Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Author's product rating:   

Gameplay/Playability	A good game - good gameplay & playability
Graphics	Good graphics
Sound	Good sound effects & music
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Magnificent game, crisp graphics, intense action, fantastic story
Disadvantages:	Hardcore action may deter some

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Gears of War 2 (or GoW2), the creatively named sequel to Gears of War is a computer game available on PC and Xbox360.

Both games are essentially science fiction action thriller's tinged with horror, suspense and adrenaline. The game is uses a combination of forst and third person viewpoints in gameplay and can be played co-operatively with a buddy throughout using a split-screen system or online with allies from around the world.

Both Gears of War titles concern a human race living on the ficitional planet of 'Sera,' a planet which is best described as a desolate and unhospitable vision of earth in the future where the humans traverse their ravaged towns and empty streets in state of battered military transport, sporting the latest in futuristic killing equipment and in search of anything remotely subterranean.

The humans of the planet are at war with a race of creatures known as the 'Locust Horde' which dwell beneath the planet's surface.

Their are two main characters in the game;

Marcus Fenix - A battle-scarred gruff voiced combat veteran who the main player will control throughout the game. He is voiced by Jon DiMaggio who strangely, also voices 'Bender' in the cartoon 'Futurama.' two very contrasting voices and characters.

Dominic Santiago - The second player will control this character in co-op mode or if you are playing alone, it will be an AI controlled character. Like Marcus, he is an experienced soldier and a good fighter. Aswell as fighting the invading locust Dominic is trying to find his wife and two children who lost when the war began.

The Basic Story

The locust living underneath the surface of 'Sera' are in Civil war amongst themselves with a mutated race of locust' fighting the main population. As a result, the locust were forced to seek refuge on the planet's surface but in order to do had to fight the human settlers and and claim it as their own. This was the premise of the original game and is important to the cohesion of this sequel.

The original game begins with Dominc helping to free Marcus from a military prison where he has been left to rot. He is freed on the condition he joins to fight with the COG forces. (COG is the 'Co-alition Of Governments') Basically, they are tasked with retrieving a device to map the underground locust tunnels and then to actually destroy them. This is the main goal in the first game. In a nutshell (without wanting to ruin the first game for you) they do a pretty good job of the mission but as with many good cinematics, the locust signify that they were not quite defeated towards the end of the game and that the battle will continue....

At the end of the first game the team detonated a 'lightmass bomb' which destroyed much of the Locust army and it is six months on from this event that Gears of War 2 picks up the story...

GeaRS oF WaR 2

After the bomb (which was a futuristic version a of nuclear weapon) was detonated against the Locust it caused clouds of vapour to flow up to the surface and infect many of the already diminished human numbers with a disease. The humans of the planet, Sera, had been left battered by the events of the first game but the survivors live in peace for a few short months. However, the game really begins when out of the few remaining cities, some begin to sink and disappear from the map and it becomes apparent the Locust have survived and are retaliating. it is here that the battle begins as the humans decide to take the war to where the locust live and try to wipe them out for good.

Playing the Game

To play through this game, I chose to do it with a buddy sat next to me, rather than an online friend or a virtual compatriot. Well I say buddy, I allowed my 11 year old brother an extended bout of X-Box 360 time to join with me on the condition he learnt fast, played well and followed orders!!

Now I must stipulate that the game is rated 18 and really is quite gorey in places but fortunately for my bro he was allowed to play it regardless. So as you pick up the game you are allowed to choose between 'casual' 'normal' and 'hardcore' difficulty levels of which I chose the ambiguous, 'Normal.' You are brought up to speed with the events and characters by well detailed and graphically impressive cutscenes which are interesting enough and well spread to make sure you dont bore. The game drops you in slowly with a few enemies at a time to take out and nothing too hazardous in the first few engagements.

The enemies are tremendously varied. The Locust are portrayed as an intelligent race akin to humans. They have their own weapons and some of them even move similarly and can shoot back. The human-like enemies are much bulkier that you and you COG human pals, the enemy move slower and clumsier and they tend to be a lot uglier. But ugliness doesn't stop them from being good shots so you will have to ensure you keep covered unless you want to be lying on the deck screaming for one of your mates to come and rescue you. Other enemies range from tiny scuttling half landmine/half tortoise creatures called 'Tickers' to giant hulking 20 foot trolls with mounted cannons on their backs. Other enemies fly and shape shift, some are agile and aggressive or just nigh on invincible. At times, when you are first introduced to what you have to dispatch of, your initial thought will be ''How on Earth am I even going to TRY and kill that??'' My prime example being an enormous Mile-long, one hundred foot high Worm with a skin coated in rocks that eats parts of planets as a hobby.

I will endeavour to keep the revelations of the game secret so you can play and find them out for yourself but one of the highlights is a chapter of play where 4 of the soldiers, yourselves included are swallowed by the worm and have to fight it from inside. Traversing through the internal digestive system of a worm which is filled with cars, masonry and dead people is a truly brilliant gaming concept and carries off brilliantly in what is very memorable and fun part of the game which you get to play. At times this game can be frantic such as trying to scramble your way throught the toxic bowels of the aforementioned mega-worm at breakneck pace but then at others 'Gears of War 2' can be chillingly edgy - the perfect example - your squad edging through a pitch-black tunnel with light about as far as five feet in front of you at the most... and the ticking of explosive aliens.

Your characters play almost identically so whether you are Player One or Two makes little difference, you are merely attributed a different persona in the cutscenes and the opposite half of the screen during gameplay. The soldiers move bulkily when just walking or running but you can hold 'A' to sprint or duck, roll and dive into cover which allow a certain level of agility once you get accustomed to the controls. Both players can carry two main assault weapons, a one handed weapon (such as a pistol) and a grenade-style weapon. you can exchange these weapons for others you find throughout your progress. There also opportunities to pick up extra heavy weapons for a short time, mortars being my favourite to launch onto masses of enemies from miles away but also massive mounted cannons or rapidfire miniguns with which to lay waste to score of enemy troops and beasties.

The default weapon for the soldiers, and probably the best is your assualt rifle which comes equipped with front-mounted chainsaw which you can use to cut through all manner of enemy and obstacle by merely pressing 'B.' You can also pick up sniper rifles, shotguns, varied automatic weapons, flamethrowers and other assorted methods of 'defence.' Although you are limited to only two of these at once so you may be forced to make a hard decision between your weapons at one point in the game. Most of the time you will have enough bullets to dispatch the on-rushing aliens but at the times when they actually decide to hide behind cover away from your fire you may find yourself running short so if you miss a couple of ammo bonuses in a row, you may find yourself a little short on firepower.

The ammo pickups are fairly frequent and usually generous although they do vary in quality. It can be easy to miss them in the heat of battle although if you keep you eyes peeled you should be able to make sure you maintain a fully stocked arsenal for when you need it.

As far as being difficult, Gears of War 2 appears dauntingly tricky at first glance but with a little effort and consideration it is fairly simple and can be completed quickly since both players must die simultaneously to fail the mission in most situations. If one of you happens to take too much damage, you will fall to the ground and be forced to vigourously batter your control pad to crawl to safety and your team-mates who in turn have 30 seconds to get to you and give you a quick injection to get you back on your feet must rush to save you. This process is usually easy if you stick together and the AI members of the COG squad will quickly come to the aid of a downed colleague. There are some colourful charcaters in the squad and it allows the characters to flesh out at times which actually lead me to care about the fate of the guys I was fighting with. Thats how I can tell that this game is a good one. It has it's drawbacks in places, perhaps being a little short, it could be completed with a free weekend if you worked hard and it can also seem like if you stayed in cover you could stay alive all day but when the game really does put you in the line of fire it is an energetic experience with crossfire flying past you and debris everywhere, other battles going on and explosions... not to mention the giant flying alien that just swooped down over your head and tried to eat your face!! It's at moments like these as you pump a frantic and full clip of ammo into said beast's face and then try to hit the button on your controller at the perfect time to get a 'perfect reload' and treat the monster to another clip of bullets then maybe a blast of your chainsaw that you realise what a really enjoyable game Gears of War 2 really is. It captures the need for survival and blends it with the frantic pace of a war game. Similar to films such as 'Alien' and 'Starship Troopers' with elements of games such as 'Halo' and even 'Call of Duty' this game is an exciting prospect for any one who likes any of them.

Additions to the Game

As well as being a sequel, 'Gears of War 2' is part of an age of next-generation gaming and showcases what was at the time of its development, the highest echelon of graphics and processing capability and as with many games the ability to expand on the game via extra downloadable content available online for gamers.

So far there have been three updates which mainly tweak multiplayer modes and allow for extra maps to keep gameplay interesting and fresh. However, for those without an internet connection or XBox Live subscription the game itself is still plenty of fun and has many extra dimensions when compared to the original. The player can pick up a shield or even use a disabled enemy as a shield by simply pressing a button to pick them up and will subsequently, if a little slowly, walk through the carnage behind the cover of any alien carcass whilst wielding a pistol over the top to dispatch of any enemies. Wholesome family fun, not here it isn't!! the graphics allow the player to fight many more enemies at one time than in GoW1, the characters facial animations are much more genuine and realistic and visual tones such as light, explosions, gore and even water appearance are drastically refined to give an added realism. It just helps the feeling that you are actually part of the game a little more believeable. In terms of weapons, the main new additions are an free standing minigun, the like which is usually attached to military attack helicopters, that your character can drag around levels and plant untold rounds of ammo into multiple Locust' in a matter of milliseconds - well until it overheats... in which case, you're screwed, DROP IT AND RUN! The other new weapons are a flamethrower which I have already mentioned and a Heavy Mortar Cannon which you can use to basically fire airborne rocket shells from distance. Untold carnage can be created with these three weapons and they cause a GoW2 to be a slightly more dangerous battleground than its ancestor.

Multiplayer

Aside from split screen play, it is possible to join up to nine other gamers at a time in online multiplayer battles. There are seven different modes of gameplay, three of which are new to the sequel of the franchise. Multiplayer scenarios have been added and camera angles refined to build on the multiplayer engine of the original. Most modes offer the addition of bots to make up numbers or replace a player who has left for any reason and there is also one added bonus. A new mode knows as 'Horde Mode' is a nice way of taking out any frustrations. Either online with up to four buddies or just with a friend on a split-screen the players defend their position against increasingly vast and more dangerous waves of enemies until it becomes radically unfair and almost ridiculous. If a player dies, he/she will wait for their team to wipe out the onrushing enemies or all fall prey to the assault. Each round the whole team is revived providing one person can survive the previous round. A nice addition to the story mode and regular multiplayer but very chaotic and hard work as it goes further along.

Overall

Gears of War 2 is a marvellous game. It's as simple as that.

personally, I only play this game in short bursts as it is pretty intense but that is a positive comment on its realism and the effects it can produce. GoW2 can just gettin a little hectic at times, so personally, I feel like I need a break. The levels are sometimes of such visceral brilliance that you forget you are just playing a game but on rare occasions, it is possible to get a little clumsy with the controls or lost in a maze of inconveniently placed scenery which blocks your route that you just get frustrated with the gameplay. If you are a decent gamer and a serious player you will be hard pressed to not like this game and every game has its minor flaws, literally, every game.

The testament to this game's quality is that the lowest rating it recieved from any of the Top10 games magazines/sites was 9/10. Now nine out of 10 (or 90%) for a game is a very impressive rating when you take into account how picky and cruel games magazines can be. This really is one of the best console action shooters out now, hands down. Whether you're chucking grenades down the oesophagus of a giant sea serpent before it tries to digest you or chainsawing through the sternum of the ugly, hulking locust enemy thrusting himself into your view, you can easily find yourself drawn into the world that Gears of War creates, and with a more detailed story and deeper development of the game's characters it surpasses the commendable achievements of it's parent and improves upon the action impact that the game has to offer. If all games were like this then I think I would only ever leave the house to go and buy a new one. One of GoW2's key strengths is that you can play the whole game with a friend and it's always much more enjoyable when you have someone else to share the experience with.

At the very least, you should rent this game for a weekend and try to blast through it in one go. The single player mode is what it is all about really and the story is enertaining enough for the potential of a film crossover. Before I signoff I must add that whilst I have sang this game's praises for about 2700 words, it is worthy of its 18 due to the violence, language and gore in it's content. If you are squeamish, jumpy or just generally non-receptive to violence then maybe you would be best with a slightly more wholesome game. If however, virtual massacre and computer blood and guts are your thing then 'Gears of War 2' will bring you some good times. It has some of the most inventive settings for it's missions, especially the two times the mission takes place inside a giant, living creature. A great game. I will shut up now!