm lying in a gutter somewhere. Many sleepless nights were had, courtesy of my lack of updates, and I am sorry.

Fear not, however! I am alive and well, and have just been busy with a lot of work and, of course, a lot of play.

I don't think I'd posted the above picture on the blog yet, so there it is - a tree painting I'd done some weeks ago for a contest and auction for the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Sadly, it didn't get accepted into the limited space of the show, but I'm glad to have made it, and I have more ideas for some other paintings in this style.

This painting was done in acrylic paint and paint pen on a 15" x 30" canvas. Here's the sketch the painting is based on (ink on 5.5" x 8.5" sketch pad):

During my time away from the blog, I got to go up to my parents' house for a bit one weekend, and went out on a small vacation to Sonoma with my girlfriend too. I had a great time with both, and the time away from doing work has been refreshing.

Speaking of work, I've got more work lined up for No Love Skateboarding - along with the rat image I posted a while ago, which was used for a shirt design and then reconfigured for a skateboard design, I've done a Denver cityscape and have a few other projects for shirts and boards on deck which I'll post here eventually.

I'm also working on a disc label and CD jacket for a friend of my dad's, Johnny "Guitar" Knox, who is a local blue guitarist in the Sacramento area. That project is going a bit slower than originally planned, but it's getting done slowly.

I've also got a logo to design for my girlfriend's cousin which I have yet to start.

And finally, probably the biggest time sink of them all, I've finally completed Dragon Age: Origins, after about 60 hours of play. The game was good, long, and fun. I'm glad I finally got into it. I've already started another play-through, but I think I'm going to take a break for a while so I can finish on my aforementioned projects, as well as re-acquaint myself with some of the other games I've neglected over the months.

After the somewhat botched Gears of War 3 announcement last week, I've been thinking about running through Gears of War 2 again on Insane difficulty, so I can grab all the collectibles I missed and have some more action-oriented fun for a change. I also want to sink my teeth into some of the Mass Effect 2 DLC that came out while I was playing Dragon Age, but I'm just not in the mood for another epic gaming marathon right now.

Anyway, thanks for checking in, hope the lack of posts hasn't kept anyone away, and (again, I know!) I shall try to be better with the updates.

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My apologies for the delay between this and my last post - I've been at jury duty for the last two days, was sick for about a week before that, and have begun the long, arduous process of moving all my material possessions from old apartment to new.

I've also been working my way through Fable 2 for a second time, having a blast playing co-op / horde mode in Gears of War 2, and slowly leveling Totino up to 80 in Wrath of the Lich King.

So yeah, I've been a little busy.

As I've made my way through all the new games though, I've been feeling more and more like getting back to some of my older projects and making them into something new, and better than before. Chiefly, Hover Tank 3D 2 (as Yourself urges me to make a multiplayer mode where you steal resources from enemies to build up a base) and Falcon Squad, which I feel like I am almost ready to return to with a complete engine rebuild and graphics injection. I'd also like to get that robot battle engine finished, so we can finally have a new competition over at Reflect Games.

I know I keep returning to these projects over and over, but one of these days... well, you know.

Anyway, I'm going to get going so I can start moving more of my junk. Just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I'm not dead, just WASD-ing through the mire of many planned, random, and seasonal events. Thanks for reading, and I hope you are having a healthier November than I am!

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Yup, that's an actual screenshot above (and below). Gears of War 2 is officially the best-looking game ever.

And though I'm only part of the way through the game right now, it's obvious to me that Epic went out of its way this time around to deliver gamers from the dull grayish browns that so many have complained about as the cliche of "next-gen" gaming. Color has been infused into the war-torn atmosphere of Gears and coupled with the incredible detail has helped make Gears 2 the best-looking game of all time.

I should mention that it's also fun. The few new guns that have been added, a flamethrower, minigun, and mortar, along with the new poison grenade and mobile cover system are welcome additions to the game. There are new enemies to blast, huge levels to explore, and more story and cut-scene elements as well. Many parts of the game that remain from the original game have been re-tooled, and the game has a much more grand ("Epic?") feeling to it than the first.

The only thing I've been disappointed with so far (aside from a small plot point which would be a slight spoiler, so I won't mention here), has been the game's music. It sounds great, and I love that Epic stuck with the orchestral tunes, but it doesn't have the character the music from the first game had - it seems more like background music, rather than part of the action. To me, that kind of sucks. To others, they may not even notice it, or they might appreciate the change of pace. It's a small irk to be sure, so I wouldn't worry about it if you're planning on buying the game and you still haven't gotten it yet (for shame!).

Anyway, I'm going to get back to playing... as well as to a few other domestic tasks. A pile of dishes in the kitchen is calling my name, and I've got a few things I want to box up tonight - I'm moving to a new apartment soon!

If you have the game and you're on my Xbox friends list, drop me an invite sometime - I've been ignoring them up to this point, but I think I'm ready to play online now. Thanks for reading, and maybe I'll see you in-game!

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A new trailer for Gears of War 2, this one to be the official commercial for the game, was released yesterday. "Last Day" features the musical talents of DeVotchKa, and shows the various members of the Cog army as they prepare for and embark on the next war against their subterranean opponents.

I liked the "Mad World" commercial better I think, but this one seems to highlight the actual game just a smidgen more. I like that it shows most of the main characters, and again appears to be rendered completely inside the game engine, a credit to the beauty of Unreal Engine 3 and Epic's graphical abilities alike. It's hard not to be excited about Gears 2; this game is going to be awesome!

I've included the Mad World trailer, in case anyone hasn't seen it. Truly a great piece of marketing.

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Martin Crownover

All posts tagged Gears of War 2

The Tree

When It Rains…

Gears of War 2 “Last Day” Trailer