Dude! You got your chainsaw in my assault rifle!

by Jamil Bhatti

Fun factor: Fun

Worth to: Buy

Now THIS is how you make a sequel. “Bigger, better, and more bad-ass.” Believe the hype. The Xbox 360 scores another system-selling masterpiece.

When Cliffy B showed up on stage holding a Lancer and spouting crazy talk about how much better Gears 2 was going to be, I died a little on the inside. I’ve been burned before when developers reveal their loftiest dreams only to see them partially realized by the time the game ships. Imagine my considerable shock when the game actually far surpasses any preconceived notions I had about it. As far as I am concerned, this is Gears of War 2.5.



If Gears 1 was a proof of concept, then Gears 2 is the full-on production model. Every gripe from the first game has been addressed, fixed, or eliminated. The graphics, sound, and playability are honed to razor sharpness. There’s just more of everything here and it works better than it ever has.

Did you have some work done?

The first game was no slouch, but obviously some type of demonic deal/voodoo magic was employed to make the graphics look this good. This is the game you play when you want to show off your HDTV. The Unreal Engine makes its triumphant return and won’t stop flexing its gorgeous muscles all over the place. I’m glad I played the game through by myself the first time, so as to have plenty of time to gawk at every amazing texture. Seriously. Fleshy walls glisten, underground caverns sparkle with life, alien architecture mystifies, water droplets streak down window panes, masonry crumbles and cracks, even chunks of bodies will twitch and sputter. I’m no programmer, but even I can see that whatever is going on behind the scenes here must be amazing.

We should have shotguns for a job like this...

What’s a shooter without its guns? The array of weapons in this game is just about perfect. For my money, nothing beats the Lancer assault rifle with chainsaw bayonet (a signature weapon if ever there was one). Well, except for maybe the Hammer of Dawn which calls down an orbital laser strike from outer-freakin-space! Perhaps you would prefer the new mortar which lobs an artillery-like cluster bomb? Why not try the new Gatling gun which can dice up punks in seconds? Or the ability to turn any type of grenade into a proximity mine, which I posit is almost as genius as the Lancer. But it’s not just the big splashy weapons which are great.



When was the last time you wanted to use a hand gun in a shooter? Possibly never? Say “Hello” to your new buddy: the Gorgon pistol, which fires a salvo of rage so effectively that if you couple it with a shield you will be nigh invincible (that’s a good tip for Horde mode by the way). Do you want to know the most amazing thing about the weapons? They are all useful. Kudos I say.

The fellowship remains unbroken

There’s plenty to do here and it can all be made better via multiplayer if you like. Campaign is 2-player co-op, Multiplayer is 5-on-5, and Horde mode is 5 players versus the computer (which is WAY more awesome than it sounds). You can also play any of these modes by yourself using bots (except Horde, which seems like a weird omission) if you want to get in some practice before challenging your fellow man.

The campaign mode has seen the biggest revamp in terms of scope. The plot this time actually feels like a whole story in contrast to the original in which you pretty much just needed everything else to die. Here, humanity fights one last desperate battle on the edge of eradication in the midst of which are threaded some personal stories and even a few unexpected plot twists.

I’ve heard many complain about the ham-handedness of some of the plot points, but I left reality behind at the outset, went along with it, and had a grand time. At first, I was a little worried by how much they wanted me to care about Dom and his missing wife (I believe this was mentioned in passing in the first game, but if it was, it was such a throwaway point that I missed it entirely) but by the time we actually found her, well, by then I was caught up in it and I found I really did care.



Is this how the world ends?

Even more impressive than the improved narrative is the size of the engagements and set pieces. I really am a part of a massive conflict this time, and even when I didn’t see hundreds of enemies on screen (which I surely did) I still felt a sense of purpose behind every mission. If this were a movie it would be an epic event (pun intended?), and as a result it’s thrilling to play through. It should be noted that it also suffers the same flaw as every tent pole movie these days: we will have to wait for the inevitable sequel to see how it really ends. I’m not sure that’s a complaint.

Revisions to the general multiplayer modes are less easy to spot and seem to encompass subtle weapon balancing, new maps or the ability to snap photos after you die. There are new modes though, such as Wingman, Guardian, King of the Hill, and Submission which is a Gears of War spin on capture the flag. Here the “flag” is an A.I. controlled NPC who most decidedly does not feel like being captured by any team (it’s a little embarrassing to be killed by the shotgun-toting “flag”, so be careful). Once he’s down you need to drag him like a human shield back to your team’s capture point. This naturally results in some nasty furballs, especially when the “flag” recovers and starts shotgunning people.

All of these modes are fun in their own way and all incorporate some kind of Gears flavored spice, all great, which I won’t detail here; however, I can’t fail to mention that Gears 2 had some seriously broken matchmaking issues at launch. I’m talking complete system lockup, or waiting up to 15 minutes (!) to enter a match. Inexcusable. But after a few updates those problems have vanished. Indeed, if you don’t have prior engagements, good luck summoning the will power to stop playing.



Horde mode is the most significant addition to multiplayer which consists of you and 4 buddies (or strangers who will soon become buddies) fighting to survive up to 50 waves of computer-controlled enemies. That sounds monotonous but it is anything but. Each section of 10 waves has a steady progression of tougher enemies (different for every map), and you only have a few moments in between to scrounge weapons, plant barricades, or set proximity mines before the next wave assails you. Communication among teammates is the key here. If you run off Rambo style you will only succeed in being killed and lessen your team’s chances of surviving (not to mention the tongue lashing you will receive). It’s an immediate and incredibly tense experience which has re-galvanized my love of online multiplayer -- not to be missed.

Summary

Gears of War is a flagship title for the Xbox 360 and Epic Games has obviously poured its considerable resources into making sure its follow up does not disappoint. It doesn’t. I really felt like an unstoppable behemoth as I slammed into cover, blind fired around corners, and reduced my foes to bloody chunks (and heard the lamentations of their women). This is the kind of game I will play for years. This is the kind of experience I show-and-tell to my friends. This is the reason I get up in the morning and the reason why I can’t sleep at night. This is one of those reasons why I play video games.