Just a few months ago, Microsoft released Epic games’ much-anticipated magnum opus, Gears of War 2. Following the immense success of the original Gears of War on the Xbox 360 and PC, Gears of War 2 continues to chronicle the adventures of Marcus Fenix and Delta squad in humanity’s battle against the invading Locust horde.
The Gears of War games are third-person squad-based tactical-shooters (Try saying that three times fast). The games’ claim to fame is it’s cover system, which enables players to “stick” to walls, granting them protection from enemy gunfire and allowing them to pop out and return fire. This mechanic has been used in many games preceding Gears of War, including the likes of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and Rainbow Six: Vegas, to name a few. Using the cover system is essential for survival. Assisting in the players’ survival is Gears of War 2’s plethora of weapons. The classics from the first installment return, such as the now ammo-limited Hammer of Dawn, or the patented chainsaw-bayonet, the Lancer. A handful of new weapons make their appearance as well, such as the Mulcher, which is essentially a portable Troika, Smoke Grenades, which (obviously) release a cloud of obscuring smoke, and the Hammerburst, which fires as fast as one can pull the trigger. There are more weapons, of course. You may love some and hate some, but all are powerful tools of destruction and add layers of strategy to the game.
Strategy, of course, is a critical component to the game, especially in Gear’s multiplayer games. In the main campaign mode, you are assisted by varying numbers of AI controlled squad mates. You can no longer issue orders to them (which you won’t care about, anyway), but they do a fair job of handling themselves, always dispatching enough enemies to carry their weight. Teamwork and communication is essential to surviving multiplayer, though. Launching coordinated attacks and defending chokepoints are a necessity when facing clear-thinking human opponents. The more you play, the more your skills will sharpen. It’s a good thing too, considering how addictive Gear’s multiplayer modes are.
There are flaws, of course. Gears of War was notorious for it’s numerous problems, and it’s sequel, which fixes most, doesn’t quite nail the formula perfectly. Most of the flaws are attributed to multiplayer, like it’s predecessor. If you want to battle it out online with nine other players (yes, they have increased the lobby count from eight to ten), be prepared to face insanely long matchmaking times, which can run for well over a minute. Once you get into games, be prepared for occasional lag when a lot of stuff goes down. Shots won’t register properly at such times, and movement becomes severely limited. It’s rather disappointing to see this hamper the excellent multiplayer modes.
Gears of War 2 is an excellent sequel, building upon it’s predecessor on nearly every avenue. I could go on for pages talking about everything new this game brings to the table, such as the Horde mode, or the multiplayer maps, or the enemies. Sporting improved graphics, tighter sound quality, refined gameplay, and an epic story, Gears of War 2 will not disappoint fans of the original.
Score: 8/10
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