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Marcus Fenix and his gang of roughnecks hop online to frag their arch nemesis, the Locust Horde, this time with "meat shields" and multiple executions.
by Chris Buffa on Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Grab your Lancer Assault Rifle, rev its chainsaw and prepare for bloody online battles in Gears of War 2, the sequel to the mega popular Xbox 360 frag fest. Once again, it's the grizzled humans against the Locust Horde, as both sides wage war in brutal fights to the death. Although we still dig the previous game's multiplayer modes, its explosive follow-up includes a bevy of improvements that have our trigger fingers twitching.
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
In many ways, Gears of War 2 multiplayer resembles the multiplayer from the original game, with both sides hunting each other through dingy, post-apocalyptic environments. Pelt enemies with gunfire, blow off heads with the sniper rifle and stomp on craniums to deliver a final, crushing blow.
New options will keep the experience from feeling like a rehash, however. Get close enough to an enemy, you can take them hostage and use them as "meat shield" to protect you from harm. Stick grenades to walls, and they'll detonate whenever someone comes in range, and a new shield will protect you from damage, though we're not sure if it's indestructible.
Of course, there are those memorable "only in Gears" moments when two players will lock chainsaws. This go-round, chainsaw duels get more tactical. Once you lock teeth, each player will have to button mash their way to victory. Hit the buttons faster than your opponent, you win the duel (and get the big payoff -- sawing their bodies in half!)
This Gears also promises to kick up the difficulty level a notch. Absorbing bullets slows you down, so you can forget about rushing baddies like a superhero. You'll also need to watch for grenades and their blast radius, since explosions make you dizzy and easier to pick off with a well-placed bullet.
A new shooter wouldn't be complete without new weapons -- and GoW2 won't be the exception, introducing the Gorgan pistol and a flamethrower called the Scorcher to your arsenal (the latter being the cooler of the two). We can't wait to set Locust Horde scum on fire and before blasting them to bits.
Gears of War multiplayer provided a great online gaming experience, with a few exceptions. The online lobby definitely needed some retooling and that will be remedied in the sequel. Now you and your party can stick together through multiple game modes. Budding photographers can also show off their skills by snapping in-game photos, and there are multiple camera views to select from after death. Just because you're out of commission doesn't mean you give up your front row seat to the action.
So far, we know of three multiplayer game modes, each of which supports up to 10 players. Guardian pits two teams of five against each other, the goal to kill the opposing group's leader. Keep him or her alive, and dead players will re-spawn every 15 seconds. The second mode, Wingman, is a deathmatch where the object is to kill the other team. Finally, Submission tasks you with reaching the center of the map and abducting a non-player character, then bringing him to a pre-set location for a certain amount of time. It's not as easy as it sounds, since he carries a shotgun and you'll have the other team nipping at your heels en route.
With flamethrowers, multiple executions and some interesting new multiplayer modes, Gears of War 2 seems like one of 2008's premier online shooters and yet another excellent reason to own an Xbox 360. Just the thought of chainsaw dueling with those ugly monsters has us hungering for some action. Too bad that will have to wait until the game hits in November.
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Gears of War 2
- GenreAction
- Release Date11/07/2008
- PublisherMicrosoft
- DeveloperEpic Games
- ESRBM - Mature
