Kotaku : Gears of War 2 Review

Gears of War hit a lot of high notes when it was released in November 2006, but despite all of the high scores and hoopla surrounding its release, the game missed out on plenty of fantastic potential. There was that short, rather unsatisfying story, the shallow, almost stereo-typical characters, the paltry eight-person multiplayer engagements. With Gears of War 2, Epic Games promises a title that is bigger, better and more badass than the first. Does that mean we can expect some story to go along with all of those chainsaw kills and blood baths or will plot continue to be superfluous as the franchise marches ever onward toward its culminating third game

[Armyless]

Keeping in spirit with the fanboy titles lately.

[SonySoldierEternaL]

where have you been?

Kotaku are microsoft fanboys

[jaysquared]

Wait what kind of reviews Killzone has gotten? Oh yeah that's right its not even out yet.. It might not even be released with how LBP flopped in sales Sony might go under before this game is done. Haven't they spent like $100 million plus on KZ2?

Back to GOW2.. I'm pretty impresses with this game. This game improved quite a bit from the original from the gameplay and the extra feature they've put in like Horde and the different game types. Gotta give props to Cliffyb and the rest of the team.

[Monchichi025]

Best GAME ever!!! Enough said! LOL

[lloyd_wonder]

I'm sure with all your excitement for the game, you and numerous others overlook the low polygon count, blurry textures, flat textures, ugly character models, dull story, bad voice acting, mediocre MP, some bad looking levels, low enemy count, crappy weapons, repetitive gameplay, linear levels, short campaign mode etc etc

But I'm sure that wouldn't stop any Xbox owner from owning this masterpiece...;)

When I play Uncharted- a year old game, and compare the two, I'm floored at how dated some of the technical features for the game are...next gen started with the PlayStation and it will end with the PlayStation.

[Pennywise]

Armyless, I get what you said. This site loves a fancy name to draw crowds.

[DevilVergilX]

Killzone2 is actually only around 20-25million mark, which is pretty cheap compared to GTA4 and other games that range around 50-100million in development.

[funkysolo]

Are you kidding me? props to cliffy for ruining the multiplayer portion, please explain how you like the matchmaking, how the chainsaw is garbage and the game is just full with glitches, props for what..You fanboys amaze me, gears2 single player is good but it's like you are playing an expansion pack...Also how is LBP a flop? Do you have numbers, because I know they haven't been released, so you must work for SONY....And let me stop you from making a fool of yourself, please don't ever down play Killzone2 because it's the baddest looking game out there, and by reviewers comments the gameplay is tight..Gears2 online portion is broken just as much as Socom was but we all know how reviews are bought..by the ways gears is the only reason i have a 360 so yes I owned 1 and 2

[Why o why]

thank you. u took the words straight out of my mouth. The lifeline of a fanboy seems to be what a game sells instead of if the game is any good. Its a joke. If i use that logic then the 1st xbox was definitely a flop but to me it wasnt it was just ms's fault why chose to cull it

[user9422077]

If Kotaku did give Gears 2 a score, I'm sure it would be a 10/10

[MURKERR]

...

[drubils]

They aren't any good anyways. They run on every rumor even though many of them are false. The writers are horrible and lack any intelligence when writing stories. They like to keep the flame wars going so they get hits and can make money.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

What a AAA beast!! I am loving this game!

[lloyd_wonder]

So much for the only AAAA score...

Kptaku aren't even allowed on MetaCritic.

[Gue1]

ppsss crab was saying the exact same crap when Too Human was getting crappy scores. his opinion is not reliable. ;-)

BTW kotaku doesn't gives scores, that's why is not on meta. what they are going to put?

[lloyd_wonder]

That didn't stop Variety from giving a BS score to LBP.

[farhsa2008]

its a great game no doubt, but R2 is the better game overall

[funkysolo]

It's funny how M$ gets away with this crap. I've been playing gears2 online since friday and it is so broken I stop playing it. I haven't read one reveiw that even touch base on it. There is nowway gears2 online deserves anything higher than a 5/10. The single player is good, but at time gets repetitive. I remember how socom online issues were brought up on every reveiw but not one reveiw has mention that the matchmaking sucks, that you can spend 5-10 minutes looking for a game, that you only get to play 1 or 2 maps because after every game you have to start the whole matchmaking all over again and most likely get the same 2 map choices... There is no host migration, so if the host quits the game is over. I think epic should just go back to the gears1 setup because I just don't see gears2 at the current state dominating the online charts..Everyone I talk to on live agrees that the game feels like a beta version and everyone just thinks that it will get fix,,,but where are the reveiwers opinion on these issues?

[boodybandit]

I am struggling to stay with the game because of the tweaks to the weapons, matchmaking (I HATE IT!) and the suspect at best hit detection. I am picking up COD5 tomorrow for the 360 even though I am not liking the fact that it is set in WWII just to fill the void and disappointment I have with Gears 2.

Horde is a blast but the single player reminded me of Halo 2's ending. I was left wanting more. Actually Halo 2 was a lot better ending. At least it was kind of a cliff hanger.

*SPOILER ALERT*

There wasn't even really a final boss. It was more of a sequence than an actual battle. Leading up to the end was fun (riding the Brumak) but man what a let down the end was.

I am going to hang on to Gears 2 and just hope Epic fixes the online with some tweaks and more options fo matchmaking. Matchmaking just takes too long at times and I want to pick the mode I want to play instead of having to vote for. I also want to play with a map list/ cycle instead of everyone voting for the same d*mn maps all the time!

[funkysolo]

Yeah i'm holding on to it, because I still have a blast playing it co-op. Gears2 should only be played co-op otherwise it gets repetitive and with snipers only, it would be cool if it was 4 player co-op..I can't wait for WAW to get delivered tommorow, i missed the beta already. WAW rocks and it's definitely the best multiplayer game this year

[boodybandit]

Can you be anymore immature?
Gears 2 online needs work.
The single player ending was horrible.
Yes horde is a blast but for how long?

All you have to do is check my profile to see that I already completed Gears 2 campaign. Normally I would complete it on every difficulty setting but I am not into it enough to play it through again. Oh and BTW you need to go to various gaming forums and read what others are saying about the tweaks to the weapons and how much "some" people dislike matchmaking.

You are more than welcome to add me to your friends list and message my friends and ask them for yourself what they think of the game. Most of the people I have on my friends list I met during Gears 1. Most of them are playing the game but nearly half of them are disappointed with how the online is structured.

[xhi4]

LOL

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

GoW2 is amazing... Artwork is brilliant, Soundtrack is awesome and the graphics are mindblowing... Gameplay is stupidly fun, Coop rocks and the online multiplayer is stupidly beefed up compared to GoW1... This game is AAA and the only good 360 game to be released this year unfortunatly... But still I feel sorry for the PS3 fanboys who try and bash on this game because they are green with envy...

[ugabugaz]

There's nothing to envy. The graphics are not mind blowing. Only Crysis and Killzone 2 have "mindblowing" graphics. For coop i have resistance 2. So what should i be envious of?

[DiabloRising]

Not everyone is bashing it though. People are too touchy around here, and when an intelligent poster brings up honest criticism (weak ending, final boss, story, online issues) they are bashed to high heaven for being a PS3 fanboy. It's sad.

And I still love how Kotaku does reviews. It cuts the E-penis off of fanboys by making them, gasp, read the review itself. No BS arbitrary scoring here, just what the reviewer's opinion is, and also how much/what he played of the game. If only EVERY reviewer did such a thing.

[Why o why]

08 has been baron for the 360 true but personally gears could never be a flop just like halo mgs4 or gta4 could never be a flop because of hype, payoffs or that they were/are actually GOOD/GREAT games. Each of us could put each of the games i mentioned into any group. Anybody who though gears 2 or even resistance 2 were going to be flops after seeing the previews were just hoping/hating. gears 2 online matchmaking is broken though and im surprised nobody has really mentioned it. My mate is saying its taking him ages to get into a game through matchmaking where otheres are having no such issues.

u get a bubble for being honest anyway as some on n4g really thought that ms's lineup was stella for 08 when i personally feel sony's was a touch stronger.

OnslaughtX

@yeah, though i call them bukaku because of their constant bs i they have my respect for their review and review method. (e-penis) great term, bubble

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

shame you didnt think R&C:TOD's and Uncharteds graphics were mindblowing either... some people dont appreciate good visuals I guess

[truehunter]

How is this game an AAA title ?? it has glitch n bugs..... no AAA title needs those. That rite there has falling. Buying a games that isnt completed isnt worth my time.
Epic needs to take there time on gears 3 cuz there new title should b called Glitch of war.
This Game has falling an rely on patching. This game isnt even a quality layout. How the hell ppl see 9+ rating makes it a AAA title ??
Ppl are becoming retard these days.
feel sry for all those arcade ppl who has no HDD standered. They are screw when the game need patch.

[Sony Rep]

Failtaku are banned from Metacritic...

They will be banned from the internet next...

[Party Boy]

Kotaku will be deadtaku next..XD

[MK_Red]

Pretty good review. I agree with all of its points. I also felt that the ending was really horrible. Seriously, the game was mindblowing during act 2 trough act 4 but not only act 5 was rather simplified, the ending was simply unacceptable. No real boss fight, no real challenge and no story closure. It doesn't even qualify as a cliff hanger. The Brumac driving was fun but too short and after that, NOTHING!

[Spike47]

I will laugh.....a lot.

[DiabloRising]

Why?