Gears of War 2 seems to have everything you'd expect from a sequel, such as an improved single player campaign, snazzy visual effects and a robust multiplayer mode. Ten chainsaw wielding gamers can wage war across Xbox Live in an assortment of modes, curbing each other's heads and chucking grenades to obliterate the opposition. We just went a few rounds with this highly anticipated third-person shooter and you can believe the hype. This one's going to get messy.
Gears of War 2 Screens
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad. Locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde, Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.
Microsoft/Epic Games
Our multiplayer exploits began with Guardian, a five-on-five mode that tasks you with not only killing the other team, but also taking out their leader. Actually, that's the first thing you should do, since slaughtering him or her stops their comrades from spawning. Conversely, it's in your best interest to protect your leader, since keeping them alive means you'll respawn every 15 seconds.
Because of this, teams stuck together, remaining closely-knit and forming barriers around their captain. As a result, we found ourselves in numerous stalemates, where teams refused to leave their position. That's when we started to get a feel for the maps and search for passages that would allow us to take cheap shots from above or around corners. In the new Security map, for example, there are hallways that lead to the other side of the map. This lets you get a jump from behind. What happens, however, is the other team has the same idea, so firefights normally occur in very tight corridors. It's best to split into teams of two and guard these entry points, or make a risky assault on the other side.
Security isn't a memorable map. There are some sandbags to take cover behind and a lot of stone structures. Avalanche is far more interesting, with old wooden cabins and plenty of snow, set against futuristic tanks. We're also fond of the map Day One, which is a post apocalyptic city scarred by one of the Locust Horde's sinkholes. There are, however, remnants of civilization, such as a dilapidated movie theater and an arcade that both serve as grim reminders that humanity thrived.
During play, we experimented with Gears' new features. We latched onto fallen enemies and used them as Meat Shields, and we got caught in some chainsaw duels, where we frantically mashed the B button in the hopes of cleaving our enemy in two. We also managed to destroy parts of the environments, tearing off chunks of concrete with gunfire. It's nowhere near as destructive as Battlefield: Bad Company, but it's still cool to chip away at enemy cover.
Horde, a new cooperative mode lets up to five players join together to fight 10 different waves of enemies, each wave growing progressively more difficult. Wave one is fairly easy, with slow moving creatures lumbering towards you. After that, the difficulty ramps up quickly, as the Locust start to arrive in larger numbers and quickly overwhelm you. It's pretty sweet because it's you against the odds, but the artificial intelligence is brainless at times, failing to finish you off as you slowly crawl around. Things are probably different at Wave five or higher.
Gears of War 2 offers more of the same, but with a few key additions to enhance an already addictive experience. Using enemies as shields and blowing up pieces of the maps adds various layers of strategy, and we look forward to getting even more in depth with it in the coming days. Be sure to check back for more hardcore, chainsaw mayhem.
Reader Comments (4)
umm carmines still dead alot of soldiers wear the helmets
I wonder who is going to be the character whose going to die Dom, Hoffman, or Barid. Also I want to know does any one have an idea how Carmine cam back from the dead?
i cant wait for it to come out it looks so bad ass
i dont think its gonna live up to its hype