“Ok, here’s my bribe. The SDCC XP event will be # of my followers divided by 500. So 4000 followers means 8x XP”, says Fergusson’s (aka GearsViking) tweet.

You might very well be able to receive x20 XP online or even more in Gears of War 2 for this next event.  It all depends on you so if you want some crazy XP in Gears 2 to reach that top rank of 100, then get to Twitter and follow GearsViking.

Starting today you will also receive triple XP in Gears of War 2 and the event will end on June 1st.  Sounds like someone really wants you to pop that Gears of War 2 disc back in if you haven’t already sold it.  Gears of War 3 is on its way will an April 5, 2011 release date in the U.S., April 8th for the U.K. and April 7th in Japan.  Here are all the goodies that come packed in the sixth patch for Gears of War 2:

Title Update 6

• Adds a new public multiplayer match option called Social Xbox LIVE (aka player matches), open to anyone who owns all downloadable maps (that is, All Fronts Collection).
  • You can join Social Matches in progress and can quit any time without penalty, although players who quit early don’t receive earned experience (XP).
  • Social matchmaking lets your party join a match in progress. If a match is not found, your party hosts a new match, filling any empty player slots with bots.
  • Social Matches automatically cycle to the next map without further matchmaking.
  • Teams are rebalanced between matches based on XP level without splitting parties.
  • If you quit, your spot is taken by a bot until a new player joins the match. That new player can join while the match is in progress.
  • If you join a match in progress, you are assigned a team based on XP level and party size.
  • If you join a match in progress, you replace a bot at the earliest opportunity: at the first bot’s death for respawning game types (for example, Annex) and at round completion for Warzone, Execution, and Wingman.
  • Social leaderboards become part of the War Journal.
• Renames Public Matches to Ranked Xbox LIVE Matches to differentiate these from Social Xbox LIVE Matches, and adds some improvements to these matches.
  • Improved host selection using bandwidth testing and previous hosting data has been added.
  • Before the match begins, teams are balanced based on XP without splitting parties.
• Renames Private Matches to Custom Xbox LIVE Matches and makes these matches invite-only.
• Adds the ability to join Horde sessions that are in progress.
  • In Social Horde, you can join a session in progress through matchmaking.
  • In Ranked Horde, you can join a session in progress only through invites.
  • If you join a session in progress, at the end of the session you receive the score you achieved during the time you spent in the session.
• Improves the precision of weapon selection using the D-pad.
• Improves client-side hit detection for ballistic weapons.

Exploit Fixes

Title Update 6 fixes these possible exploits, where under certain circumstances:

• Execution rules could be ignored when using certain weapon types.
• On the Subway map, you could get outside of the playable environment by sliding into cover and rolling between a train car and the side of tracks.
• On the Blood Drive map, you could get outside of the playable environment in various locations.
• Players could grief other players on Submission, Annex, King of the Hill, and Guardian games by preventing the objective from being completed while racking up points. Title Update 6 adds match time limits to each of these game types to prevent this practice.

General Fixes

Title Update 6 fixes these other issues as well:

• An issue that could cause your profile to be overwritten, erasing XP, level, and achievement progress.
• An issue that could cause a campaign save slot to be overwritten if you previously chose to continue without saving and then signed in.

Balancing

Title Update 6 makes these balancing changes:

• Changes the Gnasher Shotgun pellet pattern to increase hit consistency.
• Changes the Guardian game type to select the leader based upon XP level (highest to lowest).

I’d owned my Xbox for well over a year before I understood the appeal of achievements and it wasn’t long before all the games I’d already completed were dusted off and replayed religiously to boost my gamerscore. Now, I’m a shell of a man – replaying the same section of game over and over until that familiar chime and the little achievement icon pops onto my screen.

Many balked at the very idea of this kind of points system when it was first unveiled by Microsoft but its appeal proved so great that Sony soon introduced its own “trophy” scheme for the PS3. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, eh?

Like millions of others out there, I no longer place my games back on the shelf when they’re completed; they remain in my console until I’ve eeked out a few more points. It may be slightly sad but it represents fantastic value for money – and I must admit that it has helped me enjoy my gaming more.

I don’t just play to see those end credits drift down my screen anymore, I play to find my 500th agility orb in Crackdown, my 50th gargoyle in Fable II or complete a ridiculously long wheelie in GTA IV. I now don’t rush through a game but inspect every square inch of my 3D environment, checking every nook and crannie for a collectable. As a result, I no longer overlook half the game; I get to see everything the designers lovingly created.

Achievements have added an entirely new dimension to gaming and it certainly appears to have mass appeal. There are plenty of websites out there that host tips and guides to help you top up your points, or encourage likeminded gamers to get together and boost their scores.

According to an interview with the Official Xbox Magazine a few months back, easy achievements can  increase a big game’s sales by up to 40,000.

However, it is important that developers get the balance right – make a game ludicrously tough or too simple and it might deter potential buyers. No doubt you’ve glanced at your friends’ scores in the past and ridiculed them for playing dismal titles just for the sake of a few points? Come on, you know who you are… you’ve got Avatar on your roll of honour (requiring you to just hit a button a few times), or King Kong and Terminator: Salvation (play through the game for guaranteed 1,000G), haven’t you?

On the other hand, someone who has attained the Seriously 2.0 achievement in Gears of Wars 2 for 100,000 kills demands your utmost respect.

It appears, however, that some of us are a little more committed than others…

Pity/admire Stallion83, for example, who currently has a whopping 408,000 gamerscore (I wonder how many RRODs he went through to get this?!) and is on course to reach his ambitious target of one million points. More to the point, by the end of May he wants to have reached the half way mark! Writing on his blog a few days ago, he calculated that to meet this challenge of 100,000G in 159 days, he’d need to gain about 5,000 each week!

I’ll be revisiting his blog in the coming months to see how he gets on – and am wondering just how he has so much time on his hands. As far as the majority of achievements go, they are by no means easy to obtain and are often pretty monotonous. Good luck to him.

In comparison with some of these die-hard gamers out there with scores reaching into the tens or hundred of thousands, I’ve accumulated a rather lowly figure to date – around 15,000 by last count. But I’m determined to get more! And what’s more, I’m enjoying it immensely.

Even for the doubters out there who despise all things achievement related, it’s great to get a metaphoric pat on the head for doing well and accomplishing a feat that few others have, be it completing Mile High Club in Call of Duty 4 on Veteran difficulty or getting a 40-strong combo in Batman Arkham Asylum.

Whoever came up with the idea deserves a slap on the back and a hefty bonus.

Making me play a mediocre game over and over again? Now, that’s an achievement in itself!

What achievements do you feel most proud of and which are the easy ones you wish you could wipe from your gaming history?

Some other changes include Public Horde mode being changed to the default difficulty of Hardcore.  After many people complaining about not being able to pick the exact game type they want to play, playlists can include individual game types which will specifically let you pick the exact mode you wish to play.  Title update 5 is also now live.

“..We thought, what if any of the many Boomers could attack on any wave and when possible, a full Boomer squad consisting of Grinders, Butchers, Flame Boomers and regular Boomshot Boomers could appear and attack all at once. And of course waves 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 would be nothing but wave after wave of Boomers. Sounds scary and fun to me!

For those of you scoring from home, you may notice that I didn’t mention the Maulers (aka the Boomers with exploding flail and shield). That’s because for this event we’re pulling them out. We figured what is the fun of having a massive Boomer onslaught when you can just plant a shield to block them off. So unless the shield is part of the map, you’re on your own!”

The event is also celebrating the fifth title update for Gears of War 2 that will go live on October 26th.  Check out the details on what will change for the update here.

And Gears of War 2 is an Xbox 360 exclusive, and now with about a year after its release, could it come out on PC?

Beantown Games put up the PC version of the game for Pre-Order, the website shows us a release date of the PC version being released on December 4th.

The response from Microsoft was: “No”.

But that doesn’t cancel the chances of this being real, we will keep you guys updated about this as soon as something comes up!

GEARS OF WAR 2: ALL FRONTS COLLECTION

The All Fronts Collection is a formidable mountain of Gears 2 content. Containing all of the Gears 2 map packs released to date?the Flashback Map Pack, Combustible Map Pack, and Snowblind Map Pack?All Fronts features the debut of Gears of War 2: Dark Corners, a collection of seven multiplayer maps and a never-before-seen deleted campaign chapter titled ?Road to Ruin.? In this deleted scene, Marcus and Dom return to the Locust Hollow in an action-packed encounter that can be played guns blazing or silent and stealthy.

A few quick notes on the seven new multiplayer maps in the Dark Corners pack:

Allfathers Garden: Don?t get caught up in the beauty?the sacred grounds of the Coalition founders can be a tremendously deadly place. Powerful weapons catalyze fast and furious action at this COG landmark.

Memorial: It?s all about the heavy weaponry in Memorial, set near the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Take a moment to remember your fallen comrades before using your flanking and evasive skills to take control of the Boomshot and the battle.

Sanctuary: Tight paths, blind corners, and an arsenal of weapons?the Locust-ravaged temple in Sanctuary is no longer the haven of reflection and remembrance it once was.

War Machine: In this abandoned train station, players need to master the Longshot, Mulcher, and Boomshot to advance the fight while evading fire from the platforms above.

Highway: Take the fight deep into the Locust Hollow in the complex passages of this underground highway system. Stick together, separate the enemy, and have an exit strategy ready, or it?ll be a one-way trip.

Way Station: In the limbo between death and ?processing,? you’ll find Locust way stations like this one, filled with COG soldiers. Tread lightly and practice patience?it?s best to sacrifice firepower for stealth while navigating this minefield of hidden grenades.

Nowhere: Set in the middle of the desert, Nowhere is exactly how it sounds: barren and devoid of life. The open air and long lines of sight prove useful for Longshot devotees, but expect some fierce, close combat in the stairwell.

Also included are an introduction to ?Road to Ruin? from Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski, a custom Xbox LIVE theme, and a collectible Gears of War 2 poster and strategy guide. An incredible package valued over 3,600 Microsoft Points, available at retailers on July 28 for just $19.99.

For those of you already rocking the previously released Gears 2 map packs, Gears of War 2: Dark Corners will also be available for individual purchase and download from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 1,600 Microsoft Points.

Gear of War