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| Gears of War 2 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 4 2008, 06:59 PM (439 Views) | |
| LK | Dec 4 2008, 06:59 PM Post #1 |
iminspace
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Gears of War 2 Developer: Epic Games Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Release Date: November 7th, 2008 Genre: Third Person Shooter Platform: Xbox 360 Rating: M - Mature The first Gears of War for the Xbox 360 was a landmark in video games. Though some people might disagree, but Gears of War’s graphics were some of the best ever, period. Not only did the game look absolutely stunning, but it also played great as well. Epic announced Gears of War 2 for the 360 in early 2008, and ended up hitting store shelves on November 8th. Gears 2 is said to be Bigger, Better, and more Badass, and most is true. The game is larger in scope, more fun to play, and is definitely more badass. But even with all of the upsides of the game, it was still a bit more of a disappointment than I first hoped. One thing that will really surprise people is that the story actually makes a bit more sense in Gears of War 2, than the first which got confusing right off the bat. The Locust are now terrorizing the Sera, sinking entire cities as they please. You play as Marcus Phoenix, right after the events of the first Gears of War, and you’re joined by his partner Dom, who is looking for his wife. Gears of War 2 progresses like the first game with Acts split into smaller acts, some of which give you achievements after finishing them. The story is one major upside of Gears 2, it makes a lot more sense, has a driving force, and is overall a ton better than the first Gears. You could say that Gears 2 has more loose ends than the original did, but there’s always room for a sequel (there will no doubt be a sequel). Gears of War 2, like said to be, is a lot larger in scale. Some levels will have you ride a giant truck while shooting enemies with a gatling gun, and even battling other huge trucks taken over by Locust, while some have you riding a Brumak, and even cutting up arteries in a worms stomach. All of the campaign’s Acts are pretty fun, and overall quite satisfying to complete, but like the last Gears of War, there are parts of the campaign that you’ll absolutely hate. These parts include parts where you have to split up and take different paths, and vehicle riding parts. The areas where you split up (each will go in a different way on co-op) are a lot easier than the last game, but I noticed there was a little bit more this time to even the playing field. Instead of going through 3 really hard parts, you go through 6 mediocre parts. There’s also a driving part where one player drives, while the other one shoots. At least this time the vehicle doesn’t stop when you shoot (man, I hated that so much). But the vehicular section in Gears 2 is through ice and and snow, resulting in the tank being hard to control. Sure, this part isn’t nearly as long as other parts of the game, but it’s still annoying every time. The enemy variety was upped over the part game with new and more difficult enemies making their way into Gear of War 2. There’s now 5 different kinds of Boomers: normal Boomers that carry a grenade launcher, a Butcher that wields a giant knife, a Flame Boomer that wield Scorchers (flamethrower), Mauler’s that wield a giant shield and a mace that explodes when hit, and a Grinder that carries a Mulcher chain gun. With these come Tickers that are quick little enemies that explode beside you causing serious damage, but can easily be killed in one shot from afar. Then there’s Kantus that are like priests that can heal wounded allies, and also carry burst pistols and ink grenades. The Kantus can also dance around dodging bullets like its no one’s buisness, which can get really annoying. Overall though, I was quite disappointed in Gears of War 2’s campaign. I think it was because the game took way too long underground. You be in the caves underneath the ground quite a bit, more than half the game, near 3 quarters of it. Sure, some may not mind, but I’ve always hated, since the first Gears, fighting Locust underground. The campaign is also disjointed as well. Some may not noticed, but I had no idea when we were done an Act. The first Act has 3 or 4 different environments, so when you switch areas, you may not even be in the next Act, and is really confusing. At least the game still holds up in the fun factor of co-op. If you’ve played, online or off, the first Gear’s campaign, you’ll know that’s it’s easily one of the best co-op campaigns ever. Gears of War 2 has this exact same feel, and might feel better. There are the annoying parts where you have to split up, and other parts where you drive a vehicle, but the majority of the game’s co-op campaign is just as good as the first’s. Gears of War 2 lets each player play with their own difficulty setting, which is absolutely amazing. Some playing don’t want to play on an easier difficulty, while some other players may want to. Some might take advantage of this though, because one player could put it on Insane, then the other player could put it on casual, and the other player would get the achievement for beating the game on Insane. But what about the combat? Is it better? Well, mostly yes, it is. If you don’t know, Gears of War is controlled like a 3rd person shooter where you walk and run around without much aim, but if you hold in the Left Trigger, you can aim your gun. You had to take cover almost always, and if you didn’t, you would get murdered. Taking cover was, and still is, done with the A button while near something to take cover behind. It’s always fun aiming your shot in cover, then popping out and blasting a fool. Gears of War 2 plays exactly like the first, but with minor tweaks to the formula resulting in a better controlling game overall. Remember when you held A to run in the first game, you’d get stuck on cover a lot? Gears of War 2 fixes this problem like a charm, and is a lot easier to dodge cover while running. You can also pick up downed enemies and use them as meat shields, as well as use 9 different executions on them to kill them instantly. The weapon variety is also something I was quite pleased at in Gears of War 2. The main Lancer (assault rifle with a chainsaw attached to it) makes its return as well as the COG pistol and the Bultek magnum. But with these comes a magnitude of unique weapons like the Scorcher which is flamethrower that can reach long distances, and a Mortar that sends explosives high in the air and crashes down onto targets. There’s also a new shield called the Boom Shield and can be planted into the ground for portable cover. Ink Grenades have also been added that spew black ink that can eventually kill you over time, as well as the stun grenades can now knock you back instead of just blinding you. The grenades can now planted on walls for proximity mines, which ends up being ridiculously useful. The multiplayer of Gears of War was also tweaks to be much better than the first. There are tons of new modes like Horde, which pits you, and four other people against 50 waves of progressively difficult enemies to see how far you get until everyone dies on one wave. If one player survives one wave, but the other die, the dead players will be revived at the end of the way. This mode is a blast, matchmaking Horde online is just awesome, but the one thing it does waste is your time. I’ve only gotten through the first 35 waves, and it took around 2 hours, so it can be pretty time consuming. It’s also ridiculously hard, the last 3 or so waves of every 10 waves is just brutal. There will be tons and tons of Boomers, Flame Boomers, Grinders, and Maulers, all of which take a lot of bullets to defeat. But Horde isn’t the only cool mode put into Gears 2, Submission has you against other opponents where you have to try and take down a “Meat Flag” that is a human with a shotgun, and drag him to a certain destination. You can also play online games 5 on 5 instead of just 4 on 4 making the game a little more maddening. Gears of War 2 also puts you in matches with people of the same skill which has become a staple in games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. It works great, but I have faced a lot of dumb people, as well as been a part of them. The online portion has been significantly changed, but remains fun, no doubt. Lots of fans from the first Gears of War were disappointed in the changes, but I think they were for the better. There were a lot of connection and matchmaking issues when the game first hit, but it seems like it been pretty much been addressed. Visually, Gears of War was amazing, and it’s no different in Gears of War 2. The character models, the environments, the animation, the flow, everything about the game was, and still is, one of the best looking games ever. The daytime, above the ground, parts of Gears of War 2 still look absolutely stunning, but since the game takes place underground quite a bit, you wont get that “wow” moment as much as you did in the first. You get the drill, I compliment the visuals for a paragraph, then continue to the next, there’s not much else to say about Gears 2’s visuals other than they’re absolutely amazing, but you might be disappointed going from the first. The audio is also great. The voice acting is cheesy, but it gets the job done. The yells from Marcus will never get old, and the new one’s added to Gears 2 make him even more of a memorable character. The music, while sometimes repeated, is still top notch, and as moody and atmospheric as songs can get, nothing much else to say. Gears of War 2 is going to please most fans of the first game, but the campaign might disappoint, where as the online multiplayer has been upgraded. The game’s visuals and audio are simply awesome, like last time, but you wont get your “wow” moments like you did in the original. The co-op is still a blast, and the modes like Horde will get you hooked for hours upon hours. Only being 2 years in development, Epic couldn’t make it ridiculously better than the first Gears of War, but they did improve a lot of elements of the first that people did not like from the first. Gears of War 2 is awesome, but I cannot wait for the amazing third installment. 
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| Solitary | Dec 4 2008, 10:49 PM Post #2 |
ChuChu
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Wow, quite an intimidating read, but managed myself through it. Anways, despite my brief play of this game as I was unable to experience the full effect, I do agree with you on your main points. The game is very entertaining yet a bit of a letdown. The campaign portions I played were a bit tedious and honestly not fun. The "getting out of a worm" and "driving/shooting in the snowy moutains" seemed more of a burden than anything else. Though, the running and gunning segments were still top notch in my opinion as it followed the same formula from its predecessor. The major highlight as mentioned is definitely the co-op campaign mode. Much more fun to play the game through with a buddy even in those boring parts. Though I did not have the chance to play the game on Live, I will take your word and many others that its an opportunity not to pass up. So, next time I play, thats the plan. Overall, incredible game and well-written review. |
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| Picklegod | Dec 4 2008, 10:54 PM Post #3 |
Don't you agree, Zach?
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Nice review as usual. This is the kind of review I want to read to find out whether or not I want to play a game. You have away of including your opinion while not making the review incredibly biased. Anyway, great job. |
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Foremost is the chromatic substance accomplishment to Picklegod! Pickle contributes to all parts of the forum, stays astir, and mostly is awful to everyone he meets. A wonderful, intelligent somebody, Pickle testament now better us with every day NF decisions. Approval Picklgod! -afrad15 | |
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| Wolf Link | Dec 5 2008, 12:46 AM Post #4 |
Lol..... wut?
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I played the first two levels with my cousin and even without playing the whole thing i agree with what you were saying completely. I thought the game was amazing(too bad i don't got the $ to buy it right now D:). I still like killing all the bumaks with the gatling gun though, always fun. |
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| zane09 | Dec 5 2008, 10:46 AM Post #5 |
Burst link!
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Awesome review as usual Link Kid. I'll be picking this game up sometime next year when I have the money. |
Holy Crap I'm old 
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| Sontailsic | Dec 29 2008, 11:16 PM Post #6 |
Chelsea FC Champions 55-05-06-10
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Sorry for the bump but I've gotta comment on it. Well written as always LK, but I really, really disagree with your opinion about the online play. In my opinion, they've ruined it compared to Gears 1. It's a lot smoother I'll give it that. But the enchancement in terms of power of the lancer and also how the chainsaw manages to just tear up everyone and anyone is beyond me. I know since the patch they have increased the damage of the shotgun, but I still cannot get to grips with it properly compared to Gears 1. Also, I absolutely detest tagging walls and floors. When you're playing Annex, King of the hill and submission it becomes almost intolerable as inevitably people always tag spawn and you're dead before you have a chance to do anything, it absolutely sucks. The new maps aren't as good as the old ones IMO (not that it really matters to me as I have the flashback ones anyway), but that's poking holes really, they're still decent maps. Despite all of the things I don't like about it though, I can't help but play it and still like it - even if I get frustrated. Myself I'd give it an 8/10, but the replayability is riduclously high. |
 
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| Solitary | Dec 31 2008, 03:21 AM Post #7 |
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ChuChu
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I've recently had more time to play Gears of War 2 on both the co-op campaign and online play. Throughout the second half of the campaign with my friend from the driving/shooting portion in the snowy mountains to the end was frustrating, especially the annoyance of the 'sea-monster'. Also want to add that the player-controlled scenario ending seemed well... anticlimatic. Overall, the campaign was a disappointment. As for the online play, personally not a fan of the regular matchmaking, but 'Horde'... so much fun. Its incredible! With a team of five entering a map with difficulty level of 'Hardcore' or 'Insane', its a challenge even with that firepower. Though I played through a few waves with just one friend and I must say, a two-man front on 'Horde' is intense. The waves can but frustrating, but unlike the campaign and the other matchmaking options, 'Horde' is a good frustration. |
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| King Leon | Dec 31 2008, 04:38 AM Post #8 |
It ends tonight
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Overall a nice review, Link Kid and I heard Gears of War 2 was a pretty good game as well. I agree with the final score too; around 9.3 to 9.5 was the right score. |
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| Vasioth | Dec 31 2008, 09:00 AM Post #9 |
Chemical Warfare
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Well sir, that is because Gears of War was originally a book that was then made into a game. If you want to know the story more deeply and more explained then I'd advise buying the book as it pretty much tells you important things that the game doesn't spend time looking upon. Gears 2 is a bit off it I believe although I'm not sure entirely since I haven't put it in my 360 yet. Good review by the way if that was done by you. I have to say though parts of it look dissapointing - and I hope that more of the achievements will be in game only ones and not Live since I don't have the time to invest on getting XBL. I wouldn't go about saying the best graphics ever do or close enough. Crisis is the most advanced graphics in any game I've ever seen - advanced enough to make incredibly expensive computers go hay-wire. Anyhow, rightful score if its exactly like the 1st one... |
 
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| ryanj27 | Dec 31 2008, 10:05 AM Post #10 |
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Are you sure about that? After searching around I couldn't find anything about a book first. The Wikipedia page says that there have been books made from the series, but I can't find anything about it being a book first. |
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| Vasioth | Dec 31 2008, 11:11 AM Post #11 |
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Chemical Warfare
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Wikipedia is also the site that says a Wet Shower is something in your bathroom. The facts on it are terrible since its contributed by people only assuming. I'll post a picture through my Scanner tomorrow for you if you want proof though although you may be right - the thing I have in my house may pretty much be from the series and what I said earlier on may have its flaws. Oh well, I look back at it and then I fall down dead. Hmm... |
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| Sontailsic | Dec 31 2008, 12:56 PM Post #12 |
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Chelsea FC Champions 55-05-06-10
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I just realised I missed something off what I hate about it online. The flamethrower. That weapon is so fucking gay it's beyond reason. Also, lately whenever I get smoke grenaded I'm tending to bounce around so much that I hit the top of the map and die  I still love it though
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| King Leon | Dec 31 2008, 02:46 PM Post #13 |
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It ends tonight
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A wet shower? Seriously...Wikipedia should be an Online Encyclopedia which only reliable people can edit. |
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| Hellhoy | Jan 1 2009, 02:55 PM Post #14 |
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Toadette
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Great review once again Link Kid I was dissapointed by only two things in the campaign which were both the bosses. I really thought they would be harder. |
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| LK | Jan 1 2009, 04:18 PM Post #15 |
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iminspace
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The water boss is pretty difficult on the higher difficulties.... Unless I just sucked at it. It took my brother and I like, 5 tries. |
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