708th played so far
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Xbox 360
Year of Release: 2008
Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft’s big shooter franchise comes around again. We’ve played the first Gears of War a long time ago and while it was a fun co-op game, I must admit we never went back to it and revisited it.
We are now going back to it and, with how the blog has developed, I will of course be playing on my own. The thing is, does it work and, with six years of experience, does it still hold up?
Our Thoughts
Gears of War 2 plays pretty much exactly as I expected, a lot of shooting as you fight through larger areas. While I didn’t play co-operative this time, the game still invokes that feeling – always putting you in a squad of fighters, often in the same group that you’ve known for a long time and can banter with (which is likely more effective when you’ve played the first game). It’s all about that, and I enjoyed having the group to fight with.
The other side of this are the setpieces that come with a shooter like this. The tutorial has some big explosoins – some you cause yourself – and the game works to make itself big that way. I’m not sure it’s actually that great – alien invasions and all that feel a bit common for the genre – but it’s done decently well. It’s more about the squad you’re with, really.
And I think that’s where everything came through. The game is about the squad, in how it plays, in how you interact, in how the story goes. You might rise on giant mechs, but it feels it becomes a bit of a companion you need to protect.
Still, the downside is that, in the end, the game is just shooting, and it feels like that loses a bit when you’re doing it on your own. It’s fine, but I guess I just get bored with that.
Final Thoughts
Looking at the previous game and how I experienced this one, I think the lack of co-op play let this one down for me – not because it isn’t possible, but because I didn’t do it. It’s a bit unfortunate and I guess it’s something I could work on.