Gears of War 2 BLASTS and here is why

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November 13th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Gears of War 2

If you have not heard of GoW, following rave is not for you. If hated GoW, it is not for you. If you were not getting tingling sensation from GoW 2 previews, it is not for you. BUT if you would like to see your character crush a Locust’s head under his feet and would like the idea of dueling a major boss with your Lancer’s chain saw, you are in the right place.

Gears of War 2 for XBOX 360 - sequel of uber popular third person shooter Gears of War (2007) - was released on November 7th and it rocks! Read on to see why..

Gears of War 2

Story

The storyline is dinosaur-ally old. Aliens seem hellbent on destroying humanity and mankind is fighting for its survival. For GoW, the aliens are in fact bugs called Locust living beneath the surface, and the war is taking place on a planet called Sera. To sum up the story - Humans fought wars called ‘Pendulum Wars’ on planet Sera for 15 years but right after the wars were over, planet’s surface gave way to Locusts on Emergence Day and a quarter of the human popular was killed in the human-locust war that followed. Character Marcus Phenix - a soldier of Coalition of Organized Government (COG) - disobeyed command in order to save his father and was put in the jail for 40 years. GoW began by sidekick Dom freeing Marcus so that he could resume the fight. In GoW2, Locusts have found a way to sink entire cities (I will withhold the secret) and mankind’s last defense is the city of Jecinto. A counter assualt is being launched on Locusts who seem to have some trouble of their own. The counter attack requires actionable intelligence and that is where Marcus and Dom (and old buddies Cole and Baird) come in. Oh by the way, if you recall the end of Gears of War and that menacing voice of Locust Queen from Gears of War, be ready to meet her this time.

Game play

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.. but feel free to make it better. That’s what happened with GoW2. The game play is so similar to GoW that you can grab the gun and start shooting without thinking about it. Of course for the rookies there is a training part at the beginning of First Act. Playing as Marcus Phenix, you grab guns and shoot. To be effective you need to take cover and shoot. Most actions prompt you for proper button (X for picking ammo, A for helping your teammate etc.). The game is linear even when given an option of take Left or Right path because within seconds, you end up being with the other part in the group.

You also get to ride few interesting vehicles and do some fun things with your chainsaw.

What Rocks?

Gears of War 2

  • Graphics: GoW 2 Graphics will simple blow you away. The cities look great, the physics is impressive and unlike Halo, the environment affects your view (Remember Train Ride from GoW?). This game might be pushing the limits of 360 since in some scenarios the machine simply fails to render fast enough. Thanks to fun graphics, you can enjoy watching an enemy head blow off in pieces when you are using sniper rifle.
  • Massive: The game looks and feels much much bigger than GoW. From the moment the assault begins at Locust strong hold, the number of enemies, allies, vehicles and size of landscape and cities give you feeling that you are in the middle of a massive survival war. This is a huge improvement over GoW. As game progresses, you get to be part of a lot more “bigger” operations and meet “bigger” enemies.. It is pure fun! The final Act is simply incredible in terms of size.
  • Signature Moves: Now you can finish off an enemy with a signature move (punching until the head explodes, cutting the enemy with chainsaw etc.). You can also use a hurt enemy as a human shield. Simply grab him with X and move on. Though you can’t keep him as shield forever, but it is nice to be able to punish those buggers. 
  • New Weapons: Some of the fun guns include new flamethrower,  Hammerburst is like mini Hammer of Dawn from first game and a keep-with-you troika (similar to Halo’s). Flamethrower is most fun to use in a close setting and Sniper Rifle gives you great view of a scattered head for a distant enemy.
  • New Rides: This could be probably the BEST part of the game. You get to have great rides by the penultimate Act in the game. If you thought Train Ride of Gears of War was cool, you are in for a treat.. actually a lot more treats in this game.
  • Fun Environment: GoW 2 lets you play the game in a sinking city, underground river, frozen lake and inside “someone”. The Acts designed in the game are sheer joy to watch because of impressive graphics and very unique environment.
What Sucks?
Gears of War 2
  • Emotions: If characters are getting emotional in a shooting game, you know there is something strange.
  • Unsatisfying End: There is no satisfying boss at the end of GoW2 unlike its predecessor. This leaves you wanting for more.
  • Irritating Characters: Some of the characters are so annoying you are tempted to Mute the game.
  • Not Enough Bosses: Every gamer loves a boss fight. And GoW fails to deliver much like the first one. There are not enough bosses and the ones that exist are not very impressive.
To sum up, if you are into shooting games and own an XBOX 360, get it! You will love it.
Gears of War 2

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  • Yeah that is something I would gladly play in. Thanks for good analysys. Story seems moderate but the graphs looks just awesome. Can't wait to try.
  • What a crazy game.. can you play this game online do you know?
  • Some of the fun guns include new flamethrower, Hammerburst is like mini Hammer of Dawn from first game and a keep-with-you troika (similar to Halo’s). Flamethrower is most fun to use in a close setting and Sniper Rifle gives you great view of a scattered head for a distant enemy.
  • Playing as Marcus Phenix, you grab guns and shoot. To be effective you need to take cover and shoot. Most actions prompt you for proper button (X for picking ammo, A for helping your teammate etc.)
  • That’s what happened with GoW2. The game play is so similar to GoW that you can grab the gun and start shooting without thinking about it. Of course for the rookies there is a training part at the beginning of First Act. Playing as Marcus Phenix, you grab guns and shoot.
  • For example: in every created virtual world few things that makes them unreal e.g. physics, lower gravity, other sky color or even making modern world inaccessible for players. The last one means that only vintage world could become an environment for a game.
  • Makers of these games are very talented. This is an awesome find and nice to give to our love ones who are computer games enthusiasts. xmas hampers
  • I hope that if gaming graphic will become so realistic that it would look like a real world and advanced VR system will become available some security rules will become real. For example: in every created virtual world few things that makes them unreal e.g. physics, lower gravity, other sky color or even making modern world inaccessible for players. The last one means that only vintage world could become an environment for a game.
  • I would gladly play in. Thanks for good analysys. Story seems moderate but the graphs looks just awesome. Can't wait to try.CHeers..!!
  • Thanks for good analysys. Story seems moderate but the graphs looks just awesome. Can't wait to try.
  • The Game is seriously awesome. The game play is so similar to GoW that you can grab the gun and start shooting without thinking about it. Of course for the rookies there is a training part at the beginning of First Act. Playing as Marcus Phenix, you grab guns and shoot.
  • I agree with you, it is the flagship of xbox console. The graphics is awesome and the gameplay is just great and fun to play!
  • Whoa! That looks pretty cool.. I aint got an xbox yet.. Will check it out once I get one! ;)
  • This is too good, I just love this game, Thank you for posting this. It confirms i am not the only crazy guy around.
  • I remember 10 year ago.. I'd never think that games would look that good. And be that fun. Gears of War 2 is awesome!
  • I have XBOX 360. How to get this? I am not able to get.
  • The game looks good. I have to play this game. Gear of war 1 was a good game will play and leave a feedback here.
  • Those modern games sometimes make me wonder. How will digital graphic look like in next 10 or 15 years? Possibly we will achieve the level of can't say the difference between real and digital actor. But what I like the most are games that the graphic side is not the most important but the story told basics, great rules and ideas put inside. Gears of War 2 could have all of those things I love about gaming, but could be just another game that looks beautiful but is not as great as the grandfathers such as Mario, Pacman or Tetris - very simple idea, thousands of hours playing :)
  • The gaming technology is evolving every now and then time will come when it would be difficult to understand between Real picture or cartoon one.
  • amazing !
  • The graphics are not that bad. I really don`t like the gameplay. Didn`t have heard much about this game.
  • I don't enjoy GoW. Its so fighting types.
  • Of course for the rookies there is a training part at the beginning of First Act. Playing as Marcus Phenix, you grab guns and shoot
  • I was affraid they'd screw something up while improving the gameplay. But they didn't and the sequel turned out even better than the first part.
  • I agree with you, it is the flagship of xbox console. The graphics is awesome and the gameplay is just great and fun to play!
  • This could be probably the BEST part of the game. You get to have great rides by the penultimate Act in the game!
  • This is a huge improvement over GoW. As game progresses, you get to be part of a lot more “bigger” operations and meet “bigger” enemies.. It is pure fun! The final Act is simply incredible in terms of size.

    Thanks
  • Yeah that is something I would gladly play in. Thanks for good analysys. Story seems moderate but the graphs looks just awesome. Can't wait to try.
  • I remember 10 year ago.. I'd never think that games would look that good. And be that fun. Gears of War 2 is awesome!
  • Xbox 360's flagship! Go online and you'll definitely be glued to your seat and have fun fragging others. Futuristic characteristic one of the best first person shooter out there.
  • I agree with you, it is the flagship of xbox console. The graphics is awesome and the gameplay is just great and fun to play!
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