GameSpy
Review
of Gears of War 2
For years, Master Chief has been the "face" of Microsoft's Xbox consoles, but his days as the unofficial mascot may be numbered. Like Mario and Sonic before him, the stalwart Spartan epitomized the original Xbox, as Halo: Combat Evolved gave the fledgling system a "must-have" game in its early days. But while there is no denying that the Chief ruled the last generation, there's a new kid in town: Gears of War's Marcus Fenix. The gravel-voiced COG soldier burst onto the gaming scene in 2006 as a counterpunch to Bungie's helmeted hero, with Microsoft alternating between a Gears and Halo release every year. While Halo 3 sold quite well last year, there are many who believe that Gears of War 2 will top the charts and make Marcus a household name.
When Gears of War 2 was first announced by Lead Designer Cliff Bleszinski, he said that the highly anticipated sequel would be "bigger, better, and more badass." While Microsoft chose not to adopt that motto as the game's official slogan, it's an incredibly apt description of the game. It may feel and look like more of the same at first, but it quickly becomes apparent that there have been a number of major improvements, some of which probably should have been in the first game. From the story to the gameplay to the multiplayer offerings, Gears of War 2 is superior to its predecessor in nearly every way.
The game's story kicks off some time after the events of the first, with humanity still under attack by the terrifying Locust. We won't get into the specifics of the plot here, but suffice it to say that this is a much more thematically engaging game than Gears of War. You'll come to care more about the characters in Marcus' life, mainly because the dialogue is better (though still dripping with testosterone-fueled machismo) and there are enough quiet moments to actually get to know them a bit. It's still very much an action game, but there are some nice plot touches here and there to give you a reason to care about what happens next.
A high-budget action game is only as good as its sequences and set-pieces, and Gears of War 2 has more memorable moments than most. This is partially thanks to the absolutely stunning environments that you'll visit on your travels, some of which are almost literally jaw-dropping. We could remember dozens of specific moments even weeks after playing it, something that can't be said for many games. Quite a few people complained that the first Gears didn't feature enough variety in its environments, but we have a feeling no one will be grumbling this time out. There's still a bit of "destroyed beauty" here and there, but it almost feels like the folks at Epic strove to create increasingly more impressive and elaborate environments as a response to the criticism.
The gameplay has also seen a number of changes, although the core mechanics remain largely untouched. You'll still need to use cover intelligently if you want to survive to fight another day, especially on the tougher difficulty settings. Speaking of difficulty, hardcore gamers and fans of the original Gears should probably play the game on Hardcore, as it feels like the Normal difficulty is a bit too easy. It feels a lot like the last game (especially when your AI-controlled squadmates get in the way of you taking cover), but there are a number of gameplay tweaks that have improved the experience, including some new weapons and combat maneuvers.
Grenades play a much bigger part in Gears of War 2 than before, as you can now plant any type of grenade in a wall as a trap for foes unlucky enough to stroll by. You can also play martyr by equipping a grenade right before you fall, then triggering it when an enemy comes to finish you off with a curb stomp or beat down. There are a bunch of new finishing moves this time out, many of them weapon-specific. This may not sound like much, but it beats seeing the same old moves over and over again, and you'll find yourself switching weapons when it comes time to finish off an opponent (we're awfully partial to the Torque Bow decapitation). While that feature is largely cosmetic, the grenade mechanics will change the way you approach certain situations.
These new gameplay features come in particular handy against many of the game's new enemies, some of which are extremely powerful. In addition to the Boomers from the original Gears, you'll be forced to deal with the minigun-wielding Grinders as well as nasty behemoths like Butchers and Maulers. While they can be a bit tough to take down with just a Lancer or Longshot, there are some great new weapons at Marcus and Dom's disposal, the coolest of which is the Mortar. Yes, you'll be able to rain hot death down on your foes, albeit only when you're "supposed" to, given the ammo limitations. While you won't spend as much time with the special weapons (which also includes the aforementioned minigun), using them will make for some memorable moments.
While there's a lot to like in the single-player campaign, there is one definite weak spot: the vehicles. Every so often, you'll mount up and spend some time either driving around in a vehicle or riding on one during an on-rails sequence, and it ultimately ends up being a frustrating experience. It's not that the controls are actually bad, it's more that there are some limitations that make the proceedings more challenging than they should be. You'll likely end up using a trial-and-error approach to getting through some of the sequences, although they are mercifully few and far between. Thankfully, there are no vehicles in the multiplayer game, as that would hurt the overall experience quite a bit.
Then there's the matter of unfulfilled promises. During a presentation at this year's Game Developers Conference, Epic's Tim Sweeney showed off some new features in Unreal Engine 3, some of which were expected to be in Gears of War 2. While chunks of debris will be blown off whatever you take cover behind, it really doesn't factor into the gameplay as much as we would have liked, so calling it "destructible cover" would be a stretch. There also isn't much in the way of large-scale battles, aside from firing into a crowd of Locust while stationed behind a mounted weapon.
You'll once again be able to play through Gears cooperatively with a friend, and it's largely the same experience as the last game, with one notable exception. This time out, two players can play on two different difficulty levels, making it a much more user-friendly experience for everyone involved. The ability for a newb to play on Casual while their battle-hardened buddy attacks Insane is a great feature, particularly when you want to play split-screen with any non-hardcore friends that come over. The campaign plays out the same during co-op play, although, as in the original game, there are times when you and your partner will take different paths.
Given the fact that Gears of War topped the Xbox Live charts for months after its release, it's probably not surprising that Epic didn't mess with a good thing, except to improve upon it. There are a few notable new gametypes in the multiplayer arena, including Wingman, which matches multiple teams of two against each other, and Submission, a mode that tasks you with grabbing a prisoner (who you'll use as a human shield) and taking him to a specific location to score a point. It's a great twist on the standard Capture the Flag gametype that we've seen millions of times before, especially since the "flag" is now armed with a shotgun and will try to fight you off. The competitive multiplayer also features a new ranking system, as well as an interesting democratic voting system that will leave the map and gametype decisions up to the players.
The best multiplayer feature is undoubtedly bot support, something console fans always clamor for in their shooters. Not only will you be able to add bots to your game to fill up the teams, you can also play a local game alone against nine bots if you want to get in a little extra training. They can be set to different difficulty levels depending on how challenging you want it to be, and your AI-controlled teammates will do an admirable job of fighting alongside you and, in some cases, saving your life. We also really liked the inclusion of a multiplayer training mode, which explains the objectives of the new multiplayer gametypes. All in all, this is one of the best multiplayer games of the year...and that's before we even start talking about the addictive new Horde mode.
If you're one of those people who loves to play with your friends but can't stand playing obnoxious people online, Horde is the mode for you, as it combines the best elements of competitive and cooperative multiplayer action. You'll be able to battle wave after increasingly more difficult wave of Locust enemies with up to four of your friends on each of the game's ten multiplayer maps (though we should note that every copy of Gears of War 2 will feature a code to download five Flashback maps). It's an absolute blast from start to finish, and we're guessing that this will be where most players will spend their time after completing the game.
So what makes Horde so special? Well, not only does it get tougher every round, going from simple Wretches and Locust soldiers to an abundance of Grinders and Butchers, it also makes them more dangerous every ten rounds. They earn stuff like double health and damage every so often, making it more and more of a challenge as you progress. You'll be able to come back at any time to play through the last level you made it to, meaning you can gradually make your way through the mode's 50 levels if you so choose. However, we have a feeling that this is one of those cases when people will be saying "Just one more round..." well into the wee hours of the night.
While it's certainly open to debate, we're going to go out on a limb and call Gears of War 2 the most visually impressive game yet made. It actually looks quite a bit better than its predecessor, which most Gears of War fans would agree is quite a feat. There are some stunning particle effects on display, from simple things like dust hovering in sunlight to the gases swirling from an exploded poison grenade. The lighting is also top-notch, particularly during a tunnel sequence during an early part of the game. There are some occasional collision glitches from time to time, as well as a painful freeze and stutter every time you hit a checkpoint, but overall it's an amazing achievement.
Finally, there are the extras (called the War Journal), which include a much improved collectible system. As you play through the game, you'll find bits and pieces of information that go a long way toward fleshing out the story and the franchise's mythology. Even the COG tags have a story behind them, as do the letters from settlers and scraps of newspaper that litter the world. You'll be able to view them all in your War Journal, as well as check out the new achievement tracker, which tells you how close you are to unlocking things. Gears of War 2 also features a scored photo system, although we'll be interested to see just how many people care to upload their highest-scoring photos to the game's official site.
Although it would have been easy for the developers at Epic to crank out a sequel to Gears of War with a minimum of effort, Gears of War 2 feels like a labor of love in many ways. It features a number of new gameplay mechanics that instantly feel familiar and necessary, a greatly improved story, and some of the most amazing visuals we've ever seen in a game. Best of all, the multiplayer offerings have been completely reworked to make them much more user-friendly, and Horde mode is going to keep people coming back for more. It still remains to be seen if this will be the game that makes Marcus Fenix the poster boy for the Xbox 360, but it certainly feels like a possibility. Master Chief, the ball is in your court!
©2008-11-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
