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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Gears of War 2 is a disappointment (in some respects)

Goddbless on 13 November 2008
DTG said:
xeroxm3 said:
DTG said:
rocketpig said:
TheTruthHurts! said:
This game thrives on it's non-stop action, cheesy one-liners, and pure-sugarcoated-candy-for-the-eyeballs graphical prowess! The biggest complaint from the last game was not enough story explaining the locusts, and the characters backgrounds. The give this title 3 times the story of the last, and people still complain. You cant please everyone, that's just the nature of things. I loved the story and the game-play. Personally, this game did everything right by me...XD.

See, that's where I disagree. Some things just aren't important. Where the locust comes from isn't important IMO. All I cared about is that they were there and that they needed to die... violently. I hate the notion that everything needs to be explained for a story to work. Sometimes it's just clutter that gets in the way and I wish more directors/producers would realize that. Stick to your core story and leave some bits out there for the imagination to do its work.

It works time and time again, yet I see few people utilize it well. Children of Men is a prime example. The fact that they didn't explain why no one could become pregnant almost became its own story through background elements. It added an extra layer of depth to an already complex piece that didn't need to be explained because it wasn't part of their retelling of the Nativity Story. If anything, it would have detracted from and distracted the film from its primary focus.

Not that I'm comparing Children of Men to any video game... I just wanted to point out that not everything needs to be explained and sometimes, it's best to let people try to figure out things for themselves. In a world empty of explanation, people tend to fabricate their own truths and, in turn, they make the piece their own. That's what it's all about, isn't it?

 

 

CoM is one of my favorite movies so I appove that example. The problem isn't the plot holes, the problem is the atrocious voice acting. VG budgets are in the several dozen millions but developers cannot afford a decent voice actor for their games? How are games supposed to move in to the territory of "art" or evolve as a powerful storytelling medium if even the VA's of our biggest budget games are so atrociously untrained? Dialogue and narrative is one thing, a decent writer (albeit, GoW2's writer is obviously not one of them) can do wonders in that respect, but without decent VA talent what's the point? It's going to be diluted anyway.

Games can be "art" without any real VA at all *points to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus* because games are interactive. People keep trying to clump movies and games together because they are both audio-visual mediums however I think they need to stay seperate because of interactivity. In some cases I'm not "watching" the character in the game I "am" the character in the game which is why sometimes VA has the OPPOSITE effect for me. Is voice acting important to videogames? Yes, some games absolutely need top notch VA because they focus on the story and thematic elements, but that doesn't apply to everything and you shouldn't force it to either.

 

 

Ok, I can agree with that. GoW2 however hs been marketed and positioned as a game more driven by story and "cinematic" punch than GoW1 and I inadvertently placed expectations sky high with far off comparisons to "Michelangelo" and "The Dark Knight" as well as other proposterous statements. The team behind GoW2 brought these expectations of cinematic storytelling and high art on to themselves in my mind but in reality GoW2 is not as bad as I make it out to be. It doesn't have the dialogue, the backdrop or the VO's to pull anything beyond a straight to dvd quality performance.

 

There you go I fixed that for you. I mean how do you hear the story has been stepped up from GeOW1 and put astronomical expectations on it? The only reason for that is if the original story was spectacular which it wasn't so I don't get it. Do you feel because the game has been lauded as one of the greatest this gen it has to redefine gaming on every front?

 



Love the product, not the company. They love your money, not you.

-TheRealMafoo

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JaggedSac on 13 November 2008

LOL. I never saw that thread saying MGS was ripped off by TDK. LOL.



d21lewis on 13 November 2008

Tagge for later. I gotta read this!



selnor on 13 November 2008

@ everyone harping on about comparing Game storytelling to Cinema.

Even the mighty MGS4 would have gone straight to DVD. I like the game hence my 3rd top game of this gen. But compared to movie directing it s atrocious. The story is good in MGS4 but the way it's told is atrocious. Kojima thinks he is a movie director but he is far from it.

So what did you expect from Gears 2??? It's cliche, gritty and humourful. And the VA is supposed to be that way. Te game is tongue and cheek. Do you not see that?

Lets stop comparing to cinema. Gaming is a medium on it's own.
For instance WOW makes more money in 1 month than the 100m $ budget given to the WOW film. Stop comparing this is plain stupid now.



ZenfoldorVGI on 13 November 2008
DTG said:

First of all this isn't a thread about the gameplay or online. Rather it is about the storyline, dialogue and voice acting.

 

I'm gonna stop you right there. The campaign is the best part about the game. Online, and multiplayer are meh, but the storyline, dialogue, and VA are the same as they were in Gears 1. You're complaining about everyone's favorite thing about the game. The campaign. Gears 2 wasn't a dissapointment in that area.

If you thought Gears 2's campaign was a dissapointment(which is one of the best campaigns this generation) then you should play R2's campaign. Assuming you have tastes, if you disliked Gears 2, R2 will make you throw up in your mouth.

I think your OP is trolling, and I have my doubts you've actually played the game, to be honest.

I can't see how anyone could share your opinion...



I don't need your console war.
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor.
You're power hungry, spinnin' stories, and bein' graphics whores.
I don't need your console war.

NO NO, NO NO NO.

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ZenfoldorVGI on 13 November 2008
Skeeuk said:

well funny thing is that most reviewers pulled up the story in gears 2, but in resistance 2 story they marked scores down for it for supposedly having a weak story!

but i guess gears 2 is still a good game even though the story side is a bit dungy.

i dont think i will be buying gears of war 2, i have to many games to get through before i boot up gears 2.

 

Have you even played it!?

Have you actually played Resistance 2, and you don't understand why people found the campaign and story a bit run of the mill after Resistance 1?

I'm not necessarily talking about you, but I believe half the people who discuss these games like they're golden gods on this forum, have never even played them. They just assume they must be great.



I don't need your console war.
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor.
You're power hungry, spinnin' stories, and bein' graphics whores.
I don't need your console war.

NO NO, NO NO NO.

Goddbless on 13 November 2008
ZenfoldorVGI said:
Skeeuk said:

well funny thing is that most reviewers pulled up the story in gears 2, but in resistance 2 story they marked scores down for it for supposedly having a weak story!

but i guess gears 2 is still a good game even though the story side is a bit dungy.

i dont think i will be buying gears of war 2, i have to many games to get through before i boot up gears 2.

 

Have you even played it!?

Have you actually played Resistance 2, and you don't understand why people found the campaign and story a bit run of the mill after Resistance 1?

I'm not necessarily talking about you, but I believe half the people who discuss these games like they're golden gods on this forum, have never even played them. They just assume they must be great.

+10 for using the term "Golden Gods"

 



Love the product, not the company. They love your money, not you.

-TheRealMafoo