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2008: Gears of War 2 or Metal Gear Solid 4?

Gears of War 2 or Metal Gear Solid 4?


  • Total voters
    356
2008 was a turning point in the industry. After a slow start and many sales still going toward the PS2 the 7th generation consoles were finally finding their footing, and two of the competitors from the previous generation had been discontinued the year prior. This year saw the release of two highly acclaimed games associated with both of the generations defining consoles, changing everything.

Gears of War 2:
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An anticipated sequel to a game that helped solidify the Xbox 360 in the mind of gamers after a slow start and before any Halo game released. It dials up the scale, bumps up the action, and increases the graphical fidelity helping it win several game of the year awards and is considered one of the best TPS games of the generation.

The gunplay had been refined to near perfection making it the new standard that many, MANY, (many), clones would copy. A game so addictive it keeps the player glued to their screen the entire time forgetting about what time it is, not realizing they had been playing for hours straight.


Metal Gear Solid 4:
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A game with an extreme investment into its own story, Metal Gear Solid 4 is still the most plot driven game in the series. Some may argue that's true to a fault, but it's one of the most highly produced games ever made spanning multiple installs with some of the most ambitious voice acting performances in gaming. The game also changes the combat to be more tactical and there are numerous gadgets you need to use to progress, whether you choose to do so loudly or quietly.

While the combat and gunplay isn't the best, it makes up for this by having many hours of cinematic storytelling. Something that was deemed impossible at the time to do on a single DVD, showing off the PS3's strengths while winning many awards in the process.

These were the most celebrated games in 2008 and for years to come, representing the two HD gaming consoles, and both are considered to mark the point where both the Xbox 360 and PS3 were finally hitting their stride.

With that being said if you could only select one of these...
 
I was more excited for Metal Gear Solid 4, but Gears 2 really surprised me with how much it improved and added onto the first game and it was a better experience overall. MGS4 just didn't hit the way I was hoping it was going to, but I was still hyped through the roof for it.
 
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Rykan

Member
Gears of War 2 was a much better game. MGS4 is mess of a game. It introduces some neat mechanics in the first mission and then quickly abandons them.

The first two levels are the only good ones.

Gears of War 2 is fantastic through out. It's mechanically excellent, it's visuals were unmatched on the platform and the multiplayer was really good, unlike MGO which was laughably bad.

MGS4 wraps up the story nicely and it has some really good fanservice, but as a game it simply doesn't hold up.
 
Gears of War 2 was a much better game. MGS4 is mess of a game. It introduces some neat mechanics in the first mission and then quickly abandons them.

The first two levels are the only good ones.

Gears of War 2 is fantastic through out. It's mechanically excellent, it's visuals were unmatched on the platform and the multiplayer was really good, unlike MGO which was laughably bad.

MGS4 wraps up the story nicely and it has some really good fanservice, but as a game it simply doesn't hold up.
real and true GIF
 
Gears 2 plays nice but it's more Gears and I'm not a big fan of the world/lore/characters

MGS4 has that Kojima style that makes it memorable, even if it's extremely bloated and not the best in the series. I gotta go with MGS4 just because I felt more involved into the narrative
 

The Alien

Banned
Gears 2

The game had legs. Great campaign, tons of other modes (upgraded Horde, co-op campaign). Also, back in 2008 it had a healthy and lively multiplayer community with supported DLC (new maps, etc).
 

CGNoire

Member
Mgs4 was such a let down. I dont even like the gear series and i gotta say gears 2 here.

Mgs4 also despertly needed more music in its cutscenes. They wherent just painfully long and very often boring but a whole bunch of them where lacking emotional punch. You could practicly hear crickets during them.
 
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Vick

Gold Member
Gears 2 has always been my least favorite of the original trilogy.
It gets terribly boring in the whole second half an this from someone who's never bored in games.. Gears 1 felt legendary all through comparison and 3 the proper evolution and much more enjoyable than the second, on top of having an infinitely better art direction.
I'll die on this hill.
 
MGS 4 was my first MGS game. It was bizarre, I had no idea what was going on. All I remember is it had overly long cutscene and a monkey used to come up in some of them.

Later I played all of them so I get what was going on. But the game still is in a weird spot for me.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
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Not enough epic MGS4 screenshots.
MGS4 had the iconic quotes such as “war never changes”. MGS4 had great graphics at the time. The MGS conclusion had some good parts to it. I had a great time with it.

Gears of War 2 was a great sequel. I remember going down the hole in the earth and taking out Locust with fire blasting at all sides.

It’s difficult to compare the two games. For one you have a game based off stealth and the other is a third person cover based shooter. It would be a better comparison with The Phantom Pain due to the shootouts, sniper level, and taking out bases. MGS4 included models as its bosses, a unique cover based system, and an epic boss conclusion. I enjoyed the ending boss to Gears of War. GoW2 was probably the best TPS of that year. MGS4 was the best stealth game of that year. Me personally, both were great games. Comparing the two is weird to me.
 
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reforen

Member
Are you trying to compare apples with peaches? Those games are completely different, there is no comparison
 

plip.plop

Member
I waited in line for Gears 2 midnight release at a Game Stop and I had to be at work at 0530 that morning. I stayed up and played the game until I had to go to work. That was a long shift. lol
 

Roufianos

Member
I think Gears 2 is probably the better game for someone who's played neither franchise but I have to go with MGS4 😍😍.
 
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