^^Saying curse words over, and over, and over again does not equate to good voice acting.

The storyline is very, very weak. None of the characters develop at all, they are all one dimensional, stereotypical personas. There are SO many plot holes. Half the missions make absolutely no sense in terms of the story. The whole checkpoint system REALLY breaks the flow of the game (at least in co-op, it fucking teleports one or the other of you every minute or two).

The weapons are very standard fare, though I readily admit they are very polished and well balanced.

On the good side:

The teamwork aspect is definitely there. Very impressed with how co-op really rewards good team play. It's really interesting choosing what weapons to keep and drop throughout the game. There are a lot of different options, and it keeps it interesting for sure.

The graphics and sound effects are very well done. The graphic styling is a little dated (muddy & bloody has been done for a decade), and still waay too many cliche'd design concepts, but it's very fun and engaging while playing.

The controls are SPOT ON. GoW1 was great in this areas, and they really seem to have polished it a bit more this time around. Still a little wonky with the cover/jumpover mechanics, but much improved. Love the reload bar, rewards paying attention during reloading.

11/10/2008 5:35:59 AM

I'm starting to think noen played a totally different game or something. I thought the dialog was pretty awesome...ESPECIALLY Cole!


And are you fucking kidding me about check points??? I would not play this game if they didn't have check points probably because I would have smashed my controller to pieces after having to repeat an entire chapter because I died at the very end. There were also a number of times in co-op where I was 'stuck' due to a bug in the game and the only way to get free without having to suicide and start over was my partner getting to the next check point and teleporting me. (granted the bug is retarded and shouldn't be there but at least there was a way around it.) my one complaint is that QA at epic needs to be fired....TONS of bugs and glitches.

And the characters have developed very well if you ask me...they've all got their own personalities that are for the most part very different from one another. Either you played with the sound muted or you were expecting to play a 'drama' and not an action shoot them up game.

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 10:29 AM. Reason : .]

11/10/2008 10:27:32 AM

I haven't played this game, but seriously kids, complaining about voice acting and storyline in video games is pretty silly. When you've got reviewers proclaiming GTA4's as "Oscar worthy", you know the bar is set quite low. Just be happy we aren't reading blocks of text anymore.

11/10/2008 10:34:43 AM

I enjoyed it, pretty much about the same as GoW1 with a few new improvements in gameplay, some cool levels, and a little longer. It still can be frustrating, there are still some glitches(like me randomly losing the ability to use the A button for anything, my partner not being able to use the X button for anything, and then at one point I got stuck in like a cut-scene where you can't do anything but move and he was getting his ass kicked by locust, etc.)

That being said, I still think this is one of the more over-hyped game series ever.

11/10/2008 10:38:23 AM

I would have to say I enjoyed Gears more than Halo...not saying Halo sucks but the weapons, gameplay, and monsters in Gears (especially Gears 2) were more enjoyable.


I do like the Halo soundtrack better though

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 10:48 AM. Reason : .]

11/10/2008 10:48:24 AM

First, it's very very apparent RSX that you are being stupidly defensive, because you aren't even responding to my points. So I'll clarify even more.

Quote :

"And are you fucking kidding me about check points??? I would not play this game if they didn't have check points"

I never said I didn't like them being there. I said it breaks the flow. As in: me and my buddy have killed the monsters, and we are exploring looking for ammo and the GD notes all over the place. If EITHER of you happens to trip the checkpoint, you're fucked and on to the next part (no way to backtrack at all in this game).

Why the fuck put in the notes to find, if you can't fucking explore?

Quote :

" There were also a number of times in co-op where I was 'stuck' due to a bug in the game ...(granted the bug is retarded and shouldn't be there but at least there was a way around it.) my one complaint is that QA at epic needs to be fired....TONS of bugs and glitches."

I didn't comment on this because I wasn't sure if it was just me. But this game is NOT release quality. There are SO many gameplay, trigger and hit detection bugs, it's almost comical.

Quote :

"And the characters have developed very well if you ask me...they've all got their own personalities that are for the most part very different from one another. Either you played with the sound muted or you were expecting to play a 'drama' and not an action shoot them up game."

Having your own personality does not have anything to do with character development. As I said before the characters are all cliche'd stereotypes (Cole Train, black former pro football player, OF COURSE), they don't ADD anything to the story. You can stick in any other 4 stereotypical "bad ass" meathead types and the game would be the same. The only thing they did to develop the story was the sidestory about Dom's wife. Which was very very stretched.

Quote :

"I haven't played this game, but seriously kids, complaining about voice acting and storyline in video games is pretty silly."

When you head Cliffy B talk about how GoW is a cinematic experience, and people talk about how games like this are like an immersive movie, fuck yes I expect better. You spend 20+ million on a video game, but can't afford a decent screenwriter or director? I'd really like to know who "wrote the story" for this.

11/10/2008 2:00:00 PM

I did address your points and I'm not being defensive. I don't have anything invested in Epic of Gears other then I enjoyed the game...

Quote :

"I never said I didn't like them being there. I said it breaks the flow. As in: me and my buddy have killed the monsters, and we are exploring looking for ammo and the GD notes all over the place. If EITHER of you happens to trip the checkpoint, you're fucked and on to the next part (no way to backtrack at all in this game). Why the fuck put in the notes to find, if you can't fucking explore?"

I have yet to have an issue with this because you can generally tell where the check points are....if you don't advance in the level you won't trigger the checkpoint. Granted I haven't gotten all the hidden items but I've gotten 21/40 this way.

Quote :

"I didn't comment on this because I wasn't sure if it was just me. But this game is NOT release quality. There are SO many gameplay, trigger and hit detection bugs, it's almost comical."

agreed. Can't tell you how many times I've been stuck. Got stuck defeating that water monster when I Was standing on the end of the boat and I could move out of the way before he chomped down on me. Another time I got pinned some how by a parked car and a wall and couldn't move so my team mate had to blow himself up with a nade because I was out. haha

Quote :

"Having your own personality does not have anything to do with character development. As I said before the characters are all cliche'd stereotypes (Cole Train, black former pro football player, OF COURSE), they don't ADD anything to the story. You can stick in any other 4 stereotypical "bad ass" meathead types and the game would be the same. The only thing they did to develop the story was the sidestory about Dom's wife. Which was very very stretched."

I might add the whole tidbit about Phoenix's father...and for me the purpose of Cole, Baird, and Tai is just to show the bonds of brother hood in war. And not to mention the 'extras' also add some comic relief...like Cole's little speech at the end. Which I found to be the funniest part of the whole game.

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 2:07 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2008 2:04:52 PM

Quote :

"I haven't played this game, but seriously kids, complaining about voice acting and storyline in video games is pretty silly"

hello. Welcome to TWW. This is the land where if there is something to complain about, it will be done over and over.

11/10/2008 2:06:53 PM

Quote :

"I'm starting to think noen played a totally different game or something. I thought the dialog was pretty awesome...ESPECIALLY Cole!"

Bingo



Apparently Noen is one of those people that just refuses to be happy with anything and has complain about things just to complain.

The story is deliberately vague to extend the story. The holes you refer to are done on purpose which I like. It is rare to have a game plot that you can't predict and I think Gears accomplishes that.

There is plenty of character development, but seriously, its a fucking video game and people need to stop looking at it like its a fucking INDY film or some shit. I also like the voice acting. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH IT? COLE IS AWESOME, BAIRD IS HILARIOUS, Dom kinda sucks but whatever, MARCUS's voice fits his character perfectly, and I cant imagine the game without it.

I assume that the final GOW game will have the most story out of the three and I, for one, have never been dissapointed. I guess that makes me a moron in someone like Noen's eyes, but you know what, I really dont give a fuck.

The game is fun as hell, its waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Halo (IMO), the story is just as it should be, the action is great, and the graphics and sound are awesome.

Quote :

"There are SO many gameplay, trigger and hit detection bugs, it's almost comical.""

no there arent, its just you

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 2:20 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 2:20 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 2:21 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2008 2:18:56 PM

^there are a few bugs but they're mostly environment/invisible wall related which can be very frustrating.

11/10/2008 2:28:57 PM

Quote :

"Apparently Noen is one of those people that just refuses to be happy with anything and has complain about things just to complain."

No, I enjoy talking about things more than "dude AWESOME", "no dude, SUCKS", "YOU SUCK", "NO YOU SUCK".

Quote :

"The story is deliberately vague to extend the story. The holes you refer to are done on purpose which I like. It is rare to have a game plot that you can't predict and I think Gears accomplishes that."

If you honestly believe this, you must have an IQ of about 4. This game is so fucking predictable, it's nauseating. I kid you not, the first time we saw the big worm, my roomate turns to me and says "What do you want to bet we are gonna get eaten".

Plot holes don't extend the story. Plot holes make the story stupid. I'm not talking about it being vague, I'm talking about it being STUPID. Any game I play, I think to myself "how would I handle this if I were in the same situation?" And good games may not LET me do that, but they at least give me a reason why the went the other way. Maybe I'm just getting tired of the nearly 16 year old concept of linear path FPS with enemy triggers. Is it unreasonable to want a LITTLE more from a big budget blockbuster?

Quote :

"There is plenty of character development, but seriously, its a fucking video game and people need to stop looking at it like its a fucking INDY film or some shit. I also like the voice acting. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH IT? COLE IS AWESOME, BAIRD IS HILARIOUS, Dom kinda sucks but whatever, MARCUS's voice fits his character perfectly, and I cant imagine the game without it."

THERE IS NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. NONE, ZERO. You can say there is, but there isn't. The problem I have is this game is sold as being an engaging story on top of the game. It's not. Nothing in this game is engaging, except the hordes of enemies trying to blow you up.

Quote :

"I assume that the final GOW game will have the most story out of the three and I, for one, have never been dissapointed. The game is fun as hell, its waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Halo (IMO), the story is just as it should be, the action is great, and the graphics and sound are awesome."

It's a great action game. (bolded because people apparently can't read) I make no allusions about that. It COULD have been an epic game remembered for years to come. But it's not. Comparing it to Halo is silly. This game (and series) are supposed to be DEFINING the future of the genre. Spend a little less time on fancy graphics and a little more time on the story, writing, dialogue and plot.

11/10/2008 4:49:44 PM

I haven't played this yet but I remember in GOW1 they had the dogtags to collect...I probably got half of them playing through the game, and went back in another playthrough to get the rest

11/10/2008 4:54:25 PM

Quote :

"Plot holes don't extend the story. Plot holes make the story stupid. I'm not talking about it being vague, I'm talking about it being STUPID. Any game I play, I think to myself "how would I handle this if I were in the same situation?" And good games may not LET me do that, but they at least give me a reason why the went the other way. Maybe I'm just getting tired of the nearly 16 year old concept of linear path FPS with enemy triggers. Is it unreasonable to want a LITTLE more from a big budget blockbuster?"

see now you're talking RPG when we're talking FPS/ACTION. At least there is an intriguing story unlike the beginnings of FPS's where it was just death match.

I love both RPG's and FPS's. To me an FPS is like being in an action movie, its got a story but its mostly you blowing shit up and being thrown in intense action the entire time. I don't want to have to make choices as I do in RPGs. (Which i also enjoy)

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 5:04 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2008 4:59:32 PM

^Games are supposed to be about making choices. That's the definition of a game.

The only choices you have in GoW is the order in which to dismember people, and what weapon to do it with. It's a "dumb" game.

RPG means you define your own character, his/her traits, skills, and story. That's not what I'm talking about. I like "being" Dom or Cole or Marcus. I appreciate the character I'm given. I just think the "okay elite fighting unit, lets walk through this hall of mutants in stasis tanks" is dumb. The situations in the game are over-the-top contrived and artificial feeling. The "decisions" the characters make are mostly dumb, always predictable, and usually completely counterintuitive to the overall "storyline".

11/10/2008 5:25:59 PM

Not all games have to have some deeper storyline based off of the choices you make. Its still an FPS and making the choice on how to take out your enemy is more than enough. This is why we have different genres of games.

11/10/2008 5:28:57 PM

Quote :

"Any game I play, I think to myself "how would I handle this if I were in the same situation?" And good games may not LET me do that, but they at least give me a reason why the went the other way."

11/10/2008 6:02:21 PM

still not following...what more reasoning do you want out of killing locusts? The full extent of the story has yet to reveal itself. I think the game is pretty clear as to why they chose a certain way.

11/10/2008 6:07:36 PM

Apparently this is all lost on you guys. At least I have penny-arcade to agree with me

11/10/2008 6:25:04 PM

the purpose of games like GOW and Army of Two isn't to have the best game ever, its to highlight the co-op aspect and some sweet graphics

11/10/2008 6:28:29 PM

If you play a video game and you think about putting yourself in the game and what you would do and if its not realistic or believable enough...kill yourself.

11/10/2008 7:25:23 PM

^^See with Army of Two I completely agree.

That game was about KILLING PEOPLE. As many as possible, for the whole game. Bad ass. No story implied or otherwise, just a bunch of killing missions.

Games like Call of Duty, Gears of War and Halo have STORIES that are supposed to help support and drive the gameplay. But GoW2 has been pretty lackluster on that part.

11/10/2008 8:26:33 PM

Noen wants GoW2 to have 50 different endings, several of which involve saving the Locusts and/or immersing themselves in their society and mating with their women.

11/10/2008 8:42:02 PM

No, I'd just like to be able to walk around freely in each area and maybe even backtrack a little bit. And maybe slightly more plausible flow of events, maybe a few points where I can walk into the room of 10,000,000,000 enemies all wanting to end my life OR the difficult trek around the room with all kinds of other shit trying to end my life.

11/10/2008 8:52:20 PM

People in this thread who think that the story "isn't that bad" or "great" probably have never played (or didn't appreciate) the well developed story of a game like Half-life 2, which proves that you can have both an engrossing story and amazing gameplay in one package.

11/10/2008 8:57:01 PM

^^sounds like you want MGS or something comparable.





*i've never played GoW or GoW2, only seen an hour or two of multiplayer at a buddy's house, but i've been following the past few pages. *

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 10:06 PM. Reason : *]

11/10/2008 10:05:33 PM

Quote :

"People in this thread who think that the story "isn't that bad" or "great" probably have never played (or didn't appreciate) the well developed story of a game like Half-life 2, which proves that you can have both an engrossing story and amazing gameplay in one package."

i'm pretty sure everyones played half-life and half-life 2...thanks for playing though.

11/10/2008 11:02:09 PM

God is right on the damn money. Half-Life 1 and 2 are how a series should be done for story. Or Deus Ex, or System Shock 1 or 2. Meaty, intriguing stories with characters you remember and a plot that kept you wanting to know not just what's next, but MORE about what you already know.

11/11/2008 12:29:51 AM

All the reason you'll ever need to play this,

11/11/2008 3:10:20 AM

wow this thread has gone to shit...

getting back on topic, anyone wanna play story with me later or horde?

11/11/2008 10:31:40 AM

playing through on insane in co-op. just beat the giant worm last night...soooo much easier with two people!

11/11/2008 11:44:50 AM

What a shitty ending. I'm glad I didn't buy this game.

Holding out hope for the horde mode

11/11/2008 2:31:08 PM

sounds like a ps3fanboy

11/11/2008 6:53:24 PM

AND YOU ALLLLREAAAAAAAAADYYYYYY KNOWWWWWW

HOW

THIS

WILL

END......

11/11/2008 9:57:26 PM

if you havent figured it out yet, Noen knows everything, and if your opinion is different than his, you are stupid because there is no other explanation or viewpoint that can be deemed acceptable

Overcritical people make laugh

Try to enjoy things a little more. You might not be so miserable.

Quote :

"Half-Life 1 and 2 are how a series should be done for story. Or Deus Ex, or System Shock 1 or 2."

I do agree with this though

However, I think the approach that Gears takes, leaves a lot to be explored in upcoming games/movies/comics which is why I say the story is deliberately vague. I think they will probably do 1 or 2 more games if they continue to be as successful as 1 & 2 and story will be revealed in portions.

I have also heard rumors of expansions that could be releases via Xbox Live of GOW2 kind of like what Mass Effect did.

[Edited on November 11, 2008 at 10:43 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 11, 2008 at 10:44 PM. Reason : The System Shock series is absolutely great]

11/11/2008 10:38:51 PM

Okay. Beat it on hardcore, co-op, and at the very end of insane. Here's my take:

As far as story goes, I think Epic has a lot to learn about character development. It was easy to see that they wanted players to get emotionally invested in characters like Maria and Carmine. On this, they succeeded a little bit. I think it could have been done much, MUCH better. It seemed as though these plot points were somewhat tacked on, and there was not enough time to really explore and polish these areas given the length of the campaign. Due to the inability to really get acquainted with the characters in the story and furthermore feel for them, I think that seperates Gears 2 from being a great game as opposed to a good game.

Tai was a huge dissapointment and is the biggest example of this. It was evident Epic was trying to make a beast of a character and furthermore arouse some kind of dread for the locust in the storyline when he dies. But you barely even get to know the guy and he dies before you really get a chance to say hello. The whole thing comes off as anticlimactic. Of course, this is better than the original gears with what they were doing with the first carmine and kim, and it is evident that they did learn new things, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

I did feel like the storyline left things out on purpose and was by design. It was obvious in the first gears, and it is obvious in the sequel that they wanted to leave things open to interpretation and basically not give all the players every detail. Personally, I think that was a smart move because I think the experience is cheapened when all the answers are given to the player on a silver platter. Some of the very best games that have come out in the past 10 years follow this model. The first Halo was a pretty good example, but the best example I can think of is the Half Life series. You know the series wouldn't be nearly as good or as cool if you actually knew what the hell was going on in those games. The mystery that surrounds the universe and the storyline is one of the best things about this series, by far.

Graphics are still awesome, nothing new here.

Sound, oh my GOD, the sound. Take every gun from the original gears, and add five layers of badass to them, and that is what they sound like. The Boltok sounds like an absolute beast now, as well as the Hammerburst.

The gameplay is relatively unchanged, but thats not a bad thing. The spot on controls are still here, along with some new twists. explosions are more hardcore, the guns are more brutal, there a lot more blood and general badassery all around. If there is an explosion nearby when you are aiming your weapon, your screen will shake around. The new boss fights are awesome compared to the jokes that were present in the original game (aside from the final boss). The levels are much more varied, with something memorable in each. However, there were a couple of sections which really pissed me off, mainly the Centaur level and when you have to fire at the tower (why the fuck can't I make the tower fall as soon as I get there? Why do I have to wait for Baird to give me the green light? And why, as soon as he gives me the signal, do a million troikas start wailing on me and making the fucking task damn near impossible?), the part of level 4 where you have to guard your cart against the reavers, and the reaver level itself and the lack of control you have over it. These sections broke the fuck out of the gameplay and immersion I was feeling.

However, two questions remain in my mind after I beat the game. Where the fuck are the Kryll? And why are there no Berserkers?

11/12/2008 12:48:04 AM

Quote :

"if you havent figured it out yet, Noen knows everything, and if your opinion is different than his, you are stupid because there is no other explanation or viewpoint that can be deemed acceptable Overcritical people make laugh Try to enjoy things a little more. You might not be so miserable."

Eat a dick dude. How sad are you, trying to put me down, then you AGREE WITH ME? I enjoyed the hell out of gears of war 2, which I've said multiple times. It's a great game. I'm discussing my opinions on how much BETTER it COULD have been. That's being critical, not overly critical.

^He sums up my thoughts pretty much entirely, as far as the story goes. OMG HE MUST BE A DOUCHEBAG FOR HAVING AN OPINION DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE FANBOIS!>!>!>!1111

11/12/2008 1:54:40 AM

first impressions: way to improve a game that needed little fixing

we're only in the middle of the second act, but am really enjoying it thus far.

11/12/2008 2:24:25 AM

^^ you're an idiot for playing into arguing over the internet

11/12/2008 3:26:24 AM

Noen, from what it looked like to me, you were acting like the game sucked with the exception of the action/sound being good

If I was wrong in that assumption, then my bad but your explanation and opinion defense is a little bit more abrasive than parentcanpay (whom I agree with completely about Tai-- he was a big disappointment, I was looking forward to him being one of the main characters).


The Light Mass bomb eliminated the Krill breeding grounds

No idea about Berserkers

My opinion on the story "holes" is right on with parent's so I don't know how we are in disagreement if you believe his point of view is spot on with your own

Quote :

"I did feel like the storyline left things out on purpose and was by design. It was obvious in the first gears, and it is obvious in the sequel that they wanted to leave things open to interpretation and basically not give all the players every detail. Personally, I think that was a smart move because I think the experience is cheapened when all the answers are given to the player on a silver platter. Some of the very best games that have come out in the past 10 years follow this model. The first Halo was a pretty good example, but the best example I can think of is the Half Life series. You know the series wouldn't be nearly as good or as cool if you actually knew what the hell was going on in those games. The mystery that surrounds the universe and the storyline is one of the best things about this series, by far."

the bold points are exactly what I was talking about

[Edited on November 12, 2008 at 12:53 PM. Reason : either way, lets stop bitching at each other and just talk about the fun of the game]

[Edited on November 12, 2008 at 12:54 PM. Reason : I played up to Level 36 (Horde) with 2 other guys last night. HOLY FUCK IT IS GETTING HARD!]

[Edited on November 12, 2008 at 12:54 PM. Reason : .]

11/12/2008 12:52:27 PM

Quote :

"Noen, from what it looked like to me, you were acting like the game sucked with the exception of the action/sound being good"

agreed.

11/12/2008 2:41:05 PM

Maybe read my post at the top of the page?

Where I give credit for the actual game mechanics, and the audio/visuals. Or to reiterate my first post in the thread:

Quote :

"The voice acting is fucking horrible. The storyline is extremely MEH. Absolutely stunning graphics. Gameplay doesn't seem like anything new or special, especially from GoW1. "

Being that GoW1 was a fucking awesome game (gameplay-wise), I didn't expect to need to explicitly reiterate that. Sorry if things got lost in translation

11/12/2008 6:07:07 PM

so I started playing on Insane today by myself and.... I think I am going to co-op it. This shit is ridiculous.

11/13/2008 6:28:05 PM

^you can do it solo. I started solo but now i'm co-oping and we're pretty much at the very end just haven't had a chance to play today to beat it.

needless to say...insane + gears 2 = FIRE QA at epic! Talk about the most glitches and bugs i've ever seen in a production build. wow.

I am honestly starting to wonder if the QA team even tested the game or played it at all pre-release. I mean wow...these bugs are not hard to find or hard to duplicate.

[Edited on November 13, 2008 at 8:29 PM. Reason : FAIL]

11/13/2008 8:28:07 PM

picked this up this weekend

made it to the downed helicopter point, shortly after the 'giant worm' sinks the city

way better than the first imo, though i agree with others in this thread and wish that the game had more of a RPG feel to it, rather than a FPS with a mediocre story and character development.

yep

[Edited on December 8, 2008 at 8:06 AM. Reason : ]

12/8/2008 8:00:53 AM

i dont think the environments are as cool as it was in the first...i mean a giant worm

12/8/2008 9:11:59 AM

holy [words]

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

12/8/2008 12:38:52 PM

multiplayer sucks now. the matchmaking is horrible, i mean horrible. sometimes it takes 10 minutes to find a game. the ranking system is flawed. i was just stuck in a game where everyone quit. it was 1 vs 5 and the game still started. i miss GOW1. i guess i'll just put this on ebay and go back to COD or something.

i'm pretty disappointed. if you have a party it works alright, but with one person it sucks.

is it just me? maybe i just was cursed on live the last few nights.

12/18/2008 11:57:37 PM

Imagine how epic Pitfall would have been back in the day if the story was a bit more fleshed out.

12/19/2008 9:54:48 AM

^^ i can't believe that is still a problem

i sold the game a week after release because i lost patience after two nights of playing (or trying to play) multiplayer

worst multiplayer experience i have ever had

single player was pretty damn fun though

12/19/2008 10:22:15 AM

multiplayer is unplayable.

such an epic fail. if they don't fix this crap soon they will never recover the users on xbox live. just google "gow 2 matchmaking" and see how many positive results there are.

CliffyB please fix this.

12/19/2008 7:30:26 PM