Gears of War 2 Designer Loves Chainsaws and Curry (XB360)

Best known for his work on the Unreal Tournament games and of course, the original Gears of War, Bleszinski pulled himself away from cracking skulls to discuss improvements in the new game and hand the importance of keeping light and fluffy things in your life, even if most of your time is spent shooting Locusts.

Today was the first day we got our hands on the game's story-driven mode, aka the Campaign mode. What new GOW2 features make you the proudest?

I'm most proud of the campaign. After working on the campaign for two years and being so secretive about it, we're finally able to see people be hands on with it and see all of the different locations they get to go to and the twists that happen with the story, all the cool moments. I'm just dying to see people play it.

Is the story in this game a little more in-depth than in the previous game?

Well, the first one was criticized in a valid way for the story being very basic, and thankfully, people wanted to know more.. . In this game, we answer a lot of people's questions about what is going on in the universe, but we also ask a few more questions, so we keep them wanting.

Who would win in a fight, the Locust Horde or the Chimera from Resistance 2?

It's tough to say. I think the Locust Horde have a little bit thicker skin and that would probably edge them out a bit. They're pretty ugly fuckers too.

How would each presidential candidate deal with a Locust invasion?

[Laughs] That's a tricky question. John McCain would capture all the Locusts and make them POWs so they could see what he went through, and Barack Obama would use his charismatic quality to speak and convince them that they should fight alongside humans against somebody else.

Can they be reasoned with?

Well, if you get a charismatic enough leader like Barack Obama, I think anything's possible.

Resistance 2 and Gears 2 come out the same week, and Hollywood moved the next James Bond film from November 7 to November 14. Do you think these two video games were the reason?

Hollywood is a little nervous about games, but at the same time, people still really love movies, so we'll see what happens. Resistance is the 4th and we're the 7th. I think we're quickly getting to the point where it's only possible to have one event per week, so people are starting to carve out their dates like Will Smith and July 4.

Since Gears 2 debuts on a Friday, a typical new movie day, what impact do you see it having?

I'm hoping that on that Friday night, the bars are empty and the movie theaters are empty and everyone's playing Gears.

How would you approach a Gears of War meets Halo video game?

The first thing we'd have to do is teach Master Chief how to really take cover instead of just strafing behind a crate. At the same time, we'd have to teach the Covenant how to be more mean and brutal. We'd also have to put more purple on the Locusts.

What's your favorite Gears of War 2 weapon?

I'm a big fan of the mulcher. It's just a huge Gatling gun that is named appropriately, because once you get the barrel spinning, it turns your enemies into mulch. You get to carry it around and mount it on cover. Then you can use RB to cool it off. Once you get that thing going in multiplayer, you're a force to be reckoned with.

We noticed that the Lancer Assault Rifle sounds different this go-round. Why did you change it?

We just felt it could be punchier and beefier. We're very restless creative types, and the second we finish a product we can't stop mucking with it for the sequel and make something that sounds even cooler. The tracers are thicker and they leave a smoke trail, so you can easily see where you're getting shot from. It's a continuous theme throughout the entire game, with every environment being enhanced.

Can you cool off the gatling gun on Dizzy's rig?

Yeah all turrets use it. You just [makes whooshing noise].

What are some of the biggest visual upgrades made in Gears 2?

The character lighting's improved vastly. We've got the crowd system where there are dozens if not hundreds of Locusts coming out of the ground. The gore system was improved so you can see chunks of the Brumak coming off as you unload on one, chunks coming off the environment, larger scale so you feel like it's more of a battlefield with bigger draw distances, and when you add all of this up it's a blockbuster experience.

What kind of downloadable content is in the works?

Day one, users who purchase Gears of War 2 new have access to a coupon that immediately allows them to go on to Xbox Live and download five maps that are essentially re-imagined levels from Gears 1, such as Train Station and Canals and things like that. From the get go, you have 10 maps in the box as well as those five from Xbox Live.

What do you expect people to do with a life-sized Lancer Assault Rifle replica, and are you concerned that police will mistake it for a real gun?

[Laughs] No, I think once people see the Lancer ($950, projecttriforce.com) with the red blood on the tip, I think it's a lot more obvious that it's a fake gun instead of just putting a little orange thing on a fake weapon. But I'm expecting people to send photos of themselves chain sawing through things like household pets, blocks of cheese and pieces of sausage. I think that will be highly amusing.

What is your crunch time food of choice?

It's probably curry. I love a good Indian curry.

Since you work on so much violent content, has that killed your appreciation for E-rated stuff?

No, I still love animated movies, Pixar movies, things like that. Even something light and fluffy like Avenue Q, which was thoroughly entertaining even though it is mature. It's not a violent musical. So I think there is always room for something light and fluffy in any person's life. If you're just a person that's into dark stuff all the time, then you might as well wear dark nail polish and listen to emo rock.

Related Links

Gears of War 2 Game Guide