Pretty awesome Gears of War 2 Review

The single player campaign takes place 6 months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb, a rather futile attempt at washing out the Locust Horde beneath. Months of peace had passed until cities began mysteriously collapsing and vanishing underground, leaving the COG [Coalition of Ordered Governments] baffled with suspicion. The only plausible answer was clear, the Locust were back.

Having being redeployed in Jacinto - Planet Seras safe haven, Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago and fan-favourite Anthony Carmine's brother - Benjamin Carmine head out to the open fields to take the fight to the Locust. The first initial run through is an adrenaline filled 10-hour experience, and as with the first game, you are given the choice to play co-operatively with a friend over Xbox Live or Local multiplayer on 4 extremely well balanced difficulties, 3 of which are unlocked from the start. The Insane difficulty is only unlocked after you've saw'd and shotgunn'd your way through the story.


Moving on Gears of War 2's crown jewels, the multiplayer. After Gears of War 1's enormous success on Xbox Live, many fans were eagerly awaiting to check out the new refined cover system, the new weapons, maps, characters, everything. You name it - Gears 2 fans have been literally eating small animals and even children to check out the polished-up version of what made its forefather a big hit.


The new and refined multiplayer has one big change. 5 vs 5 as opposed to Gears of War 1's 4 v 4. This, paired up with the games relatively smooth matchmaking system has given fans something they desperately missed from Gears 1 but in sacrifice, the quick search feature for public player matches has gone. You are now stuck with two options - ranked matchmaking, or private games. This may be a disappointment for some, but given the scale of people that will be playing Gears of War 2 for months and even years to come, finding a game will never be more than 20 seconds away, unless you have no friends. Then you'll be sat searching for hours. For some reason, this game seems to hate loners. If you try and search for an Execution game by yourself, prepare to think up strats for every map as you'll have plenty of time to do so. The matchmaking system is extremely similar to that of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3, simply invite your friends, and you will begin searching for another party of a similar skill level, determined by ranks. Nobody truly has a clue about host election in ranked games, but where possible the lag has been significantly reduced.


New game modes have also been introduced. These are:


Guardian - A new take on the old Assassination. If the leader of a team dies - they don't respawn. Protect him/it!

Horde - The new fan favourite. Arcade style combat throws wave after wave at you and up to 4 of your teammates. If all players are killed, the wave ends and players can opt to restart from the level they fell on.

King of the Hill - Annex with Execution rules. To keep collecting points after a capture, at least one player must remain in the Hill. If a player is killed in the hill, they cannot respawn.

Submission - Capture the Flag with a twist. The flag is a person. Down the stranded and deliver him to a predetermined area of the map.

Wingman - 2 v 2 v 2 v 2 v 2. Execution rules are in play. You and your teammate play as the same character.


Other changes include the addition of brand new weapons. These are:


Adjusted Hammerburst - Now a semi-automatic rifle, this is added to the multiplayer as a choice for your default starting weapon.

Boomshield - This is a portable shield that can be deployed anywhere on the ground. It works in conjunction with any pistol.

Gorgon Pistol - Burst pistol, small clip size with a slow reload time.

Grenades - Grenades can now be planted into walls to be used as proximity mines.

- Ink Grenade - Slowly poisons an area. Slowly damages victims who walk into its poison cloud, prolonged exposure leads to death.
- Smoke Grenade - Covers an area with smoke. Delivers a concussive blast that knocks foes off their feet.


Mortar - Releases a rainfall of explosives from above an enemy.

Mulcher - Standard Gatling gun.

Scorcher Flamethrower - BURN BABY BURN!


Each are extremely useful in their own right. Want to take out some campers along with the entire world? Bring a Mortar. Want to flush the campers out? Bring an Ink Grenade. Want to annoy everyone in the game? Bring a smoke grenade. Truth be told, the only useful weapon to come out of this noob-friendly arsenal is the Hammerburst. Having it as an optional starting weapon is a brilliant way to freshen up the multiplayer for Gears 1 fans and put in the hands of the right user is just as, if even more effective than the Lancer.


The overall feel of the game is much better than its predescessors. The graphics are extremely smooth, shiny and detailed and when coupled with the fantastic new maps shipped with the game along with 5 returning classics, [well, 3, Subway and Tyro Station are terrible] it is without doubt one of the best looking shooters on the 360. The movement is fluid and sharp, and even though it has been noticeably toned down - the multiplayer still has the same edge and tenacity as it's ol' Dad.


Summary

Few of the new weapons have any worth, and the game still whips up some occasional bugs online. However, these minor flaws have zero power of overshadowing a truly superb game. The new maps are wonderfully diverse and enjoyable to play on. The graphics are endlessly beautiful, the gameplay is as smooth as Lt. Kim's head and will be played by the majority of anti-Bungie gamers for a long, long time.