Kainen
All American
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This game is not getting enough hype around here because of all the other games releasing, but this game silently brings a shitload of new stuff to the franchise. I can't wait.
Below are the early reviews and a list of what is new (GOOD GOD look at all those multiplayer additions and modes):
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Giant Bomb Review: 5 of 5 stars
http://www.giantbomb.com/gears-of-war-2/61-20662/reviews/
IGN: 95/100
Gamespy: 100%
1UP: 100%
Weapons
All weapons from the original Gears of War will be returning, but some of them have changes:
* Hammerburst Rifle: Can now only fire single shots at a time, but has a quicker rate of fire and deals more damage. A gold-plated version of this gun will be available to those who purchase the game during a midnight release.
* Boomshot: If active-reloaded while having 2 remaining rockets then both rockets will launch, causing a great amount of damage.
* Longshot: The power bonus from active-reload has been removed.
* Smoke Grenades: When it explodes it has a concussion blast that will knock foes down.
New weapons introduced in Gears of War 2:
* Mulcher: Heavy machine gun that can tear an enemy apart with only a few bullets, it will overheat and/or lockup if used too vigorously for a prolonged period.
* Mortar Launcher: Long-range explosive weapon.
* Poison Grenade: Spews out a purple haze that brings down everyone near it.
* The Scorcher: A flamethrower that gains increased range for the following shot if successfully active-reloaded.
* Gorgon: A very powerful pistol which fires in short bursts.
* Shield: Can be deployed anywhere and used as cover, also combinable with a pistol to use as a normal shield. Can be kicked down by opponents.
Multiplayer
Gears 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
Warzone
Fight 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 - 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. 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 it 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 a Marcus, Dom and a Dom ect...) and must try and be the last pair standing. It's a mode all about looking after your friend and watching your back.
Submission
Formally known as MeatFlag, 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
Horde is a 5 player co-operative mode where you face off against wave after wave of increasingly difficult AI controlled enemies and the goal is to complete wave 50. Every 10 waves, the number and variety of enemies you're facing resets, but the enemies themselves become more resilient, more accurate, and more deadly . There are currently 50 waves in the game That can be played on any of the 15 maps. You can bookmark your wave progress every five waves and as long as one of you survive the round, you can all continue on.
New Multiplayer features
* Meatshields- Use your downed foes as shields, holding them in front of you as your walk around the level.
* 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 sniper no more have insta-down abilities.
* 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 much improved Hammerburst.
* Screenshots- Take screenshots when you are dead and upload them to the community website!
* 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 each weapon has a different melee execution. The Y button is for more fancy finishers, but these can take up to 3 seconds.
* Grenade Tagging Walls- Now with all 3 of the grenades you can grenade tag any surface and use it in a proximity fashion.
* 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.
* 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.  11/3/2008 10:24:30 AM
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