All the right elements are in place in this sequel to the popular third-person shooter that again pits Delta Squad against the Locust Horde: gorgeous visuals, intense action, cheeky humor and it's all incredibly fun.
One thing that Epic changed was the way you play. Something Gears’ fans are used to is running and gunning with the shotgun. Well, that has gone with the wind with a de-powering of the shotgun and empowering of the Lancer (more vibration feedback and a stronger sound also accompany the update). In fact, the Lancer is so powerful this time around that you could almost go the entire length of the game without using any other gun other than the Lancer if it wasn’t for ammo restrictions that force you to pick up and use other guns. The Lancer as the key weapon changes the scope of the entire game. Instead of running up with a shotgun, you can sit back with your teammates shooting from a distance, which is more thanks to the new stopping power effect; say hello to the new noob weapon of choice, folks. You can still run and gun, but it won't be as effective as it was in Gears of War. The arsenal provided in Gears 2 has grown sufficiently with the Hammerburst, Gorgon pistol, Boomshield, ink grenade, flamethrower, Mulcher (machine gun) and mortar. The Hammerburst packs more power than the Lancer, but lacks the melee attack power and requires rapid pressing of the fire button to provide continuous fire. Gorgon pistol fires four short shot bursts per reload; very deadly at close range.
Some of the bigger Locust wield massive shields that you can take and it even appears for multiplayer, which provides portable cover. While carrying the shield, holding the left trigger will cover your body, which lets you move while under cover. You have your right hand free, so you can only use your pistol in this mode, but it lets you get right in front of mounted guns and infiltrate the enemy line. You can also plant the shield right in the ground, which frees your hands up to use your other weapons. Using this tactic you can get into a perfect strategic spot by adding cover. Ink grenade poisons the area, Scorcher Flamethrower burns the bejesus out of whatever you target, but watch out, as burning victims can still cause you harm. Finally, the Mulcher is a large chain gun that can either be fired from the hip or mounted for even better accuracy and stopping power, and the Mortar fires rocket projectiles in the air to bring down the heavy rain on entire fleets.
Horde Mode in Action!
Another new mode added is the Horde Mode. In this spectacular game mode, you have to kill a certain amount of Locust to get to the next wave that is considerably stronger. There are 50 waves in total with four levels of difficulty. The amount of enemies and even the difficulty refresh after each ten rounds going from a few Locust monsters to an insane army of Locust troops pinning your team down. Cooperatively working with four extra buddies is the key to success and utilizing the map efficiently. The AI is smart and will use malicious tactics to win. This is probably one of the best additions added to Gears of War 2 and will get you hooked after playing it.
Added upon Horde are the multiplayer modes that brought the original Gears of War into the limelight. Other than being a team-centered game, there is also more strategy involved than the heroic run and gun style seen in the original Gears. The maps have expanded and each offer different varieties of depth to better welcome the new 5 on 5 game set up. Some maps can be a straight forward fight and others an intricate maze. With ten brand new maps and five downloadable bonus remakes, none of them seem to get old. Some new modes that were added to compliment these maps are Guardian, Wingman, Submission and King of the Hill. "Wingman" mode is where players slip into two-player teams and watch each other's backs while fighting to be the last team standing. "Submission" is a variation of the "capture the flag" mode in which you race to take out a hostile Stranded and carry him to a capture point. Guardian is where one person is captain and if he dies then the team cannot respawn. King of the Hill is just taking control of the most designated areas before time runs out.
