E3 2008: Gears 2 dated, RE5 slated, Fable 2 'finished'

Buried in the avalanche of news coming out of today's Microsoft E3 press conference was word that three top-tier titles have been dated. First on the list was Gears of War 2, the sequel to Epic Games' wildly popular third-person sci-fi shooter. Although it was revealed as coming in November at the 2008 Game Developers Conference in March, the game now has a firm release date--November 7, 2008.

Microsoft's conference was also where Capcom revealed that Resident Evil 5 would have a "simultaneous worldwide release" on the 360 and PlayStation 3. Appropriately, the next installment in the horror-survival series, which has drawn fire for its racially charged depiction of African zombies, will arrive Friday, March 13, 2009. Besides the usual action, the game will feature an online co-operative mode, a first for the series.

Last but certainly not least, Lionhead Studios used its corporate parents' event to reveal the latest on its Xbox 360 exclusive Fable 2. While on stage showing off the role-playing game, studio founder Peter Molyneux flatly proclaimed that work on the game was "finished," and that it would ship in October. Previously the title, which is the first to have crossover play with Xbox Live Arcade games, had a mere "fall" release window.