Unless you live under a rock, you probably know lots of people that are Gears of War loyalists. These are the folks that have "retired" from every other game and have dedicated themselves to this gaming franchise. For them, the prospect of Gears of War 2 being released is the best news since, well, the release of Gears of War.

It's silly that people are even surprised by any news regarding the project. It's obvious that there will be a sequel. You don't have a game sell millions and millions of copies and then decide not to follow it up somehow. People just don't do that in this day and age You can be sure this franchise will be milked. It'll be a trilogy, at the very least. Chances are this is the new Halo (not that Halo is that hard to beat in terms of actual game substance, IMHO).

The real issue here is when can we expect GoW2? Apparently, the rumors of a holiday 2008 release were just that: rumors..

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26196425

Reps at Epic have alluded to many things but make not commitments. I think they rather let people enjoy Gears of War more right now, make up their own stories, and build up buzz on their own. Makes sense. Gears of War still sells at a pretty high price tag, even though it can be considered "old hat" by most standards right now. People are still trying to get on the limited-edition tins and pack-ins. The game is selling every day. There's no rush.

Of course, if Microsoft is smart, they'll urge Epic to speed things along. While a 2009 release will be fine for the fans that will surely sneeze left and right about the game, the not-so-loyal GoW players may want their fix sooner than later. Rumors have it that Microsoft wants Epic to produce something ASAP but who knows how true that is. Whatever the case is, the momentum is there. Epic should move on this ASAP, before he FPS market becomes any more cluttered and competitive (Far Cry 2, Frontlines: FoW, Battlefield: BC, and Army of Two are but a few of the big shooters that have hardcore gamers anxious right now).

I think a release in time for the holidays would be a brilliant move. The demand is there and it'll boost holiday sales. This will provide M$ with the performance indicators they need to realize "Hey, we're doing well.. Now let's invest in things that will help us keep our customers, rather than scare them away with poor customer support, hardware issues, and the like!"

Moving on, I finally got a chance to play the Culdcept Saga demo (I just couldn't wait until tomorrow). I am glad I pre-ordered this puppy. For $39.99, you can't go wrong. Online play, strong replay value, and best-of-breeds technology. I dig a good tactics game but, then, you throw it in with some TCG elements and sexy mechanics.. I'm sold! It's a nice break from all the FPS and RPG games out there but it is definitely an acquired taste.

Culdcept Saga is the latest in a long line of games. The franchise is quite popular in Japan and saw some entries on the Dreamcast and Saturn, if memory serves me well. The difference now is that this will be a full-on English translation. Yes, English, NOT Engrish.

At first glance, Culdcept looks like Monopoly with some pseudo-RPG elements. The TCG elements become obvious soon after. Win or lose, you collect new cards, giving you more strategic advantages. The game is actually much deeper than it seems but the luck factor is certainly there. I say check it out. The demo is available for free on XBox 360's Marketplace. Love it or hate it, you lose little time and no money so give it a whirl. This is a game that few have on their radar but many may like. It definitely has a nice cult following.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/culdceptsaga/news.html?sid=6185582

As the above fact sheet states, you have the potential to collect over 500 cards. That allows for great depth in gameplay. You can customize the look of your Cepter (caster), which gives the game a nice personal touch, along with other features. As the case usually can be with these types of games, sound and music are not the best part. The music seems to loop and get repetitive and annoying quickly. Fortunately, it's one of those things that doesn't really matter because this is the type of game that is not story-driven per se and, as such, the music and cinematics are purely a bonus. I mean, this is not meant to be as immersive as Final Fantasy so it's important to keep your expectations in check. Hell, I like listening to my own music 95% of the time anyway.

Call of Duty 4 fans will love to know that the rumored NEW maps are indeed the real deal. I haven't found too many details out there but this looks like it'll be a nice batch of maps. Knowing Infinity Ward's level design prowess, this will be a worthwhile update. I'm not sure if these will be free downloads or not but, in this case, I'd definitely get them. Unlike Halo 3, CoD4 doesn't really need new maps so this content can certainly be considered value-added or premium additions, rather than much-needed updates (a'la completing the project after the release). Hopefully, IW will have more control in price control and provide the maps at no more than 400 Microsoft Points. We will see.

Given the recent issues with XBox LIVE (issues that have yet to be completely resolved, if you ask me), these maps may very well be provide at little or no cost to subscribers. Let's cross our fingers...

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/callofduty4modernwarfare/news.html?sid=6185587