Epic Games’ much-anticipated action shooting game Gears of War reaches its first retail outlets today, launching what Microsoft hopes will become the fastest-selling game to-date for its Xbox 360 console game system. Gears of War has been whetting the appetites of gamers for over half a year, and Microsoft and Epic are pumping up the excitement television ad placements, Microsoft’s recent “Match Made in Hell” promotion, and pre-release events throughout October.
Gears of War is a third-person shooter; players take on the role of Marcus Fenix as he leads a team of soldiers against the Locust Horde, a race of big, pale, an unquestionably nasty humanoid critters who’ve crawled up from the depths of the earth. Gears of War offers visceral, cinematic action, and both single- and multi-player online play via Xbox Live.
“Gears of War is a title we know will deliver on all of its promise, and we expect the game to reach 1 million copies faster than any new titles for Xbox,” said Jeff Bell, VP of global marketing for Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, in a release. “This holiday is an extremely important one for the entire industry, and Xbox 360 will offer the world unparalleled experiences available only on this console. We’ve put an enormous emphasis on bringing new and exciting titles to market, and Gears of War is a key example of Microsoft’s commitment to developing original and immersive titles for gamers everywhere.”
“The reception that ‘Gears of War’ has received has been tremendous,” said Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer for Gears of War at Epic Games. “Designing Gears of War has been a labor of love, and we’ve poured everything we have into the title. We expect this game to be huge, and it’s exhilarating to see that people are as excited about Gears of War as we are.”
Gears of War is available exclusively for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 platform, and is available now at select retailers and will be widely available November 12, 2006. Gears of War carries at suggested retail price of $59.99, with a limited collector’s edition (featuring a hardboard art book, bonus DVD, and other material) is priced at $69.99. Gears of War is rated M for “Mature” by the ESRB.
