Skip navigation

 Login or Register | Member Centre

Gears of War 2 awash in beautiful, bloody combat

CHAD SAPIEHA

Special to Globetechnology.com

Latest comment posted at 1:43 PM EST 19/11/08

Sequel is more evolutionary than revolutionary – but that's no reason not to play ...Read the full article

This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?

  1. Alfie Bloggins from Hinterland, Canada writes: Having served in a combat theatre, stood on over 11 Ramp ceremonies over the course of two tours as I was not often in KAF, and mourned the loss of my comrades - remembering the sacrifices of our forefathers in the Great War, the Second World War, and the Korean War - I find the title of this article is in extremely poor taste, particularly at this time of year. For all the losers who emerse themselves in this kind of 'entertainment' grow up - combat is most certainly not what the title implies.
  2. omair amir from Toronto, writes: So I completed Gears 2 last night, and I gotta tell you Chad, I wasnt really impressed.

    The game was good, but a few things really killed the experience. Firstly, the story was weak. I cant believe you would say that it had a good story line. The game ended prematurely just like the first. Plus alot of the story made little to no sense.

    First the locust want to sink the city, then we want to sink the city :S - then we do sink the city, and we find out we werent supposed to :S. The end left us with more questions than answers.

    But thats not all, I was very dissapointed at how the game ended. I mean, on a Brumak??? - you have to be joking me. I was hoping for an epic Boss battle at the end, and we get NOTHING.

    The game just ends. - come to think of it, the game had NO actual Boss battles. Even the first one had the Berserker and the end boss with the crows, but this had Nothing.

    Furthermore, some of the vehicles in the game were god aweful. Ohh well...

    Maybe the 3rd one will be a bit better
  3. Darth Ned from Yavin, Canada writes: I just started playing Gears 2, and I have to say it's a lot of fun.

    I want to comment on the first two comments.

    First poster: It's a science fiction video game. Taking offence to it is like taking offence to Starship Troopers, which just seems kind of silly.

    Second poster: I'm going to try real hard to forget the spoilers you just mentioned. It's not a good idea to talk in an open forum about how a game ends, especially when it has just barely come out.
  4. omair amir from Toronto, writes: wow ned.
    i am so sorry man. i hope i didnt ruin the game for you. i pretty much did the same thing, G&M; does with their movie reviews.

    sorry man. is there a way to ammend or delete a posting?
  5. PANIC! At The Ice Floe from Canada writes: Omair, when I read that you completed it and then started talking in depth I jumped to the next comment, assuming you posted spoilers.

    I don't think there's a way to remove your own posts.

    As for Poster 1...What can I say but it's a game? In this one you are 'fighting' aliens...Unlike the Call of Duty series that (with the exception of one of them) seems lost in WWII.
  6. Leon Russell from Gatineau, Qc, Canada writes: When will G & M get a hard core pornography review section?
  7. Craig B from Toronto, Canada writes: I finished it as well, and beat Horde mode on normal yesterday with a few friends. I actually really geeked out and got in line at 12:01am at the local futureshop, feeling very old and lame, but also like a 10year old on christmas eve!

    I thought the game and the story were great. Definitely added to everything people loved about the first one, with more emphasis on the actual story. The new weapons are alot of fun, especially the mortar when playin an open map in Horde mode.

    Omair, the things you complain about are all things that were vastly improved from the first Gears (more story, less of an abrupt ending that didn't really give closure), so I'm surprised you'd get this one after playing the first as it doesn't seem like your style of game from the comments. The end sequence is sure better than driving a warthog through a collapsing halo!
  8. omair amir from Toronto, writes: I guess the reason i was dissapointed is because the game isnt really that improved from the first. not in my opinion atleast.

    How can ppl say the story was good in this one is beyond me. The ending was just as abrupt as the first one.

    But the thing that really bothered me was, how there were no epic boss battles in the entire game, let alone in the end.

    Thats just for the campaign. Online, especially Horde mode is really fun. I reached wave 22 on hardcore. its very addictive
  9. R M from Canada writes: Hey Alfie, you know what's worse? They're releasing Call of Duty 5: World At War on Rememberance Day.

    I'm all for video games, and I love COD4, but someone should nail those guys to the wall.
  10. Darryl Olsen from Toronto, Canada writes: I don't want Gears of War 2 to be revolutionary because the first game was fantastic. If it ain't broke, yadda yadda.

    Looking forward to picking it up. Oy yay there are a lot of great games out these days. It's impossible to keep up!
  11. Phillip C. from Far away, Canada writes: I believe the 1st poster is being critical of The Globe and Mails insensitivity to this being the week of paying homage to those that have fallen in combat - so that you yourself could play such fluff - I suspect an unintended benefit. No one is claiming that you can't do this or play that - but perhaps for the people that have actually fought in combat - aliens or not - its in poor taste and such a review could have waited a week or two - or not used such a heroic tag line to describe death from fighting -
  12. John J from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada writes: The title is also accurate.

    Beautiful = The graphics are exquisite.
    Bloody = Rated M for Mature
    Combat = Action/Shooting Game.

    It is always wiser to gauge the intent of the author, never the audience. Did the author intend for people to take offense? No.

    Is it the responsibility of the author or the Globe and Mail editorial staff to "protect" the readers from possibly taking offense to something as trivial as a game review? No.

    I sense a false dichotomy. One is more than able to honour & respect the real world sacrifice of our soldiers AND enjoy science-fiction video games that involve fictional combat against inhuman aliens.
  13. G N from Canada writes: Not having played Gears 1, I played Gears 2 on the weekend. It's fantastic; I spent most of my time just looking at the graphics. I found the story to be decent. Not winning any Oscars, but as far as video games go, it isn't bad. It has its dramatic moments, but the visuals are what got me. We're a long way from Donkey Kong here, folks. There are scenes that damn near look like photographs!

    To those complaining about no epic boss battles - they're just setting you up for the inevitable in Gears 3.
  14. omair amir from Toronto, writes: I really don't mean to put this game down guys.
    I guess I was just expecting a bit too much from it. Gears 1 was such a big hit and this was so hyped, I thought the campaign would be a bit better.

    Campaign is still decent, but It could have been a bit better.
  15. Mark H from Columbus, IN, United States writes: I'm through most of the campaign by now, and I feel kinda....empty. The game looks great, is fun, and I think more challenging than GoW. But, I think I fell victim to the same thing some of the other posters did: too-high expectations, mostly for the campaign. Epic managed to create some characters you really care about, and I just wish they could have done a better job with the story. All-in-all, I'm not sorry I plunked down $50 for the game. I suppose there's no way it could have lived up to the hype, I should have expected that going in.
  16. chris g from waterloo, Canada writes: I'll pass on this one. I purchased/played GOW 1 for the PC because of the marketing hype. The maps were very repeitive and the story was very weak. Boss fights were extremely predictable.

    Overall it was a poor excuse for a FPS.

    Based on the review, there is no incentive for me to purchase GOW II.
    I might be tempted to pick it up when it hits the bargan bin for $7.99 at Giant Tiger.

Join the Conversation, Leave a Comment

This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?

You must be logged-in to submit a comment — login now!

Not registered with globeandmail.com? Register now. It is quick and free.

close

Alert us about this comment

Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.

Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.

Back to top