We all know that Gears of War 2 fever is still running high, and probably will be for many months to come.

Earlier in the week Microsoft announced that the anticipated sequel had sold 2 million copies over the weekend of its release. Gears fans eagerly lapped up Marcus’ new quest, with 1.5 million gamers from around the world racking up 15 million gameplay hours and unlocking 19 million achievements.

To keep the Gears fans happy here is a Q & A with Epic Games’ Design Director Cliff Bleszinksi and Senior Producer Rod Fergusson. It makes an interesting read even if you have played the game, taking a closer look at achievements, new weapons and multiplayer modes, and if you are new to Delta squad perhaps this will convince you to join the team. Thanks to the Xbox Community Network for the interview.

- Gears of War was one of the first 360 games to really capture the public’s imagination and there is now a lot of expectation regarding the sequel. Do you feel that you will be able to meet the hype and deliver a game better than anyone can imagine?

Cliff Bleszinski: Ultimately, it will be up to gamers to decide if we’ve succeeded in making Gears 2 a more satisfying and intense experience. The game is bigger in every imaginable way. The campaign is longer with a deeper story, the controls are tighter, the multiplayer is richer, and the co-operative play is a blast. We have a great five player co-op mode called Horde in which COG players team up to take on wave after wave of increasingly difficult Locust, and it will really test your team’s combat prowess and push your skills to the limit. We hope everyone will love all the new stuff we’ve put into Gears 2 – we’ve labored to create a meaningful storyline, really interesting characters, insane weapons and a wide range of multiplayer modes.

- How do you decide on the Achievements that will appear in the game, do you find it increasingly difficult to think of original ideas for these?

Rod Fergusson: We’ve had a blast coming up with Gears 2’s Achievements, which are designed to make the discovery of important game elements fun and rewarding, and to help players get the most out of the game. Some are difficult to obtain while others are just for kicks, and we think there’s a nice mix in there for everyone. We’re not being as strict about how Achievements are obtained as we were with Gears 1 because we want more players to earn more points this time around; in fact, we’ve made sure that rewards can be earned across all game modes. The War Journal and the in-game Achievement progress pop-ups allow players to track their Achievements progress at any time, will be a great way for players to keep up with what they’ve earned, aim for their next Achievement, and compare notes with friends.

- With GOW you changed the shooter landscape, with nearly every game implementing some kind of cover system like the one you did. Do you think GOW2 will be able to introduce similar groundbreaking innovations?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’re totally flattered by other games that have adopted cover systems similar to what we created for Gears 1. We’ve actually made several hundred tweaks to the original mechanic, and we feel that it’s much smoother and intuitive this time around.

For example, while performing a roadie run, you can continue running through tight spaces without fear of getting “stuck” on cover by simply veering away from it. You can also quickly change momentum even after initiating a cover move like a SWAT turn. Players who aren’t comfortable with the default one-button movement system can opt to use an alternate control scheme that separates evasion and roadie run movements from the various cover movements.

We’re also introducing new gameplay elements in Gears 2 like dynamic cover. Meatshield lets you down an enemy and use him as an ammo-absorbing buffer, and you can also slay Locust Maulers to get the Boomshield, which can be used for portable cover as well. Another fun variation is the thick-skinned Rockworm, which you can hide behind and make your way past a lot of lead.

- The first game was a little bit criticized for providing a too short singleplayer experience. Can we expect a lengthier story this time?

Cliff Bleszinski: Absolutely, the campaign in Gears 2 is longer than that of Gears 1, without a doubt. Playing times will vary from person to person, but you can expect plenty of campaign goodness. The story picks up six months after the Lightmass bombing; the Locust are back, taking down entire cities with sinkholes, and it’s up to Marcus, Delta Squad and a legion of COG forces to lead the charge in humanity’s last stand. Dom’s search for his lost wife Maria was hinted at in the first game, and this will be explored a lot more in depth in Gears 2 as well.

- Will we see significant progression in the GOW storyline and will we learn more about the locust and their reasoning behind the war?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears fans have been asking for a more in-depth story in Gears 2, and we’re aiming to please. You’ll learn a lot more about the core members of Delta Squad, in addition to the new characters we’re introducing: Tai Kaliso, a spiritual warrior; Chairman Prescott, the COG leader who sends the military forces into battle; Dizzy Wallin, a COG conscript and former member of the Stranded; and Dom’s wife, Maria Santiago. We’ll also reveal a lot more about the enemies, including new baddies like the Tickers, explosive foes that scuttle like living landmines; the massive Bloodmounts, vicious steed that carry their Locust masters with fervor and frenzy; the sinister Kantus; plus new variations of Boomers, just to name a few.

- Do you feel GOW2 is a showcase for the power of the Unreal 3 engine?

Cliff Bleszinski: Yes, Gears 2 shows off Unreal Engine 3’s newest enhancements, including ambient occlusion, improved liquid dynamics, soft body physics, the new crowd system for rendering hundreds of enemies onscreen at once, a fracture system for the realistic destruction of objects and the environment, and so much more.

In addition, several major character and weapon models have undergone substantial up-ressing, so they’ll look better than ever. These models include Marcus, Anya, the Hammerburst Assault Rifle and the Brumak.

There are also graphical improvements in combat, such as the addition of bullet tracers and blood decals; bodies leave blood stains on the ground, and injured players bleed onto nearby walls, for example.

- I believe Epic mentioned that they’ll improve the melee combat of Gears 1, but didn’t elaborate on this for now. So I was wondering: will the melee in Gears 2 perhaps be partially influenced by Unreal Championship II (which I really liked), minus some of the exaggerated moves?

Cliff Bleszinski: We have chainsaw duels in Gears 2, so that’s a great new addition to melee combat. Furthermore, we’ve added new finishing moves, so when you’ve downed an enemy and it’s time to take him out, for example, you can turn him over and deliver a face-smashing curb stomp, or beat him with your bare hands, or split his skull in two with the end of your weapon. Finally, if you’re hit with a melee attack you can evade out of the way instead of feeling “locked down” in one spot.

- Speaking of Unreal Championship II: back in the days it was one of the few games that had a ton of options, and it even rivalled Halo in this regard. Can we expect the same degree of customization (for the modes that is) in Gears 2, as well as bots?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’ve made a ton of improvements to Gears 2 with many new or improved competitive multiplayer modes plus support for up to 10 players with the ability to fill in any open slots on a given team with A.I. bots when playing offline and private online matches. The inclusion of bots is a huge boon to players who want to enjoy competitive multiplayer when offline, or when they simply want a private match among friends and do not have the full 10 players.

- Did you manage to remove the “host advantage” from multiplayer matches?

Rod Fergusson: We have taken several measures to address instances of host advantage so that everyone can compete on equal footing as much as possible.

- Are you going to add party system to the multiplayer? Can you tell us more about new multiplayer modes?

Rod Fergusson: Yes, for Gears of War 2 we’ve added a party system that lets players hook up with their friends in full or partial teams and stay grouped together from match to match during Public (a.k.a. ranked) matches. As well, our new party system utilizes TruSkill™ to ensure that teams are finding opponents of equivalent skill.

Some of the new competitive multiplayer modes include:

• Guardian, an enhanced version of Assassination from Gears 1, in which teams secure victory by taking out the opposing side’s designated leader, while working to ensure the survival of their own leader. Players who are killed go into a respawn queue, but only as long as their leader is alive. Your team will have to carefully balance its tactics to protect your leader while managing to execute the opposing leader in a timely fashion in this mode.
• Wingman, which splits up 10 players into five teams of two, where it’s every pair for themselves. The goal is to defeat as many other two-player teams as possible, but killing blows must be in the form of an execution.
• Submission, which is Capture the Flag with a twist in which the flag is a living, moving, and shooting Stranded AI character, and we affectionately refer to as the Meatflag. The goal is to down the Meatflag and move his body to your team’s base to earn points before the opposing team can steal him back.
• King of the Hill, which was previously only available in Gears 1 for PC, and involves teams fighting to hold a single objective point. While it’s similar to Annex, teams must completely control and stay within the objective target circle to score points. Enemies are downed through execution rules so that a team has to finish everyone up close to retain control of the objective.

- Are you going to release GoW2 in Germany?

Cliff Bleszinski: No, as much as we would love for gamers in Germany to experience Gears of War 2, Microsoft will not be releasing the game there.

- How many different weapons are available in GoW2 and can you tell us about the new weapons?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’ve added several new weapons to Gears 2, and we’ve also modified and updated existing weapons:

• The Boltok Pistol has been updated from the first Gears, and now has a quicker rate of fire after an active reload.
• The Boomshield is a metal shield that can be used as portable cover when combined with a pistol. It can also be planted in the ground for stationary cover, but can be knocked over by an enemy kicking it or a hit from a smoke grenade.
• The Gnasher shotgun has been rebalanced so as to not be overpowered during multiplayer.
• The Gorgon Burst Pistol shoots in deadly, short bursts and is a favorite of the Kantus.
• The Hammerburst, the basic Locust rifle, now has a semi-automatic firing rate, higher accuracy at longer ranges, plus increased damage. You can also opt to zoom in with it by clicking the left stick.
• The Mortar is great for taking out massive amounts of Locust, offering a whole new form of destruction.
• The Mulcher, one of my favorite weapons, is basically our Gatling gun. It can be mounted on cover to mow down waves of enemies, and when it overheats, you can speed the cooling process by fanning the right bumper.
• The Ink Grenade leaves a poisonous cloud of death lingering all around the site of detonation. Steer clear when this thing goes off.
• The Scorcher flamethrower effectively toasts enemies, and a successful active reload will temporarily increase its range.
• The Smoke Grenade features a concussion blast that will knock enemies back and temporarily obscure their vision. All grenades can now be stuck to walls to act as proximity mines.

- Can we expect some kind of rank/promotion feature in the title to reward players for their online participation, perhaps something similar to CoD4 and Halo 3?

Rod Fergusson: While playing multiplayer you’ll see the visual representation of your TruSkill ranking next to your Gamertag. As you play more and more Public matches, your skill rating will increase (or decrease) and this will be represented as one of five rank icons.

- We’ve seen that map favourite Gridlock is due to make a return in Gears 2, which is great. Can we also expect some other favourites too and is there any possibility of the Gears 1 PC exclusive multiplayer maps making a showing in Gears 2?

Rod Fergusson: That’s right, Gridlock is returning in Gears 2 in the Flashback Map Pack that is being offered for free download via Xbox LIVE at launch as a token of thanks to our fans for buying a new copy of the game. The Flashback Map Pack contains our five favorite Gears 1 maps: Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Train Station, each specially updated for Gears 2.

- In an interview Cliff Bleszinski said it would be stupid to not have more a user friendly party system to play ranked games with friends. Why turn 180° for Gears of War 2?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’re rolling out a skill-based party system that allows players to rapidly join parties, form teams and play against opposing teams of similar skill. It’s all seamless and easy to use and really enriches the online experience. We’re also enhancing our matchmaking capability through our “What’s Up” feature so players can, at the press of a button, have access to all of their friends that are online playing Gears 2.

- Will Gears of War 2 support clans?

Rod Fergusson: We have not implemented clan support for Gears of War 2, although we’ve tried to make it easy to play online with your friends. As Cliff mentioned, we have the new party system that lets you join your friends in full or partial teams and stay grouped together from match to match. As well, “What’s Up” will give you instant access to all your friends playing Gears 2.

- Epic (or more specifically Cliffy B) have talked a lot about how Dom’s story will develop in Gears of War 2 in the search for his wife Maria. I was wondering how the story of the main character Marcus Fenix will develop, for instance will we find out more about his background and why he was put in prison in the first place?

Cliff Bleszinski: You’ll learn more about all the members of Delta Squad in Gears 2, including some new details about Marcus. If you’re hungry for more information about Marcus and the Gears universe, then this is your year. Along with the Gears 2 game, we’re also releasing a comic book series written by the game writer Josh Ortega and a prequel novel called Gears of War: Aspho Fields. It’s written by Karen Traviss, a #1 New York Times best-selling author, and it goes on sale Oct. 28th.

- In terms of the single player campaign replay value, Gears of War was your traditional 10 hour experience. What are you doing this time around to increase the replay value of the single player campaign? Will the game be longer this time around?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears 2’s campaign is without a doubt longer than that of the original game. Playing times will vary from person to person, but you can expect significantly more single-player action in the sequel. The story picks up six months after the Lightmass bombing; the Locust have resurfaced, and are terrorizing the planet by sinking entire cities. It’s up to Marcus, Delta Squad and the COG army to take the fight to the Locust and defend humanity in its last stand. Dom’s search for Maria, his wife, was alluded to in the first game, and this will also be explored in depth.

- In Gears 2 will we get the full story or has some been chopped out for a PC release like last time?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’ve already confirmed that there will be no PC version for Gears 2, so you’ll be getting the full story in the campaign, which picks up six months after the Lightmass bombing. The Locust have resurfaced, and are wreaking havoc on the planet by destroying entire cities with sinkholes. Marcus, Delta Squad and the COG army are charged with taking the fight to the Locust and defending humanity in its last stand. Dom’s search for Maria, his wife, was alluded to in the first game, and this will also be explored in depth.

- Did the Epic team enjoy making Gears 2 as much as the first?

Cliff Bleszinski: That’s a tough question, because it was so amazing making the original Gears of War. We knew we were in uncharted waters; we were making a totally new IP on a brand new console with new engine technology, and that was a thrill ride. With Gears 2, we’ve enjoyed expanding the Gears universe by really digging deep with the storyline, and adding new characters, weapons, multiplayer modes – especially Horde, our five-player co-op multiplayer mode. It’s hard to say, because both games have been complete labors of love.

- Gears of War was one of the most successful Shooter on Xbox Live until today. In what ways will Gears of War 2 differ from the first title? Is Gears of War 2 just a sequel or can we expect to see something innovative?

Cliff Bleszinski: For starters, we’re introducing a skill-based party system for multiplayer game modes, multiple save files for the campaign, a War Journal that keeps track of collectibles, a Battle Cam mode, five-versus-five competitive multiplayer, in-game Achievement tracking and the all-new five-player co-op multiplayer mode, Horde.

The entire game is bigger and better in just about every way imaginable. We made several hundred tweaks to the cover system, which is easier to use this time around, plus we’re introducing dynamic cover. You can now down an enemy and use him as an ammo-absorbing Meatshield, and you can also use the Boomshield while moving, or you can plant it in the ground and take cover that way. Another fun variation on portable cover is the Rockworm, which will take a lot of lead as you hide behind it and make your way past enemies.

Gears 2 is visually and audibly better as well. We’ve overhauled the art, and the technology in Unreal Engine 3 has come so far since the original Gears, it’s really impressive to do a side-by-side comparison. We recorded almost all new audio; 85 percent of the sounds in Gears 2 are totally new to the series. Steve Jablonsky (Transformers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) composed and recorded a completely new score for the game, and the final mix is incredible.

- How about the Mulitplayer Part of Gears of War 2. The 2-Person-Online-CoOp was something we never have seen before. Did you feel like you were doing something the community would really love with coop?

Cliff Bleszinski: Since Gears 1, co-op has gone from being a “nice to have” to a necessity. As we all know, everything is better as a shared experience and so we wanted to make co-op even more accessible this time around. In Gears 2, you can drop in and drop out of co-op play without disrupting the game, and you don’t have to play on the same difficulty as the other person, which makes it possible for players of different skill levels to be able to work together and enjoy the game. We’ve had a great response to this so far, and hope the lowered barrier of entry encourages people to check it out.

Horde is our brand new co-op mode that allows up to five players to work together to fight off wave after wave of increasingly hostile Locust. Teamwork and tactics will be just as crucial to survival as heavy firepower, and only the very best teams will survive long enough to combat all 50 waves. But don’t worry, we’ve made sure you can bookmark your progress every five waves so you won’t have to complete all 50 waves in one sitting.

- What about a map editor? Have you ever considered implementing one?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears of War 2 will not have a map editor, although we have introduced a lot of new maps, plus we’re bringing back fan favorites from Gears 1 with the Flashback Map Pack, which will be available for free download when the game launches.

- Will there be dedicated server for better connections?

Rod Fergusson: Gears 2 won’t have dedicated servers, but we’ve invested a lot of time and resources to optimize the net code and reduce host advantage. Our goal is for everyone to compete on equal footing as much as possible.

- Will some of the old Maps (or all of them) be playable, perhaps as an additional Download Content?

Cliff Bleszinski: Sure, we’re offering the Flashback Map Pack for free download via Xbox LIVE at launch as a token of thanks to our fans for buying a new copy of the game. The Flashback Map Pack contains our five favorite Gears 1 maps: Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Train Station, each specially updated for Gears 2.

- How will the new match making work and will you be able to play ranked with friends this time round?

Rod Fergusson: Our new match making system is a skill-based party system that allows players to rapidly join parties, form teams and play against opposing teams of similar skill. Parties remain intact as you move from match to match so you’ll be able to play with your friends as long as you like. It’s all seamless and easy to use and really enriches the online experience. We’re also enhancing our matchmaking capability through our “What’s Up” feature so players can, at the press of a button, have access to all of their friends that are online playing Gears 2.

- With bringing in new “power” weapons such as the Medusa, do you feel they will affect the core elements of the online side especially when playing competitively?

Cliff Bleszinski: The Gorgon Burst Pistol shoots in deadly, short bursts, and it’s a favorite of the Kantus, the Locust priest that summons enemies with shrieks and battle cries. We’ve worked extensively on gameplay balancing so that you’ll have a fair shot at taking down foes wielding the weapon in multiplayer. There are inherent advantages and disadvantages to using any weapon in the game; while the Gorgon pacts a nasty punch, it also lets back with more recoil than its counterpart sidearms.

- Will there be a beta for the game?

Rod Fergusson: We’re not releasing preview code for Gears 2 since we’re focused on shipping the game on time and making sure fans everywhere have it in time for the holidays.

- Will the game have a movie editor, similar to that seen in Halo 3, like EGM thought it may?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears 2 will not have a movie editor, although we have implemented a Battle Cam mode that lets you capture images photojournalist style and compare pics with other players. If you get killed in a multiplayer match, or if you’re waiting in the respawn queue, you can cycle through a number of fixed camera locations via the Battle Cam, which automatically pans and zooms in on the action. You can also fly through levels via Ghost Cam, and take screens that way. You can get pretty creative with it, and we want everyone to post their own images at gearsofwar.com so we can see who captures the best action shots.