Gears of War 2 Review

After the first Gears of War game was released, it was met with much praise, from Xbox 360 owners and critics alike. The story obviously left a huge indication of a sequel, and a lot of questions to be answered. So, Cliffy B decided that he owed it to his fans to make a new game, and that a sequel to one of the best selling Xbox  360 games ever is a good idea. The sequel was announced in Late 2007, and has since become one of the most hyped games of 2008! But, was it worth the wait?

As soon as you start playing the game, you’re going to notice that the game is intended to be highly cinematic. Once again, you play as Marcus Fenix in Delta Squad. After discovering that the Lightmass bomb at the end of the first Gears of War game didn’t wipe out all of the Locust, you’re off to try and destroy the rest. The Locust now have the power to sink entire cities, and they intend to sink the city of Jacinto. There’s also a sub-story going on about Dom’s wife. His wife has been kidnapped by the Locust, so while killing Locust hordes, Dom tries to find her. It’s not an amazing story, but it’s decent. Not that the story is a big factor in a game like this…

As you would expect, the same gameplay mechanics fans loved from the first game are back, like the cover system, while a few new weapons (some of which work very differently to the Lancer) and a new gameplay mechanic has been added. The new gameplay mechanic is the “meat shield”, where you can pick up a downed enemy and take him as a hostage. For obvious reasons, this limits your ability to fight, so you can only use handguns while holding the meatshield. New weapons include the flamethrower and the mortars. Mortars are mostly used for taking down the Brumark: a new enemy in the game, and for long-range combat (obviously).

The campaign is much better than the one featured in the first game. The Kryll are gone, even bigger enemies are introduced, the campaign is a tad longer, and the level design is mostly great. An example of this is a moving worm. You will have to (in one level) shoot bright lights down to make the worm follow. This will give you cover against the Locust scum. The ability to chose different paths are back, but (much like the first game) the two choices you are given are normally very similar. Another thing worth mentioning is that the graphics have been made to look even better than the first. Gears of War 2 is probably the prettiest looking game on the Xbox 360, which is saying a lot.

There are a few problems that are worth mentioning, though. The texture popping has returned, and is even worse than it is in the first game. Also, the driving sections are back. The driving controls are not improved from the first game, which makes the sections as completely dull as they are in the first game. Assuming Cliffy B makes a third game he should either fix the controls or not feature the driving section at all! My only other problem is with the matchmaking. Waiting 5 minutes to play what I want to be just a quick match isn’t something I want to do at all.

Other than that, Gears of War 2 is a highly polished game, and does what you’d expect from a good sequel. It keeps all the essential stuff from its predecessor, while adding enough new stuff to keep you compelled and interested.

Overall: 9.2

+ The chainsaw duels are a good addition

+ The graphics are amazing

+ The campaign mode is much better than in the first game

- Texture Popping

- The driving sections are back

- The “5 minute wait” (Matchmaking)

Pikmin hat released in Animal Crossing

Something that I found very interesting today is that Nintendo have released a red Pikmin mask via WiiConnect24 to celebrate the release of “NEW PLAY CONTROL: Pikmin”, or Pikmin Wii. If they can do this, I look forward to seeing more of these appearing in the future (Link hat, anyone?).
You must check that WiiConnect24 is turned on on the Wii itself and the game. Then reset the game and load up your file. You should be greeted by Pete, who will give you a letter from Capt. Olimar himself!