It’s been a busy keynote morning for Microsoft. In addition to all the XNA news (look for that in a moment), Microsoft’s presentation at the GDC unveiled some other juicy tidbits Xbox 360 owners are going to love.
The biggest news came at the end, with Cliffy B revealing that Gears of War 2 will hit the stores in November, "exclusively" for the Xbox 360. (I wouldn’t be too surprised if we saw another PC port a year or so after.) Gears of War was — at one point — the biggest and best offering on the Xbox 360, but the last year or so its title has been taken away by games such as Halo 3, Bioshock, and Call of Duty 4. We’ll have to see how the further adventures of Marcus Fenix turn out, but I for one can’t wait.
Peter Molyneux was also on-hand, and other than making comments about PC gaming, he revealed that Fable 2 will feature a dynamic co-op mode. (In other words, drop-in, drop-out.) Along with the co-op play, they’re also bringing Fable 2 to gamers before the game is released via Xbox Live Arcade titles, which will let you earn money in Fable 2 before you can even buy the game itself. There’s going to be pub-based minigames, so anyone who played the first Fable should know what type of things to expect.
To complete the trifecta of Xbox 360 games I care most about this year, Tomonobu Itagaki showcased and revealed a video-sharing feature in Ninja Gaiden II, which will allow gamers to record and share their most ninja-y moments, much like gamers can currently do in Halo 3. Obviously a good move since people love to show-off, but I can’t help but wonder how come more people haven’t copied Bungie and allowed for game-sharing features in their 360 titles.
Microsoft also showcased other smaller games and XBLA titles such as Braid, which has been the main point of conversation for Kyle and I since last E3, when I told him about the game and we started obsessing over the preview code. Created by soft-spoken gaming genius Jonathan Blow, the game should easily become a contender for Best XBLA Game of All Time when it’s released. Count on it.
