If Gears of War 2 (GOW2) looks and feels familiar that’s because in many ways it is – that’s kind of the point. Some game sequels or franchises in an attempt to shake things up,will change the entire look of the game (see the new Prince of Persia), or do some other crazy things that disrupt the natural flow, control, or story of the game provoking fans to begin profanely blogging and complaining about it. Well, we do that anyway but this would be more complaining and blogging. What you get with Gears of War 2 is a polished, well-crafted sequel that appeases the millions who loved the first game and will attract a whole new slew of fans who maybe lived in a cave two years ago when everyone was raving about the first game.
Chainsaw Gutting Never Looked So Good
The expectation we have in these days of HDTV and Blu-ray is that there should be certain level of quality in our videogame graphics. Even with titles for the Wii you still want them to look good in their cartoonish way. The first Gears certainly did not disappoint but GOW2? Let’s just say that if you have the opportunity to watch somebody else play, step back and really take a look. That exceptional quality you see – that’s Cliffy B and the gang over at Epic Games sitting around for the last two years saying, “Dudes, how can we make this game look kickass?” Okay, so maybe they don’t talk like that but you get the idea. Maybe it was more like, “The exceptional quality rendered in the initial title must be improved, beep, borp.” Everything from the character animations to the background environments to the transitions of cut scenes to the in game action is crisp and wonderfully detailed. Oh and there'S that whole gore factor (no, not the global warming ex VP). The guttingwith the lancers, the curb stomping, bleeding out – it’s all beautifully displayed to the highest level of gross. Just the way it should be. For any parents reading this — this is just one of the reasons you shouldn’t even think about getting this for the kids.
This Time We’re Go Deep … Underground
Six months from where Gearsof War left off (something about a hellabig bomb getting detonated) we join Marcus Phoenix and his gang of COG soldiers still deep in battle and prepping to make a stand for the last stronghold of the human race. It would seem that two cities have literally sunk and the last most important one is about to become the grand canyon. So to fight the fight, they’ll take the battle to the horde deep underground and put a hurtin’ on them big time. Okay so the dialogue is a testosterone filled, steroid enhanced script of man talk clichés but that hasn’t changed from the last time. Seriously these guys are big, thick, killing machines. How else would you expect them to talk? (“Frankly Baird, you’re dissection of that alien being was quite horrific.”) Locker room sports inspiration talk aside, there are some new story lines connected to Marcus’ dad, and Dominique’s wife along with some other stuff related to the invasion and the horde. Bottom line? We need to kill every last one of these stinkin’ beasts before they kill us all.
Was That An Exploding Cockroach?
Remember the big ridiculously tough alien beast on the train at the end of the first Gears? Anyhow hard it was to kill him with all the stuff coming at you? Okay well that thing pales in comparison to what they throw at you in the Gears of War 2. Tickers – see header – for example have no particular pattern to them, run at your out of the dark and have bombs strapped to them. Yeah that’s right, bombs. And they’re little, annoying and really mess things up. GOW2 also throws some seriously big badass aliens (some ride giant alien dog things) that add a whole new level of excitement, intensity and difficulty to the game. There are some fresh new weapons both human and alien too, as well as new vehicles and of course, some unpleasantly dark locales where things can and will jump at you. What like you want a warning?
As for the aforementioned cover system – it’s not just about hiding behind wall and cement blocks anymore. There are bullet resistant worms that act as moving cover (you have to see it), almost dead aliens that become human shields and then there’s an actual shield (massive metal shields like all King Arthur style) you carry in one hand and a killer pistol in the other. The rockworm has to be the coolest of the three and it’s nice to have that variety in a game that originally did not always have the hiding spots you needed.
Then there’s vastness and variety of the game. A lot of people complained that the original game lacked freshness in the levels. Well props to Cliffy B’s mad crew again for dropping you in the action, giving you a ton of amazing environments and switching tings up with vehicles, weather and intense battle everywhere and anywhere in this massive landscape. And for some icing on the COG cake, the solid sound (aliens, effects, guns) are as good if not better than the second time around. For all you lucky punks with a sound system, you may want to call the neighbors. This one gets loud.
Pappa’s Got A Brand New Bag – of Multiplayer
The single player is a thoroughly rewarding experience. Exciting and immersive, you could easily lose yourself in the game in all its bloody gory. Now though, with some fresh multiplayer modes and the always solid online co-op play, you have something you’ll keep around for a bit instead of heading down to the game store for a trade. The most impressive and “jump in” ease of the multiplayer modes is undoubtedly the Horde more. You and four other gamers join together and fight waves and waves (about 50 to be exact) of Locust Hordes doing your darndest best to stay alive until the next round. You know how you might come home some days and just want to go online and kill stuff? Then take a heaping help of Horde mode (ka-ching on the alliteration) and get your game on. The only thing that would make this and the other online modes rise above the competition is it lacks the upgrading and status boosts of Halo and Call of Duty 4.You can argue the benefits of having or not having upgrades as rewards for online play but it certainly doesn’t take away from the fun of GOW2. This is one of those debates that goes something like, “What about the people that cheat and rank up in 1 day?” versus “I like getting new stuff when I rank up!”versus “Halo Mountain Dew tastes like candy flavored Robitussin mixed with RedBull.”
Best Game Ever –Again?
Depending on where you look Gears of War 2 will have movie poster like statements attached to it like, “Stunningly Impressive,” “A 10 out of 10,” “Game of the Year,” “Quantum of Solace? Feh!” As far as being game of the year, it’s got some competition forsure but that by no means makes it any less of a contender. In a year flush with sequels there are some fresh faces that joined the fall gaming glut this year (Mirror’s Edge, Left for Dead, Dead Space – wait what’s with all the death?) Bullet for bullet though GOW2 takes the outstanding first game and makes it outstandinger (no that’s not a word).
Will you play through it again? Yes. Will you a get a lot out of the multiplayer modes? Hell yes. Will there be a sequel? You’ll have to decide on that, there’ll be no spoiler alert here. The problem of course with any sequel is the problem they faced with this one. How can you make something that was so well received and enjoyed even better? Gears of War 2 answers that question 10 times over. What Epic accomplished here was no small feat. They took a title and kept it familiar but answered issues that everyone whined about the first time around. And if that wasn’t enough, they beefed up the game, story, visuals and online modes. And just to take it even further, they intensified the gaming experience and gave the sequel enough of its own identity. How many sequels in games or movies can do that? You can count them with two hands – maybe. Gears of War 2 has surpassed its predecessor to make it a standout title that will please fans and newcomers alike.
"Gears of War 2 (X360)" is on sale November 7, 2008 and is rated M. Action, Shooter.
