IGN: Gears of war 2 Review

The original Gears of War was about laying the foundation and setting the stage for a massive struggle between man and monster. It introduced us to a planet named Sera and a band of warriors who will stop at nothing to preserve their people and make their home world safe yet again. Standing in their way are the Locust, a race of subterranean aliens hell bent on bringing down the Coalition of Ordered Governments and crippling the human race.

[SIX]

Awesome score!

[Fishy Fingers]

Really? Id take my own over IGNs. But yeah at least IGN still have some credibility and they're generally inline with what "we'd" give.

[anh_duong]

before i clicked on this link i knew it was going to get the same score as r2.

btw i got gow2 on sunday but haven't had time to play it yet. will give it a go tonite

[thor]

Maybe IGN don't want to be the ones to settle the R2/Gears 2 war?? Gears 2 is getting very high marks all round so I think it will beat R2 (just) in score, and it will trounce it in sales (double the userbase in US/UK where its biggest fanbase is).

[rexor0717]

I really was expecting that. Good Job IGN, you have my respect.

[La Chance]

Great job Epic !

Great great job !

[Aquanox]

Texture loading issues will be fixed by installing the game in the HDD.

Read the TeamXbox review for details.

[Kleptic]

^^yeah...for 6.5gb...all UE3 games have this...its obviously not that big of a deal...UT3 had a 3gb install option for the PS3...and it does get rid of it...so if it bothers you, its easy to remedy with the NXE...

IGN was definitely playing this battle carefully...the two big shooters of 2008 get equal scores so far...this is crazy...

[Bnet343]

BOOYAH! Nov. 7th, Gears 2! I'm ready to curbstomp some noobs online. BOOM BOOM! :D

[Jake1111]

I have both consoles and enjoyed both R1 and GOW1. I played through each multiple times.

I was dissappointed with the bosses on GOW1 though. Besides the berzerker, the bosses were pathetic. Especially the huge boss in the cavern that you would shoot in the stomach, then the mouth and then the trap to make him fall in the lava. That was commical.

My point is this. I am hoping the boss battles are actually battles this time. R1's bosses were awesome.

I do however think this review is bias. How can you give it the same as R2 if R2 exceeds GOW2 in every category?

I am in no means a fanboy and ultimately just want the best games. I dont care if Microsoft or Sony makes them. As long as they are the best.

I just feel that this review is bias. It seems IGN doesnt want to piss off MS when both systems are competing this closely for our dollars.

R2 should at least get a point or two higher for the fact that:

* 8 players co-op is new and innovative.
* 60 players multiplayer is new and innovative.

This innovation should have given R2 the higher score.

[Mike Ox Big]

There's nothing new or innovative about 60 player online or 8 player co-op.
Your judging these games based on the BS bullet points on the back of the box...which is retarded. It almost reminds of the parodies Shawn Elliot (of 1up) did with games like "Duty Calls", which had extra "big graphics".
http://www.1up.com/do/featu...
BTW I haven't played R2 so I don't know if it's good. I'll discover that by playing it, not by reading the back of the box.

[DixieNormS]

Didn't GRAW have 16 player co-op when it came out for the 360?

[Lifendz]

scored the same as R2. Guess both games stand tall on their own. Good holiday for gamers.

[gamesmaster]

ok mike ox, did anyone ever tell you that the game was developed and finshed before the box art was released? just a thought. he makes a valid point. i'm looking forward to playing with 7 of my friends online co-op something i'v not the chance to do, in single player campaign which R2 we expect will deliver. i'm sure gears 2 is an excellent game well deserving of its score but in my opinion i think that r2 may have just clinched it for me. no need to flame him, he likes the 8 player co-op so hes entitled to his opinion of the score. you're entitled to yours but what i'm saying is there any need to turn his comment into that bullsh!t you just spun about the back of the box.

please lighten up, we're interested in games not box art. maybe you should read his comment again with that in mind. oh wait i forgot you have a problem with people reading things.

[n4gzz]

Kool, I always knew gears 2 will be great too. Resistance 2, Gears2 = 9.5 = me happy gamer. As much as I don't like my 360, I will be playing gears2 on first day.

[TintedEyes2]

:D

[blooodFrenzy92]

ha seriously though it looks Awsome!!!!

[Maxned]

Oh god im an idiot.

[chrisnick]

just fell victim to the sarcasm train.

[RPG Guy]

Resistance 2 or Gears 2 according to IGN then is based on preference. Whether it be cover system vs shoot-from-the-hip, or 360 vs PS3. I'm taking Resistance 2 for the 60 online. That's just me.

[darkequitus]

I'am taking both! Why not have your cake and eat it if you can.

darkequitus: PSN/XBL

[RebornSpy]

I will have both games by the end of the year...

PSN/XBL: RebornSpy

[Aquanox]

If IGN was the only publication around, then yes. If not, then Gears has totally owned Resistance 2 in terms of reviews.

[Kleptic]

there are double the reviews up for Gears 2 so far..and for some reason Metacritic is giving Gears 2 a 100 from 1up for an A, which isn't how 1up's scores work...an A+ is a 100...and Resistance 2 recieved a B+ from 1up, which translated to an 83...pulling Resistance 2 down to a 91 compared to Gears 95...

whatever man...its close...no arguing that...the point is overall though that neither game is GOTY, despite what the fanatics from either side want to say...this puts both games under what GTAIV, LBP, and MGS4 recieved, which by definition should take both R2 and Gears 2 out of IGN's runnings for GOTY...that is, if their review system has any value whatsoever, of course...

[butterfinger]

PSN/XBL: filthyvillain

@ Aquanox - I think it's more impressive how Resistance 2's scores have been so much higher than those that Resistance 1 garnered. The games are both totally different, and it does depend on preference. I believe the multiplayer in Resistance 2 to be much stronger than that of Gears 2 (on paper at least), but I'll wait until I can play Gears 2 before passing any final judgement. As far as IGN's review deciding whether it is a tie or not; I don't see why that is not a viable opinion. Most people only trust score from a publication or two, and IGN is one of the most trusted review publications around.

[power of Green]

Most the people in here don't care about R2 go visit a PS3 thread and talk about R2. jesus christ

No one cares if you preffer Frag fest type FPS's over 3rd person tactical cover based shooters.

[pansenbaer]

Ha! Gears of War =/= tactical. Not saying Resistance does, but to argue that Gears of War is better because its tactical is a joke.

[Man_of_the_year]

^^^
Than you clearly got your butt kicked each time.

A good team is very tuff to beat. They stay together and cover each other - especially when a team mate is downed...also tactical flanks are a very important part of the game - it is all about the team play - stick together live together - wonder off to be a hero and you're dead. Stop and pop.

R2 is clearly just every man for themselves even when you are on a team - you just run off and shoot the first thing that moves. Run and gun.

[FCC]

Why don't people think Gears of War 2 isn't tactical?

It really is, the small numbers and the cover system make it so.

Imagine Gears of War 2 with 60 people... It'd be a sh*tstorm of people rolling around with shotguns and sticking people with grenades because the guy is busy chainsawing some random guy who is blocking bullets with his shield... That's just madness.

5v5 is perfect for Gears, big numbers don't work for 3rd person shooters, especially ones with cover systems. This goes for Killzone 2 with it's FPS cover system, they took it out because it'd slow down the gameplay immensely which wouldn't work with FPS.

I call a game tactical when we have people splitting up and covering each other.

I call a game tactical when someone gets downed and we have people cover someone as they try and revive the downed teammate.

I call a game tactical when you think where you're going to take cover and where you're going expose yourself to take out an enemy on a flank.

[Shankle]

TACTICAL?!!!? TACTICAL?!!!? TACTICAL!?!?!? TACTICAL?!!!!? TACTICAL!!?!?! TACTICAL!?!?!!? TACTICAL?!!?!

[pansenbaer]

Ha. Shenkle, that guy is hilarious. A joke, but hilarious.

I'm not saying Gears can't be tactical. When you put it like that, any shooter can be tactical. Just because 60 people can go crazy, doesn't mean they have to. Imagine a clan of 30 people, split up into squads, communicating together, getting objectives done. That would be tactical. I was really just calling POG out for saying that Gears was better than Resistance because Resistance is not tactical. If you really want tactics, SOCOM is your best bet. In Gears, you can get away with running and gunning. SOCOM, not so much.

EDIT:

Here is his most recent video!

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[MRMagoo123]

@FCC they didnt make it 5v5 to make it tactical they made it 5v5 because it wouldnt run with anymore ppl playing at once so dont give anyone this crap about it being tactical the mechanics are crap and wouldnt work on a large scale thats all there is to it.

[Maxned]

SUCK ON IT!

[Mr_Potato_]

Resistance 2 got 9.5 on IGN too, you know.

FBI makes that only to anger you, don't answer to him.

I think this guy is QueefyB by the way... :)

[Maxned]

No cus FBI always gets the first Open Zone comment :)

[tehReaper]

Haha beautiful. FBI(aka Nasim) has been PMing me to hell saying Gears 2 won't be AAA.

Hah.

Ohh yeah, just so everyone knows I challenged Nasim to a match on R2 tomorrow or whenever he takes time off of trolling. I'll be recording it and I'll put it on YouTube so everyone can see how much he actually sucks at games.

[Lanoire]

Dont matter. LBP 9.7 average.
Greys at war 1.1 - already down to 9.3

Greys at war is the same old same old 5v5 boring combat. R2 is packed with goodies and 60 player online.

You have been outmatched. The reality is really that simple.

LBP, next gen gaming 2.0.
R2, 60 player online, 8 player coop with different story mode.

Thats PS3. Thats living. 360 is nothing but same old same old. And you idiots think 360 is actually on PS3s level. It distuging how MS is bribing every damned stupid pig reviewer. But the market is not blind. The market sees. Thats why 360 sales are dying.

Tough luck. But cheap dirty tactics does not lead to victory. It leads to disaster.

I dont "check out" xbot sites, filthy xbot. Gays at war 1.1 is currently at 9.3. SUCK ON IT.

[tehReaper]

Speak of the devil, there's Nasim now. Still in denial.

Check out Metacritic, Lanoire. 9.6(Gears 2) vs 9.1(R2)

[pwnsause]

"Speak of the devil, there's Nasim now. Still in denial.
Check out Metacritic, Lanoire. 9.6(Gears 2) vs 9.1(R2) "

you do realize that there are more GeoW2 reviews than R2 reviews

[tehReaper]

pwnsause

I wasn't really trying to downgrade Resistance 2. I just have a personal vendetta against Nasim. He's the symbol of what's wrong with the gaming industry.

[BUKKAKALYPSE]

pwnsauce - "you do realize that there are more GeoW2 reviews than R2 reviews"

yeah, making it harder to keep up a high avg.

**frying pan to the head noise**

[Stubacca]

I'm glad it got good reviews. Best game on the 360.
Doesn't compete with MGS4 or LBP. But works well a 360 equivalent to Resistance 2.

I'd still rather Resistance. But good for the 360, gives them a worthwhile exclusive finally!

[Rhoic]

I love how much people are in denial on this site rofl.

[Mr_Potato_]

I respect IGN, they're not biased. So I guess Resistance 2 and Gears of Wars 2 (which both got 9.5) are both awesome.

[Rhoic]

I'm not taking IGN's review on Resistance 2.. as 9.5 is the highest score it's obtained so far lol.

[Shankle]

Yeah, that's true if you completely ignore the 10/10 scores it got....

[lelo]

Nice ... almost arriving :)

[Drealmcc0y]

Im glad it got the same as R2, all the fanboys can keep quiet now.
Y'all get equally brilliant shooters

[Mr_Potato_]

Well said, let's end the console war with that one. It's a tie ^^

[Overr8ed]

Great score. time to see what others reviews think

[FBl]

It's clear Gears of War 2 lacks the juice to compete with Solid Snakes last outing

[Amsterdaam]

Hah! They get the same score, so you go back to... MSG4.

As the resident voice of dual platform ownership, It's my pleasure to say SCREW YOU FANBOIS!

I'll be playing 5v5 gears for the tactical aspect, R2 for the 60 multiplayer craziness, back over to the 360 for Fable 2, working on my level in LBP and playing all the great multiplatform games on whichever system they look better on.

It really sucks to be you.

[chrisnick]

wanted r2 to score higher

[Mr_Potato_]

A tie is nice too.

PS3 has LBP too, so the best lineup still belongs to PS3 this year, especially if you include games like MGS4, GT5P, Motorstorm or Wipeout.

This tie should be a good reason for fanboys from each camp to buy the other console and try other games.

[thor]

Resistance 2 = Gears of War 2

They are just as good as each other.

[MiloGarret]

Yup, different awesomeness for different tastes! Enjoy your awesome games people!

[power of Green]

Different awesomeness indeed, now go talk about R2 in PS3 threads.

GOW2 95% metascore
R2 91% metascore

[Liquid Dust]

Quit trying to use metacritic when comparing R2 and Gears 2.

Gears 2 has 19 reviews

Resistance 2 has 8 reviews

If youre gonna try to make an argument with Metacritic, you need to wait till the dust has settled and all sources have submitted their reviews.

Both games are killer

[Horny]

POG i cant believe you still use that sh!t site metacritic.

1up gave RESISTANCE2 a B+/A+ and meta translated that to 83, not 89.
1up gave gears an A/A+ and they gave it a 100.
Not to mention they didnt count R2 highest reviews. Metacritic cant be used as a factual source.

[thereapersson]

How does A / A+ = 100 percent, when B+ / A+ equals 83 percent?

GeoW should have netted 97 or 95 / 100 on 1Up, IMO, because of that reason.

[Rhoic]

Just saying.. but if Gears 2 has 19 reviews with an average of a 96/100(right now, it is sitting at a 96), and Resistance 2 has an average of a 90(yes, it is now a 90) with only 6 review scores.. wouldn't that obviously mean it isn't as good? Especially since it doesn't have as many scores and is still lower?

Not trying to say Resistance 2 is bad.. but Metacritic > IGN

[Rhoic]

To the folks who say Metacritic is bad, it is by far not.. an A = 90-99(100 in some cases).. 1 point doesn't matter rofl. When I get perfect scores on my papers that are.. I usually see a 100, or an A.

And I guarantee you that if Resistance 2 had a higher score than Gears of War 2 on Metacritic.. the majority of people would be touting it like crazy.

[Horny]

^did u not read what I posted. Metacritic chooses what scores they take. Just like a reviewer has a opinion, metacritic has a opinion on what they count, its still opinions.

Also the 1up scale is:
A+ = 100
A = 95
A- = 90
B+ = 89
B = 85
....and so on

If you want something accurate take 5 of the biggest sites, same for every game, and average the scores.

[thereapersson]

To their credit, the gaming "A-F" system is a bit different in scale than one you use at school. But seeing as how that is the case, I don't know why they adopted it in the first place. They wanted to alleviate confusion in the ratings system, but all this does is add fuel to the fanboy fire when crap like that happens.

[ButterToast]

The 8 player co-op has me sold on resistance 2 so I'll be picking it as soon as I get the money, but if i had a 360 I would probably start selling things off so I could buy both. To every one with a 360 enjoy, looks like an awesome game.

[Assassin Nawabi]

that is freakin hawt....hawt hawt hawt....

[RadientFlux]

Good week for shooter fans, of course as an overwhelmed multi-console owner I'm probably a month a way from playing both games.

[Sevir04]

it's cool but it's resistance 2 for me.

[Tiberium]

resistance averaging 9.4? you wish man. resistance is lucky to get it's 9.1%. but at least we can agree both games are better than their predecessors.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Graphics
"Fantastic looking characters inhabit splendid worlds that feel truly alive. You’d be hard pressed to find a better looking game anywhere. Now if only they could fix the texture and framerate issues."

Texture is not an issue, it's the way UE loads, not the games fault.

Framerate issues? -The framerate does a good job at staying solid, though it does dip in one particular section when the environmental destruction is simply too much for the engine to handle.

he kind of contradicts himself, but oh well I digress. The level with dropping framerate is probably the locust lair we haven't heard much about, where they probably throw everything AND the kitchen sink at you.

lol GREAT SCORE!!!!

[Kleptic]

if anything I think you contradicted yourself a little...not the review...texture pop in on loads IS something worth noting...I know personally it drove me crazy in Bioshock, ME, and UT3...of which, not suprisingly, are all UE3 based...

it is the way the engine is designed...I understand that...but its also a visual flaw, which is why it was commented on...its consistant with the complaints on uncharted last year...where when loading a level (it only happens when you first start the game, as in there is zero loading again until you stop and start it again) the textures would take 5 seconds or so to come in properly...not mentioning it on other games defeats the purpose, thats all...

to anyone that cares though...the NXE install option nearly removes this problem entirely...for about 6.5gb of space...how much is bothers you is personal preference, but UT3 on the PS3 did this exact same thing...and had an install option to remove it...and I did it without question...

I will say this though...as a supporter of the PS3 and not so much the 360...this game looks absolutely insane...all complaints of the original have been almost entirely removed from what I can tell...and it proves without question that UE3 is still a very competitive engine, and that the 360 is a monster at running it...its a shame that no other devs seem to come close to what Epic can pull off with UE3 though...the boss battle with that giant fish thing in the under ground lake...with real time water reflections (even though the water is dark and awesome), Uncharted like rippling effects...and absolutely awesome detail in the boss.........goes down easily as one of the single most impressive things I have seen in any video game to date...and anyone saying otherwise simply takes this console war too seriously...there is a screen shot of what I am talking about nearly half way down the second page, with some giant tentacle coming out of the dark water...that single battle, although I haven't played the game yet, is to me the crowning achievement of the 360 visually so far...its absolutely awesome looking...

[PS360PCROCKS]

wait a minute. what? I didn't contradict myself, lol he did. I was referring to the part where he says in the review that "the framerate is smooth and only dips in one part" and than in the ending review he says it is an "issue" that was all I meant. and about the Texture loading, I know all about it and that people find it annoying. My point was it's not an "issue" it might bother you but it's a trait of the engine, it's not like the game is just not running right is my point. Whole second part of your reply I completely agree, this game looks stunning compared to the Gears 1

[Kleptic]

oh its cool...i didn't get what you meant then, now I see...I was only saying that its a good thing the texture pop in was mentioned, because it has been pointed out for other titles in a negative way also...if video game reviewers want to be taken seriously at all, then they have to stay consistant game to game with what they are complaining about...they complained of the texture loading in uncharted as a 'significant issue' a year ago...so they better say the same when it shows up in other games, Gears 2 (and 1) both being examples...and he did that just fine...

one thing I can't find in any reviews is the ranking system for the online though...is there one?...it mentions 'the matchmaking is now based on rank'...but does not go into any detail about the 'rank'...that was something many complained about with Gears 1 (the lack there of)...and the same with UT3 (had a stat page...and nothing else)...does this have a full ranking system with XP like stuff and unlockable weapons/upgrades?...that was something I didn't think Epic was implementing, which I found extremely surprising in that coD 4 and halo 3 made that almost required (and as such, like Resistance 1, Resistance 2 threw everything they could think of at that part of the community feature list)...it always seemed to me that a lot of PC devs simply don't get these types of features...if Gears 2 does have this kind of stuff, that is simply awesome...but it has recieved very little attention if so...

[PS360PCROCKS]

cool cool maturity is a good thing my friend. I wholeheartedly agree about mentioning the texture loading, it is something in the game. Anyways I know it's done on rank like Halo style, but I also have never heard anything about how it's done. Unlockable weapons though are not in the game sadly, no XP. It's straight up every map has it's own characteristics and so the weapons are different on every map.

[pp]

For some reason i was hoping Gears of War 2 to score higher than r2 for awful graphics.

[solidjun5]

you're a retarded fanboy. Both are great. If you have only a 360 (which you obviously do and probably make love to at night), then you have yourself a fine game. Same goes for the PS3 with Resistance 2. Just enjoy the games.

[pansenbaer]

Now why would Gears of War score higher with its awful graphics...?

[CliffyBee]

pp you get my game for free! Because you swallow.

[FCC]

I like how no one flames chrisnick for what he said but everyone flames pp... hypocrisy much?

[pansenbaer]

Only a fanboy can see why nobody flamed him.

"I wish Resistance 2 scored higher."

"I thought Gears 2 would score higher because Resistance 2 has horrible graphics"

See the difference?

[FCC]

Actually yes pansenbear, I do see the difference, there is none.

"crap.........
wanted r2 to score higher"

"For some reason i was hoping Gears of War 2 to score higher than r2 for awful graphics."

One's lamenting that his game should have scored higher than the other, the other lamenting that his game should score high than the other but going into specifics.

There's no real difference, they're both fanboys. Only other fanboys would see other wise and be hypocritical about it.

[m23]

Great score, I can't wait!

[Dave2001]

I bet all the Sony fan-girls are crying now that this game is getting such high scores and that they wish they could have this game on their POS console.

As they don't have any games only blu-ray movies :lol: but don't worry Sony fan-girls all you have to do is buy a 360 and you get to play this game which is 10 times better than the flop called Mgs4

[tehReaper]

Whoa now, don't be dissing MGS4. It shouldn't matter what console that game was on, it's still amazing and I recommend anyone who hasn't played it, do so.

But yeah, Gears 2 is looking very good. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

[solidjun5]

you do know Resistance got a 9.5 also right?!?! MGS4 wasn't a flop. Think before you spit doo doo out your mouth..err...fingers. Geez, idiots!

[ThaGeNeCySt]

excellent

[DeforMAKulizer]

Great going IGN! =D This should shut fanboys up!

[Dave2001]

Gears 2 is 10 times better then Resistance 2.

[Erotic Sheep]

WTF is wrong with 2008??? These upcoming months are heaven for console owners with games like Gears 2, R2, LBP and Mirror's Edge coming out. And I'm planning to buy more games even, my wallet is gonna divorce me ;___;

BTW why are people still bringing in R2 with this?
Gears 2 = TPS
R2 = FPS

Both are different or are we gonna compare fighting games with Cooking Mama now? R2 did his job as an FPS and added new milestones, Gears 2 did the same for the TPS genre.
Now.. who wants to see me eat grass?

[darkequitus]

most '08 gamers had to do, especially if you owned more than one console. Grab your ankles for loose change. LOL.

darkequitus: PSN/XBL

[Erotic Sheep]

You're right. I shall sell my innocent ass on the streets >.>

[Kleptic]

they are shooters...that is why they are being compared...not only are they shooters, but they are also both major action titles for their respective system...yeah, one you play as a huge moving piece of meat...and the other you play as a gun...one is about up close and personal battles with cover being key...the other about huge sprawling battles with nothing other than pushing forward and pulling the trigger the entire time...they are different...but a lot more similar to whatever random two genres you just used as an example...

both publishing companies also want their respective title to steal thunder from the other...which in itself creates a rivalry between the titles...TPS vs. FPS yes...and entirely different gearing (pun somewhat intended)...but the focus is on shooting stuff more than anything...fair comparison i would say...

[MerkinMax]

Resistance doesnt need the spot on graphics Gears has. Gears is beautiful small to medium scale. Resistance looks beautiful medium to large scale. They both have great graphics in their own ways.

[theEnemy]

MGS4 and GTA:IV are kings on IGN eh ?

[FBl]

Correct,Metal Gear Solid 4:Guns of the Patriots,is indeed better than Gears of War 2

[RAF-TECH]

what else can I say.
I'm buying both.

[Mikelarry]

i shocked that gears of war 2 actually did good NOOOOOOO i mean come on thats just crazy talk. i cant afford to buy it now which is a shame. all in all its good all this reviewers know a good game when they play it.

[Stryfeno2]

It's simply BADASS!!!

[xBot Lemmings]

CONFIRMED: MGS4 & LBP are the best games this year

[RAF-TECH]

lol.
you have no xbox 360.

[tehReaper]

Okay, what's your logic? R2 can be a a possible nomination but Gears 2 can't?

Whatever. You fail.

[stephen2005]

How many games got a 9.5 or higher this year? Alot, thats the answer.

2008 has been awesome for games...not on my wallet...but definitely good for games.

[Raptura]

I don't know what I'm going to do.. I don't have cash.. but I don't want to trade in any of my games to get these holiday releases.. WHAT DO I DO?

[RebornSpy]

Prostitution is the only option.

[Mikelarry]

im gonna have to go through my game list and trade in some of my well less than stellar titles in my gaming library. i dont wanna be left out. this game is just too good to pass on. its funny when this game first came out i hated with a passion how times have changed.

[cyclindk]

Dude, trade em...I was just like you until I needed cash for new games and I just sucked it up, thought which game/s have I not touched for six months or more and PROBABLY won't touch again if great games keep coming out at the rate they have been and pick that game to sell...if you can't get more than five bucks for it, then screw it.

[cyclindk]

"Prostitution is the only option."

What do you charge? :)

[darkequitus]

sold a ton of games on Ebay in prep. The funny thing is I am in the US 5000 miles away from my consoles in the UK, so I wont get to play any games for another 12 days. I will be 5 days behind everyone else. GEtting R@ early though.
Must...resist..forums... Spoilers....LOL!

darkequitus: PSN/XBL

[Raptura]

I swear to God I have owned like 50+ games for 360 and PS3 all together, but now I am down to 5.

I'm thinking about trading in GTA IV, but I'm kind of worried that one day I'll be wanting to just play it for the purpose of driving around and killing things.

Everytime I've traded in a GTA game I've regretted it at some point. What do you think?

[DarkSniper]

Politics are the sole reason why Gears of War 2 receieved a 9.5 from IGN. It's clear that the series does nothing to give players a feel of a true sequel. Dark Sniper can assure you that Gears of War 2 makes no improvements graphically or in regards to the gameplay.

Even still, the fact remains that Xbox 360 has reached it's limit with Gears of War. No game on the inferior platform has surpassed the original Gears of War graphically since the original in 2006. It's honestly a damn shame that between that gap, the only game that matches Gears of War 1 is Gears of War 2. Which means Xbox 360 development is at a standstill and will be for the remaining decade and beyond.

Only PLAYSTATION®3 has the technical capabilities to surpass expectations and further improve gameplay and graphics with the maturation of the console itself. According to IGN Resistance made a larger improvement than Gears of War upon the sequels. This is not a surprise to Dark Sniper seeing that Resistance is clearly the superior franchise out of the two.

IGN Reviews
Resistance: Fall of Man-9.1
Gears of War-9.4

Resistance 2-9.5
Gears of War 2-9.5

This clearly shows a .3 increase in quality for Resistance and only a .1 increase for Gears of War. Which shows that Queers of Bore is nothing more than a stagnant cash in to launder money from the gullible Microslaves who will purchase this mediocre game.

Dark Sniper knows where his money is going this week.

$niper

[RAF-TECH]

FBI is more interesting than you.
your flat boring.

[Marquis_de_Sade]

so according to your logic, it doesnt matter what the score is (which indicates the better game) its the improvement over the previous itteration in the franchise? So if im a developer, i want to make a completely garbage game so the sequel is better for it? Pretty stupid thing to say.

By the way, i take it Resistance 2 is also mediocre seeing as they both scored the same from IGN?

[robotnik]

A great review as always, DarkSniper.

[Keele]

Robotnik and Dark Sniper - Two men in one closet.

What happened inside the closet guys? Man to Man love, thats what.

[FBl]

Metal Gear Solid 4>>>>Gears of War 2

[darx]

You don't know anything about video games.

[Marquis_de_Sade]

I would aggree with you on that, but heres an idea, why not take a break from your rigorous 24 hour N4G posting regime, and, you know, perhaps play on your oh so wonderful PS3?

[darx]

"This clearly shows a .3 increase in quality for Resistance and only a .1 increase for Gears of War."

LAME!!!

[Doctor Strange]

Good review and the only real complaint that I had with the first one which was story seems to be better this time. Can't wait to play this.

[Raptura]

It's a shame that the story isn't good. But I honestly don't know many FPS storylines that are that great.

[pp]

Gears of War 2 stands out as one of the best-looking titles on any console. Goty 08 cry droids cry.

[elorm9]

Doubt it'll come close to getting that award, obviously it'll get best 3rd person shooter.

But really now... KZ2 beats Gears 2 anyday in terms of graphics. And this is a fair comparison because they are both games that will be released in the 3rd year of the platform they were developed on.

Gears 2 still doesn't really make use of colors, all I see are browns, grays, oranges, and maybe the sky being blue... It doesn't look as realistic as KZ2

[Rhoic]

Elorm you realize that you are a tard, correct? "If the game doesn't have the best graphics.. it cant get GoTY." Lulz. Sucks for LBP then.

[kingfury]

pp you care 2 say that bullsht in my face b!tch?

[squall2099]

FBI HAS NO LIFE

[kingfury]

how about you shut ur b!tch ass up

[FBl]

A big round of applause for Ken Kutaragi and Hideo Kojima

[Rhoic]

Too bad MGS4 couldn't carry it's own weight =(

[poeo]

pretty obvious that this was a diplomatical score.. they didnt want to piss off any fanboys by giving GeOW2 and Resistance 2 the same score. i know i'm not the first one to say this but still, there's NO WAY that IGN didn't notice they gave the exact same score, and decided that it was a wise thing to do. the odds of two similar, MASSIVELY hyped games going against each other getting the same score of 9.5... dunno, call me crazy or paranoid or whatever.

but meh, i don't REALLY care for either game, sick of shooting at aliens :/ (60 player MP and 8 player co-op could be fun though, as could GeOW2's Horde mode)

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

They are the least bias.....but I along with others still question there R2 score..

[robotnik]

Both are great games, enjoy them :)

[robotnik]

Enjoy your LAST great game, bots.

[RAF-TECH]

i still enjoying Ace Combat...

[Aquanox]

And:

TeamXbox got it right with the score. Those texture issues will be solved by installing the game in the hard drive.

Definitely, one of the Game of the Year favorites.

[Crazywhitie]

This is from IGN them self
"Fantastic looking characters inhabit splendid worlds that feel truly alive. You’d be hard pressed to find a better looking game anywhere"

WOW Sorry PS3 fanboys better get an xbox 360 if you want the best...

The only thing is the single player isn't that hard, i've been playing it on hard(because insane not unlocked yet)and i just got to chapter 5(the last) in about 10hrs.. I was hoping more,

[tatotiburon]

hahaha once again Gears of War>>>>>Resista nce, check metacritic, check everything, Resistance falls once more time against Gears of War...good job insomniac though, was a great fight, you delivery a excellent game, but EPIC owned you one more time, better luck next year HAHAHA

Gears of Wra 2 outdcore the competition and it will outsold every PS3 exclusive this holiday....man it even will sell more units than all the PS3 holiday lineup put together

[mersenne]

great review ign
although they gave it the same score as resistance 2.

but reading the review i feel its a little better than r2 considering gow2 is a 6 page review compared to a 2 page for r2.

so 9.5 is great but 9.7 or 9.8 would have been the right thing.

[pain777pas]

6 page reviews are done to justify high scores to show that the game deserves your attention. It will be good to see the score for R2 from the uk and au teams for resistance for as we can see gears scored lower for that team not much but scored lower. I feel that Gears features can't match R2 but the overall quality does that's why theres a long review.

[Arcturus]

devs like sales and all the sales are on 360.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Thats why 3rd party games sell more on Playstation consoles?

Xbox 360 is only for pirates.

[Rhoic]

Wrong.. Games from:

EA (and even I doubt this.. because Madden games sell triple the amount on the 360)
Ubisoft

sell more on the PS3.. other than that, it fails. GTA IV is a great example.

[chfthnder26]

now i have a ps3 and 360 but honestly if u think any game is gonna outsell gears 2 then u really need to snap up out that dream you are in even mgs4 couldnt outsell gears 1 wow

[she00win99]

Major spoiler alert, do not click the link unless you want to see the Resistance 2 ending.

resistance 2 ending:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[DARK WITNESS]

lol, well good to hear...

i am selling everything i don't need to try and keep up with the games this year... looks like by the time i am done i will just have my sofa, tv and games systems.. but what else do i really need.

mind you the Mrs wont be too happy. jokes aside, smart move giving this the same score as R2, at least it has stomped the fanboys ( to a degree )

[Cheeky Gamer]

Yeah, and you do realise that this works in R2's favour? A game's score is likely to fluctuate even more if it has less reviews for it.

By the time Resistance 2 racks up an extra 10 reviews, I guarantee its score will be significantly lower than Gears of War 2.

[she00win99]

i just hope the reviewer will not be underwhelmed when they are going to review resistance because of the graphics, sure they are also good but not as good as gears. most of the reviewers are shallow like GT and 1up, they prefer graphics over gameplay..

[C_Dub]

I'm getting both game for sure, probably at the same time. Helluva weekend, here I come!

[pain777pas]

Great score for a third person shooter Gears 2 and great score for first person R2. Pick your poison this holiday both deliver or choose both.

[tonywood]

FIRST OF ALL, I LOVE ALL VIDEOGAMES!
HOWEVER, IN THE ISSUE OF FAIRNESS, HOW IS IT OK TO GIVE RESISTANCE 2 A 9.0 FOR GRAPHIS (TEXTURE AND FRAME RATE ISSUES), BUT KNOWING THAT GEARS HAS THESE SAME ISSUES, GIVING IT A 9.5?

FIRST OF ALL, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE GOING ON IN RESISTANCE 2 ON-SCREEN THAN BOTH GEARS 1 AND 2 COMBINED! NO DISRESPECT, BECAUSE I LOVE THE GEARS FRANCHISE, BUT PS3 HAS BEEN GETTING HATED ON!!(R2 GRAPHIS SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A 9.4, WHILE GEARS RECEIVES A 9.1)

AND FOR BOTH VALUE AND GAMEPLAY, RESISTANCE 2 IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR YOU 60 BUCKS, PEROID. I'M NOT SAYING IT'S THE BEST, HOWEVER, 420 HOURS!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?
GEARS 2 RECEIVED A 9.5 FOR PRESENTATION, AND THAT IS COOL WITH ME, HOWEVER, RESISTANCE HAS MORE REPLAY VALUE. (IT SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A 10 BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN HALO3, WHICH IS OVERRATED AS HELL!) LONG LIVE HALO 1, GOLDENEYE (N64) COUNTERSTRIKE, AND CRYSIS (PC)

[Blink_44]

Noob! Turn off caps lock >.<

[Rhoic]

Because the graphics of Gears of War 2 actually have a legitimate reason for why they dip.. they're good rofl.

[tonywood]

HEY PAIN, I LIKE YOUR POST, HOWEVER, I WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH RESPECTFUL INSIGHT TO THE GEARS OF WAR 2 REVIEW SCORE.

I USE TO HAVE A 360, SO I AM NOT A HATER OF THEIR GAME DEVEOPLERS. WANTED TO SAY THAT THE HIGH GEARS 2 SCORE WAS A LOCK ONCE THE GAME WAS ANNOUNCED YEARS AGO. THIS IS BECAUSE IGN SELLS ITSELF FOR GOOD REVIEWS, AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT!

AGAIN, GEARS IS A GREAT FRANCHISE AS I HAVE BEEN DOWN WITH CLIFFY B./EPIC GAMES SINCE THE UNREAL SERIES. BUT REPLAY AND GRAPHICLY, RESISTANCE IS BETTER. (TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE ON SCREEN AND, THE THE MONSTERS ARE A LOT BIGGER) R2 ONLY GOT A FEW PAGES BECAUSE LIKE OBAMA, THEY DIDN'T PAY FOR THEIR RESPECT.

[Eamon]

your caps hurt my eyes

[pain777pas]

Yes the PS3 is in an uphill battle. A good american system vs the former japanese giant. The PS3 has not hit it's stride and the games will now have to turn heads to get the respect they deserve. The system works great and I've gamed hard on that system with no disc errors and no bricked system after an update. Solid performance in everyway from this machine. R2 is the most for your money in shooters this holiday there is no question. Some may just prefer the gears style. I would not say that this is really money related. I think that american gamesites want this viable large american company in charge of the gaming industry at least for a while till Sony starts to wake up. The system has survived some troubled times but now were seeing everything really coming together for them. The only failure sony has now is the lack of marketing for their titles. I cannot disagree or agree with you because its purely speculation at this point and regardless they are gamers and one think about gamers no matter what they will admit the obvious. Halo saved the xbox and they admitted that last gen cause it was great. They will also have to admit K2, GOW3, heavy rain etc........ Just wait and see.

[Blink_44]

I can't wait for my friend to get this game so i can play it :)

[Varsarus]

MGS4 = 10
GOW2 = 9.5

happy days.

[tonywood]

NOOB, THATS ORIGINAL...(YOU GOT ME!)
I USE CAPS SO MY POST STANDS OUT FROM THE REST. SINCE YOU HAD NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT'S CONTENT, I GUESS YOU AGREE WITH ME.

[Eamon]

The thing is, people usually use caps when they are trying to tell the reader that they are shouting or announcing something big or something like that.

When you write a school essay or something, do you write in caps? No. So why do it online? :)

[zonetrooper5]

Tonywood don't have the caps lock on for whole of your post, its annoying and messy. Turn off the caps lock and provide your opinion.

[Rocky87]

Stop mention any other games except GeoW2 here.
I know u can't ignore it cuz it's simply breathtaking when u just read the name but try to ignore it.

[Pika-pie]

Meh, maybe pick this up off ebay sometime next year to see if its any better than the first.

[Socomer 1979]

story: you must be retarded if you're playing gears for story because like they said,
its cheesy but voiceacting is good. What?

Graphics: same old same old but at least they didnt ruin it.

Gameplay: few added extras. Meat shield, portable cover & a few more uninterupting
Execution animations that still leave the player briefly invincable.

Sound: whatever.

Presentation: I give epic credit for that by throwing some scraps of notes in there.

Replayabilty: what else are xbox gamers gonna play?

So story is said to be 8 hours but with the kindness of the review its probly 6 hours.

Whats the deal with shortchanging resistance 2 review by making them equal?
could it be because of different genres? If so, then its no wonder mgs4 is the king
of 3rd person shooting.

Gears 2 sound like a solid 8 game. 9.5 means must have but they said buy it only if
a gears fan. How is not gears2 a 1.5 expansion? Nothing in the review convinced me
to buy a xbox360. Gears2 has convinced me not to buy therefore microsoft has failed to persuade
me with any games released this year. Its over. The xbox360 farewell game.

[pshizle]

95.1

out of 15 reviews!

[pshizle]

if not they are retarded

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Good score.

[DevastationEve]

In one of the dev diary videos, you hear Marcus tell Dom "let's go find Carmine"

I have a question: just HOW many times did that guy die in Gears?!

he was headshot in near The House of Sovereigns (when he complains about his gun jamming)

he get's beaten to death by the Berserker (unless that's someone else)

Even if it's a different guy, I KNOW that was Carmine who got head shot!

How's he in Gears 2 then? Unless this is a THIRD Carmine!!!

(maybe he's so much of a rookie that they're always finding his ass in trouble...if that's it, hilarious!)

[edhe]

It's the original carmine's brother - the berserker & RAAM murders were just the faceless redshirts.

[DevastationEve]

Raam killed Kim...OH! Right! There's the scene where Raam executes this other Cog soldier point blank!

Is that Carmine too?

Lol! I'm confused...Carmine's been head shot, Berserker bashed, and point blank executed and STILL manages to be in Gears2! What a n00b, he's GOT to be the f*ckin rookie of the crew that they always have to save!

[TheCagyDies]

is Benjamin Carmine, brother of the late Anthony Carmine from the first gears...

[pangitkqb]

getting old? Honestly, both are getting rave reviews, and both obviously deserve it. The only people worried about it are fanboys, the bane of the gaming world.

I am one of the lucky few that owns both a PS3 and 360 and will be purchasing both games. (I even got to be part of the Resistance 2 beta, and honestly, it was badass!)Once i have completed both games I will then decide, independently and on my own, which game is an overall better package. Even then, does it matter which is better as long as i enjoyed both games and feel that my money and time were well spent?

As far as complete guesses, based on what i have read, seen, reviews, and experienced in the Resistance 2 Beta, the following are my predictions.

1) Gears will have better visuals, but not by much. You never know though, Resistance 2's campaign could wow, but from what i have seen Gears seems to have better texture work and more dynamic lighting.
2) Resistance 2 multi-player will be better overall. 60 person death-match and 8 player co-op seal it. I played both in the beta and have NEVER had such a good multiplayer time. Ever. Horde mode, however, will come close.
3)Audio = Gears, but only by a hair.
4) Replay value tilts slightly towards Resistance because it supposedly takes hundreds of hours to see every scenario in the 8 player co-op.

See what i'm saying? These games are gonna be great, and in the end, with quality titles such as these we are all winners. Let everyone enjoy their respective console's greatest titles so far. I'm gonna be loving both! ;)

[djroberts]

I hoped they have a better story this time, the story in the first one sucked.

[Relwyn01]

They will edit out the framerate issues, lol.
Also I'm tired of hearing this debate over R2 should get better scores because of co op and how many people can play multiplayer.
400 hours? How many people are still playing Gears? Exactly, way too many.
R2 will be great, and I'm glad the PS3 is pushing out the games that we all know it should be, but why compare these games? Can't we both have good games now?
Then the end of the year will come, and some places will give Gears 2 GOTY, and some will give R2 GOTY, and the argument will start all over.
Wii Music for GOTY!!!!!!<ducks for cover>

[mugoldeneagle03]

Hell I don't even own a 360 but I've been waiting for the IGN review to see how it was and turns out it's as great as expected.

Resistance 2 for PS3 owners, Gears 2 for 360 owners = win win for gamers.

Period.

[tonywood]

O.K. no more caps lock. (I shall respect the rules of the house)
I am very excited about both gears 2 and R2, and I would like to offer my opnions without disrespecting anyone.

Just want to add that Call of Duty: World at War may pull an upset over both gears 2 and R2.

[Bullseye]

happy to hear of framerate issues! Not acceptable, not acceptable at all. £40 quid is a lot to pay for 'framerate issues' Have to think about this one. Too often in modern gaming there is a lack of attention to detail, the very thing that make a good game,great.How can you mark a game as 9.5 when it has framerate issues ? Hyperbol !

[deadlyvermin]

Just finished Dead Space and Fable 2, will have to hurry up and finish Fallout 3 to make time for R2 and GOW2. I thought last years line up of games was impressive but this holiday season's games have made me both poor and in trouble with the wife... but its worth it!

[Lord Vader]

ANOTHER NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER.

[SacT0wnF1n3st]

One of the best looking games if not the best on the 360. This week is gonna be EPIC!!!

[MRMagoo123]

shame its such a sh!t game then, im glad i dont fall for hype or else ide be a retarded 360 owner too.Gut instinct is the way to go dont trust reviews.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Rumple fwah

[The Mikester]

Gears of War 2 looks like a good game but it hasn't made me want to buy it yet

[The Mikester]

it's still a good game though and is going to be a big hit for the 360

[robotnik]

...looks like another flop for the flopbox.

[robotnik]

My logic is unbeatable lol!!1

[die_fiend]

Gears 2 will smash most games out of the water. Most sites are saying the graphics are quite improved, and gamespy are saying it's their opinion that it's the best looking game ever. I was always gonna buy a 360 for gaiden 2 but when I saw how sweet Gears 1 was I had 2 buy one then and have bummed Microsoft ever since cos of the amount of immense games there have been. So many it's silly. And Gears 2 will clearly be one of the best ever. They need 2 make the 3rd for the next console. The graphics then will truly be mind-boggling considering Gears 1 still smashes pretty much every game in terms of graphics. Never one for multiplayer but since I'm naturally immense I'll be sure 2 cap u all online

[Gorillaunit]

Look, I have both the PS3 and The 360, I even have a PS2 and PS1. For 90 % of the games across the platforms the 360 looks better than the PS3. Also lot of the big first party games on the 360 Look better than their PS3 competitors. Yes The PS3 has the Cell processor, but when it comes to actual (not theoretical) gaming processing power they actually are pretty much equal in that regard. The PS3 has an advantage of a hard drive in every PS3 and the blue ray player, so load times are less and there is no shortage of space on the discs. The 360 has an advantage in the graphics area, the graphic accelerator in the 360 can render twice as many raw polygons at its peak than the PS3 can and the 360's memory bandwidth and ability to handle textures is much greater than that of the graphics card in the PS3. What This Means is the 360's graphics card can handle higher resolution and more detailed textures and lighting than the PS3's graphics card, it also allows the 360 to render games at higher resolutions a lot more efficiently than the PS3. Another advantage of the 360 in the graphics department is the system has more memory (10 megabytes more; 360 has 522 megabytes and the PS3 512 megabytes) and more of that memory is available to its graphics Card. Look, The graphics Card is what really determines the level of graphical detail, not the system Processor (Thats Why its called a GRAPHICS card!!). Another big advantage to the 360 is it is easier to develop on, which gives developers more time to make the game look and play better. For those few cross platform games (roughly 10%) that looked slightly better on the PS3, the developers usually had more time to develop on the PS3, for example oblivion where they had a whole extra year to develop and refine the PS3 version. Even some games that were released a year later on the PS3 still look better on the 360, for example Fight Night 3. When it comes right down to it, what really makes a game look good is time, Lots of money, and the developers. Both systems are great, both systems have great games and they both have their advantages. If you want to go for graphics more than anything get a PC. Oh Yeah one more thing, Do your homework before you try to attack my comment:)