Gears of War 2

Did You Know?

• The development team brought in novelist Joshua Ortega to help write the plot.
• Steve Jablonsky provided the music for the game.
• Epic Games considered making the game easier after complaints about the first game's difficulty.

Synopsis

Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb in the first game. Although most of the Locust Horde's underground army was destroyed, the explosion vaporized much of the liquid Imulsion underground, causing a fatal disease called Rustlung among the diminished human population. After months of peace, the cities of Tollen and Montevado suddenly disappear underground, leading the Coalition of Ordered Governments to suspect the Locust resurgence.

Soon, the once impenetrable Jacinto, one of the last human safe havens, shows signs of the same fate. To stop Jacinto's fall, the COG launches a large-scale counter-offensive against the Locust. Returning characters include Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Augustus Cole, Damon Baird, Anya Stroud, and Colonel Hoffman. The character Carmine returns as Benjamin Carmine, brother of the original Anthony Carmine.

New characters include Chairman Prescott, the near-dictatorial military leader; Tai Kaliso, a spiritual warrior; and Dizzy Wallin, a former Stranded who joined the COG for his family's safety. Dom's wife Maria appears, and Dom's search for her is an important story element.

Marketing and release

On February 20, 2008, at the Game Developers Conference, the game was announced, and a free set of gamer pictures, a dashboard theme, and a teaser trailer titled Duel were made available via the Xbox Live Marketplace. The first campaign gameplay footage was released online and to the Marketplace on May 9, 2008. After the Microsoft E3 press conference, the Rendezvous trailer and the press conference demonstration were available for download, along with a new free set of gamer pictures and a dashboard theme.

A teaser image on the Gears of War 2 website on July 8, 2008, suggested a November 9, 2008 release, but the Microsoft E3 2008 press conference confirmed November 7, 2008. On July 14, 2008, the teaser image was removed and the website relaunched. Gears of War 2 was a focal point of Microsoft's E3 2008 presentation on July 15, 2008, which included a hands-on demo. The game went gold on October 10, 2008.

Cliff Bleszinski stated that, unlike the first game, Gears of War 2 would not have a PC port. A Limited Edition was confirmed on February 20, 2008, with details revealed on July 14, 2008. It includes alternative cover art, a SteelBook case with a bonus content DVD, a book titled Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2, a keepsake photo of Dominic and Maria, and an exclusive Xbox Live code for a gold-plated Lancer. Best Buy preorders of the Limited Edition also received a free Remote Control Centaur Tank replica.

Reception

Gears of War 2 received widespread critical acclaim, holding a 93.32% aggregate review score at GameRankings and a 93/100 at Metacritic. Reviewers praised the deeper plot and high polish but noted that the multiplayer experience differed from the previous game in pace and enjoyability. IGN found the first four acts satisfying but called the final boss a complete joke and the ending abrupt, and noted bugs and lag in online multiplayer. Official Xbox Magazine scrutinized the middle acts, saying most of the plot falls flat.

Both IGN and Eurogamer positively mentioned the new Horde Mode; Eurogamer called it a weighty slab of fun that can turn almost any map into a time-sink, with leaderboards as compelling as Call of Duty 4's leveling system. X-Play praised the polished cover system, cooperative campaign, new weapons and characters, and the brilliant multiplayer experience. Game Informer called the single-player campaign satisfying, the co-op campaign amazing, and online multiplayer an outstanding contrast to team deathmatch or capture-the-flag scenarios.