Gears of War 2 (GoW2) stood out in 2008 as a brilliant gem of a title for the Xbox 360. This third person shooter emphasizes the use of tactical cover as players work through the storyline and employs a smooth, comfortable multiplayer for online and split-screen play. Also, like in the first game, 'active reloading' is worked in as a wicked smart way of keeping even the mundane interesting. I believe that GoW has set a new trend in reloading as I hear Army of Two; The 40th Day will be using active reloading as well. There are also many other significant improvements over the first title in the series. The developer, Epic Games, has worked in chainsaw duels, the use of freshly downed enemies as meat shields, heavy weapons (like the flamethrower, chain gun and the godly mortar weapon), and vehicles/mounts believe it or not. You can also expect to see the familiar CoG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) tags to collect, and a new survival "Horde" mode of play.After playing the first Gears of War, I'll admit I was a bit surprised at all the hype the game received. The story was a little weak, the environments had a design that blended into your character and caused visual confusion, and some of the mechanics were buggy. However, GoW2 seems to have conquered those weaknesses flawlessly. The characters stand out from the environments, giving the player clarity of direction and ease of control. The story is interesting and progressive because Epic Games brought about comic book writer Joshua Ortega to help write the plot. The story arc works towards a better resolution and important factors like the motivations of the Locust are finally revealed. The complications and dynamics of the writing invest players into each mission. So, instead of just fighting off endless waves of locust, we now get to find out where they come from and how to stop them. Additionally, you'll also notice an absence of the annoying Krill from the first title (thank God).
The cooperative play for GoW2 is a delight. You can play as either Marcus or Fenix and as you work your way through the storyline you'll encounter familiar faces as well as new ones. There are multiple difficulties of play which gives the game moderate replay value, and the online play allows for up to ten players to play matches against each other. The functionality of the Unreal 3 Engine is showcased effectively here. In-game lighting through ambient occlusion where dynamic shadows are generated through the use of a pixel shading technique renders more realistically lit and shaded objects and characters. In other words, the environments seem more life-like and shadows interact appropriately. This engine also can handle large crowds of enemies at once making for a more grandiose kind of fighting experience. The surfaces of water and it's interactions are beautiful and the introduction of destructible environments generate the damage of materials and subsequently their deformed shapes as well as what might be inside of them. E.g. rebar in a chunk of concrete or wooden planks. All of this simply put draws the player into the game more effectively than in its predecessor.
It seems that developers at long last are discovering how to make games that can be played in single player, multiplayer, or online. I had a blast playing Gears or War 2 but I was able to work through it fairly quickly. If you don't have Xbox Live and aren't a huge fan of the series, I wouldn't recommend buying this one only because it is a story based. Once you finish the story, it diminishes the playability of the game by a factor of 2. I would instead recommend renting this one and sitting down for a day to play. After that, if you still want to own this game, then by all means, buy it. The developers certainly earned it.
8.75 out of 10
~Northwest Guru
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