Every year the top minds in gaming get together in San Francisco for the Game Developers' Conference. GDC is an eclectic blend of lectures on topics like the storytelling in Bioshock, the programming in Halo 3, and even a panel about the state of video game journalism. While these discussions are interesting, this year one game designer and his trusty chainsaw stole the show. Yes, Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games was on hand to unveil one of the worst-kept secrets in recent memory: Gears of War 2, which is coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 this November.

This month, Nintendo releases Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii.

At GDC, CliffyB finally unveiled Gears of War 2, due this November.

Peter Molyneux's RPG Fable 2 is due out by the end of 2008.

What can we expect from Gears 2? The initial teaser trailer shown during Microsoft's keynote presentation was heavy on style and light on substance. You hear Marcus Fenix growl about war and then see a shot of him facing off against a Locust in a chainsaw duel. Cliff's comments didn't give away any more details besides promising that Gears 2 will be even more kick-butt than the first one. Still, I can give you a bit of inside scoop: During another part of the keynote presentation, Epic President Tim Sweeney demonstrated the latest advances in the Unreal Engine including destructible surfaces (imagine blowing a hole in the floor and jumping through it) and placing hundreds of enemies on a map as opposed to just a dozen in Gears. While these features haven't been directly confirmed for Gears 2, it's a safe bet we will see them in the game. Look for more details to be revealed later this spring.

Gears 2 was the highlight of the Microsoft briefing but two other games were also on display. Tomonobu Itagaki from Team Ninja showed up to demonstrate a new level from the action-slasher Ninja Gaiden II, which now has a firm release date of June 3, 2008. He also announced that players will be able to create Halo 3-style "saved films" and upload them online for friends to view. Peter Molyneux also appeared to demonstrate the latest version of Fable 2 and reveal the offline co-op mode. (Molyneux isn't ready to talk about online, but I hear there will be an MMO-like online mode where you'll be able to persist in a friend's game). Molyneux also took the wraps off another interesting feature: A few weeks before the game comes out, Microsoft will release an Xbox Live Arcade casino game. The twist is that the dollars you earn from the game can be transferred into the Fable world to purchase upgrades and equipment. Molyneux wouldn't divulge a specific release date for Fable 2 at GDC, but he promises the game will be out by the end of the year.

After the Microsoft keynote I rushed off to a lunch and interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. While Reggie didn't give a public talk at GDC, in private he was more than happy to discuss Nintendo's continued success. He told me that Wii is likely to overtake the cumulative number one sales position from the Xbox 360 by the end of June in the United States. And there's a good reason why: Wii has an extraordinary software lineup for the first half of the year. This month's Super Smash Bros. Brawl is easily one of the most anticipated game of the year so far. It will soon be followed by Mario Kart Wii (no final release date yet) and the exercise game Wii Fit on May 19. Gamers might think that Nintendo is starting to abandon the hardcore audience in favor of the mainstream, but Smash Bros. and Mario Kart prove that long-time Nintendo fans will have plenty to keep them busy.

But what about Sony? With Blu-Ray winning the hi-def format war and the PS3 outselling the Xbox 360 in January, PlayStation finally has some good news on its side. Still, the company was relatively quiet at GDC and chose not to demonstrate key 2008 PS3 exclusives like LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Resistance 2, or Metal Gear Solid 4 (and let's not forget about Grand Theft Auto IV, due in late April for both the PS3 and Xbox 360).

While Sony is keeping those games under wraps, there is one PlayStation title you don't want to miss this month. On the flight back from GDC I had a chance to play God of War: Chains of Olympus on my PSP and I was blown away. If you're a fan of the previous two God of War games you will be equally impressed by this game's sense of scope and fast-paced action. This isn't God of War-lite, but instead a God of War adventure that plays just as smoothly as those on the PS2. While the PSP has been severely lacking in good software for a while, God of War is the killer app the system has needed.

That's it for this month, but next month I'll be back with my report on what may be the most anticipated game of the year: Grand Theft Auto IV, due out on April 29.