The first glimpse of a killer-app that most of us got from the current generation of consoles was the first Gears of War, a shooter set on an alien planet now inhabited by humans that are battling a subterranean alien species called the Locust, not doing too well either!
The concept of the series is "cover, shoot n run", you duck to cover when the locust pop up, shoot em as quick as you can (cos if you don't get them they WILL get you, get you BIG STYLE) and then run to the next cover to shoot again before the chunky gorilla's can flank you.
1st gears was good, it had good graphics, particularly towards the end, but the entire thing was quite narrow when you think back on it, you had corridor blasting and the occasional shoot-out in a courtyard but other than that the games mechanic was all about the gameplay rather than the graphics (beautiful at the time) or the WOW moment set-pieces, it's a meaty game no doubt but one that's been bettered in every single way by it's sequel.
More beauty, More freedom, More set-pieces, more weapons, more varied environments, increased fluidity in combat, better character development and as for the overall plot in comparison to the original, well forget about it! This game actually gives you an idea of what state the locust attacks have left humanity in, it's almost as if this should have been the first game, sure the orig' had that cutscene where humans blow up their own abandoned cities so the Locust can't steal their dressing gowns and cigars (what else could they get from library's and stately homes??? Seemingly that's all the humans built on Sera!!) anyway like i say, the game shows you some pretty f'ed up civvy's dying of a fatal illness called "rustlung" that's caused by that imulsion stuff vaporising from the heat of the bomb you personally blew up in the first game...yes that's right, the series' main character is now responsible for roughly as much human death and suffering as any given locust general...but back to the start, so the first level is a hospital for rustlung suffers that gets invaded by the 'cust before you and you're squad give them a molten lead smackdown.
Then it's off to the country where you ride big tractor platforms, HUGE set-piece follows, hundreds of locust, lots of shooting, lots of excellent vista's, lots of sadness as certain characters do or don't make it....
Then you're underground, i normally groan when a game makes you go underground when the surface seems so much nicer (fallout 3????) but in GOW2 not only does it make sense, it actually suits the game better. The things you see down there not only show how horrible the Locust really are but it also gives them an incredible layer of mystery, they have their own chapels and Gothic style cities teeming with life, all underneath the surface.
There's some funky and useful wildlife down there too, can't find cover? drag that big rocky worm over here and we'll let the lil' fella soak up the bullets. Easy!!!
The game would be incredibly grim and almost Killzone-esquire in it's seriousness were it not for the art direction and character design, although truly an adult's game there is lots of vibrant colour splashed around the environments and the characters always diffuse quiet situations with witty observations.
This game costs about £11 now, if you got a 360 you should got Gears of War 2, cos if you don't got Gears.....you don't got nothing.
The concept of the series is "cover, shoot n run", you duck to cover when the locust pop up, shoot em as quick as you can (cos if you don't get them they WILL get you, get you BIG STYLE) and then run to the next cover to shoot again before the chunky gorilla's can flank you.
1st gears was good, it had good graphics, particularly towards the end, but the entire thing was quite narrow when you think back on it, you had corridor blasting and the occasional shoot-out in a courtyard but other than that the games mechanic was all about the gameplay rather than the graphics (beautiful at the time) or the WOW moment set-pieces, it's a meaty game no doubt but one that's been bettered in every single way by it's sequel.
More beauty, More freedom, More set-pieces, more weapons, more varied environments, increased fluidity in combat, better character development and as for the overall plot in comparison to the original, well forget about it! This game actually gives you an idea of what state the locust attacks have left humanity in, it's almost as if this should have been the first game, sure the orig' had that cutscene where humans blow up their own abandoned cities so the Locust can't steal their dressing gowns and cigars (what else could they get from library's and stately homes??? Seemingly that's all the humans built on Sera!!) anyway like i say, the game shows you some pretty f'ed up civvy's dying of a fatal illness called "rustlung" that's caused by that imulsion stuff vaporising from the heat of the bomb you personally blew up in the first game...yes that's right, the series' main character is now responsible for roughly as much human death and suffering as any given locust general...but back to the start, so the first level is a hospital for rustlung suffers that gets invaded by the 'cust before you and you're squad give them a molten lead smackdown.
Then it's off to the country where you ride big tractor platforms, HUGE set-piece follows, hundreds of locust, lots of shooting, lots of excellent vista's, lots of sadness as certain characters do or don't make it....
Then you're underground, i normally groan when a game makes you go underground when the surface seems so much nicer (fallout 3????) but in GOW2 not only does it make sense, it actually suits the game better. The things you see down there not only show how horrible the Locust really are but it also gives them an incredible layer of mystery, they have their own chapels and Gothic style cities teeming with life, all underneath the surface.
There's some funky and useful wildlife down there too, can't find cover? drag that big rocky worm over here and we'll let the lil' fella soak up the bullets. Easy!!!
The game would be incredibly grim and almost Killzone-esquire in it's seriousness were it not for the art direction and character design, although truly an adult's game there is lots of vibrant colour splashed around the environments and the characters always diffuse quiet situations with witty observations.
This game costs about £11 now, if you got a 360 you should got Gears of War 2, cos if you don't got Gears.....you don't got nothing.