Gears of War 2 is such an excellent game that I find myself surprised at how much fun it is. It is by far one of the grisliest and bloodiest shooters out there but it works so much better than its predecessor.
I have spent a lot of time working towards a rank of 30 in Halo 3 for the past month, and I have significantly improved my game. I was a 19 when I started to take the game more seriously back in September. Now I'm a 28. So I cannot really tell whether that exercise in improving my reaction time and thinking on the fly has helped my control in Gears2 but by every measure, Gears 2 feels much more controlled and precise than the first installment. On the other hand, maybe it's my new HD bigscreen.
Be all that as it may, there are several enhancements to the franchise that like with Halo2 and Halo3 embrace, extend and enhance the Gears experience. More weapons, more vehicles, more stunning and varied venues, more subtle music, more creepy uses of darkness, more character revelations, more well thought out battle spaces, more dialog and more moves. Did I mention more enemies? And how.
The biggest change in gameplay in Gears2 is that there are a larger number of battle situations in which you are shooting from a moving platform. The original was walk and shoot, run and shoot, shoot from cover and flank the enemy. Good enough. But shooting from huge moving vehicles over rough terrain, or barges or dirigibles or trams - that's different. As well, Gears2 has avoided over reliance on boss battles. Instead, it's all about trying not to be overrun by hordes of foes of all shapes, sizes, speeds and strengths. A great battle in Gears2 will have you in an area where the cover moves, and you have some one-shot-kill enemies running up quickly to you and exploding nearby like suicide bombers, some enemies moving very slowly with large weapons that require two direct headshots to kill. All the while the standard grunts are changing positions and laying down suppressing fire and then a mounted enemy is zig-zagging his way to you and you have to decide to kill him or his mount first then deal with the other. Sometimes you have one assistant, sometimes you have three. All very varied.
The multiplayer and menu system which was very bare bones in the first go round has gained a lot of sophistication in the new version. It makes for a more convivial lobby experience.
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