Gears of War 2 Preview
June 30,2008 - For quite some time, Gears of War was the king of the Xbox Live charts. A few contenders took their jabs, but only Halo 3 was able to top Epic Games’ 2006 shooter. The multiplayer was great but there were some issues that limited the game. Epic has taken it all in stride and with what they have displayed thus far to the industry, it looks like Gears of War 2 may be able to blow its predecessor’s multiplayer out of the water.
At this point, there are four confirmed multiplayer variants: War Zone, Meat Flag, Guardian and Wingman. War Zone is a fancy name for Deathmatch but the teams will be split into squads of five. This and Guardian so far are the only two variants to feature five-on-five battles – we’ll get more into Guardian soon enough.
Instead of leaving the best sounding game type for last, we’ll give it to you now: it’s Meat Flag. This very Epic-like game type is a tweaked version of capture the flag. Instead of capturing an actual flag (flags are so last year), you have to track down an AI character on the map. This is where things get tricky. Your live flag won’t be camping in a certain spot; rather, he’ll make this harder for you and move around the map. The bastard doesn’t want to be captured and you’ll see that soon enough after grabbing him or her. Your captive will squirm, thrash and smack talk you to death if he can.
Guardian will work somewhat similar to War Zone but in this case, one player is dubbed the Guardian. Scrap it out and die as much as you like, but make sure your golden boy isn’t harmed. If he goes down for the count, you’re running on your last life.
Protective work spills over into the Wingman variant. No, it doesn’t mean you have some dude with you to make you look better. Here, five teams of two will be matched up against each other in medium-sized maps. It’s your job to assault the other teams while simultaneously protecting your partner. He’ll be able to revive you if you go down, but if he dies you’re almost certainly screwed. This game type is the most tactical of the bunch so far without dropping the violent spirit of Gears, so it should please those who aren’t big fans of strict tactical types.
Speaking of avoiding death (somewhat indirectly), new cameras have been “installed” for when you do meet your virtual maker. The original Gears had security cams but they have been ditched for battle cameras. With new cameras, you can follow a particular part of the battle or skip in between to get a better feel for the maps. If you study a map and still find yourself not liking it, you can now veto maps prior to a game. Word on the street is also saying you can snap shots from battles and post them online, but not much is known about it. The matchmaking system is also getting an overhaul to appease those who love to play with their friends.
In terms of actual gameplay, the cover system has been reworked just a tad. When behind cover, you won’t be pinned toward the corners and subject to flanks. Portable shields have also been added to the maps. But the biggest addition is the chainsaw battle. Shown off in the debut teaser for the game, battles are sustained by furiously tapping the B button on the controller. Battles reportedly only last a few seconds, but it’s plenty of time to duke it out. New kill animations are piggybacking on the feature. If this doesn’t sound like your thing and you prefer something that’s personal but not too personal, grab the flamethrower and cook yourself a Locust…or COG.
Three map names have been revealed: Gridlock (2.0, in essence), Security and River. A remake of Gears’ Gridlock, it looks to remain very much intact but with added movie-like lighting, which is applied to the other maps as well. Security is a more technical map while River is of a closer resemblance to Gridlock in terms of shape. River will be suitable for up-close action as well as longer distance sniper work.
So there you have it: Gamer 2.0’s look at the multiplayer aspects of Gears of War 2. Will it be a marked improvement over its predecessor? We won’t make any judgments now, so we will all just have to wait and see. Stick to the GameHub for updated information and videos about Gears of War 2.
Written By: Alex Quevedo | Tags: Gears of War 2, Xbox 360, Microsoft Game Studios, Epic Games
 |
Instead of leaving the best sounding game type for last, we’ll give it to you now: it’s Meat Flag. This very Epic-like game type is a tweaked version of capture the flag. Instead of capturing an actual flag (flags are so last year), you have to track down an AI character on the map. This is where things get tricky. Your live flag won’t be camping in a certain spot; rather, he’ll make this harder for you and move around the map. The bastard doesn’t want to be captured and you’ll see that soon enough after grabbing him or her. Your captive will squirm, thrash and smack talk you to death if he can.
Guardian will work somewhat similar to War Zone but in this case, one player is dubbed the Guardian. Scrap it out and die as much as you like, but make sure your golden boy isn’t harmed. If he goes down for the count, you’re running on your last life.
Protective work spills over into the Wingman variant. No, it doesn’t mean you have some dude with you to make you look better. Here, five teams of two will be matched up against each other in medium-sized maps. It’s your job to assault the other teams while simultaneously protecting your partner. He’ll be able to revive you if you go down, but if he dies you’re almost certainly screwed. This game type is the most tactical of the bunch so far without dropping the violent spirit of Gears, so it should please those who aren’t big fans of strict tactical types.
Speaking of avoiding death (somewhat indirectly), new cameras have been “installed” for when you do meet your virtual maker. The original Gears had security cams but they have been ditched for battle cameras. With new cameras, you can follow a particular part of the battle or skip in between to get a better feel for the maps. If you study a map and still find yourself not liking it, you can now veto maps prior to a game. Word on the street is also saying you can snap shots from battles and post them online, but not much is known about it. The matchmaking system is also getting an overhaul to appease those who love to play with their friends.
In terms of actual gameplay, the cover system has been reworked just a tad. When behind cover, you won’t be pinned toward the corners and subject to flanks. Portable shields have also been added to the maps. But the biggest addition is the chainsaw battle. Shown off in the debut teaser for the game, battles are sustained by furiously tapping the B button on the controller. Battles reportedly only last a few seconds, but it’s plenty of time to duke it out. New kill animations are piggybacking on the feature. If this doesn’t sound like your thing and you prefer something that’s personal but not too personal, grab the flamethrower and cook yourself a Locust…or COG.
 |
So there you have it: Gamer 2.0’s look at the multiplayer aspects of Gears of War 2. Will it be a marked improvement over its predecessor? We won’t make any judgments now, so we will all just have to wait and see. Stick to the GameHub for updated information and videos about Gears of War 2.
 |
|
 Games, News, Reviews, Media and More |
|
| Published by: | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Developed by: | Epic Games |
| Genre: | Action |
| # of Players: | 1-8 |
| ESRB Rating: | Mature |
| Release Date: | US: November 7th, 2008 |
|
Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | User Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | Hype Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | User Rating: N/A
|
