Carbon5ive has decided to open up recruitment for a competitive team in Gears of War 2. Carbon5ive is a new team that is determined to make a name for itself in the competitive console game industry. With plans to participate in the major online leagues and ladders, we are searching for top quality players to fill out our roster. What do we mean by 'top quality'? Simple, just visit our 'About Us' page here: http://www.carbon5ive.com/impressum/index.php and see what we believe in. If you think you meet those qualifications, then send Crossphyre an email or post in our forums.

August 22, 2008 - At the beginning of Games Convention IGN reported that the 360 controller has received a subtle redesign. The internal hardware of the d-pad has been reworked to provide for more accurate and responsive controls. 

IGN spoke with Product Manager Michael Nagler here at the convention to find out a few more details. He mentioned that the controller will be available in the middle of October in Germany in time for Pro Evolution 2009. GC attendees could get their hands on both unreleased products at the Konami booth on the show floor. The redone design will only be available in the green color shown below; the other colors are the old-school spongy models. The improved d-pad will probably be rolled out to all future controller designs but we have yet to get any definite details on the either this or the US release.

Having felt the eight-way input that takes the place of the old four way design IGN can safely say that the new hardware is an improvement. Check out the image below but don't be surprised if you can't find any visual differences between the two models.

Epic games pulled off an amazing feat with the first Gears of War. They created a brand new intellectual property (or “IP” as we call it in the biz) that instantly rocketed to AAA, system-selling exclusive title status – a brand new universe ready to be exploited with merchandise and of course a sequel.

But really, Gears of War found success to the tune of 4.7 million copies sold by matching the best looking graphics at the time with a new and inventive type of shooter gameplay. A type of gameplay copied so relentlessly that it’s almost impossible to describe a shooter that utilizes a cover system that shows the character in third person crouching behind a log or blind-firing around a corner without invoking the name of Epic’s game. So how do you make a sequel that actually builds upon a game that was such a revolutionary one to begin with?

Thank goodness Epic Games and Lead Designer Cliff Bleszinski aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel this time around. Or at least they don’t appear to be. But maybe when you add up all the small (and big) improvements that are being put into both the single and multi player, maybe the end result will turn out to be just that: reinvented wheel.

Last year's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was more than just a great game. It took a series that made a name for itself under the rich tapestry of World War II and pushed it some 60 years into the future. The end result was a game that used the latest advances in weaponry, in a setting influenced by some of today's most tense conflicts, to produce an experience both stirring and refreshing. Since then, the big question on everyone's mind has been this: What will they do with the fifth Call of Duty?

The answer, we know now, is a return to World War II. But rather than a step backward, Call of Duty: World at War is shaping up to be a unique take on this familiar timeline. With part of the campaign set in the often-overlooked Pacific theatre and plenty of inspiration drawn from Modern Warfare--both technical and creative--developer Treyarch is aiming to prove there's still life left in the World War II shooter.

The search for a distinct and feature rich web presence may have come to an end. The staff of Carbon5ive had to internet travel to western Europe to find a complete content management system and clean webdesign. Be sure to leave comments on the site and let us know what you think. This may or may not be the final version of the Carbon5ive website. Stay tuned.