Back in April, we reported the rumors that Gears of War 2 would make an appearance at Comic-Con 2008. Today, Microsoft confirmed as much with a press release.

Gamers can enlist to join Delta Squad from the Xbox 360 exclusive game “Gears of War 2” at Comic-Con International 2008 (July 24-27), the largest comic book and pop culture gathering of its kind. Xbox 360 is bringing this blockbuster sequel to the original five-million-selling action game to San Diego, along with renowned design director, Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games. Comic-Con attendees may also walk away with one of two limited edition Xbox 360 consoles – featuring custom artwork by Brandon Badeaux from the upcoming “Gears of War” comic book – in exclusive giveaways being hosted in both the Xbox 360 (#5225) and DC Comics (#1915) booths.

Earlier today, at Microsoft's GameFest 2008, they announced that Games for Widows Live - Gold features would now be provided for free in every game that differentiates them. This comes after months of trying to squeeze people for features they already got for free in every other PC game they owned.

At the Gamefest 2008 event on Tuesday, Microsoft announced that all Games for Windows Live multiplayer features are now free. These features -- including multiplayer achievements, matchmaking, cross-platform play with the Xbox 360, GFW voice chat, and more -- previously required a GFW Live Gold account. The change is effective immediately and across all GFW titles, both past and future.

Also at the event, it was revealed that a Games for Windows Marketplace, similar to the Xbox Live Marketplace would launch this fall. It is unknown at this time what types of titles will be purchasable. It is expected that it will offer videos, demos, downloadable content, and more.

This is great news for those of you on the fence about Gears of War PC, as now all the nice and convenient features that were left out are now available for anyone's use (such as inviting friends directly into your campaign with you). Nice play, Microsoft!

Gamasutra has an interesting article on game design titled When Should Games Say Goodbye?. The author highlights the story-pacing positives - or gaffes - of several recent games such as BioShock and Mass Effect.

Why is it good or bad for players to understand the expected length of the story? What can happen if you don't anticipate the related player psychology?

I'm not sure many developers are aware that this can be a problem; like how Ken Levine has said he didn't anticipate the ugly comedown from the stratospheric highs of BioShock's Andrew Ryan scene.

Wod Mod Pod spotlights the MSUC weapon entry from Kangus - the SNOT Launcher! The Sentient Nefarious Organic Tarydium gun does just what the name implies... it shoots snot-like goo that will hop around and actively seek out your opponent!

There's also news of a mutator pack that turns UT3's double-jump into a single-jump and also causes players to ragdoll instead of taking fall damage. Sounds funny!

SkinCity has a number of recent updates, including a new Model of the Moment called Desert Falcon Unit (UT3).

Also of note is a new UT3 Skinning Tutorial by Slaughter.

ShackNews offers a pretty informative preview of EA DICE's UE3 powered title, Mirror's Edge. Here they talk about the pathways through the level and how the developers are trying to reduce the motion sickness sensation experienced by some players.

As the game's sprawling levels provide many opportunities, the most obvious choices are painted red, a device developer EA DICE refers to as Runner Vision.

However, a company representative was quick to point out that Runner Vision only provides a general guide to the objective, and not the most efficient path. It can also be entirely disabled, if desired.

Other tidbits revealed by the representative included the fact that EA DICE is performing many tests to help reduce simulation sickness in players. This led to an optional focal point at the center of the screen, which offers a stable point of reference

While not directly related to the Unreal Engine, there's no arguing that UEd is one of the most easy to use, powerful, and flexible editors available to those wishing to create custom content for their game. By decree of the EULA, custom content created with UT3's UnrealEd, for instance, cannot be sold. And that's pretty standard across the board. Until now...

Media Molecule's upcoming PS3 title LittleBigPlanet will feature the ability to sell some custom content. Says SCEE President, David Reeves:

"What we're trying to do with LittleBigPlanet is almost iTunes meets eBay in the sense that once an individual or a developer has qualified by producing certain levels or certain add-ons, they will then be able in the future to exchange these and make money out of them," [adding that it] may well result in "the first LittleBigPlanet millionaire."

Could this model be the future of custom content?

Epic Games announces that Del Ray will be publishing three Gears of War novels, the first of which will be Gears of War: the Battle of Aspho Fields and it will go on sale October 28, 2008. The press release has all of the details.

“After finishing the first Gears of War game, players were left wanting to know more about Delta Squad and the events leading up to Emergence Day,” said Epic Games’ president Michael Capps. “This trilogy of novels opens up whole new worlds of storytelling opportunities, and will add even more context to the upcoming comic book series, game sequel and motion picture. We loved Karen Traviss’ work on the Republic Commando series, and we can’t wait to get her Gears book to our fans.”

“Playing Gears of War is a kick-ass experience,” said Del Rey editor Keith Clayton, “And the Gears of War books should remain true to the spirit of the game. I’m happy to announce that the marriage of Karen Traviss and chainsaw bayonets is a match made in heaven—or hell, if you happen to be a Locust drone.”