Two ‘Gears’ work better than one
Graphic provided by www.dailygamerblog.com
December 22, 2008 • written by Sam Forsey, Entertainment Editor
Filed under Entertainment
We last left the “Gears of War” universe with the human’s unsuccessful attempt to destroy the enemy Locust (the bad guys). Now humanity is on the brink of annihilation and “Gears of War 2” for the Xbox 360 starts off with high stakes and intense action that endures through the entire game. For those weak of heart, be warned that this game is extremely graphic.
This extremely successful sequel outshines its predecessor in essentially every way. The storyline has been beefed up, the multiplayer modes expanded, the highly visual and violent graphics improved, not to mention the array of new methods to defeat enemies.
The campaign mode, or story mode, is two to three hours longer than that of the first game, and its storyline has been fleshed out. There are many more cut scenes and it is easy to become emotionally attached to the characters. Plus there are many more epic battle situations, including hundreds of enemies on screen at once.
On top of the better storyline, playing through the game is far more pleasing because there are a variety of new ways to destroy enemies. The chainsaw bayonet returns from the first game and allows you to continue sawing enemies in half. One of the new weapons is a flamethrower for roasting enemies and occasionally being cooked yourself. There are also some new ‘big’ weapons that your characters have some trouble carrying around, including a huge turret and even a mortar that launches ballistics into the air for distance attacks.
There are also new styles of execution (killing a downed enemy) that are weapon-specific, including using a sniper rifle as a sledge hammer or a torque bow (crossbow-like weapon) to cut an enemy’s head off.
Taking cover has always been a major part of playing “Gears of War” and “Gears of War 2” expands on this idea with portable cover. This cover can vary from a SWAT like shield to a ‘meat’ shield. Meat shields involve picking up a downed enemy and using his body for cover (feel free to snap his neck and drop him when you’re done).
Multiplayer mode has been expanded as well. The modes include wingman, which consists of multiple teams of two faceoff to see who can get the most kills. Next is Guardian where as long as your leader is alive, you’re team can keep respawning, so the goal is to first eliminate the enemies leader. Another is Annex, where your goal is to capture a territory by staying in it long enough. Warzone is the next variant and it consists of two teams and everyone has only one life so the last team with people wins. The final option is Submission.
Submission is a capture the flag variant, but what makes it so unique is that the flag that each team is trying to catch is a crazy, old, computer-controlled man with a shotgun. To capture him, you have to knock him down and carry him back to your base without the enemy team making you drop him (in which case he’ll shoot you in the face with his shotgun).
A unique new game mode introduced in “Gears of War 2” is Horde mode. In Horde mode you and up to four friends take on wave after wave of enemies. There are 50 waves, all with increasing difficulty. This mode is extremely addicting and super satisfying, especially to play with your friends. This mode alone warrants the $60 “Gears of War 2” costs.
The entire game is entrancing to look at because the graphics have been improved immensely. If you are unfortunate enough to be chainsawed in half, it’s very possible that you may happen to see a set of ribs sticking out of your multi-piece corpse. Exploding headshots are not a rare instance, and blowing an enemy to pieces is possible with a large variety of explosives.
The violence in “Gears of War 2” may be a bit much for some people, but for everyone else it only makes the game that much more satisfying. “Gears of War 2” is an excellent game and would be the perfect addition to add to a last minute Christmas list.
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