Review: Gears Of War 2

We take a look into to Cliffy B's latest installment of Gears of War 2. Is this best seller worth the record breaking sales numbers? Read on.

Epic Games set the PC standard for shooters with Unreal Tournament. Not content to rest on their laurels, in November 2006, Epic Games unleashed Gears of War. Gears of War brought a revolution to console shooters with its unique cover system, intense action, and over-the-top violence. Despite Gears’ numerous awards, no game is perfect. While the campaign won over many with drop-in, drop-out cooperative mode, the multiplayer mode was riddled with glitches. Despite the flaws, many at 2old2play, looked past the problems and enjoyed multiplayer for a special experience you couldn’t get in any other shooter. A dedicated gaming community rivaling those of Halo and COD has flourished here (and elsewhere) since.

Two years after Emergence Day, fans are thrilled to dive into the second chapter of the Gears of War saga that evolved from Epic’s experience in the first. Cliff Bleszinzki, announced the coming of the sequel, with claims it would be “bigger, better and more bad ass.” After two straight days of play days straight, I say that Cliff and Epic delivered.

Graphics

GOW 2 blows the lid off of the Xbox 360. Since 2006, the original Gears of War was the showpiece I would fire up to show off the 360’s capabilities to my friends. I didn’t think it could get better. I was wrong.

The vast improvements to the Unreal 3 engine are evident in GOW 2. Everything looks cleaner and more defined. The theme of “destroyed beauty” is still alive with the addition of color. Gray hues have been replaced with sunsets, autumn reds, browns and oranges. Walls and cover can be damaged, giblets are gorier, and gun barrels become smoking red hot and with each shot. It’s a beautiful game. Do yourself a favor and take time to savor the new detailed environments and combat effects.

Epic Games will likely win more awards for the visuals in this game. While occasionally there is a minor texture pop-in, it’s rare, and it doesn’t detract from the experience. GOW 2 is the new standard for Xbox 360 visuals.

Gameplay

The unwieldy, patched cover system of before is no more. GOW 2 unveils a reworked cover system that is more solid than its predecessor. The game responds intuitively with smoother movements that require less effort. Gone are the days of having to mash the A button 3 times to get into cover. It actually took some getting used to. I found myself falling into old habits and accidentally lunging into cover by mistake while getting accustomed to the improved system.

Several new gameplay mechanics have been introduced that change how you must play. The new concept of “stopping power” for each weapon makes Run ‘n gun a considerably more dangerous tactic. Keeping under cover, evading fire and team tactics are more important than ever. Only rarely did I find myself in a one-on-one shotgun battle.

Grenades can now be stuck to walls and floors to be used as proximity mines. This is effective technique adds a fresh layer of strategy to the game. Also, each weapon now has new and interesting executions finish off opponents. The sniper rifle is flipped over and used to crush the downed opponent’s spine. You can flip a Locust and use their face as a punching bag (very satisfying). You can also pick up a downed opponent and use him as portable cover, albeit temporary as the body degrades. This can turn the tide of battle if used properly.

With the type of support Epic gave the original I can easily see myself playing this game for at least another 2 years. Fortunately, the glitches and frustration have yet to be discovered and I hope it stays that way.

Story

GOW 2 improves the franchises storytelling one-hundred fold. The new chapter plays out like a summer blockbuster with more heart. It’s dark and ends abruptly leaving you wanting more. Questions are answered and new questions arise opening for an inevitable third installment. Even though you are playing as Marcus Fenix, the story focuses on his best friend Dominic Santiago searching for his wife Maria. This storyline was hinted at during the Kryll levels in the original, but it was never explained until now. Don’t worry the testosterone-driven action sequences that drove Gears’ original campaign are alive and accounted for. This time though you can play through the entire campaign with a friend over Xbox Live. You will not leave this campaign unsatisfied.

The scale of the story is, like the studio, epic. You will travel over and through grand mountain trails, snow covered forests, frozen lakes, the deepest reaches of the Locust stronghold, and back to the surface again. There’s a lot to do, see, and experience. You will fly, you will drive, and you will run. Oh yeah...as promised, the boss fights are bigger, better and more bad ass.

I also must mention the voice work. Returning squad mate Cole Train has his odd/cheesy moments… but that’s why we all love the Cole Train. Of particular note was the performance of Carlos Ferro as Dom Santiago. The superior effort of the whole cast will leave you more connected to the characters and more immersed in this experience as you follow the Delta Squad through their mission.

Achievements

Unlike the original, the majority of achievements can be attained by going through the campaign. There are 3 achievements tied to public matches, but the improved party system makes them attainable. The achievements aren’t near as outlandish compared to the first game. You won’t be killing 100 people with each, or hosting 10 matches - nothing like that. Even better the War Journal on the main menu lets you check your progress on all of the achievements and view what collectible items you’ve found in the campaign. In-game pop ups also help you track progress (for example, you’ve completed 8 of 11 executions).

Multiplayer

From my hours in multiplayer, I am impressed that the majority of issues from the first game have been fixed. Overall gameplay has been improved substantially and several new gametypes have been added. The run ‘n gun, and shotgun rolling that dominated multiplayer in the first game have been laid to rest. Those that can’t adjust find themselves in the dead room quickly.

The new Halo-esque lobby system is also a welcome addition. It allows a team of friends to pick public or private matches at will, swap gametypes, choose maps and add bots, all from the same lobby. No more restarting a room to change a map rotation. Unfortunately, Gears of War 2 does not allow the host to appoint a new host like Halo’s lobby system.

Bots are a new addition for the room left unfilled. Most of the time they do their job almost too well. You can set the bot’s skill from casual to insane to match your party (God help you if you are fighting Insane bots). They are mean and very intelligent. I’m almost embarrassed to say that I lost more than a few rounds to the bots. They make for good practice if you want to practice multiplayer tactics.

New camera features also let you entertain yourself, if you spend a lot of time in the dead room. You can zoom around the map with a ghost cam, follow your team members or watch from an almost top-down view. You can take photos of the action and upload them to gearsofwar.com for extra points. Then you can log in to their site, view the photos online, save them to your computer, or view them in your War Journal.

Multiplayer Gametypes

Gears of War 2 brings back all the familiar gametypes and then some:

Warzone - Standard Gears of War 2 deathmatch. Two teams of 5 are on a mission to wipe each other out. You must be revived by a team mate if you are down but not out. With the new crawl mechanic, you have a higher chance of survival if you can make it back into cover and out of firing range. Players do not respawn. The last team standing wins.

Execution - Like Warzone, the object is to eliminate the opposing team. The difference is you can recover yourself if you’ve been dropped by an opponent. Kills are made by fatal power weapons shots (sniper headshot, boomshot) or an up-close execution move such as a chainsaw or curb stomp. Players do not respawn, and last team standing wins.

Submission - Once called “Meatflag,” the object of this gametype is to down and collect the stranded character that is running around the map. Once downed, the player has to pick him up and carry him to a random control point to score. Players can respawn, and the meatflag is armed and can kill players from either team indiscriminately.

Annex – A respawn mode returning from the previous Gears, Annex involves 2 teams fighting for control of randomly swapping control rings in order to add points to their teams score. Each control ring only has so many points to collect and once those points are gone, the control ring will move to another location on the map.

King of the Hill - Like Annex, there is a control ring to be fought over, except there is only one and you are holding the ring for more time, not points. There are no respawns for the team that is defending the Hill. And the Hill moves randomly each round.

Guardian - A modified version of the Assassination gametype from Gears 1. Except now both teams can respawn as long as their leader is alive. Once their leader is dead, that team can no longer respawn. Last team standing wins.

Wingman - There are five teams of 2 who are fighting it out for supremacy. Each team is made up of the same 2 characters - Dom & Dom versus Marcus & Marcus, etc. The objective is to be the last team standing. There are no respawns.

And last, but certainly not least…

Horde - The objective of this gametype is for a team of 5 players to survive waves of Locust enemies. As each wave of enemies is defeated, another wave with increasingly difficult enemies comes through. After each 10 of the 50 waves passes, the enemies become stronger and more accurate with their firepower. The gametype can be played on any multiplayer map. All dead players respawn at the beginning of the next wave. And if the entire team fails a wave, you can start back from the failed level.

Final Thoughts

I’ve been a fan of the Gears franchise since the first game was announced in 2005. However, considering the problems that Gears 1 had, I was afraid Epic may have gotten swollen heads from their success. All of those worries were thankfully laid to rest after two days with GOW 2. The Epic crew has created a game that has a great story that you can play with a friend, a more solid multiplayer experience, and features that will increase the game’s longevity. Gears of War 2 raises the bar for the shooter genre yet again and delivers on all of its promises to be bigger, better and more bad ass in every way. It is a must buy title for any Xbox 360 owner.

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