Gears of War 2

(untitled review)

Gears of War was one of the first major new IPs for the 360. It came out in 2006 and topped Halo 2 on XBL. Just about 2 years on we have Gears of War 2. When Cliffy B said it would be bigger and more badass he was right. Everything in the game has been turned up. The fights are more detailed and on a larger scale, graphics and sound have been improved and you do feel as if you are in the middle of a grand war.

One again you can solo the story as Marcus or you can have a friend join as Dom. Nothing has changed in that respect but the story feels stronger in this game. You have Dom trying to find his wife who he was apparently searching for in the first game as well and the Locus are sinking all the human cities...there’s only one left and it’s up to you to defend it. However the ending brings a slightly unexpected turn. It doesn’t pull a Halo 2 but there is a slight “What...? Did I just finish the game?” feeling. The story does carry on from the first game but there isn’t any real need to play it to understand. It’s pretty clear whose on your side and who the bad guys are.

The most impressive level of the game, or at least one of, is when you are stuck inside a giant worm. Don’t ask. It just provides a nice change of scenery and cutting out its hearts’ is quite enjoyable. There are also some old school boss fights and it serves as a nice change of pace. You could in fact say that the worm level is just one long boss battle but that is a stretch. You’ll fight in cities, worms, the hollows where the Locust live, mountains, abandoned research labs. Like I said before, this game is bigger than Gears 1.

The combat hasn’t changed at all and veterans will feel right at home with the controls. You take cover, fire, take out the target and move on. This may sound dull but the experience is far from it. Every battle almost has you wondering if you’ll come out alive and there are some where your breath is taken away. There are a few new weapons, the three-shot Locust rifle is now a slow firing automatic/semi which is great for pulling off headshots. There are mortar launchers, mini guns, flamethrowers. There are also new enemy types for each weapon mentioned. If you played the first game you’d remember that all the locust were pretty much the same except for the occasional Boomer. The manes are nothing imaginative but they don’t really need to be.

MP also includes bots so you can test out the new maps for yourself and play as any number of characters that you’ll unlock as you press on through the game. There is also a new game type where you go up in levels to destroy bigger and larger numbers of the Locus in each level. Needles to say that this may require some teamwork.

Overall this is one of the best games to pick up for the 360. For a challenge I would recommend playing the game on Hardcore then bumping up to Insane once you’ve had your first play through. Both players can select the difficulty level so you can play hard while your friend may want to go casual...if he/she isn’t used to the game.
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