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[dark10x]

I thought Gears 1 music was terrible. I even hate the main menu music of Gears 2 because they remixed Gears 1. Hate it!

I think i hated almost everything but the graphics in Gears 1. Which is why im so surprised with G2!

I'm really quite surprised to hear that. Would you be willing to expand on the details? I'm actually really curious to know what it is about the sequel that is impressing you so much (in comparison to the original). The core gameplay is pretty much exactly the same between the two.

The music comment is especially interesting as most of the music in Gears 2 is still based on many of the themes of the original. Really, though, I thought the soundtracks in both titles were really f*cking awesome. Gears 2 is still very impressive in that regard especially after coming off of Resistance 2 (which has terrible music like every other Insomniac title).

A couple standout music tracks from the original...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzumo1CuYoQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US9fpIsCxRk

You really think that sounds like trash?

 

[AndresON777]

I just beat it on hardcore, and im very mixed. There are some great bits and some very tedious bits, especially the crappy scripted sequences and driving section. I loved the end though, I played the last part of the game with a random co-op'er and it was great fun.. I find when I play with a friend I dont enjoy it as much as im constantly talking on the headset but when I played with this guy without mics we just got down to the game and stormed through. I'll play through Insane mode soon but first I have 5 games screaming to be played.

Seriously dude what games do you like? Didnt you hate Fallout 3? To me that is GOTY by far and Gears is after that.

 

[forgeforsaken]

Horde mode is so awesome, and damn do I hate Bloodmounts.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

I just can't understand this. The mechanics are virtually the same between the two games. Hell, just to confirm, I spent some time yesterday playing Gears 1 and, as I suspected, it really felt very much the same as the sequel. I still prefer the environments of Gears 1.

Same here.

Gears 1 just had the special something... Charm I guess.

 

[unomas]

Gears has the best campaign I've played this gen, GOTY on 360 for sure.

 

[Shins]

The music comment is especially interesting as most of the music in Gears 2 is still based on many of the themes of the original. Really, though, I thought the soundtracks in both titles were really f*cking awesome. Gears 2 is still very impressive in that regard especially after coming off of Resistance 2 (which has terrible music like every other Insomniac title).

Can you give some examples of where the second game falters in the music department? It sounded like a continuation of the same to my ears. In both games, I never felt that I was paying particular attention to the music while I played. It was there and served to bolt up the intensity in both. I have the soundtrack for the first game and find it excellent when I actually devote my full attention to it. Will do the same with the soundtrack for Gears of War 2.

 

[SilentProtagonist]

I wish there were more unlockables... Aside from that though, Gears exceeded my expectations by far and that's coming from someone who was already hyped for the game.

 

[LunaticPuma]

Is anyone else annoyed that "Insane" wasn't selectable from the beginning? Hardcore really wasn't that hard (playing solo) aside from some of the annoying turret parts. I really don't feel like playing through the lackluster story again. It was good through act 3, but then it lost its way badly in 4 only to mildly recover in 5.

 

[Brandon F]

I just can't understand this. The mechanics are virtually the same between the two games. Hell, just to confirm, I spent some time yesterday playing Gears 1 and, as I suspected, it really felt very much the same as the sequel. I still prefer the environments of Gears 1.

Furthermore, the sequel has too many long range battles, which just don't feel all that satisfying with most weapons. Gears 1 tends to keep the enemies in closer proximity to the player which I found more enjoyable. Gears 2 also focuses too heavily on all of its setpiece events (which ARE enjoyable) rather than providing more scenarios for the core gameplay. I do believe that Gears 2 will be less enjoyable to replay as a result. Its levels seem more impressive on the first run, but you spend far too much time "waiting" for things to occur. Gears 1 was once described as a platformer of sorts (moving from cover to cover) and I feel that Gears 2 doesn't quite put this to use as much as I would have liked.

Also, the music in the sequel is incredibly good as hoped, but I feel the original game made better use of its soundtrack. I realized, while playing Gears 1 yesterday, that the music was stronger in relation to the action. There has yet to be anything quite intense (musically) as the train battle in Gears 1, for instance.

I'm only really bringing this up again as I feel people are giving Gears 1 a lot of undeserved shit. Both are excellent AAA shooters and deserve praise (I'm also happy that Gears 2 seems lengthier than the original). Suggesting that Gears 1 was like a tech demo in comparison to the sequel just strikes me insulting to the original.

I replayed Gear 1 last weekend(got my Dom achievements!) and there were PLENTY of moments where my friend and I felt the experience REALLY lacking in enemy encounters. Take the mansion assault in Act 4, they build this mosntrously awesome courtyard climb to the mansion entrance and fill it with three enemies. The environment is just built and asking for a massive push to the objective, but all you get is a shitload of cover opportunities to down THREE grunts!! (The mansion encounter itself at least made up for it). We spent quite a bit of time telling each other "Wait, that's it??" throughout the core experience.

Also the game had way too many gimmick moments. Frustration occurred regularly during 'split paths' where you are often faced with one-shot enemies that force a long checkpoint reload. "Fuck I got tagged by a crossbow...fuck a wretch blew me up in a corner/minecart". These moments destroyed momentum and occurred far too often, while the standard 'teamplay' segments were a breeze and lacked in overall forces to down.

Moving directly onto Gears 2 really is a night/day difference in quality.

 

[Randy Lanzarote]

I'm playing through Act 5 at the moment, and all I have to say is: This is how Halo 3 should have ended. I get the same feeling I had towards the end of Mass Effect, that my journey is coming to an end but I'm being made to sweat and toil over every inch of land that I advance.

I'll be glad when I run through on casual to find all the collectibles I miss, I intend to make the most of headshot after headshot after headshot after headshot after headshot..... that's FIVE, motherfuckers.

 

[painey]

Seriously dude what games do you like? Didnt you hate Fallout 3? To me that is GOTY by far and Gears is after that.

? No.. I have 1000gs in Fallout 3. Gears 2 is great, if you ignore the awful online matchmaking fiasco, just not as good as I would have liked campaign wise.

 

[zaidr]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

 

[WrikaWrek]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

Well try shooting what's going to harm you. It's that simple. And yeah you can dodge missiles in this game too.

 

[raYne]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

You're supposed to dodge them. Left/right on left analog.

 

[t4ng0]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

LS lets you dodge right and left, and RB/R1 cools the turret

 

[jetjevons]

Just got my first taste of Horde mode last night. Yeah, it seriously rocks. For some reason I didn't think GOW2 was going to wow me like GOW1 did but, man, was I wrong. So far so GOTY material.

 

[Blueblur1]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

Use the left control stick to move left and right.

 

[NarcissisticJay]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

Really a straight forward part of the game I thought.

 

[zaidr]

No way! I'm down for a little dodging now then. Thank you everyone. Also, RB cooling the turret? Genius!

 

[raYne]

Really a straight forward part of the game I thought.

Well, it would be if people actually read the directions given when you first mount it.

 

[Gary Whitta]

Gears has the best campaign I've played this gen, GOTY on 360 for sure.

I agree. And Horde mode NEVER gets old.

 

[PhatSaqs]

what the FUCK. FUCKITY FUCK FUCKK!!!

Spoiler

How do you kill that giant reaver that's chasing you down the tunnel? I shoot the turret, it leaves, I shoot its mouth, it leaves, and then it starts shooting fucking missles....am I supposed to shoot down the fucking missiles? Its so fucking frustrating...what an absolutely fucked up part of the game.

Spoiler

Listen to Cole....

 

[Prine]

I'm really quite surprised to hear that. Would you be willing to expand on the details? I'm actually really curious to know what it is about the sequel that is impressing you so much (in comparison to the original). The core gameplay is pretty much exactly the same between the two.

The music comment is especially interesting as most of the music in Gears 2 is still based on many of the themes of the original. Really, though, I thought the soundtracks in both titles were really f*cking awesome. Gears 2 is still very impressive in that regard especially after coming off of Resistance 2 (which has terrible music like every other Insomniac title).

A couple standout music tracks from the original...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzumo1CuYoQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US9fpIsCxRk

You really think that sounds like trash?

The core gameplay is sound, but its the scenarios and inventive use of the gameplay that stands out to me.

I still feel the guns dont feel all too satisfying like the original, but Epic managed to throw some puzzels in there along with the gunfights and keep it in overdrive leaving you in awe of what you experienced at the end of each section. The pacing is perfect.

Gears felt empty to me, like others said, a tech demo. I only played through it once. I can see myself playing Gears 2 over and over

 

[Dirtbag]

Here's a thought:

So you've got these pretty good bots.
And you've got a multiplayer system that frequently features 3 vs 5, thanks to quitters..

Why not have bots fill empty seats? Even if it means you play one round at 3 vs 5, the next round bots should fill out the roster to create even teams.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Here's a thought:

So you've got these pretty good bots.
And you've got a multiplayer system that frequently features 3 vs 5, thanks to quitters..

Why not have bots fill empty seats? Even if it means you play one round at 3 vs 5, the next round bots should fill out the roster to create even teams.

I thought that is how it was supposed to work.

 

[Dirtbag]

I thought that is how it was supposed to work.

only in private matches.. I'm talking MM here. Yesterday, I'd guess 75% of the matches we played were our 5 vs. 3 or 4

Usually it would start out as 5 vs 4, as someone would quit out not liking the map/mode combo he was shouting into the headset we vote for, then another guy would quit before the match started because they were down a man.

Also, unless EPIC makes public penalties for quitting / cheating.. I expect this game to be plagued by cheaters / sore losers before long. I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure I've been stand-by'd a few times already.

Does epic have access to banhammer? Or cheat detection?

 

[StriKeVillain]

Is there a way I can check my K/D ratio?

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I'll also agree with GoW2's campaign easily destroying the original.

I could pick out a number of issues with GoW1's campaign but with GoW2 for the most part there's not a bad thing I can say about it.

 

[kaizoku]

Here's a thought:

So you've got these pretty good bots.
And you've got a multiplayer system that frequently features 3 vs 5, thanks to quitters..

Why not have bots fill empty seats? Even if it means you play one round at 3 vs 5, the next round bots should fill out the roster to create even teams.

the matchmaking/public matches are the equivalent of ranked matches right? would be skewed unfairly if say one team had a bot on insane or something. Not to mention potential team kills, picking up weapons/things real players wanted, things like that.

Not ideal, but never will be really. I loved going for the ranked achievements (helped me learn each weapon/map) in the old game and was bemused to see them missing this time, but given the new ranking matchmaking sucks, I'm pretty glad I don't need to rack up 100 kills on each weapon all over again.

 

[h3ro]

OK, so I wanna do some Horde today, before starting the Campaign... what level should I play on?

 

[kbear]

For me, literally everything about the sequel is better. The people saying otherwise are in the minority, although it's an extremely loud and verbose minority thanks to a specific poster.

- Much-improved graphics and scale

- Incredible environments

- So much variety in the gameplay... just look at the worm level and the different types of gameplay they packed into it. Gears 1 was basically the same stop n pop the entire way through. Not the case with the sequel.

- Better vehicle mission, so much better than that awful completely on-rails one in the original.

- WAY better music... seriously some of the best music I've heard in a game. It's by Hollywood composer Steve Jablonsky. It's epic, brooding, orchestral, just like a Summer blockbuster.

 

[Dirtbag]

the matchmaking/public matches are the equivalent of ranked matches right? would be skewed unfairly if say one team had a bot on insane or something. Not to mention potential team kills, picking up weapons/things real players wanted, things like that.

Not ideal, but never will be really. I loved going for the ranked achievements (helped me learn each weapon/map) in the old game and was bemused to see them missing this time, but given the new ranking matchmaking sucks, I'm pretty glad I don't need to rack up 100 kills on each weapon all over again.

Yeah I guess that's fair enough.
I guess the penalties for quitting aren't real clear so people don't really care if they quit or not.

 

[watership]

Really a straight forward part of the game I thought.

Lots people seem to forget that you can dodge, that's all.

 

[Union Carbine]

I finally got some quality Horde time in last night and it is hella fun. We didn't make it too far (level 12 or so) but it was awesome. Every time we were about to quit and go to bed, someone would say, let's go one more. Simple yet addictive.

 

[Dirtbag]

You know I just realized, there are no penalties for quitting, because you can't quit.
You are signing out and back in, so no system can really do much to combat that.
I guess once MM gets straightened out, maybe they can have full teams of 5 search for other full teams of 5 first, before pairing them against teams made up of singles / doubles.

 

[Aladuf]

Is there a way I can check my K/D ratio?

Go to your War Journal then there are 3 different leaderboards (public, private, and horde) and just go into whichever one you want and choose what gametype and then you can find your name in the list and click on it and it'll break down your stats including K/D ratio.

 

[levious]

Spoiler

Listen to Cole....

that should go without saying!

 

[RSTEIN]

OK, so I wanna do some Horde today, before starting the Campaign... what level should I play on?

Well, when you join a horde game you're given the choice of two maps. These two choices are pretty much random although I noticed that the same two seem to be paired off each other a lot of the time (maybe that's just me). The players vote with LT and RT.

The maps I've had the most success with:

- River (sniper, torque, mortar, houses)
- Jacinto (mortar, snipe, torque, defensible positions)
- Day One (seal off the balconies and hit them with mortar/hammer)

 

[Domino Theory]

You know I just realized, there are no penalties for quitting, because you can't quit.
You are signing out and back in, so no system can really do much to combat that.
I guess once MM gets straightened out, maybe they can have full teams of 5 search for other full teams of 5 first, before pairing them against teams made up of singles / doubles.

It does that already.

Only problem is finding a game when you DON'T go in MM with a full party of 5.

 

[Zoltrix]

Easter egg: Who wants toast?

Might be old, but I'm definitely not going through 100 pages to check if it was posted lol

 

[Dirtbag]

It does that already.

Only problem is finding a game when you DON'T go in MM with a full party of 5.

Seriously?
So all those games we played last night were people quitting on their own parties?
What shitty friends.

 

[raYne]

Easter egg: Who wants toast?

Might be old, but I'm definitely not going through 100 pages to check if it was posted lol

The hell!? :lol

Great, now I'll be shooting at random stuff in the environment in my next playthrough.

 

[MirageDwarf]

I'm only really bringing this up again as I feel people are giving Gears 1 a lot of undeserved shit. Both are excellent AAA shooters and deserve praise (I'm also happy that Gears 2 seems lengthier than the original). Suggesting that Gears 1 was like a tech demo in comparison to the sequel just strikes me insulting to the original.

I think when people say that they are complementing Gears 2 as how much more there is in it. People were impressed with Gears 1 already and it set bar for many.

After playing Gears 2, most of us got more than expected.

 

[Domino Theory]

Seriously?
So all those games we played last night were people quitting on their own parties?
What shitty friends.

Yeah, and sometimes I think it searches for a part of 4 with one random.

But we did get moments where some of the other team quit and they'd yell "wtf why did *insert real name* quit? he usually doesn't do that, what a douche".

People are having connection issues when connecting to matches after having found them. We got to experience that last night when it turned up to be 3v5.

 

[luxarific]

Act 4 Question:

Spoiler

re the Chainsaw Duel QTEs during the Skorge Boss Battle: is/did anyone have any problem with this? I'm pressing the B button like crazy and I can get past the first chainsaw QTE, but the second one kills me every second time. I've tried pressing B both faster and slower and I'm still dying. Is there some secret to this or do I just have to keep on throwing myself at the wall until I get over it? Should I press B more methodically or just bang away as fast as I can?

 

[raYne]

Act 4 Question:

Spoiler

re the Chainsaw Duel QTEs during the Skorge Boss Battle: is/did anyone have any problem with this? I'm pressing the B button like crazy and I can get past the first chainsaw QTE, but the second one kills me every second time. I've tried pressing B both faster and slower and I'm still dying. Is there some secret to this or do I just have to keep on throwing myself at the wall until I get over it? Should I press B more methodically or just bang away as fast as I can?

It's a pure button mash. You either have the skills (speed) or you don't.

 

[Randy Lanzarote]

Act 4 Question:

Spoiler

re the Chainsaw Duel QTEs during the Skorge Boss Battle: is/did anyone have any problem with this? I'm pressing the B button like crazy and I can get past the first chainsaw QTE, but the second one kills me every second time. I've tried pressing B both faster and slower and I'm still dying. Is there some secret to this or do I just have to keep on throwing myself at the wall until I get over it? Should I press B more methodically or just bang away as fast as I can?

Spoiler

are you pressing B as soon as the OSD tells you to do so? I never had a problem with the chainsaw battles with skorge, it diving into the ink clouds to escape a falling pillar that always got me

 

[Big-E]

Act 4 Question:

Spoiler

re the Chainsaw Duel QTEs during the Skorge Boss Battle: is/did anyone have any problem with this? I'm pressing the B button like crazy and I can get past the first chainsaw QTE, but the second one kills me every second time. I've tried pressing B both faster and slower and I'm still dying. Is there some secret to this or do I just have to keep on throwing myself at the wall until I get over it? Should I press B more methodically or just bang away as fast as I can?

Really? I have done it on both Hardcore and Insane and never had any problem. I even started doing it fairly slow to see if I could die and it never happened.

 

[MirageDwarf]

Act 4 Question:

Spoiler

re the Chainsaw Duel QTEs during the Skorge Boss Battle: is/did anyone have any problem with this? I'm pressing the B button like crazy and I can get past the first chainsaw QTE, but the second one kills me every second time. I've tried pressing B both faster and slower and I'm still dying. Is there some secret to this or do I just have to keep on throwing myself at the wall until I get over it? Should I press B more methodically or just bang away as fast as I can?

I was going crazy failed couple of times. I felt if you are going crazy with button mashing, sometimes it doesn't register it.

Try it with not so slow not so fast but with firm button press.

 

[luxarific]

Spoiler

are you pressing B as soon as the OSD tells you to do so? I never had a problem with the chainsaw battles with skorge, it diving into the ink clouds to escape a falling pillar that always got me

Yes as soon as I see the B, I start pressing like mad. What's weird is that I get past the first event with no problem, but during the second it's like I'm not even pressing the B button. Do we have to stick with the Lancer for that whole battle? Because I switched to the shotgun for part of it but then back to the Lancer before he came at me the second time. Do you think that might be the problem? The game's just not registering the fact that I'm using the Lancer? (But then why would it show me the B prompt?)