Tuesday 25 Nov 2008

How exactly does one follow up Gears of War? The 2006 title was not only a monster hit (over 5 million copies sold) but also one of the most critically acclaimed games of the current generation. In all its Unreal Engine 3 powered glory, it truly ushered in ‘next-gen’ gaming, setting a technological standard that - two years on - only a handful of games have managed to match. So how could anyone possibly make a worthy successor?

The answer is surprisingly simple: just make a better game. Which is precisely what Cliff Bleszinski and his talented team at Epic Games have managed to do. Gears of War 2 features everything that we loved about its predecessor, but it refines it and extends it and presents it on a scale not even hinted at by the first game. In short, they have delivered commendably on their promise of “bigger, better and more bad-ass.”

War Stories

The story of Gears of War 2 begins a few months after that of the first game. The Locust have seemingly developed technology with which they can sink entire human cities, and the city of Jacinto, built upon solid bedrock, is the last ‘safe’ human settlement… for the time being. Naturally, it’s up to the COGs to throw a few spanners in the gears of the Locust’s latest machinations. Marcus Fenix is again the main playable character, with Dominic Santiago controlled by another player in co-operative games. Cole and Baird also make a return, and there are a few new faces as well.

The quality of the writing has improved noticeably. Epic brought in professional writers to help out, and it shows. While the story is hardly literature, it works as a solid narrative. There are still many absurdly macho one-liners to be heard, but the dialogue is more often than not believable. The writing team have taken some steps to give the story and characters a bit more substance, and it works well. Central to this is a subplot involving Dom’s quest to find his missing wife, Maria. What at first looked like something that would quickly degenerate into pure cheese, is executed well enough to be genuinely moving. There are a few other moments as well that should engage the emotions of players, and some story events that are quite dark and downright unsettling, making the narrative surprisingly involving. No, not everything works, and the story is still occasionally corny and predictable, but in terms of genre standards, the narrative here is of a reasonably high standard.

War Game

Fans of the original Gears should be more than happy with the gameplay in this offering. What made the first game great was the fact that the core mechanics required gamers to play tactically and smartly, while still packing the visceral punch of an over-the-top arcade-like shooter. The same is true of the sequel. While the essential experience this time around is not a giant step forward from the original, it has been tweaked and tuned, for the better, in almost every way.

As expected, the gunplay is consistently great. All the weapons from the first game are here, although they have been adjusted and rebalanced. A host of new and exciting weapons have been introduced as well. Of these, the Flamethrower in particular is a joy to use, as it makes quick work of enemies who’ve gotten too close for comfort. A new addition this time around is the presence of certain larger weapons, such as mortar cannons and chain guns. Similar to the turrets in Halo 3, these weapons are huge and heavy, and carrying them makes for slow and tedious movement, but they’re incredibly useful when you need to stand your ground and defend against incoming attacks.

The developers have done an excellent job of imbuing each weapon with a believable sense of power. Great use of rumble and simulated recoil effects mean that the weapons feel as powerful as they appear in the game, making for immersive and exhilarating fire-fights.

Players will also be glad to know that the weapons are finely balanced. Through several co-operative and multiplayer sessions, I observed different players going with very different weapon options, but with no one gaining any clear advantage on the basis of their preferred weapons. The mortar cannon, for example, is unstoppably powerful, but a hassle to lug around and difficult to accurately aim. The Hammershot does a lot of damage, but has low ammo capacity and is almost useless as a melee weapon. This design approach carries through to all the weaponry, making Gears 2 one of the most finely balanced shooters in recent memory, rewarding players on the basis of their skill and strategy, instead of how quickly they can get to a particular weapon spawn point.

Take Cover

Of course, gunplay in the first Gears made for only one half of the magic, with the remainder being provided by the excellent cover system, and this is certainly the case with the sequel as well. The cover system in Gears 2 has not been drastically redesigned, but for good reason: the system introduced in Gears of War still stands as perhaps the best in gaming. It’s made its way into the sequel pretty much intact, but with some notable additions. Firstly, environments now feature more destructible objects that can be used as cover. This adds to the dynamic nature of the battles, as it’s now often hard to take cover in one spot and stay there, and because it’s often possible to fish out enemies by simply destroying their hiding spots.

Secondly, and more importantly, the developers have added movable cover. Primary to this is the ‘meat-shield’ (see later), but in several instances in the game there are larger moving objects that can be used as cover, with the player even able to control or influence the movement. I won’t go into detail here so as not to spoil it for players, but I will say that it works fantastically as a gameplay mechanic and adds a refreshing new element to combat. Lastly, many of the environments, particularly the later ones, feature mechanical cover controlled by switches and levers. When approaching enemies, players first need to activate the relevant mechanisms in order to access the cover, and in some instances enemies and deactivate these again during battle.

Shifting Gears

Combat itself is further enhanced through several new gameplay mechanics that help make the game truly shine. Firstly, the melee system has been extended from that of the first game. When approaching a downed enemy, one now has various options with regard to finishing him off, from a regular curb stomp, to using the shotgun as a club, to simply pummelling him with your fists. These moves are typically gruesome and not for the faint-hearted, but contribute notably to the mood and tone of the game.

Secondly, downed players can now crawl to team mates for revival, instead of being rooted to the spot like in the first game. Crawling for help in the midst of a major battle, leaving a blood trail behind, whilst trying to avoid enemies that might finish you off for good, make for some intense adrenaline rushes. Naturally, enemies are also capable of this, which adds a sense of urgency to finishing off downed opponents before they can get to help or cover. Thirdly, grenades can now be planted as proximity mines. One of the new grenade types is the Ink Grenade, which releases a cloud of poison gas over a sizeable area. Grenade explosions are now also powerful enough to knock enemies down on their backs. This means that the utility of grenades has been significantly expanded in the game, and presents the players with interesting and diverse tactical options during battle.

The last and probably most striking of the new mechanics is the ‘meat-shield.’ Downed enemies can now be picked up and used as mobile cover, instead of simply finishing them off. The ‘meat-shield’ will absorb most frontal hits while the player can fire off shots from the pistol. The shield will only absorb so much damage though before being destroyed. Like the finishing moves, it’s gruesome and guttural, but also adds something special and unique to the combat.

A plague of Locusts

Gears of War 2 features a much broader range of enemies than the first game. The Locust hordes that players face up against are now far more differentiated, using different tactics, and bringing more variety to the combat. New Boomer types, for example, come equipped with weapons that are quite a bit more intimidating than the standard Boomshot, while extremely tough beast-riding Locust will charge straight to the player for a close-quarters battle. Also new are Tickers, small bug-like enemies that run up to players only to explode, and the Kantus, powerful Locust monks who are agile enough to dodge many attacks and can also resurrect fallen comrades.

All the new combat and cover mechanics, along with the new enemy types, mean that battles have a very active and different ‘flow’ this time around, being far more dynamic and frantic. It is very rare that players are able to take cover in one particular spot and fight from there. Rather, they need to constantly move between different points on the battlefield to not only avoid being pinned down or cornered, but to be able to play to the weaknesses of the different enemy types.

Boss battles are more common this time around, with several making an appearance. Like those of the first game, a simple run-and-gun approach is guaranteed to lead to a quick failure, and players need to be alert and quick to make use of specific opportunities for attack. Vehicle sections are also more common, and for the most part are more satisfying and exciting than that of the first game. A few vehicle sections in particular will have most players on the edge of their seats, gripping their controllers in a kind of shell-shocked glee.

One aspect of the game that really needs to be singled out here is the sheer scale of the design. The game is built on a more advanced version of Unreal Engine 3 than the first game was, and it’s apparent throughout. Environments are enormous, making for battles so large they dwarf those of the first game. The first Act (of five) starts off rather conservatively, but it’s over quickly and followed by an epic battle taking place on top of a huge moving vehicle, with literally hundreds of enemies on the ground. It really has to be seen to be believed. This scale carries through to the rest of the game, climaxing in a final act that will simply blow players away.

Second Gear

I was fortunate in that my first campaign play-through was done in online co-operative mode, and I very highly recommend that all gamers go the same route, if possible. Like that of its predecessor, the Gears 2 campaign was clearly designed for co-operative play, requiring Marcus and Dom to work together to accomplish most of the game objectives. Formulating and discussing strategies and tactics on the fly helps to get through the tougher sections, and while the squad AI is mostly excellent, having a partner with an actual brain is always the preferred choice. Fortunately, offline split-screen co-op is also available. It is somewhat disappointing though that, unlike Halo 3, four-player co-op is not supported. The game does, however, make up for this with Horde, one of the most addictive multiplayer experiences we’ve seen this year.

Horde is essentially a five-player, non-campaign co-operative mode. It can be played on any of the ten included multiplayer maps, and players have to work together as a team to survive wave after wave of progressively more powerful enemies. It gets extremely tight and tense, and players have to be really resourceful to survive up to the fiftieth (and final) wave. Getting through Horde in its entirety can easily take around five hours on Normal difficulty, and most players will want to play it multiple times.

Geared for Multiplayer

The rest of the multiplayer offering is as solid as that of the first game. The old fan favourite modes such as Warzone, Execution and Annex all make a return, but two new modes need to be singled out. Submission is a capture-the-flag variant where the ‘flag’ is actually an AI-controlled character. This ‘meat-flag’ is not only grumpy and uncooperative, but also packs a shotgun with which he’ll fight off any aspiring captors. Teams compete to subdue the flag, dragging him back to the flag score point, all the while listening to the insults and threats spewed by the unwilling hostage. It’s the most unique and surreal capture-the-flag mode you’ll play this year. Another new mode is Wingman, a death-match mode for up to five teams of two players each. Fighting and defending against up to four other teams, while trying to protect your teammate makes for an exhilarating experience.

An interesting addition this time around is that AI-controlled bots can be used in the multiplayer modes. This is useful for players who wish to practice and get to know the maps and various modes, and also for filling up a game when not enough players are available.

Overall, the multiplayer offering in Gears of War 2 is exciting and worth the price of the game alone, as it’s one of those games that will still be played two years from now. But South African gamers should know that, unfortunately, we are getting the short end of the stick. The Flashback map pack, comprising remakes of five of the first game’s multiplayer maps, was included as a free bonus with all copies of the game…except in South Africa. It is baffling and disappointing that we pay the same price for the game as everyone else, in many cases even more, but that other gamers get 50% more multiplayer content. Still, our local version does ship with all the multiplayer modes intact, playable on ten excellent maps, so players will enjoy a first-grade multiplayer experience.

Unreal Presentation

The visual presentation is consistently top-notch. The first Gears set a new standard for graphical quality in a console game, and Gears 2 easily surpasses that, being the best-looking and performing Unreal Engine powered game we’ve seen thus far. Character models are beautifully rendered and animated, and there is a real sense of weight and momentum when moving through the environments. The architecture on display is gorgeous, particularly in the later acts. There are a few moments where textures take a bit longer to load than they should, but nothing too serious. The audio presentation is also fantastic, with great audio design and use of effects, as well as an excellent soundtrack.

As a tight, tense, frenetic and adrenaline-fuelled action experience, Gears of War 2 is in a league of its own. In a console generation that has already seen perhaps a few too many ‘space marine’ games, it stands out as a truly engrossing and exciting experience with excellent long-term value. The developers have done a great job of following up one of the most celebrated releases of recent years, and I honestly have to wonder whether they’ll be able to top this one again when it’s time for Gears 3. Until then, though, I don’t really need to care, since this is a game which will keep me thoroughly entertained for some time to come.

Pros: Incredibly tight and action-packed campaign; excellent co-operative play; innovative multiplayer modes.

Cons: Missed opportunity in having no four-player story co-op; South African exclusion of Flashback map pack.

Rating:
Contributor:	Mark

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