A new video of the Convoy gameplay in Gears of War 2 was released yesterday, and I’ve got to say that my excitement for the game has started to grow. I wasn’t a big fan of the first installment, but from what I’ve seen so far in Gears 2, they’re fixing quite a few of the problems I had.

Take the jump to see the video and get my impressions on the different changes Epic is making to the franchise.

The first thing I noticed when the video started was just how much was going on in the background. While there was always fire going back and forth in Gears 1, it felt very slow and constricted to me. Gears 2 looks like some of the battles will be much more epic, with more things to do than sit behind cover and pop off a few shots when it’s safe.

Then of course, the second thing I noticed was that Marcus was using a Locust as a meatshield. I bet this is going to be very useful when trying to get around the battlefield, and the execution when he was done with his shield was also pretty awesome. It would be an interesting mechanic to show up in multiplayer, but I doubt that will happen. It also looks like the executions were changed a little bit from the first one, because instead of just stomping on the downed Locust’s head, Marcus felt it was necessary to get down and dirty to do a brutal wrestling style beatdown on his foe. Necessary? No, but it looked cool.

It wouldn’t be Gears of War without the chainsaw, and it looks like that aspect of the game is getting a pretty awesome overhaul. You now have different animations depending on where you attack the enemy, and the chainsaw duel from the teaser trailer from GDC is finding its way into the full game. From the interview you can find below, Cliff mentions that when you initiate a chainsaw kill or duel, you’re no longer invincible, which can only spell good things for the gameplay. Also, the duels will take no longer than a regular kill, so you won’t have to worry about dueling someone for a full minute only to be shot in the back by their buddy.

Another little tidbit from the interview is that multiplayer matches will be bumped up by 2 people, meaning 5v5, instead of 4v4. I always felt the maps felt a little small and restricted in multiplayer, so hopefully this means they’ll be more fleshed out in the sequel, and hopefully that will mean there’s more strategy to it than a marathon run to the power weapons.

All in all, the trailer and interview definitely put Gears 2 on my radar, since I was ready to blow it off because of my experiences with the first game. It was definitely a visual masterpiece, but the gameplay and combat felt a little bland to me. Judging from just this short trailer, it looks like they’re kicking up the action, and hopefully the multiplayer will get the same jump start.

Tweet This Post