http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/gears-of-war-2/873861p1.html
For the first year of the Xbox 360's lifespan, Epic's Gears of War was the poster child for the computing power of Microsoft's console. There's no denying the fact that the game was the system's biggest exclusive or that it was one of the best games of 2006, as it topped many Game of the Year lists. Naturally, the developers at Epic were already hard at work on a sequel before the first one was even out the door, and we're just now beginning to see the fruit of their labors. The first Gears of War 2 gameplay video was released on Xbox Live Marketplace late last week, so we couldn't help but get excited by the prospect of seeing the game for ourselves at Microsoft's Xbox 360 Spring Showcase.
Although we would have been happier with some hands-on time with the game, we were able to glean quite a bit of information from a guided demo by Lead Designer Cliff Bleszinski and a brief Q&A with Producer Kudo Tsunoda. The level we saw included the sequence that was shown in the video, although that was only a small fraction of the overall picture. We've heard the term "bigger, better, and more badass" thrown around a lot in the last few months, and while it's definitely too early to say whether that's actually the case, this might be one of those rare times when more of the same is a very good thing.
As the demo began, Bleszinski reminded us of how the first game ended (minor spoiler alert!). Humanity thought that it had finally won the war against the horrific Locust after setting off the Lightmass bomb underground, but we knew that that wasn't the case. Gears of War 2 takes place a short period of time after the previous game's climax, just as winter is beginning. The Locust have found a way to open sinkholes under cities, completely destroying them and wiping out entire populations. This means that Jacinto is now at risk, despite the fact that its bedrock foundation had previously made it the safest place in the world. If humanity is to survive, it must take the fight directly to the Locusts.
This means that the elite COG soldiers will have to make their way underground into the Hollows using "grind lifts," drilling pods that Bleszinski aptly described as "express elevators to hell." Since the COG ranks have been thinned through years of fighting the Locust hordes, the powers-that-be decide to implement Operation Lifeboat. The goal of this operation is to bring in the Stranded (survivors living in small enclaves) and offer their women and children food and health care in exchange for the services of the men. Naturally, this probably means that they'll be cannon fodder, but it's better than spending the rest of their days living in fear.
The first new character we saw in the demo was Dizzy, a grizzled Lifeboat recruit that drove one of the derricks that tows the grind lifts to the drilling location. The player (as Marcus) goes along for the ride and is tasked with protecting it from the various Locust attacks. Perhaps not surprisingly, these start just a few moments after the trip gets underway, as Marcus must shoot down Nemocyst mortars before they land. As any good skeet shooter probably knows, the shotgun is a perfect tool for the job at hand, and it wasn't long before the skies were finally clear.
This all-too-brief lull gave us a chance to really look around at the environment around the derricks, and we were greatly impressed by the sweeping outdoor vista that greeted us. While Gears of War took place primarily in ruined cities (destroyed beauty, anyone?), it was nice to see that the sequel will feature a greater variety of environments. The trees and waterfalls that we passed on our ride looked excellent, as did the snow-capped mountaintops in the distance. While there's no denying that Gears of War 2's tech looks strikingly similar to that of its predecessor, that's definitely not a bad thing, as the original is still one of the (if not the) best-looking games of all-time.
Of course, there was little time for sightseeing, as it wasn't long before more waves of terrifying attackers attempted to destroy the derrick on which we were riding. During our earlier chat with Tsunoda, he mentioned that vehicle-based combat will play a greater role in Gears of War 2 than it did in the previous game, and that you'll have a lot more options at your disposal. For instance, you might decide to hop on the mounted weapon on a raised platform on the front of the derrick, or just use your weapons to repel any attackers that try to board it. In some cases, you can even run alongside the vehicle, although we're not sure when that would be advantageous.
Marcus actually did hop off the derrick for a few moments while it was being repaired by Dizzy, fending off a few attacks from Locusts that came out of emergence holes. If you played the first game, you can probably imagine how this played out, so we won't bore you with the details. Once our hero was back on the derrick and rolling along, we were treated to a brief cut-scene in which the convoy rolled onto some uneven ground that appeared to have been the scene of a fierce firefight. Suddenly, large holes opened up all around the derricks and enemies came pouring out of them.
This sequence showcased the Unreal Engine's newly implemented ability to render much-larger crowds than was possible in the first Gears of War. As dozens of foes began attacking the derricks, we couldn't help but feel like this new system would fundamentally change the core gameplay. Indeed, during our chat with Tsunoda, he explained that there would be a number of large-scale battles, and that groups of enemies would work together to gain an advantage on Marcus and his buddies. This includes advanced flanking maneuvers and a greater reliance on strategy, as well as better use of cover. Enemies won't just stay behind cover even if they're being shot anymore, instead moving from one safe place to another.
As was the case with the first game, the name of the game is finding cover, and it sounds like there will be a lot more options this time out. Yes, you'll still be able to slam Marcus' back into stone walls and the debris that litters the battlefield, although it sounds like much of that stuff will now be destructible. There will also be some alternate forms of cover, including a creature called a rock worm and hostages, both of which could best be described as mobile cover systems. When taking a Locust (or meat shield, as both Bleszinski and Tsunoda called them) hostage, you'll be able to fire a pistol at oncoming enemies. We also learned that the meat shield will decay under heavy fire, something we can't wait to see for ourselves.
While repelling the enemy forces that attempted to take over Marcus's derrick using grappling hooks, our hero also had to deal with a rampaging Brumak that kept popping up from time to time, another derrick that was already crawling with enemies, and the occasional Corpser. It was an incredibly intense couple of minutes, and the way the scripted sequences played out was very satisfying. The overrun derrick was rammed into a gorge after Marcus took out the driver (thankfully his AI-controlled squadmates watched his back for a bit), while the Corpsers were blasted into oblivion.
The final part of the demo was a showdown against the Brumak, during which Marcus was instructed to hop onto the mounted turret located on a higher platform. It was a fairly short battle, as Marcus was able to blast off the creature's defenses rather quickly. We were happy to hear that the game will features bigger and better (and possibly more badass?) boss battles than the first Gears of War, which was quite disappointing in this regard. Apparently the storyline and writing will be improved as well (courtesy of comic book writer Josh Ortega), and we're hopeful that there will be more nuanced storytelling and less reliance on stereotypical machismo.
For some people, the first game's unique, brutal weaponry was one of its best features, and it sounds like those folks will be in for quite a treat this time around. We were told that there will be a few new weapons in the game, including the Gorgon pistol that was shown in the gameplay video. There will also be some new weapon-specific melee kills, although we didn't actually get to see any of them for ourselves (unless you count the broken neck that Marcus gave one unfortunate Locust). Bleszinski did hint that the blades on the torque bow would serve some new purpose, which boggled our minds when thinking about the gory possibilities.
Although all we saw of Gears of War 2 was from the single-player campaign (which should be a good deal longer than the previous game), we did learn a bit more about the multiplayer offerings. Bleszinski mentioned that the head-to-head multiplayer action will run much more smoothly over Xbox Live, and that they have some big plans and unique game modes. While neither man would confirm four-player cooperative play, they both mentioned the fact that players would actually be able to play together at different difficulty levels. They didn't give much in the way of specifics, though they did note that players on lower difficulty levels would heal quicker and would do more damage.
While we're not afraid to confirm that we here at GameSpy are very excited to finally get our hands on Gears of War 2, it's a bit too early to say that the game is indeed "bigger, better, and more badass." It sounds like the team at Epic is working hard to improve upon certain elements from the first game without fully reinventing the wheel, all while adding some potentially impressive new features. It looks like the Xbox 360 may very well have its next poster child, but we'll have to wait until November before giving you our final verdict.
LOOKS LIKE WE CAN PUT TO REST THE FEAR THAT THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF ENEMIES WILL JUST BE BACKGROUND FODDER 
