"What I always loved about the Lancer rifle, the assault rifle with a mounted chainsaw from Gears of War, was how over-the-top and ridiculous it was. It turns out it's completely possible to create your own working Lancer rifle, though, as one man who really loves his Second Amendment rights has proven."
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As part of the "New Xbox Experience," as Microsoft is calling it, the company has made it possible to view downloadable content in terms of user popularity.

It's not as robust or scientific as the Nintendo Channel and MTV Multiplayer doesn't know how long it's been tracking these statistics, but it does provide some insight into gamer habits.

So, what are the top five downloads for gamers who are playing "Rock Band 2," "Guitar Hero: World Tour," "BioShock," "Halo 3? and "Gears of War"?
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Sales, LLC announced today that it has finalized work on its 1:1 scale Gears of War Locust Drone design maquette. The piece was sculpted by Chris Perna, art director, Epic Games, and painted by highly respected special effects and creature creator Jordu Schell. The bust stands 19 inches high, weighs approximately 15 pounds, and will be available to ship...
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VideoGamer.com writes: "We've just been sent word and photographic evidence of Marcus Fenix getting into a scuffle with paparazzi after leaving the Groucho Club in London's West End last night. According to one onlooker "Marcus is a big guy and it was pretty scary - he just totally lost the plot"."
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Don't officially call it a prequel to the first game, but the Gears of War movie may feature "Emergence Day."
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Ripten: "You haven't seen a gaming article quite like this before: A seven-page inside look from the New Yorker at Cliffy B's rich-and-famous lifestyle, with a history of Epic Games and its "Bachelor Futurist" headquarters, a review of Gears of War, and a preview of Gears 2 all thrown in for good measure."
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Ripten flexes their Photoshop muscle with their own take on a Gears of War movie poster.

"Yes, we know that Kilmer is currently a bit on the heavy side, and Batista may not be the best actor on the face of the planet, but we figured what the f**k - they sure as hell look the part. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Lester "Terry Tate" Speight were obvious choices.

Hit the jump for a high res version and make sure to let me know what you think of it in the comment section below. Thanks guys. "
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Legendary Pictures, the film production company that is currently co-financing the Gears of War film adaption, is currently in talks to buy Gears developer Epic Games, according to Variety.

The report has apparently been corroborated by multiple sources, though neither company involved has issued any official statements.
Variety notes that if the deal closes, Legendary will become the first film financier to invest directly in a game developer.
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PWN or DIE has received screenshots of the Gears of War 2 "Flashback Map Pack" and shots from the maps as they existed in the original Gears of War They have placed them side by side for comparison and added their initial impressions after each.
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NextGen Player writes:

"Recently Microsoft announce the Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune player. The glossy black coloured 120 GB mp3 player will have the trademark Gears of War crimson omen etched on the back. In addition to the specialized graphic, the Gears of War 2 Zune will come preloaded with 244 media items that are related to Gears of War. This includes the game's original soundtrack, various videos, game art and more."

More after the jump.
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Ripten reaches out to Epic VP, Mark Rein, seeking his take on why the popular Gears of War sequel will not be making its way onto the PC.
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Epic never considered making the campaign for Gears of War 2 four-player, Cliff Bleszinski has revealed.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com at a recent preview event in London, the celebrity Gears of War designer said that four-player campaign co-op was "never something that was in a state of flux" because it would adversely affect the game's story.

"We knew from the get go that we'd go with two players," he said. "It was never something that was in a state of flux. It was always two players. Being narrative and story based it's not a clone of Marcus Fenix, it's Dom. And that's always player two. And once you start with three of four players the game is no longer about the narrative, it's about shooting shit. And therefore we said let's do that in Horde."
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Speaking to VideoGamer.com at a recent hands-on preview event in London, Epic games designer Bleszinski rejected criticism from some quarters that Gears of War 2 is too similar to the first game, released in late 2006.

He said: "I'd say that if you fired up Gears 2 and a Beserker burst through the wall and chased you around, or it got dark and then you had to do little light dark puzzles with Kryll, that would be a valid criticism. But none of those things are in Gears 2.

"We instead have opted for far more interesting and compelling things like the truck sequence, the Rock Worm, taking people hostage, shipping with many many more multiplayer modes, having things like Horde as well as these gobs of new weapons, as well as a deeper, darker storyline. I think it really adds up to be truly Gears of War 2."
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With Microsoft's latest Xbox marketing blitz aimed squarely at attracting more casual gamers, even its most hardcore franchise is softening up – but Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has insisted his team "don't feel threatened by it" like other developers.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz in London ahead of the release of Gears of War 2 on November 7, Bleszinski conceded that Microsoft faced a challenge in promoting the "chainsaws and blood" of the game alongside a family-oriented strategy with titles like Lips and You're In The Movies.
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(AUSTIN, Texas – September 16, 2008)

Epic Games, Inc. today announced at the Austin Game Developers Conference the winners of the first phase in the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest, a competition that rewards aspiring game developers for making exceptional game modifications (mods) for Unreal Tournament 3. Awards for the first phase of the competition include cash prizes in addition to Velocity Micro PCs loaded with Intel® Software Development Products.
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Today, we bring you pictures of the complete Series 2 of NECA's hit Gears of War action figures. The men of Delta Squad and more adversaries from the Locust Horde return this fall with the Series 2, which includes Dominic Santiago, Damon Baird, the new Marcus Fenix action figure plus the Theron Guard and the Theron Sentinel.
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TGR - "In the era of MySpace and Facebook being used as online tools to network with, it's no surprise that a cluster of gamers in Hollywood have found a new way to network. It appears that big business deals as well as curbstomps have been performed all on a special night affectionately dubbed 'Nerd Poker.' What all does this 'Nerd Poker' entail, exactly?

It's simple -- gather all your business associates for a game of Gears of War or whatever the game of choice is. It's quickly becoming a huge hit with all kinds of different groups who want to get together and talk business, gossip, or just spend time together. Even church groups are getting in on the action and holding their own Xbox Live nights."
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MCV: List of additional content includes E3 demo and character profiles
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While searching through eBay this week, Den of Geek stumbled upon something even more perplexing than the existence of wasps - people 'selling' Xbox achievement points
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GamerVision Reports: "Way back in April, while scoping NECA's wares at the New York Comic Con, I took notice the Gears of War line had a Locust with an exploding head. Cue "Dreamweaver," I was in love. I had never seen an action figure with quite the attention to the source material as this one. Immediately, I began asking (read: begging) NECA for information about when and where I'd be able to get this wonderful piece of craftsmanship. They had no answer for me then, but I was persistent, asking them every opportunity I had. With last week's launch of the Lancer Bundle pre-order, I asked my guy at NECA if he had any info about the "Headshot" Locust. He told me to expect an announcement shortly, and he was right. Today, NECA broke the news Amazon.com would be the exclusive retailer for the action figure."
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