snickothemule
November 9th, 2008, 23:27
Gears of War 2
E-day
When the first Gears of War rolled out in the Christmas period of 2006 it marked the beginning of a slew of major title releases and a change from the console which only had ‘halo’ to fall back on in online gaming. Epic’s game was a massive success thanks to the game being a third person shooter with cover as the main focus point of the action which is actually fun to play. Games in the past have tried to get this style of game down pat but each time it either came off as half cocked or was completely rubbish from the outset. Now Epic, lead by the enigmatic Cliffy B has released Gears of War 2, with Marcus, Dom, Cole, Baird and a whole tank full of new features to make the second coming truly ‘bigger and more badass!’
What’s the mission?
Following the successful launch of the lightmass bomb which has crippled the Locust horde and given many of the ‘stranded’ survivors a new disease called rust lung, Marcus Fenix is once again tasked with leading Delta squad on a new mission which takes them to humanities last surviving city, Jacinto which sits atop an impenetrable fortress to take the fight to the Locust for the first time. Underground. Why you might ask? Well the Locust have set it upon themselves to sink entire cities into the cavernous hollow below ground. With Jacinto their last hope this ought to be the last battle to change the tides and swing victory in favor of the COG. To make matters worse Dom’s wife Maria is missing and he is desperate to find her.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200770d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081104_screen009.jpg
Don't need a helmet, cos rugged manliness is bulletproof
I got ya back like a butt crack
From the outset there aren’t many noticeable changes to the control of Marcus in the campaign, although a tonne of subtle improvements have made the feel of the game much more solid and responsive. Returning mechanics include the one button control for all cover and movement, without issues like roadie running and randomly hugging nearby pillars, and the brilliant active re-load is back better than ever, a skill which must be mastered if you want any hope of surviving on the harder difficulties. New skills added include the ability to crawl back to safety after being shot down, so that revival is possible from a team mate, though this has been removed on the hardcore and insane difficulty settings making death truly terrifying.
Oh and meat shields new as well. Now when you shoot down an opponent you have the opportunity to either curb stomp him, execute him, pistol whip him to death or pick him up and use him as portable cover. This reduces you to using only a pistol as a main weapon, but the added bonus of portable cover makes advancing across the battlefield a much safer experience. Considering that some of the scenes involve 50 or so enemies on screen, having the extra cover is always nice. Chainsaw duels (seriously, how awesome is that) may be reduced to a button mashing affair, but in all honesty a good mash is good to get the blood pumping and helps prevent carpel tunnel from setting in.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200768d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081015_screen011.jpg
Nothing but awesome
Existing weapons have also been given an overhaul with new sounds added to the lancer rifle for shooting, giving it a different feel, the locust weapon is now slower firing but more consistent, the sniper has a new scope and more vicious bullet trajectory and the shotgun is now more powerful and leaves you feeling more satisfied when it goes off. Compared with the first gears it sounds like a cannon which is a nice move from Epic. To keep fighting from going stale, a whole bunch of new weapons have been added and some are truly brilliant.
Whattya got ta shoot with!
On the smaller side of things there is a new Gorgon pistol, a small scale successor to the locust gun of the first game, with the added danger of a longer reload time. A new poison grenade which can be deployed as a proximity mine is brilliant not only in cover but also in obscuring their vision so you can get to cover. The flame-thrower, will barbecue any Locust that comes in your way and Marcus likes to reiterate that fact every time one of them is cooked.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200769d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081015_screen055.jpg
Weed stash raided, Marcus got all sentimental
Finally there are two new big weapons which are truly frightening, both to carry and to fire for you see, you cannot run with these weapons as they are too large, however once they are set up, clearing the battle field is satisfying and messy. The Mulcher, a new age gattling gun can be set up on the ground or on cover and does exactly as the title suggests, obliterates the enemy into chunky gibbs in mere seconds, with the only downsides being it has to be cooled down when fired too much and has a long reload time. The mortar is much harder to use, in that you have to judge how far the enemy is before firing the weapon but in doing so rains a dozen explosives above them making cover redundant from its destruction.
Who’ve ya got ta shoot!
New enemies such as the Ticker, an explosive suicidal oversized pig makes killing these things a priority, as allowing them to get too close can allow them the chance to blow up either you or your cover and any equipment around you. The Kantus, a monk like enemy is now the main priority of any firefight as he has the ability to revive any downed Locust with just the shriek of his voice. Killing him first is a must. Finally replacing RAAM from the first game is the predator-esque Skorge, a super Kantus who is truly vicious, sporting a dual chainsaw staff which must be a lumber jacks dream, as it can clean cut through a tank. A truly nasty competitor.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200772d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-redir.jpg
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiigarooooooo!"
Is that….colour?
To make Gears 2 feel more alive than the cold grey cities of the first game, Epic have gone and made many improvements to the visuals, making them truly over the top gorgeous. Apart from making colour an integral part of the scenery and adopting some techniques from Hollywood to make the visuals pretty, Gears 2 not only looks drop dead gorgeous, it makes the first game look truly drab. To top it all off, no noticeable slowdown makes for some seamless game play. Marcus has more detail and the lighting on him highlights every crevice of his suit. Firing his gun realistically flashes light off him, and the red hot tips of the barrel is a nice touch. I could go on all day, the additions are small but numerous and add up to make the game very appealing. The only downside is that with the new technology shadows in the environment can sometimes feel as though they have been omitted, leaving everything to be lit up. It is not a major visual problem, but in underground caverns, you would think that shadows would be more prominent.
Reprising their roles as Marcus and Dom, John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro for the first time have done the recordings of their voices at the same time in the same room. Probably doesn’t mean much to a lot of people but from a personal aspect it has allowed the two to give more feel and impact when some of the more touching scenes of the come around. Cole train is again over the top and brings some relief to all the tense situations, with his sledging the enemy at every step of the way. The voice work has been extremely well executed and all the voice actors should be proud with what they have achieved.
Music has been orchestrated to give each environment and battle a different feel or either urgency or sheer magnitude of the battles marries well into the action superbly. The sound of Gears is magnificent.
Control, are you there…..control!
Like any game Gears 2 suffers from a few glitches here or there. On a number of times Marcus would get stuck of seemingly nothing and there are a few texture issues when the cut scenes change quickly. Occasionally when moving from area to area there are a few white tears which can marginalize the impact of the visuals. The only other gripe is the rapid change in difficulty from hardcore to insane modes. Hardcore and intermediate difficulties are nearly identical in difficulty (with knock down being removed for hardcore), but insane mode will make you insane, and you can quite easily find yourself yelling at the tv in frustration, because you could have sworn that you killed that Reaver during the on rails section of the game.
For the horde!
Adding to the brilliant multiplayer list is a new mode called Horde, in which you and four other people are placed into a map and must fight off wave after wave of increasingly difficult Locust, forcing you all to play as a team, as rogue players will kiss the pavement quickly if they don’t play along. Considering that there are over 50 levels of waves of Locust, the intensity can quickly escalate to a feverish pace and it is easy to become overrun, so teamwork is an absolute must. Once all your squad is dead then it is game over and you can either restart that wave and lose your point score, or begin again. The only thing missing in this mode is the inclusion of big boss characters such as Brumaks, but to do so would mean that the maps available would have to change considerable. Speaking of maps one standout is the Security map, in which there is a section of the map sectioned off by instant kill laser grids, and houses a spawning point of a Mulcher or Mortar, however the opposing force can disable the grid from the opposite end of the map, which is very close to begin with. Needless to say that digging in on this map is its greatest selling point while the locust try and get to you. I suspect that this mode will become a favorite on Live and in co-op play and considering that co-op is a dying breed in gaming, Epic have done well by incorporating them into the action. The inclusion of bots is also welcome.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200771d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081104_screen026.jpg
Don't get any sick ideas Japan
Time for some R and R
As a whole package, Gears 2 is magnificently delivered, the story is better fleshed out (although story arcs not being finished are puzzling) as more questions are asked about the origin of the Locust (in my opinion they were created by the cog as some sort of super soldier of the pendulum wars but the experiments went bad….just a thought) and the quest for Maria was executed brilliantly. It is not surprising to find yourself playing this game at 3 in the morning babbling ‘just one more set piece, just one more’ and considering that the game is nothing but set piece after set piece the addiction sets in quick. Epic did real good this time.
Visuals – 95
Audio – 98
Game play - 95
Overall – 96
Pros – wonderful visuals, intense gameplay, multiplayer rocks, meatshields
Cons – unfinished story arcs, glitches, not enough time in the day, not for kids
Epic have done it again. Bring on Gears 3 now!
Played on Sony Bravia over component at 1080i
Rated MA15+
E-day
When the first Gears of War rolled out in the Christmas period of 2006 it marked the beginning of a slew of major title releases and a change from the console which only had ‘halo’ to fall back on in online gaming. Epic’s game was a massive success thanks to the game being a third person shooter with cover as the main focus point of the action which is actually fun to play. Games in the past have tried to get this style of game down pat but each time it either came off as half cocked or was completely rubbish from the outset. Now Epic, lead by the enigmatic Cliffy B has released Gears of War 2, with Marcus, Dom, Cole, Baird and a whole tank full of new features to make the second coming truly ‘bigger and more badass!’
What’s the mission?
Following the successful launch of the lightmass bomb which has crippled the Locust horde and given many of the ‘stranded’ survivors a new disease called rust lung, Marcus Fenix is once again tasked with leading Delta squad on a new mission which takes them to humanities last surviving city, Jacinto which sits atop an impenetrable fortress to take the fight to the Locust for the first time. Underground. Why you might ask? Well the Locust have set it upon themselves to sink entire cities into the cavernous hollow below ground. With Jacinto their last hope this ought to be the last battle to change the tides and swing victory in favor of the COG. To make matters worse Dom’s wife Maria is missing and he is desperate to find her.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200770d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081104_screen009.jpg
Don't need a helmet, cos rugged manliness is bulletproof
I got ya back like a butt crack
From the outset there aren’t many noticeable changes to the control of Marcus in the campaign, although a tonne of subtle improvements have made the feel of the game much more solid and responsive. Returning mechanics include the one button control for all cover and movement, without issues like roadie running and randomly hugging nearby pillars, and the brilliant active re-load is back better than ever, a skill which must be mastered if you want any hope of surviving on the harder difficulties. New skills added include the ability to crawl back to safety after being shot down, so that revival is possible from a team mate, though this has been removed on the hardcore and insane difficulty settings making death truly terrifying.
Oh and meat shields new as well. Now when you shoot down an opponent you have the opportunity to either curb stomp him, execute him, pistol whip him to death or pick him up and use him as portable cover. This reduces you to using only a pistol as a main weapon, but the added bonus of portable cover makes advancing across the battlefield a much safer experience. Considering that some of the scenes involve 50 or so enemies on screen, having the extra cover is always nice. Chainsaw duels (seriously, how awesome is that) may be reduced to a button mashing affair, but in all honesty a good mash is good to get the blood pumping and helps prevent carpel tunnel from setting in.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200768d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081015_screen011.jpg
Nothing but awesome
Existing weapons have also been given an overhaul with new sounds added to the lancer rifle for shooting, giving it a different feel, the locust weapon is now slower firing but more consistent, the sniper has a new scope and more vicious bullet trajectory and the shotgun is now more powerful and leaves you feeling more satisfied when it goes off. Compared with the first gears it sounds like a cannon which is a nice move from Epic. To keep fighting from going stale, a whole bunch of new weapons have been added and some are truly brilliant.
Whattya got ta shoot with!
On the smaller side of things there is a new Gorgon pistol, a small scale successor to the locust gun of the first game, with the added danger of a longer reload time. A new poison grenade which can be deployed as a proximity mine is brilliant not only in cover but also in obscuring their vision so you can get to cover. The flame-thrower, will barbecue any Locust that comes in your way and Marcus likes to reiterate that fact every time one of them is cooked.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200769d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081015_screen055.jpg
Weed stash raided, Marcus got all sentimental
Finally there are two new big weapons which are truly frightening, both to carry and to fire for you see, you cannot run with these weapons as they are too large, however once they are set up, clearing the battle field is satisfying and messy. The Mulcher, a new age gattling gun can be set up on the ground or on cover and does exactly as the title suggests, obliterates the enemy into chunky gibbs in mere seconds, with the only downsides being it has to be cooled down when fired too much and has a long reload time. The mortar is much harder to use, in that you have to judge how far the enemy is before firing the weapon but in doing so rains a dozen explosives above them making cover redundant from its destruction.
Who’ve ya got ta shoot!
New enemies such as the Ticker, an explosive suicidal oversized pig makes killing these things a priority, as allowing them to get too close can allow them the chance to blow up either you or your cover and any equipment around you. The Kantus, a monk like enemy is now the main priority of any firefight as he has the ability to revive any downed Locust with just the shriek of his voice. Killing him first is a must. Finally replacing RAAM from the first game is the predator-esque Skorge, a super Kantus who is truly vicious, sporting a dual chainsaw staff which must be a lumber jacks dream, as it can clean cut through a tank. A truly nasty competitor.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200772d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-redir.jpg
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiigarooooooo!"
Is that….colour?
To make Gears 2 feel more alive than the cold grey cities of the first game, Epic have gone and made many improvements to the visuals, making them truly over the top gorgeous. Apart from making colour an integral part of the scenery and adopting some techniques from Hollywood to make the visuals pretty, Gears 2 not only looks drop dead gorgeous, it makes the first game look truly drab. To top it all off, no noticeable slowdown makes for some seamless game play. Marcus has more detail and the lighting on him highlights every crevice of his suit. Firing his gun realistically flashes light off him, and the red hot tips of the barrel is a nice touch. I could go on all day, the additions are small but numerous and add up to make the game very appealing. The only downside is that with the new technology shadows in the environment can sometimes feel as though they have been omitted, leaving everything to be lit up. It is not a major visual problem, but in underground caverns, you would think that shadows would be more prominent.
Reprising their roles as Marcus and Dom, John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro for the first time have done the recordings of their voices at the same time in the same room. Probably doesn’t mean much to a lot of people but from a personal aspect it has allowed the two to give more feel and impact when some of the more touching scenes of the come around. Cole train is again over the top and brings some relief to all the tense situations, with his sledging the enemy at every step of the way. The voice work has been extremely well executed and all the voice actors should be proud with what they have achieved.
Music has been orchestrated to give each environment and battle a different feel or either urgency or sheer magnitude of the battles marries well into the action superbly. The sound of Gears is magnificent.
Control, are you there…..control!
Like any game Gears 2 suffers from a few glitches here or there. On a number of times Marcus would get stuck of seemingly nothing and there are a few texture issues when the cut scenes change quickly. Occasionally when moving from area to area there are a few white tears which can marginalize the impact of the visuals. The only other gripe is the rapid change in difficulty from hardcore to insane modes. Hardcore and intermediate difficulties are nearly identical in difficulty (with knock down being removed for hardcore), but insane mode will make you insane, and you can quite easily find yourself yelling at the tv in frustration, because you could have sworn that you killed that Reaver during the on rails section of the game.
For the horde!
Adding to the brilliant multiplayer list is a new mode called Horde, in which you and four other people are placed into a map and must fight off wave after wave of increasingly difficult Locust, forcing you all to play as a team, as rogue players will kiss the pavement quickly if they don’t play along. Considering that there are over 50 levels of waves of Locust, the intensity can quickly escalate to a feverish pace and it is easy to become overrun, so teamwork is an absolute must. Once all your squad is dead then it is game over and you can either restart that wave and lose your point score, or begin again. The only thing missing in this mode is the inclusion of big boss characters such as Brumaks, but to do so would mean that the maps available would have to change considerable. Speaking of maps one standout is the Security map, in which there is a section of the map sectioned off by instant kill laser grids, and houses a spawning point of a Mulcher or Mortar, however the opposing force can disable the grid from the opposite end of the map, which is very close to begin with. Needless to say that digging in on this map is its greatest selling point while the locust try and get to you. I suspect that this mode will become a favorite on Live and in co-op play and considering that co-op is a dying breed in gaming, Epic have done well by incorporating them into the action. The inclusion of bots is also welcome.
http://forums.ngemu.com/attachments/game-reviews/200771d1233281644-gears-war-2-360-938611_20081104_screen026.jpg
Don't get any sick ideas Japan
Time for some R and R
As a whole package, Gears 2 is magnificently delivered, the story is better fleshed out (although story arcs not being finished are puzzling) as more questions are asked about the origin of the Locust (in my opinion they were created by the cog as some sort of super soldier of the pendulum wars but the experiments went bad….just a thought) and the quest for Maria was executed brilliantly. It is not surprising to find yourself playing this game at 3 in the morning babbling ‘just one more set piece, just one more’ and considering that the game is nothing but set piece after set piece the addiction sets in quick. Epic did real good this time.
Visuals – 95
Audio – 98
Game play - 95
Overall – 96
Pros – wonderful visuals, intense gameplay, multiplayer rocks, meatshields
Cons – unfinished story arcs, glitches, not enough time in the day, not for kids
Epic have done it again. Bring on Gears 3 now!
Played on Sony Bravia over component at 1080i
Rated MA15+