You guys are trying to fight about how great Gears is, but we're saying the same thing. I agree that the first game made some strides and was the source inspiration for lots of games. But the 2nd game was nothing new or special. And one inspirational game and a by-the-numbers sequel does not make a legendary franchise, no matter how good it looks or how much it sells.
The only iterating in Gears 2 was working some kinks out on the engines so they could open the small, closed corridors up a bit and get more characters on screen at times and tweaking the cover mechanic so you didn't get stuck so much.
The biggest issue with Gears was the glitchiness/host advantage/netcode of the first and they didn't fix it. And it's not as if they didn't fix it but revamped the entire franchise or added a ton of features to excuse that fact.
Thus Epic/Gears is fail until they figure it out.
Look at the most criticized sequels of big franchises. Some don't like particular FF games - but they are at least trying whole new systems. Some thought Halo 3 didn't go far enough to change, but they added Forge and theater and 4-player co-op and a million other details.
Gears added....mortars. And dueling chainsaws. And kept its core problems. Adding a weapon and improving the engine is the absolute least one can expect from a big sequel. To me, they did the absolute least they could.
I know people like it. We CAN have different opinions on the series. That is ok. But Gears was the #1 and #2 game for it's whole run pretty much. It can't even hang in the Top 10 any more. It's stale. And unless they do something drastic, it's going to continue being stale. But if they do something drastic, it won't be "Gears" any more.
I wouldn't want to be in Cliff's shoes. I really wouldn't.
Can't we all just get along and play our games in peace?
