Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a video game that consists of 7 releases
Reviewed on Nov. 2, 2008
Gears of War 2 intelligently builds on the successes of the first game, resulting in an immensely appealing sequel that is better in almost every way.
Read Jeff Gerstmann's full review
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Lead Delta Squad as Marcus Fenix and fight the Locust Horde once more in the follow-up to the 2006 smash hit.
Overview 
Gears of War 2
The original Gears of War was a spectacular-looking game, and the sequel maintains this high technical and artistic quality. Instead of pushing for increased visual fidelity, the graphics engine adds a couple of other dimensions to the presentation, with walls that crumble under gunfire and dozens of enemies onscreen at once. These new features don't necessarily affect the gameplay, but they look good and help add to the dramatic scale that the designers have chosen. The new organic capabilities of the Unreal Engine make for one particularly memorable level in which you literally have to kill a giant enemy from the inside. Gears of War 2 also has impeccable sound design, with terrific voice acting, meatier weapon effects, and another beautiful cinematic score.
Gears of War 2
Much like its predecessor, Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter, making use of an over-the-shoulder point of view for the majority of its gameplay. The game will still maintain a large amount of emphasis on using cover (which is now destructible), and will feature improved close combat gameplay, such as the ability to have button-mashing chainsaw duels with computer-controlled enemies or human opponents online. Additionally, Marcus can now make use of defeated enemy Locust as human-shields, can crawl to safety when seriously injured, and can perform more finishing moves on fallen enemies. Though portions of the game will retain the same sort small battlefields seen in the original game, it's also now capable of presenting areas that are much larger in size and scope (thanks to the Unreal III engine). Epic is also making a significant attempt to enhance the storytelling of the game, with character back- stories, letters and journals that can be discovered while playing, improved dialogue, and perhaps even a love interest for the main character. Gears of War 2 will also feature parental controls, changing the blood in the game to sparks and removing the swearing. Without these options, blood and gore have been increased from the first. Wherever your character moves, a trail of blood will follow them depending on how injured they are. The same goes for human meat shields and downed/crawling characters.
Soundtrack 
Gears of War 2 Original Soundtrack
Gears of War 2 Original Soundtrack
- Return of the Omen
- Hope Runs Deep
- Green As Grass
- Expectations
- Finally, A Lead
- Armored Prayer
- Hold Them Off
- Derrick Chase
- Building Thunder
- Hell Breaks Loose
- Bedlam
- Breakneck
- Landown
- Racing To Extinction
- If They Can Ride 'Em
- Hollow
- Unexpected Changes
- March of the Horde
- Highway
- Denizens of the Deep
- With Sympathy
- Insurmountable Odds
- Bump in the Night
- Frenzy
- Outpost
- Finale
- Autumn of Mankind
Major Characters
Marcus Fenix
The main character of the Gears Of War series. He was thrown in jail for abandoning his squad to save his father (he failed to do so) and was busted out by Dom after Emergence Day. He becomes the leader of Delta Squad early on in the first game and remains in that position for the second game.
Dominic Santiago
The second main protagonist in the game, Dominic Santiago busted his good friend Marcus Fenix out of the Jacinto military prison after Emergence Day, and the two have been friends ever since. In Gears Of War 2, Dom spends the majority of the game trying to find his wife Maria.
Augustus Cole
A former thrashball player, Augustus "Cole Train" Cole is one of the most easily recognizable characters in the Gears Of War series. He is extremely enthusiastic about most situations, whether good or bad, and possesses a vibrant disposition.
Damon Baird
Probably the most intelligent member of Delta Squad, Baird possesses a smart ass attitude which often frustrates his squad mates. He is disappointed when Marcus is promoted instead of him, but learns to live with it. He is capable of fixing APCs, hacking into geobots, and other mechanics.
Plot
In Gears of War 2, the Locust have returned stronger than before. Though the humans believed that the Lightmass Bomb would end the war by destroying the Locust where they lived, all it did was wipe out the Kryll breeding grounds making travel at night somewhat safer. 
Benjamin Carmine
The single player campaign starts out with Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago of Delta Squad being joined by a new member, Benjamin Carmine. Carmine is the brother of Anthony Carmine, who was a soldier that died in the first act of the first game at the hands of an unseen sniper, a fact that Dominic(Dom) makes direct reference to more than once. Marcus and Dom train the rook which also serves as a training sequence for the player. Afterward, they are tasked to defend the hospital they are stationed at from a Locust attack. Along their way through the hospital, they meet up with another Gear named Tai. Tai has earned the nickname "Bulletproof," and he has a very spiritual approach to battle. They manage to clear out the hospital and are then informed that they are to take part in a counteroffensive against the Locust.
But Dom is far more concerned fort the safety of his wife than in the battle ahead, a point that is repeatedly made clear. Anya, the intel supervisor, informs him that she might have found a lead on Maria but that it's unlikely she's still alive. Dom demands to know anyway and Anya informs him that his wife may have joined with the Stranded, humans that are without support in the heart of Locust territory. Afterward, the crew meets up with Dizzy, a Stranded that has joined the Coalition of Organized Governments, or COG. Dizzy drives a Derrick, one of several mobile platforms used for drilling that will play a key role in the upcoming operation. Used as a troop transport that he has nicknamed Betty, Dizzy follows the convoy out to the strike zone where they are expected to launch their offensive.
Along the way, they take on Reavers and Brumaks, beasts of burden used by the Locust as air and heavy ground support, respectively. They eventually arrive at Landown, the designated strike area for the Derricks, and fight their way through to clear it out and make it safe for the operation to begin. As they prepare to load themselves into the grind lifts for insertion underground, a Locust General that they haven't seen before appears and wreaks havoc amongst their ranks. Markus and Dom are already strapped into pods when this agile Locust cuts through two tanks with a twin-bladed chainsaw and advances toward them. The General is distracted by Tai and Dizzy, but Markus and Dom are forced to watch helplessly as the pod begins the launch sequence and hurtles them away. Deep underground, they find themselves in the Hollow, the home of the Locust. After fighting their way through several caverns and watching as several more pods drop from the surface, they eventually discover the Locust's new weapon: a titanic worm that is boring tunnels large enough to weaken and collapse the foundation of cities on the surface, dropping them down.
Eventually ambushed and outgunned, Marcus and Dom make contact with Private Augustus Cole, a teammate from the previous game. They continue along to find another friend, Damon Baird, the demolitions and intelligence expert. They free him from the Locust storage canister that he was locked in and he tells them the Locust were intending to "process" him, though even he isn't sure what that means as the Locust were never known to have taken prisoners. They soon find out more when they board a Locust Torture Barge intending to take it deeper into the Hollow.
Pvt Augustus Cole, aka "Cole Train"
They witness the complete destruction of a city from the surface as it falls into the crater created by the giant worm's digging and are forced to make their way through the still burning ruins in the hopes of finding a way out. They eventually make it to high ground and contact command who send in a chopper rescue squad to extract the team. As they fight their way to the chopper and begin to lift off, the giant worm erupts from the ground and rises towards them Carmine falls off of vehicle and into the beast's mouth before it swallows the chopper.
Since the beast swallowed them whole, the other COGs remain together and in one piece inside the worm. They decide to take it out and look for Carmine. Avoiding stomach acid, digestive teeth, and nearly being crushed by a giant sphere of debris, they discover Carmine fending off a swarm of creatures. Though the creatures are scared off, Carmine has already suffered grievous injuries. Carmine says his final words to Marcus: "Sarge?..(Marcus replies "Carmine..." sadly) I hurt sarge...tell my brothers... tell my ma... tell em I love em, and...and.." and dies. Marcus Fenix collects his COG tag, number 838186-22AO3-SF and a letter that he had wrote to his older brother Clay, to deliver both to Carmine's family.
After Carmine dies, Marcus and the others make their way deeper into the worm, discover its hearts, and sever their giant arteries with a chainsaw bypass, killing the beast. The beast lurches to the surface and collapses as it dies. Delta Squad cut their way through the skin of the worm and are disgorged on a wave of blood nauseating everyone, especially Baird.
Dom, as he vows to take down every single one of the Locust
They find a large security door and a mysterious figure who shows himself on the screens tells them that they need proper identification to enter. Marcus doesn't play around and simply orders Baird to build a large bomb to blow the door open. After fighting off some stray wretches, they return to the Centaur where Baird has the bomb waiting for them. They carrying the bomb back to the door and successfully blast it open. Marcus and Dom head deeper into the facility and make a shocking discovery: Locust-like creatures in glass tubes, apparently mutated from humans. They also discover that the base is abandoned and that the face that has been taunting them is actually an AI that is continuing to run the facility. After finding the data they need, they trip an unexpected system that begins to re-awaken what is in the tubes.
The half-human, half-Locust creatures, dubbed "Sires" by the AI, begin to break out of their containment tubes. Marcus and Dom are forced to fight their way out only to hear from Baird that the bad weather has turned into razor hail, a deadly hail made of ice shards. Using cover as much as possible, they manage to fight their way back to the Centaur where they protect Baird as he fixes the tank. After fighting off a small swarm of Reavers, Baird fixes the Centaur. Delta takes off, leaving the lab behind and heading for the "backdoor" into the Hollow where the Locust Queen may be according to the recovered data.
Reporting their findings to command, Delta Squad is then assigned to take the Centaur and immediately journey to this location in an attempt to take down the Locust Queen and end the war. After crossing frozen lakes and fending off Reaver and Locust attacks on their way up the mountain, Delta Squad arrive at the entrance. They discover a group of Stranded hiding in the caverns there with Franklin, the gas station owner from the last game, among them. He has given up the station in favor of an underground hideout. Marcus orders Cole and Baird to escort the stranded to the surface using the Centaur, but not before Dom asks Franklin if he has seen Maria. Surprisingly, Franklin says that he has, but then says that he thinks he saw her being taken deeper into the stronghold reducing her chances of survival. Still, he gives them a route to a camp where she might be. After that, Delta splits up and Marcus and Dom head deeper into the mountain toward another location that Franklin had mentioned: Nexus, the central stronghold of the Locust.
Fighting their way into the Hollow beneath the mountain, the friends arrive at the Locust highway. Franklin had told Dom he should branch off here to find Maria, but Marcus thinks they should focus on the mission. Dom reminds Marcus that he abandoned his post, the crime for which he was found in prison at the beginning of the first Gears of War, to try and save his father. Marcus is forced to acquiesce when he realizes that Dom is simply trying to do the same thing.
They come across a lake and although the boat they find is already half submerged in the water, and thus useless, the pier they are on breaks free and becomes a makeshift raft. After fending off several assaults, they manage to board one of the Locust gunboats and use it to fight their way further in until they are pulled over a waterfall. Surviving their fall, they believe themselves safe until they are attacked by the Leviathan, a massive water creature that tries to swallow them. Marcus fights it off by lobbing grenades into its mouth, eventually killing it.
After getting to shore and pushing further into the Hollow, they discover a Locust terminal. Marcus orders Jack, their cloaked intelligent robot to do a facial search for Maria. The terminal reveals a symbol linked to a section of the prison camp. Either by fighting their way through or stealthily avoiding the patrols, they eventually find Maria. At first Dom sees what he wants to: his beautiful wife returned to him in perfect health. Marcus, however, breaks out of his delusion and he sees her as she truly is: starved nearly to death and so psychologically broken she seems unaware of his presence. Marcus leaves Dom to whatever fate he decides is best. In the end, he puts his wife out of her misery, vowing to exterminate every single last Locust.
Marcus Fenix, hero of the Pendulum Wars and leader of Delta Squad
The two Gears head deeper they eventually arrive at Nexus where the Locust Queen commands her legions. Once they find a safe spot, they order Jack to set up a beacon signal so that the other Gears know where to drop down with their grind lifts.
Cole and Baird drop down directly over Dom and Marcus, and Delta squad is reunited. Together, they head towards the Queen. Along the way, however, they start noticing Locust fighting amongst themselves. The Queen is heard broadcasting propaganda which reveals what is going on: it appears that the Locust have been fighting Lambent (Locust infected by exposure to Imulsion) versions of their race all this time, a civil war that has divided the Locust forces and explains their desperate raids against the human settlements. This would also explain why the Gears had a relatively easy time getting inside the lair.
They get ever closer to the queen until they find a recording from Marcus' father, Adam Fenix, telling them they should sink Jacinto themselves, as it would fill the Hollow with seawater and drown everything inside. Marcus considers it eventually telling Control they should do it. He transmits the data so that Control can use them to come up with an appropriate plan on their end. The data secured, the four fight their way to the Locust Queen's throne room. When they arrive, they discover that the queen is oddly human in appearance with Cole remarking that she's supposed to be hideous. She is joined by Skorge, the same Locust General that they had seen on the surface. The queen makes cryptic references to Marcus in saying that he is not following in his father's footsteps, implying she knew him, and leaves Skorge to deal with Delta Squad. Marcus orders Cole and Baird to pursue her, while he and Dom face off against the mighty Skorge.
Skorge, wielding staff with chainsaws on both ends, duels with Marcus who eventually manages to push him back. Skorge flees on a larger version of a Reaver, called the Hydra, but Marcus and Dom pursue him. They find Cole and Baird who inform Marcus that the queen had escaped. Marcus orders them to follow suit and head outside the palace to a stable where a a pair of unmanned Reavers lie in wait. Hopping on and taking control of them, they race through the caverns and eventually across the surface as they head towards Jacinto to begin the steps needed to sink it. On the way out, Skorge pursues them but is successfully fended off and presumed dead. Afterward, Marcus receives a distress call from Anya telling them the Locust have caught wind of their plan to drown them first and are launching an assault on the city to stop them. Delta arrives at Jacinto after nearly being shot down by their own forces for riding a Reaver and with Hoffman's help, buy time by fighting off the Locust assault.
Eventually, they hear about a sinkhole inside the city and are ordered to head in to clear it out so that Ravens can drop a Lightmass Bomb into it to sink Jacinto. They fight through the ruins of Jacinto around the sinkhole and eventually manage to hijack a Brumak by killing its driver. Using the Brumak's superior firepower, they journey into the sinkhole and lay waste to the Locust hordes that stand in their way. They eventually enter a vast cavern and blast the roof supports, dropping the ceiling and allowing the Ravens to come down and drop the Lightmass Bomb. However, the Brumak that they are on begins mutating from standing in the Imulsion that the cavern is filled with. Marcus and Dom abandon the Brumak by getting picked up by Baird and Cole on a Raven. The now-crazed Brumak smashes the helicopter carrying the Bomb out of the air and into the Imulsion. Without the Bomb, there is no way to sink Jacinto. However, Marcus realizes that if the Lambent Brumak explodes, it may generate enough power to substitute itself for the Lightmass Bomb. Using the Hammer of Dawn, Marcus targets the Brumak with the satellite beam weapon, killing the Lambent Brumak and setting off the explosion that tears apart the foundations of Jacinto. Seawater rushes into the sunken hole, flooding the Hollow and presumably ending the war.
However, as the final scenes play out in following the helicopter exodus from Jacinto, the Locust Queen's voice can be overheard talking about "unintended consequences".
Following the credits, a final voice recording of Adam Fenix plays asking people if they can hear him, and then proclaiming: "What have you done?!".
Weapons 
Hammerburst Rifle
Hammerburst Rifle
Weapons: All weapons from the original Gears of War will be returning, but some of them have changes:
- Hammerburst Rifle: The gun has become a semi-automatic gun that fires exactly as fast as you can pull the trigger. It's stronger than the Lancer in terms of firepower, and is the only rifle that can zoom in like a pistol. Although it can't beat the Lancer in stopping power (players move slower when being shot at). A gold-plated version of this gun will be available to those who have purchased the game during the midnight release.
- Longshot: A sniper rifle with extreme zoom capabilities and powerful shots. The power bonus from the active-reload has been removed therefore doing a perfect reload, unlike with the other weapons in the game, doesn't affect it's damage in any way.
- Smoke Grenades: When it explodes it has a concussion blast that will knock foes down.
New weapons introduced in Gears of War 2:
The Scorcher
- Mulcher: A chaingun that requires cooling after protracted use. It never needs to be reloaded, but can run out of ammunition.
- Mortar Launcher: Long-range explosive weapon that explodes overhead and rains down cluster bombs. The distance can be adjusted before it's fired.
- Ink Grenade: Spews out a greenish-purple haze that brings down everyone who stays in it for too long.
- The Scorcher: A flamethrower that gains increased range for the following shot if successfully active-reloaded.
- Gorgon Pistol: A very powerful pistol carried by certain Locust which fires in short bursts. The gun is strongest at close range.
- Boomshield: Can be deployed anywhere and used as cover, also combined with a pistol to use as a normal shield. Can be kicked down by opponents.
Multiplayer
Gears of War 2's multiplayer offering has been greatly enhanced from the first - the player count has been increased to ten, there will be seven multiplayer modes to play around in, 15 maps of which 10 are all new and a whole new party system to match up with your friends quickly and easily. It has also been confirmed that bots will be usable in Xbox Live Player Matches. For co-op multiplayer, you will still be able to play with only one other person, but with individual co-op difficulties. For example, one player may play on casual, while another plays on hardcore, a kind of "communal combat system". The game will adapt to give a player at the casual level an equivalent challenge as the player on the hardcore difficulty. The player can maintain multiple save files that work with the drop in/drop out co-op features, and there is the addition of a fourth difficulty level below casual.Game Modes
WarzoneFight to the death in a last team standing deathmatch where the sole purpose is to wipe out the other team. Once you're dead however, you're out for the round.
Execution
Another eliminate all last team standing deathmatch mode, but with a twist. To finish a downed enemy, you must go up to the enemy and finish them off with an execution or by gibbing/exploding their body. Shooting them from range once they are downed won't work. As with Warzone, once you are dead, you are out for the round.
Guardian
Guardian is a modified version of Assassination from the original game. Both teams start with a leader which they must protect and can only be finished by execution-however, as long as your leader is alive, your team can respawn. The leader is portrayed by Hoffman on the Cog side and by Skorgeon the Locust side. Should your leader be killed, you're down to your last life. The enemy leader's position also appears on the HUD, to prevent camping and hiding with the leader.
Guardian is a modified version of Assassination from the original game. Both teams start with a leader which they must protect and can only be finished by execution-however, as long as your leader is alive, your team can respawn. The leader is portrayed by Hoffman on the Cog side and by Skorgeon the Locust side. Should your leader be killed, you're down to your last life. The enemy leader's position also appears on the HUD, to prevent camping and hiding with the leader.
Annex
Annex is a variation of King of the Hill where the hill moves to different points on the map after it has been held to a total of 60 seconds. Teams work to capture the "hill" till the set amount of time - kills mean nothing except clearing the map of your enemy and respawns are on. Capturing the hill involves staying in the hill uncontested for 5 seconds (or shorter if more of your team are in the hill). Once captured, you do not have to stay inside the hill area, but an enemy who gets inside the hill even for a split second "breaks" it, meaning you need to step back inside to automatically recapture it. To capture a controlled hill, an enemy teammate needs to stay inside the hill for a small amount of time till it's converted.
Annex in Stasis
Annex is a variation of King of the Hill where the hill moves to different points on the map after it has been held to a total of 60 seconds. Teams work to capture the "hill" till the set amount of time - kills mean nothing except clearing the map of your enemy and respawns are on. Capturing the hill involves staying in the hill uncontested for 5 seconds (or shorter if more of your team are in the hill). Once captured, you do not have to stay inside the hill area, but an enemy who gets inside the hill even for a split second "breaks" it, meaning you need to step back inside to automatically recapture it. To capture a controlled hill, an enemy teammate needs to stay inside the hill for a small amount of time till it's converted.
Wingman
Essentially 2v2v2v2v2, Wingman is another last man standing mode but on a more personal level. You and a buddy share a character model (Marcus and Marcus, Dom and Dom, etc...) and must try and be the last pair standing. It's a mode all about looking after your friend and watching your back.
Essentially 2v2v2v2v2, Wingman is another last man standing mode but on a more personal level. You and a buddy share a character model (Marcus and Marcus, Dom and Dom, etc...) and must try and be the last pair standing. It's a mode all about looking after your friend and watching your back.
Formally known as Meat Flag, Submission is a variation on the standard "One Flag" found in most games. An AI controlled character runs around the center of the map, defending himself until a team downs him. Once downed, he must be used as a meat shield and dragged back to your teams area. Enemy teams can take the flag off you once you have it by either killing you, or damaging your meat-shield enough so that he breaks free - and then turns on you. Once this happened, the AI character will begin to move back to his starting area. Respawns are on in this mode, but the more you die, the longer it takes for you to respawn.
Horde
Maps
Gears of War 2 includes a total of 10 new multiplayer maps, plus a code to download five remastered maps from the original game. The new maps take inspiration from the locations in the campaign, whereas new environmental effects change some of the maps as you're playing. For example, Hail features razor-sharp rain that gradually kills anyone out in the open. Furthermore, Day One has a huge emergence hole in which a beast can take swipes at any surrounding players. Finally, Avalanche is completely transformed when a snowstorm hits, turning it from a multitiered level into one flat plane. These environmental effects don't feature in every map and game mode, but they definitely liven up standard deathmatch-style multiplayer game types such as Warzone. Retail Maps
River - A symmetrical map with a river running through it.
Security - Map is full of security lasers, in the middle there is a button to disable all lasers for 20 seconds.
Day One - Takes place on city streets. there will be an emergence hole in the middle of the map where a seeder pops out.
Avalanche - A Map in which an Avalanche will periodically(and randomly) sweep across the map. Anybody in the path of this avalanche will be killed.
Blood Drive - Fight in the hospital that collects donated blood for the COG cause.. Give so they can live! Hail Hail - Make sure you avoid the "rain" on this map as it is actually hail that will shred you to pieces!
Jacinto - Go through the final safe heaven for the human race that is currently still evacuating refugees and cogs.
Pavilion - An average civilian square that has been turned into a battle field due to the horde invasion.
Ruins - Back in the hollow fight the horde in this immulsion infested, torcher ridden ruins.
Stasis - Fight through the janky security center of the abandoned, two story cog research center.
"Flashback Map Pack" Downladable Content
Gridlock Tyro Station - The train does not pass through in Horde mode Mansion Canals Subway These maps are remakes of maps from the original Gears. This pack is as free downloadable content on launch day. Every non-used copy of Gears of War 2 purchased has a unique 25-digit token inside the case. This token can be redeemed to download this map pack, free of charge. These remade maps have received graphical touch-ups but, unlike how Bungie has handled remakes for Halo 2 and Halo 3, they are nearly structurally identical to the original maps with few environmental changes. Originally, the Flashback Map Pack was only available when buying a new version of the game, as used versions obviously will not have a valid token, but the Map Pack is now on sale for400 Microsoft Points ($5.00 USD)."Combustible Multiplayer Map Pack"
Flood Gold Rush Fuel Station The Combustible Map Pack includes three new multiplayer maps and retails for 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00 USD)."Snowblind Multiplayer Map Pack"
Epic announced four brand new multiplayer maps for Gears of War 2 on March 13, 2009. They are:- Grindyard
- Under Hill
One of the upcoming Snowblind maps - Courtyard
- Fuel Depot (remade from Gears of War with a new winter theme)
Unlockables
Beyond the default characters in MP, there are additional playable characters in that are unlocked as you achieve certain milestones within the campaign:Dizzy: Unlock by completing Act 1 on any difficulty
Kantus: Unlock by completing Act 2 on any difficulty
Tai: Unlock by completing Act 3 on any difficulty
Flame Grenadier: Unlock by completing Act 4 on any difficulty
Skorge: Unlock by completing Act 5 on any difficulty
Additionally, you can unlock the following characters by playing the original Gears of War and unlocking the associated achievements:
Anthony Carmine: Unlock by completing Act 1 on any difficulty.
Minh Young Kim: Find 10 COG tags. RAAM: Unlock by completing Act 5 on any difficulty.
There are also golden versions of the two main assault rifles in the game; the Lancer and the Hammerburst. The Lancer is included with every Collector's Edition, and the Hammerburst was only available to those who purchased the game at midnight on it's release.
New Multiplayer Features
Meatshields- Use your downed foes as shields, holding them in front of you as your walk around the level. Though this prevents the player from moving quickly, the shield absorbs quite a punishment.Ghost Cam & Battle Cam- When you die in a round type game you will enter a new ghost cam mode. When you die in a "die only once" type game you will be treated to a dynamic battle cam mode. The battle cam lets you take a picture of the most intense action you can find while you are dead, then the game registers all the blood and executions down to the amount of particle effects on screen, and scores your screenshot, adding it to the world leaderboards as well.
Grenades- You can now stick grenades to people, walls, floors, ceilings, you name it. This presents a "proximity" element to the gameplay.
Chainsaw Duels- If two players attempt to chainsaw each other at the right time, it comes down to who can repeatedly hit "B" the fastest to win the duel. If you see your teammate in a duel you can assist him by shooting the opponent, that makes him have to hit "B" more times to win the duel.
Improved Cover System- Your characters body pushes up much closer to the cover your using, increasing the difficulty to hit opponents that are under cover.
New Party System- Enjoy matchmaking with your friends quickly and easily. Choose from a variety of playlists and game modes then jump in.
Multiplayer Bots- Fill in those spare gaps in Xbox Live player matches with some AI bots!
Weapon Rotation- Power weapons now rotate to mix things up a little bit. One round it might be a Longshot, the next a Torque Bow!
Major Optimizations- Host advantage is promised to being taken care of, and the whole online is promised to run far smoother than ever before.
No Active Reload for the Longshot- Epic removed it from the Multiplayer, so the Longshot can no longer down an opponent with a single non-headshot.
Stopping Power- If you are shooting an enemy he will slow down which will end the shotgun fest that happened in the first game.
Change Your Spawn Weapon- Choose to either spawn with the trademark Lancer, or the new and improved Hammerburst. Players still always spawn with a Shotgun, additionally.
Improved, More Gruesome Executions- For each weapon there are more elaborate executions you can perform on a downed enemy. These are assigned to each of the face buttons. The A button picks them up as a meat shield, and the B button melees them, but most weapons have different melee executions, triggered either by the B or the Y button, and some, like the Torque Bow, have special executions for both. The Y button is for more fancy finishers with some guns, where the player puts his gun away, kick the downed enemy over on his back, and punches the living daylights out of his head, but these can take up to 3 seconds, so even though it is highly tempting, it should only be used in safety.
What's up- The new "What's up" menu allows friends to easily contact their friends and pull together a party without needing to access the Xbox Guide
LAN Support- Support for at least 10 consoles using system link
Making Cover- The ability to tip over tables and other object to make cover. (Not too prominent in game, only primarily in the beginning)
Last Ditch Attempts- You're no longer as helpless being executed as you were in Gears 1. You can now crawl around when downed, and by tapping the R button you can call for help with a raise of your hand. If any enemy player gets to you first, holding the R trigger the second they are about to execute you detonates your grenade, taking them out with you (provided you had them equipped when you were downed).
Title Update 3
While the first two title updates focused on improving matchmaking and fixing glitches. The third update, made available on March 24, 2009 introduces a new ranking system. Players now gain experience after each match to make it through the 100 levels. You lose 1500 experience for quitting a match. These points are taken away after the player's next completed match. Each game type gives different amounts of experience. Game types with many respawns such as Annex or King of the Hill give players experience equal to about a quarter of the amount of points that they get. Warzone, for example has a 1:1 points to experience ratio. No experience is gained for playing Horde mode. There are also achievements for reaching levels 5, 15, 25, 50, and 100. The last two are only available to those who have purchased the Snowblind Map Pack.Other changes made by title update include:
- Adding bots to replace players that have quit a match.
- Saves Horde mode high scores after each wave.
- Adds a delay between roadie running and melee attacks to prevent a tactic commonly known as two-piecing.
- There are now only two modes per playlist.
Special Editions
Gears of War 2: Limited Collector's Edition Limited Edition As with the original Gears of War, Epic is releasing a Limited Edition version of Gears 2. This Limited Edition, while naturally costing more than its standard counterpart, is packed full of Gears goodies. These goodies include: A collectible Steel Book DVD case A 48-page hardback book named "Beneath The Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2." A bonus DVD containing making-of footage and interviews with the Gears of War development team. A special, gold-plated Lancer which can only be used when playing Gears of War 2 multiplayer online. A Dominic and Maria Santiago keepsake photo. Hardcore Edition UK Hardcore Edition with gold-plated Lancer Gears of War 2 will also be available in a limited "Hardcore Edition." This edition of the game is available at Amazon.com exclusively in the United States and comes with a full-size replica of the Lancer assault rifle for $139.99. This will come with a normal edition of the game, however, so anyone wanting the Limited Edition goodies will have to pay extra for it. In the UK there will be 5,000 copies of the Hardcore Edition available at Gamestation retailers. This will come with the Limited Edition version of the game and a world-exclusive, gold-plated replica of the infamous Lancer for £129.99; was only available through pre-order. The gold-plated Lancer is only available from Gamestation in the UK. It is thought to be gold to clearly indicate that this is not a real weapon, subject to new laws passed.Dark Corners
That's fooling everyone..
The Dark Corners DLC, costing 1600 Microsoft points, will include one deleted scene from the campaign entitled "Road to Ruin" and 7 brand new multiplayer maps. The deleted scene is set after Act 4, Chapter 2 in the campaign, following Marcus and Dom's journey into the Nexus stronghold. The content will allow you to choose from two methods of approach to this new content. The first of these is Stealth, allowing you to dress up as Theron Guards (see screenshot right) and infiltrate Nexus in a sneakier fashion than before. The second of these is Guns Blazing, where you do the usual Gears thing of shooting everything that moves to progress.
On top of this new Single Player chapter, players will be treated to 7 brand new maps never before released (except the two remakes, War Machine from Gears 1 and Sanctuary from Gears 1 PC, included). The official descriptions for these are:
- Allfathers Garden: Don’t get caught up in the beauty—the sacred grounds of the Coalition founders can be a tremendously deadly place. Powerful weapons catalyze fast and furious action at this COG landmark.
- Memorial: It’s all about the heavy weaponry in Memorial, set near the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Take a moment to remember your fallen comrades before using your flanking and evasive skills to take control of the Boomshot and the battle.
- Sanctuary: Tight paths, blind corners, and an arsenal
of weapons—the Locust-ravaged temple in Sanctuary is no longer the
haven of reflection and remembrance it once was.
One of the new maps, Nowhere - War Machine: In this abandoned train station, players need to master the Longshot, Mulcher, and Boomshot to advance the fight while evading fire from the platforms above.
- Highway: Take the fight deep into the Locust Hollow in the complex passages of this underground highway system. Stick together, separate the enemy, and have an exit strategy ready, or it’ll be a one-way trip.
- Way Station: In the limbo between death and “processing,” you'll find Locust way stations like this one, filled with COG soldiers. Tread lightly and practice patience—it’s best to sacrifice firepower for stealth while navigating this minefield of hidden grenades.
- Nowhere: Set in the middle of the desert, Nowhere is exactly how it sounds: barren and devoid of life. The open air and long lines of sight prove useful for Longshot devotees, but expect some fierce, close combat in the stairwell.
The All Fronts Collection
Also releasing on July 28th, 2009, is the Gears of War 2 All Fronts Collection for $20 / £15 / €20. Available for a limited time EXCLUSIVELY at Retail, this low cost bargain bundle contains everything a Gearhead could need to be up to date with the latest content and more. Included is:
The Retail Box Cover
- The brand new DARK CORNERS DLC that releases the same day. This includes all 7 new maps and the Single Player content available in the download.
- The previously released SNOWBLIND and COMBUSTIBLE map packs
- A collectible poster based on the Gears 2 Limited Edition Steelbook box
- A small booklet containing hints on the new content and some new "Gears of War lore"
- A premium Xbox 360 Gears of War 2 Dashboard Theme
This is not a retail disc, it is a retail box with the above included. The maps and premium theme are downloaded via a code on a card in the box. It should be noted that via the Epic forums, Rod Fergusson confirmed that the maps will be one download (so one code, not a code for each map pack), but you can delete your old map downloads to save space once you have downloaded with your All Fronts map pack code.
Epic has since announced that there will now be no retail version. Instead it will be obtainable only through the Xbox Live Marketplace. Epic has also stated that the people who already bought the previous map packs can buy the Dark Corners DLC and all new 7 maps for 1200 Microsoft Points or $15. Those who still want to be up to date with all new DLC and previous map packs can still buy The All Fronts Collection for 1600 Microsoft Points.
Installation
The optional installation requires 6.7 GB of harddrive space.
General Information Edit
| Game Name | Gears of War 2 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres | |
| Themes |
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| Original US Release |
Nov. 7, 2008
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
know the real date? |
| Aliases | Gears 2 |
| OFLC |
OFLC: MA15+
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| BBFC |
BBFC: 18
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| ESRB |
ESRB: M
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Guides add
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[NGG] Achievment Guide - Gears of War 2 - Kick Em' When They're Down! [NGG]
A guide on how to complete those pesky executions in Gears 2!
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Gears of War 2 Achievement Guide (Including Collectables)
A guide that will help you obtain all 50 achievements in Gears of War 2.
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Gears of War 2 - Achievement Guide
Figure out how to earn all of the achievements in Microsoft's Gears of War 2 via this handy guide.
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Gears of War 2 Achievement Guide
This guide lists all available Achievements for Gears of War 2.
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