In what other game is there the phrase “chainsaw duel”?

(Read Journal #1 here)

Well, that was quick. Yes, I’ve already beaten the game. I’d say it took me about 10 hours or so, and I’m starting to think that my first playthrough on games like this from now on should be on something than “Normal.” I guess I’ve become more of a game nerd than I realize.

But anyways, now that I’ve finished, how was it? The answer is great, but with a few caveats.

Gears 2 does many things better than the original. One of my most often heard complaints about the first game was that it was too repetitive, and the studio listened to my griping. Sure the combat is still “hide behind this and shoot that,” but the breadth and scope of the environment in Gears 2 is simply jaw-dropping, and that’s only amplified by the 360’s graphics capabilities being stretched to the max.

There are levels where you fight in giant dump trucks, boats and even what appears to be a Locust-powered zeppelin. You sneak around past security systems in a spooky army base, you ride a tank through a snowy mountain pass, you crawl through Locust caves and downed buildings, OK well that’s the part we’ve done before. My personal favorite level was the grand finale, where you stop through an underground cave on the back of a Brumak, and yes, it’s every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Didn’t I already kill you in God of War?

So it’s certainly not dull, but besides new scenery what else has been changed? And the answer is not very much. There are a few new weapons, all of which I found completely useless. There’s a machine pistol, which fires in inaccurate, uncontrollable bursts, a flamethrower, which doesn’t do nearly enough damage and causes one of the worst body-on-fire animations I’ve ever seen, and then the mortar cannon which launches a barrage of firebombs into the air in seemingly random locations, except when a locust shoots it and you find yourself deepthroating the missile no matter where you try to run to.

And in terms of new combat tactics, let’s see. You can now pick up a downed Locust and use him as a human shield. This move would be infinitely more useful if you could use any other weapon besides your god-awful pistol. Also, instead of just curb stomping fallen enemies, you can now punch them in the face repeatedly. And yeah, that’s about it.

The story is slightly more in depth that the last Gears, but not by much. There’s of course the tear-jerking “this isn’t going to end well” search for Dom’s wife, but the main storyline itself is rather annoying. You spend the entire game trying to defend this city, then all of a sudden plans change and now you have to destroy it because your dead father and the locust queen say so. Wait, what?

I knew they weren’t going to change much from the original Gears, because the first game did pretty much have everything on lockdown. The thing they needed to fix the most, the level repetitiveness, they did, and all the other things they added just feel tacked on and useless.

I’m tempted to write one last journal entry after I start diving into the much acclaimed Horde mode, but we’ll see how busy I am with Left 4 Dead. Gears 2, you’ve been a loyal companion this week, and I’m happy that you didn’t go and change yourself too much. Now, get out there and make a movie that doesn’t suck.

Yeah, I would seriously consider moving.

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