Pros: The level of violence is astounding. Large scale warfare in a widening conflict.
Cons: I perfer FPS gameplay. Microsoft mappack tactics.
The Bottom Line: With Ultra-violent gore and a solid singleplayer/multiplayer experience, Gears of War 2 chainsaws this Christmas' competition in half.
The original Gears of War was a “technology demonstrator”. Running off a form of the UNREAL game engine, it provided remarkable visuals with a coherent visual theme of gothic monuments that have been utterly destroyed by the years of warfare against the alien race. But, where the game shined was in becoming a perfect icon of the XBOX360 and becoming an excellent stand-alone franchise for Microsoft Studios who had also been seeing success with their gem, HALO.
I personally loved the original Gears of War’s singleplayer gameplay because of the fantastic visuals, the artistic expression present in the gory battles of warfare and the over-the-top violence which adds to its aggressive atmosphere.
The original game which I reviewed on Epinions, was about an epic battle between Human settlers on a planet known as Sera, against a race of monsters known as the Locust Horde who seek to destroy all of humanity using a network of underground tunnels and guerrilla warfare tactics beneath their cities. In the mix, was a resource battle for “Immulsion” which was a liquid that gave energy benefits similar to modern day oil. One might say, that the war between Humans and Locust, is a caricature of the war between America and the Middle East.
In the game’s ending, Humanity detonated a nuclear weapon underground hoping to kill the Locust. Unfortunately, what was expected to be a victory has only become a new problem. In Gears of War 2, the Locust are stronger than ever and have the ability to sink entire cities. Humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction on Sera and the G.E.A.R.S – a military alliance of 30-inch necked, steroid abusers with huge battlesuits and no helmets are humanity’s last hope. They must take the battle underground directly to Locust central and kill their leader, Queen Myrrah
The multiplayer of the previous game was probably my least favorite part of GOW. The game was very hardcore and very difficult. Master players were difficult/impossible to kill, unlike a more fair game like Call of Duty 4, where bullets quickly cut enemies down -regardless how good they are - when the enemy is caught by surprise. At the time, I quickly gravitated from GOW towards Rainbow 6 Vegas, which featured gameplay I was more used to – being a First Person Shooter Veteran.
IMPROVEMENTS
Gears of War 2 carries the same visual style of the original, but, now, rather than feature lots of gothic architecture , GOW2 feels a lot more organic as most of the fighting has been moved to outdoor areas with mountains and hills, or the huge underground caverns of Locust central.
The singleplayer gameplay’s major improvement has to do with the cover system I spoke about in my previous review. In the last game, covering was a little problematic because it was possible to crouch against a wall but be completely open to enemy fire and get cut to pieces by bullets. The cover system no longer sticks as much to walls and is easier to break away from than the previous game. I would have preferred GOW have Rainbow 6 Vegas’ cover system where holding the {LB} button was used instead of simply pressing the {A} button and letting go, but, GOW2’s system works well enough not to give hardcore players a problem.
I usually hate games that make use of grenades constantly, but Gears of War incorporates a grenade targeting system that forces you to throw them in a parabolic trajectory that you must first aim. This isn’t so bad because it forces people to risk being shot trying to throw them rather than just mindlessly throwing grenades at everything ala HALO 3 (a game I simply hate and haven’t touched since CoD4 was released). In GOW2, there are new Grenades. Firstly, the new grenade type releases a poisonous gas cloud and secondly grenades may be hooked to walls and used as proximity mines (great for multiplayer – similar to claymores). Grenades, as in the original, may also be stuck into enemies and detonated to gory effect.
The new weapon worth mentioning is the flamethrower. Call of Duty World at War and Far Cry 2 get one so why not GOW? The flamethrower is a short range weapon that…well…uh…throws flames… and it sets enemies on fire for those of us who find burning enemies to death to be funny. Also worth mentioning is the mortar – which fires a barrage of explosives at enemies hiding behind cover, and a portable gattling gun. Both weapons prevent you from doing a roadie run, but they make up for that by tearing the skin of the enemy from its bones quickly and efficiently. Basically, the heavy weapons are the same as they were in Halo3.
In Gears2, the war has widened and the scale of battle far surpasses everything else the XBOX360 has offered to this point. Many battles occur on military platforms or in the presense of supporting gunships against large enemies - such as the T-rex sized " Brumak".
Even though the gunplay and melee attacks are repeticious, the game's visuals never cease to provide entertainment and the over the top violence keeps the gameplay moving. There are plenty of "WOW" moments and by the end of the game, numerous questions are raised - especially concerning the Locust and their origins. There is even melodrama on the human level when Dom finally discovers the fate of his missing Wife Maria.
MULTIPLAYER
GoW2’s multiplayer is bigger and better than the original’s which was mostly simply Team Deathmatch. Now, the player number is up from 8players to 10. As with the singleplayer mode, rather than simply killing opponents, you can use them as “meat shields” (human shields) and after you’re done with them you can snap their necks. You can “curb stomb” their heads into blood and brain, or you can beat their faces in swinging with vicious left hooks and vicious rights until their skulls cave in. That is, if Chainsawing them in half just isn’t enough for you.
If you and another attempt to chainsaw each other simultaneously, you’ll be placed in a chainsaw duel where you must frantically button mash in order to win. If you win you cut the other guy like cabbage. If you lose – you’re cut in half in humiliation.
This time around, the star of the show is the “HORDE” mode. Here, you will coop with a team of Xbox Livers and you will attempt to hold down an area while being attacked by a seemingly infinite number of Locust members that can tunnel into the area from any direction and attack. You kill them all, replenish ammo and then get hit with another wave. As long as at least one person is alive, the game keeps going. Problem is, with every 5 waves, the difficulty is ramped up. Suddenly, you go from “this is easy” to “we are getting our asses kicked!” It’s a simplistic formula but it works VERY well. Especially since the game only requires you to stay alive to regenerate health.
The other standout mode is SUBMISSION, which is a variation of capture the flag. In this game, you carry the flag, but, the flag is a person! You drag them around as a meat shield trying to get them to the goal. This hostage also happens to carry a gun and shoots at all who attempt to come near you. Its over the top, and its crazy fun.
The other mode worth mention is GUARDIAN. In Guardian, you basically are playing “Protect the VIP”. Your team leader must stay alive to allow downed players to respawn. If your team leader dies, you may not respawn and the game will end once your team is dead.
Gears of War 2, is still hardcore gameplay and its still quite entertaining. I am waiting to see which game succeeds at being the best Christmas game – CoD:WaW or GOW2, but for now, GoW2 looks to be a solid experience for the next year or so until the next sequel is released.
OVERALL. If you didn't like the first game's Single or Multi player modes, you probably won't like GOW2. If you did enjoy the first, then you WILL love the second. My dissapointment is that GOW2 doesn't allow you to use a First Person Shooter perspective that switches to 3rd when you use the cover feature (ala Raindow 6 Vegas). Playing in the 3rd person mode takes me out of the gameplay and only feels good to me for fighting games like Assassin's Creed or Ninja Gaiden.
This is, however, a solid game and a worthwhile XBOX 360 collectable.
However, if you do buy this game, be sure to buy it brand new. Microsoft has decided to launch a blitz against game resellers by making a special mappack that can only be purchased if you buy this game new. Apparently, they don't like the fact that many gamers buy the game, play it, trade it in for as much of their money back as possible, and then Gamestop resells the game at a profit! The game disk therefore comes with a subscription card that you must redeem in XBOX Live to download the mappack (5 original maps of the first game, updated with new textures). If you buy the game used, just be sure you have the card, or else you'll be missing out on the map playlists.
A WORD TO PARENTS
Gears of War 2 is absolutely the most violent video game I’ve ever played. Shooting enemies to death is accompanied by gruesome blood and entrails effects – shards of brain matter and bone. The aforementioned chainsaw attacks are over-the-top and comedic but still, you are literally chainsawing enemies in half with sprays of blood and gore.
If that’s not enough, because of the hardcore gameplay nature and the emotional impact of this level of violence, players who are online with microphones – be they in Canada, the UK or America – tend to be very aggressive and verbally combative, using racial slurs, epithets and profanity excessively. Young pre-teen kids for instance can be heard cursing mothers, shouting angrily and using bigoted comments. This is not a friendly environment at all.
My aunt won’t buy her sons ultra-violent M-rated games. She bought them Halo 3, but that game was not profane or gory. Gears of War provides amputations and vivisections.
If you’re a parent not OK with this content for your child, be warned.
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