Gears of War 2 Hands On
More of the same from Epic, but you know you want to play it.
Tags: Gears of War 2 Categories: Previews, Xbox 360 Previews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Oct 3rd, 2008
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Gears of War was dark and gritty, almost like giving us Halo as if directed by Ridley Scott. Marcus Fenix is a hero that seemed perfect for a generation that grew up with darker action heroes. He had a mysterious past, a healthy disrespect for authority, and a gun that doubles as a chainsaw. The first time you drove the saw through a Locust soldier and the blood splatters all over the camera, you knew that the 360 offered a new level of detail. Gears of War pushed every pixel, and managed to be more than just eye candy. Of course the worst part of the whole game is the cliff hanger ending that leads right into what is going to be one of the biggest games this fall, Gears of War 2.
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What is going to be in the single player campaign? I’m not sure – both times I have seen this game all I have gotten is some multiplayer. Now, while this is frustrating to those of us that want to learn more about the storyline, playing the multiplayer allowed for two things. The first is to showcase the game’s more colorful design. It may not be much, but almost anything would look like a technicolor achievement next to the original’s near universal gray tone.
We also got to see the new melee atack system which changes things up a little bit in close quarters. One of the new tools in a player’s aresenal, and perhaps the most important, is the ability to use an opponent as a shield.
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This new ability seems pretty cool, but I think it could be something that might easily identify you as a new player so the hardcore crowd with all the rolling and shotgunning will put a quick end to your hostage stand-off. That’s what killed this game for me last time around – the single player/co-op game was a lot of fun, but the multiplayer had very little in the way of tactics.
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To be sure, Gears 2 is bringing us even more of the over the top violence that made the original a huge hit. The problems that plauged the original haven’t really been addressed as far as the multiplayer gameplay goes, but we are getting new maps that are bigger and everything is sharper. I’m excited for single player, but multiplayer is still going to be an aquirred taste.
And as for that question about the single player and the story? Well, the fight continues, and that will be enough for most people.
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Tags: Gears of War 2
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Oct 3rd, 2008 and is filed under Previews, Xbox 360 Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
