GEARS OF WAR 2 First Day Total
2 Million 700 Thousand Copies
HALO 3 First Week Total
2 Million 300 Thousand Copies
General Info
Title:
Gears Of War 2
Developer:
Epic Games
Publisher:
Microsoft Game Studios
Multiplayer:
Up to 8 Players (TBA)
Platforms:
Xbox 360
Website:
www.gearsofwar.com
Release Date:
14th November 2008
About...
Gears of War 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed best-seller of 2006 Gears of War, and was announced by lead designer Cliffy B during the 2008 Game Developers Conference on 20th February 2008
Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb triggered at the end of the first game. Though most of the Locust Horde were destroyed, the explosion also caused the liquid Immulsion to vaporize, inflicting much of the remaining human population with a fatal disease called "Rust Lung". While the humans dealt with their casualties, the Locust found a way to build huge sinkholes under the remaining human outposts. Jacinto Plateau, the last remaining refuge for humans which was thought to be safe from such attacks, is showing signs that the same fate awaits it. In order to stop the fall of Jacinto, Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago lead a new Delta Squad into the Locust nest.
The Unveiling Of Gears 2
On 20th February 2008, at the Game Developers Conference, An announcement trailer was shown Cliffy B arrives on stage with a lancer replica and announces that Gears of War 2 will be available exclusivley on Xbox 360 and will be released in November, which was shock to everybody. To coincide with the game's official announcement at the GDC, free gamer pictures ("Crimson Picture Pack") and a dashboard theme ("Bare Your Teeth"), as well as a teaser trailer, titled "Duel" (not available in all regions), were made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The official announcement trailer and GDC video can be found below.
The Release Of Gameplay
Not long after the GDC trailer, Gears of War was used as a prototype to show off the new Unreal Engine in all it's Glory. Plus was a taster for all the hardcore fans at what Gears 2 has in store for them. On 9th May 2008, the first glimpse at the gameplay of Gears 2 emerged on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Introduced by Cliffy B, right off the bat he tells us about some of the changes. Emergence holes are now big enough to sink entire cities, with the COG now using vehicles called Derricks to travel down through these emergence holes to battle the Locusts. Then the video switches to Chapter 3 of Act I, 'Assault', and the gameplay begins...
Tech Demo
Main Features
-Reavers are back. There doesn't seem to be any significant changes in their design but it's worth noting that while they didn't make an appearance until late on in Gears Of War, they're now showing up much earlier in the sequel.
-You can now use the Locust as a hostage once you've downed him. This also leads to a neck snap move. Will this move carry over to multiplayer? And if so, will the hostage be able to free himself?
-Has the 'hostage' move replaced the curbstomp? It's possible but curbstompers will be reassured by the fact that the hostage move is on the A button. In the original Gears, curbstomp was on X, so both moves can co-exist...
-Context sensitive chainsawing - the animation will be different depending on where you chainsaw from, rather than having the enemy spin round to face you as the animation kicks in. Still, it's kind of weird how the Locust's arm falls off after being chainsawed up the middle...
-A new weapon that looks like a really beefy, powerful pistol. Almost like a cross between a pistol and a shotgun.
-Same D-pad weapon switching, between two primary weapons, grenades and pistol. The pistol, at least in this video, is replaced by an SMG style weapon.
-You get to fight the Brumak - at last.
-Chainsaw duels ARE CONFIRMED! A quick mini-game to mash B decides the victor but again, this is something we're interested to see if it makes it over to multiplayer or not for two reasons. First, chainsaw duelling will leave you exposed to whoever else is about (especially snipers) and second, mashing a button is a mechanic that could hand advantage to the game's host. We all know how problematic host advantage proved for Gears Of War...
-Carmine might be dead but his spirit lives on - one of the guys fighting alongside Fenix looks just like Carmine, wearing the 'standard' Gears Of War armour. Excellent news! Hopefully he's a real character and not just a generic soldier included for the sake of that particular chapter.
-Plenty of locusts on screen at the same time, as Marcus Fenix takes potshots at a group while the Derrick passes them. Will be interesting to see if you actually get thrown up against a horde of them during the game or if they're restricted to 'scenery' in this manner. Note that reticle doesn't turn red when Marcus aims at them, suggesting they're more of a fancy graphical effect than an actual gameplay element.
Details Released 08/06/08
08/06/08 an insider at EPIC has released new info about the game. Here straight from the guy himself is what he said.
Campaign:
-Will be divided into 4 Acts, with 6 chapters in each Act. Each chapter should take like 30 minutes to complete, So your looking at around a 12 hour long game possibly?
-COG tags have been replaced with war journals.
-Raven helicopter playable! Well, from what I saw it was Marcus, Dom, and Carmine (with Dizzy piloting) the Raven, with everyone shooting these new bird like creatures.
-Four player co-op confirmed
-Cole and Baird won't be introduced until the second act. The story will then shift to 2 seperate ones, Marcus's and Dom's. Marcus will have himself, Dizzy, Carmine, and Colonol Hoffman in his squad infiltrating the locust. Dom will have himself, Cole, Baird, and Tai with him looking for Maria.
-The Raam locust will appear again with signature turrets. (not a boss though)
-The Locust Queen will make an appearence but won't be a boss
-A main character will die that was in Gears 1.
Multiplayer:
-I got to play 4 maps. River, Gridlock, Subway, and Security.
Gridlock is pretty much the same physically except there is a ton of vines and trees everywhere and there is shallow water at each of the spawns. (like canals).
River is alot like Canals but bigger. What I like is there are two sweet sniping spots and little cabins like in that really dark map in Gears 1 (forgot what's it called it was DLC).
Security is ok for games like Warzone but awesome for Meatflag. The switches like in Garden return except these are giant ass lasers. The overall feel is like War Machine / Clocktower love child. Yeah, there's also a turret.
Now Subway, holy ****. Complete turn around from Gears 1, this is now my favorite map. You know those non moving trains in the first one? Well now they move! They actually stop as well! They'll go around like 3 times, (and when they move it shakes the whole map) at which you can get pwned by them. They'll then stop for like 30 seconds, in which you can get on and fight with someone else. If your still on while the train goes again, your controller will rumble and you'll be in complete darkness (you can still fight the guy). You can then get off when it comes back. Pure Awesome.
Weapons:
-Lancer is improved, my new fav weapon.
-Hammerburst is like Halo's Battle Rifle. I like it alot just it doesn't have a chainsaw... bummer. I can totally see the experienced players using this one over the lancer though.
-Boomshot's active reload shoots out both rockets at once (if you have 2 ammo) but other than that it's the same one we love from Gears 1.
-Torque Bow's active reload gives you a shorter charge time, which is sweet.
-Snub Pistol is weaker
-The Revolver is actually useful now, if you don't have an active it sucks, but with one it shoots double the speed and can down a guy fast.
-The poisen grenade is the same fog of death used in Garden.
-Shotgun is unchanged
-Smoke's make a noise and set a guy back (like if a guy is near a nade in Gears 1) and it's really funny when you tag someone!
-Sniper is unchanged.
-Flamethrower is pretty awesome. The fire in it is amazing! it's a pretty short ranged weapon and you are slightly slower if it's equipped but it's good for clearing out a tight area. You can down a guy with one melee also.
-The Hammer of Dawn is bigger but other than that it's not changed at all.
-Gorgon Pistol. You guys have seen it =P
-The guys at Epic were teasing that another weapon was in the works that I didn't play.
Gametypes:
-King of the Hill. (Annex has been axed. You have the option however to set "Player Presence" to Yes or No, so it's basically there)
-Warzone. (same as Gears 1)
-Execution. (same as Gears 1, can use the new "Y" button executions)
-Wingman.
-Meatflag.
-Team Deathmatch. (Warzone but with respawns. There is a set death count a team has to reach)
-Guardian
Main Characters
Marcus Fenix - He is first introduced as an inmate, serving a prison sentence for abandoning his military post in order to make a vain attempt to save his father. Prior to the Locust Invasion, Fenix is noted for having a famed military career, during which he played a notable part in the Pendulum Wars. He is the newly appointed COG leader of Delta Squad and leads his team into the shadows, fighting through the thick and thin, in the ever epic battle between Humans and Locust,
Dominic Santiago - He is a vocal, colorful, yet practical soldier. He is loyal to a fault, especially with his friends, and has no patience for those who think of themselves first. He steadfastly believes in the Coalition of Order Governments’ Army. He has a close friendship with Marcus Fenix, who he fights alongside with throughout Gears of War. He is apparently attempting to locate his wife Maria, who he lost track of after Emergence Day.
Damon Baird - He is a cynical and reluctant soldier, whose main strengths lie in his intelligence. In the game's campaign he appears as a sarcastic solider, that takes and makes jokes. He is introduced into the game as a member of Alpha Squad, who is trapped behind enemy lines while in possession of a device that will allow the humans to map out the tunnel system of the Locust Horde. He later joins Delta Squad as a technical specialist. He is highly knowledgeable about the Locust Horde and for this reason, he is a great asset to his fellow Gears. Among other things, he also excels in mechanics, hacking and other repair-related tasks, such as repairing a damaged APC and hacking into geobots. Early in the game Baird expresses disdain for Fenix, and indicates that he thinks he should have been promoted to lead Delta Squad. However, Fenix quickly earns his respect through his battlefield leadership.
Augustus Cole - He is a former professional "Thrashball" defensive lineman player for the Cougars, number 83, according to Dom. Members of the stranded as well as fellow COG soldiers often recognize him based on his hairy Thrashball days. He craves action and prefers the most direct path to his next fight. What he lacks in finesse, he makes up for in raw energy. Along with his enthusiasm and charm, Cole is confident in his own weird abilities to overcome anything. He has yet to be proven wrong.
Words From Cliffy B
“We have creatures that make the Brumak look like a baby panda bear.” -Cliff Bleszinski
Drop in and drop out co-op. Multiple save files to maintain the integrity of each playthrough without abandoning your other attempts. Gears 2 will have different difficulty settings for each player in co-op. One person can plme will understand what that means, and when you split up, you will have individual experiences. Details on how this works exactly are under wraps. A fourth difficulty is being added for the most casual gamers. Harder difficulty settings will remain “truly devastating.” They say Casual in the first game wasn’t casual enough. This way everyone who wants to pick up the controller will be embraced. COG Centaur tank. Takes the best parts of a monster truck and a military tank and combines them. There’s a dedicated level where you’ll pilot one. “We were shown a vast underground cave level wherin Marcus and his companions will take the fight to the Locust. Unlike the sometimes cramped and and linear subterranean paths from the first game, the cavern complex is vast and breathtaking. Branching levels and open spaces give players true tactical choices as they decide which way to tackle an assault. Whatever path you choose, bio-luminescent plants light light the faces of the new Locust Kantus enemies. These monk-like devils hum low and droning chants that can be focused into sonic attacks against you. They wield weapons like the new Gorgon burst pistol and poison grenades, both of which can become part of your arsenal if you play your cards right. However, the Kantus’ true danger lies in their ability to revive their fallen bretheren from afar. Where before you could rest easy after taking down an enemy soldier, now there is the constant danger of them rising back up to continue to fight. The only alternative is to brave the hail of gunfire to break through enemy ranks and kill the Kantus sulking in the rear. Along the way, you may not have access to stable cover anymore, so you’ll have to make do with the moving kind. Massive Locust rock worms will emerge from the cavern walls during battle, guided by the Kantus’ chanting. Luckily, the creatures are so large you can hide behind them as they sliter about, and you too will be able to guide them to an advantageous firing position.”
News
STUNNING NEW TRAILER!!!
NEW SCREENS ANNOUNCE NEW ENORMOUS BOSS!
Act 1: Tip Of The Spear REVIEWED
Day One ONLINE & GAMEPLAY
14/07/08
This exclusive video from E3 2008, shows a short extract from the GOW 2 Campaign entitled "Day One". Expect Brumacs, New Creatures, Brutality, Executions, Action & Of Course, FENIX.
ASTOUNDING NEW TRAILER!
14/07/08
Just one of the few goodies to come out of E3 so far, this amazing trailer entitled "Rendevous" shows our hero Marcus Fenix heroicly marching into battle. Amazing.
MULTIPLAYER VIDEO RELEASED!
12/07/08
For all those gears guys and gals out there, here to wet your tastebuds for the gaming event of 2008, below is an exlclusive first look into the multiplayer world of Gears. Everything from new finishers to new modes is revelased. This is nothing compared to what we have to come in the next coming weeks, so keep and eye out by next saturday for the full coverage from UT3. ENJOY...
Screenshots!
For all you gears of war fanatics Stylethorpe has managed to get our hands on brand new screenshots of new features of the game but WARNING contains certain spoilers E.g. weaponary and characters etc so only proceed if you dont mind spoilers. Click on photo to view.
