• the217
• Blogs
• Gamer’s Guide
• Gears of War 2 Review

• RSS

Gears of War 2 Review

posted by Mark Fujii at 7:16 pm.

• Bookmark & Share
• Comments (2)

My initial impression of Gears of War 2 from PAX ‘08 were skeptical at best and negative at worst. In all honesty, while Epic has been for months now touting that Gears of War 2 was going to be bigger, better, and badder than its blockbuster predecessor, my experience with its multiplayer left me with the lingering doubt that Gears of War 2 would be little more than a rehash of Gears of War. Gears of War 1.5 is the unflattering moniker that Gears of War 2 has earned, and at the time, I felt it was one that the lackluster presentation at PAX more than earned. A few new weapons, executions, and gameplay modes just didn’t seem to live up to the expectations that the biggest holiday title of 2006 had established.

Well, November is around again and I’m pleased to say that Gears of War 2 has demolished my expectations. It does everything that it strives to do: more of the same, only better and more polished this time around.

If you played Gears of War, you’ll be able to hop right into Gears of War 2. There are some new gameplay mechanics and a plethora weapons to learn and master, but for the most part, the gameplay feels almost entirely unchanged. Which is a good thing. The rule of the game remains the same: take cover, move cautiously, take your shots wisely, and ration your grenades sparingly. Anything else on any difficulty other than easy pretty much will get you killed instantly. The combat is fast paced and frenetic, but it strikes a great balance between tactics and chaotic violence.

Some aspects of the gameplay have been noticeably improved though. The most note worthy has to be the improved cover system. A large problem in Gears of War was that gamers would often find themselves getting killed because they would go into cover when they intended to dive (or vice versa) and I found in Gears of War 2 that this happened with far less frequency.

The campaign is also improved. It’s paced a lot better this time around while still retaining the non-stop chaotic violence that makes the franchise so enjoyable to play and watch. You’ll be sparring off with humongous monsters, manning gun turrets, and driving around in tanks as well. And of course, the entire campaign can be played with a buddy too either online or offline, making the game all the more enjoyable.

The campaign mode is fun. It’ll last you anywhere between six to ten hours (my roommate and I burned through it in a little under nine hours) but once it’s done that’s pretty much it. The campaign’s storyline is pretty much as forgettable and unremarkable as the original. It’s evident that the developers attempted to flesh out the characters and inject more emotion into a story almost exclusively dominated by aliens and grunts chopping one another into pieces, but the effort (while appreciated) really fails to translate into anything more than a few periodically placed cut scenes that most gamers will watch once then promptly skip over during any subsequent playthroughs. There’s nothing bad about the writing or the voice acting, but it’s nowhere as emotionally engaging as its excellently crafted trailer would seem to suggest. At the end of the day, its a story about marines killing aliens. Which is fine. I don’t really think a game that revolves around burly marines with chainsaw machine guns really needs a strong narrative.

The graphics look as beautiful as ever. While they do look very similar to the original, the scale of the game is substantially larger. The first time you go head to go with one of Gears of War 2’s humongous boss monsters, you’ll definitely be able to appreciate just how amazing the game looks in glorious 1080p high definition. Additionally, I noticed that there’s a lot less texture pop-ins than the original.

Where Gears of War 2 really shines is its multiplayer. The “Horde” mode where you and your buddies defend yourselves against wave after wave of Locust is amazingly fun. It’s a lot like playing Tower Defense or something. Only with machine guns. The gameplay becomes frantic and frenetic, and it’s definitely one of Gears of War 2’s exceptionally awesome gameplay modes. Even after you’ve beaten the campaign and dabbled with its other multiplayer options, I think “Horde” mode will definitely be something gamers will return to.

Gears of War 2 also offers a bunch of new multiplayer options, none of which I have had a chance to play extensively since I can’t get on Xbox LIVE with my copy yet. Playing offline, though, I noticed the shotgun has been toned down with a noticeable delay in between shots. How this will translate online with latency issues is unknown, but I’m hoping that multiplayer modes deviate from the shotgun-centric battles that dominated Gears of War’s matches.

In conclusion, Gears of War 2 pretty much reminded me why I loved the original so much. It doesn’t pretend to be anything that it isn’t. It makes no real effort to revolutionize the franchise, and I guess I just have to content myself with that. It’s very true that Gears of War 2 feels very much like its processor, but simultaneously, there’s absolutely no denying the massive amount of content that it has added. With its wealth of new multiplayer options, amazing new weapons (including my favorite -the flamethrower) an action-packed campaign, and an addictive and awesome “Horde” mode, Gears of War 2 may not be 2008’s most innovative or original titles (I’m reserving that title for Little Big Planet or Mirror’s Edge), but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the most fun and enjoyable.

Final Verdict: Buy It

P.S
If you’re trying to snag an early copy (like me) check out your local 7-11. If they sell games, they probably already have it in stock. If you’re lucky, the clerk will be oblivious to street dates and will sell it to. If not, Friday isn’t THAT far away.

Mark Fujii: I'm your typical college student who plays too much video games. I also work as an electronic sales associate, meaning I sell Ipods and violent video games to your children when not trying to sneak off and play Super Smash Bros while the boss isn't looking. Oh, and I'm totally awesome. True fact.